Author Archive
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Learning to speak English with confidence is not as easy as one might think. Most if not ALL of the students who sign up with TalktoCanada.com have just that problem… lack of or no confidence when communicating and speaking in English. As a teacher — no progress is really complete without building that confidence — so it is my main goal when teaching to boost up a student’s confidence as much as possible. Students can also speed up the process by taking into account these tips (however it is understandable that they are easier said than done):
- MAKE MISTAKES
– the only way to learn is by making mistakes — your English tutor is there to correct those mistakes and to help you understand WHY they are mistakes and what the proper form is. If you don’t feel comfortable making mistakes with your teacher — your confidence level will take that much longer to increase.
- GO OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
– sure its easy to stick with vocabulary that is simple — but do you really learn anything that way? Try new words, grammar and sentence structures — increasing your vocabulary and comfort zone will give you a larger range of words to work with in a variety of situations.
- ASK FOR HELP
– your tutor is there to help YOU learn to speak English. Ask them questions — ask for their help if you don’t understand something. Don’t be shy — remember that these are YOUR classes.
If you follow these basic steps during your English lessons with TalktoCanada.com not only will your confidence level increase but your knowledge, understanding and overall fluency will as well!
Tags: communicating, communication, confidence, esl, learning, mistakes, problem, process, speaking english
Posted in English Improvement, English for Business, Learning English Online, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, February 20th, 2010
The IELTS Test is quickly becoming the English Test of choice for many students who wish to study, work or live abroad. It is a holistic approach to assessing ones English level, and includes a listening, reading, writing and speaking component. For those of you who don’t know what IELTS stands for, it is, International English Language Testing System. The test managed by the University of Cambridge, IDP Education and the British Council whom we have partnered with to work on corporate English language training contracts in Saudi Arabia.
Many students who take this test need the most help with the speaking component. Being put on the spot — even as a native speaker is sometimes scary — public speaking is not an easy thing for anyone – and especially for topics that you have only 2 minutes to prepare for — it can seem impossible.
TalktoCanada helps you with all aspects of the test — but most importantly we help you with building confidence when you speak. The training will also help you build up your vocabulary with words that you would not normally use (simple words — for general conversation). While also helping you think on your feet and feel confident while answering questions of any type.
TalktoCanada helps you improve your speaking by simulating the speaking section of the exam — you have the option of going through Part I, Part II and Part III of the IELTS test — with your teacher you will go over each answer afterwords while working on grammatical structure, sentence building and of course fluency.
Typically students sign up for an intensive month long course with TalktoCanada (which entails having a lesson everyday) helping to guarantee results. We focus mostly on the speaking section, as that is the section that requires the most amount of work. We encourage students to work on the writing exercise (we also help and correct any mistakes) and lastly, you will work on your listening and reading exercises portion of the IELTS exam. The success rate thus far has been 100% and students have noticeably increased their confidence and their fluency…just ask to to talk to one of our students who has taken the IELTS test after training with their very own online English trainer at TalktoCanada.com.
TalktoCanada helps you achieve your goals and your dreams whether it is to move, study or work in an English speaking country — don’t limit yourself and know that with the right amount of dedication anything is possible! Get the help you need by registering for IELTS training sessions today!
Tags: confidence, english as a second language, ENGLISH TEST, esl, EXAM, IELTS, live abroad, speaking, study abroad, work abroad
Posted in English Improvement, English for Business, Learning English Online, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Being a manager and a teacher who works in about 10 different time zones every week — I’ve
come to realize the importance of being organized and punctual. I’d like to share some of my tricks with you to keeping organized — especially when you have a pretty full plate.
- Google Calendar – by far the BEST google application since gmail! I’m able to organize all of my appointments, classes, and teachers. I can invite others to join on the calendar — and it is all synced automatically. I can even get reminder pop ups or emails before I have something scheduled. A must have for ANYONE who has a busy schedule.
- Time Zone Converter – another essential tool – it lets you figure out your time zone differences. So for example 2pm in Uruguay is 11am in Toronto and 5pm in Madrid. I use this application all the time — to check and double check appointments — can’t be an effective manager if I’m doubled booked all the time :
- Sticky Notes – yep just like post its — only on your computer — I have a few going at once — they stay on my desktop even after a shutdown — great for keeping notes in a meeting, or words during a lesson — or a “TO DO” list of sorts.
With Virtual managing becoming more and more popular the need for ease and tools to make your job more efficient are a must. I’d be interested to hear your tips to keep things in check…
Tags: google, manager, online, organizing, real time, supervisor, teachers, teaching, time zones
Posted in English Improvement, English for Business, Teaching Online, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Jillian Zavitz
-Programs Manager
-Working at TTC since early 2008
What exactly is a Programs Manager?
Well the Programs Manager is someone who does a little bit of everything. I am primarily responsible for interviewing, hiring and training new teachers. I have a staff of over 20 regular teachers that I keep track of and am always on the look out for new teachers. I also write blogs, teach lessons, am an emergency go to person for everything. I am always researching on how to be better, how to train and manage people online — and most recently have been involved in many interviews about my experiences related to human resources for major news outlets.
How did you get involved in this type of online work?
By chance — google is a great tool for everything — especially finding jobs. I started out as a teacher with just a few individual students — and then quickly moved up to Programs Manager and have been in this position ever since. I love being involved in something that has so much potential — and seeing that what I do directly impacts the outcome — which is of course why I give it my all — all the time :)
A typical day?
Involves me looking at my google calendar — figuring my schedule for the day. Sometimes my day starts at 1am or 3am and goes until 10pm that night — of course not continuously. I teach on average 6hs/day (throughout the day), then do some Programs Managing (maybe 2-3hs/day). I chat and talk with Marc the General Manager on a daily basis — figure out new information and new action plans. It’s very busy — I don’t have a regular schedule — normal sleeping times or eating times. But that is perfect for me — as I am more of a laissez faire type gal in all aspects of my life anyway – luckily this just fits in perfectly.
Advice for teachers who want to get into working online?
It’s hard work — not easy at all — but it’s SOOOOOO much fun! This is the best job that I’ve EVER had — and I’ve had some pretty awesome jobs before. I get to work from home — make up my own schedule — and meet people from ALL over the world.. it’s pretty sweet if you ask me. You have to be the right kind of person for the job, and if you have a look at some of my earlier posts you’ll see what it takes to be a “wow” online teacher.
Tags: esl, manager, managing, native canadian speaker, organizing, Programs Manager, teaching english, teaching via skype, work from home, working
Posted in Teaching Online, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
I’ve recently had the opportunity to “mega” teach for the past month — while waiting for another contract to come up I completed my weekly hours with individual students — and LOTS of them! Each of them having a specific focus and goals which they entrusted me to help them achieve.
Well, 2 things have been reaffirmed after working these past few weeks:
#1 - I bet that I am the only ESL teacher who can say she’s taught in over 15 different countries in less than 1 month (no joke) — I can tell you the weather in each location and than some. Teaching English via the Internet has got to be the greatest thing out there — not only am I teaching – but I’m learning something new from each student at the same time — did you know that in Spain they eat 12 grapes at each strike of the clock at New Years? or that in South Korea they count years differently — so a western aged 29 years old is really a 31 year old in South Korea? — Really these things and a whole slew of others leave me that much more knowledgeable about different cultures and experiences. Not to mention I am finally starting to understand LOST — thanks to my student who explains the principles of quantum physics to me.
#2 - Positive feedback never gets old. Is it redundant to tell your student more than once a class what a great job they are doing? Or outline goals that they should work on for next class — and develop ways with the students to achieve them? Do they get sick of hearing that the practice answer for the IELTS test was perfect? Or that their expressions and use of new vocabulary is impressive? No — they don’t and I don’t.
Positive feedback is uber important to encourage anyone to continue. Learning English is hard — but doing it blindly and without any kind of feedback or guidance is almost impossible. I make it a point and a habit to let my students know how they are doing not only during the class but afterwards as well with a follow up email outlining their strengths and areas that need improvement. Some students feel that they have poor vocabulary — that they are unable to express themselves fluently or that I have NO idea what they are talking about or saying. People need to hear that they are doing a good job — no matter how small of a job they are doing. It encourages them to continue and to excel in the areas that they are doing great in and to take a closer look at the areas that may need a little bit of work.
I encourage ALL teachers to include positive feedback into their daily lessons — you’ll see how your students smile and really put in that extra bit of effort to maintain their level — trust me you won’t be disappointed.
Tags: encouragement, feedback, lessons, positive, smile, Teaching Online, temperature, weather, words
Posted in English Improvement, Learning English Online, Teaching Online | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Daniel Cotton
- Corporate Sales Director
- Working at TTC since 2007
What is a day in the life of a Corporate Sales Director like?
Well, most of my day is spent online
Seriously though, I would say that majority of my day is spent talking with people; potential corporate clients, Trade Commissioners, Sales Agents, our current clients, and the management team of TTC. I find it amazing that I can sit at my little ole desk in Orleans, Ontario and communicate with people all over the globe. Even though I’ve been doing this for 3+ years, it’s still amazes me how I can meet with a Saudi Arabian, Russian, Korean, Italian and Brazilian’s all in one day.
I spend a fair amount of time emailing as well…not my favorite thing to do, but a crucial part of finding new corporate clients. I much prefer to get into a meeting room and talk things out with people. I’d take a day of non-stop meetings over a day of answering an inbox full of messages, that’s for sure. I feel so much more gets done when you talk with people…and it’s great fun at time too!
What is the toughest challenge you face on a daily basis?
It’s not so much a challenge, but I would say it’s juggling the various responsibilities of being a Corporate Sales Director. TalktoCanada is a growing company, so each of us on the management team wear many hats. In just one day I could be initiating a new marketing objective, meeting a potential corporate client, emailing the Canadian Trade Embassies overseas, recruiting a new Sales Agents, demoing our WebEx training platform, and teaching 2 hours of English online. There are so many little pieces to the puzzle, and working them all into the day takes some good time management skills.
What is the most interesting part of your job?
Without a doubt it’s the people. The team we have at TTC is amazing! We’re like a family…always there to help each other out. We regularly get together; have brainstorming sessions, share our challenges and triumphs, and are constantly looking for bigger and better ways to provide top notch services to our clients. It’s great.
What is the biggest or funniest mistake you’ve done as a Corporate Sales Director?
Well, one time I accidentally sent an email to a Canadian Trade Commissioner instead of a potential corporate client. That wouldn’t have been such a bad thing by itself…but the email wasn’t actually finished. It was a rough draft…and my rough drafts tend to have a fair amount of ‘uncut’ sentences that are usually for my eyes only. I learned my lesson from this little faux pas…don’t write a draft email in the reply section to someone else’s email. Ha. In the end, there was no harm done of course. (I told you I didn’t like emailing!)
Tags: director, efl, email, esl, funny, manager, online, sales, skype, teaching
Posted in Teaching Online | No Comments »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Tell me a little bit about yourself:
My name is Tenielle and I’m a teacher with Talk to Canada. I currently reside in New Brunswick, Canada. I have both a BA and an MA in Sociology.
Fun facts about me; I enjoy a good debate, testing new technology, photography, learning new languages and collecting vintage books. I am a huge Star Trek fan, of all genres. I also enjoy conducting research projects on many different topics, such as global economics, multicultural education initiatives, and criminal justice to name a few.
What was the last book that you read?
The last book I read was The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
Describe yourself in 3 words:
Creative, adventurous and passionate.
Why do you like Teaching Online?
I like the flexibility of teaching with TTC and working in the online, adult education arena. It is a fun and uniquely cultural opportunity to meet, work alongside a great team and teach students from all over the world. This is truly a global experience, and all through the convenience of the computer.
Motto that you live by:
Everyday is an opportunity to achieve something, even if it’s just to hope for tomorrow.
Tags: Canadian teacher, creativity, english experience, esl, foreign language, global english, native english speaker, skype, TalktoCanada.com, Teaching Online, WOW teacher
Posted in Teaching Online | No Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
When hiring teachers for TalktoCanada.com, I look for the obvious things (basic requirements such as being a Canadian, having some kind of teaching experience, knows something about technology and computers) but I also look for things that don’t show up on “paper”.
Coolness factor
Are you cool? Do you have stories that will keep your students interested? Is your personality one that is approachable and fun? The coolness factor is one of the most important qualities that I look for in teachers. I can tell a little bit from a resume (experiences outlined etc) but during the interview I am usually able to tell who is cool and has the perfect personality for this job.. and who just won’t make the cut.
Flexibility — can you touch your toes? (just kidding)
Flexibility in the sense of understanding that this is NOT a 9-5 job. This is a job that sometimes requires you to work at “crazy hours” (in the middle of the night), or have classes that are spread out throughout the day… if you can work with that… then I can work with you! Don’t ask to have 9-5 hours because it’s just not going to happen…so save us both the trouble and look somewhere else.
Open to learning (don’t worry no heavy textbooks involved)
But yes, some training and ongoing learning is involved with this job. Every job needs some kind of training program that helps develop and fine tune your skills. It takes a while to become a star online teacher — and it also takes quite a bit of training.
Selecting teachers is a REALLY difficult task — but I love talking with applicants and learning about their experiences and how they can apply them to online learning. So far I have been quite successful, and have excellent teachers on board, that besides the general requirements meet these top 3 qualities and then some.
Tags: creativity, demonstrations, english experience, face time, foreign language, global english, hot new trend, individual training, language speaker, Teacher Training online with WebEx, teaching english, telephone
Posted in Learning English Online, Teaching Online | No Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Marc Anderson
- General Manager
- Working at TTC since early 2006
What is a typical day for you at TalktoCanada.com?
Good question, not getting very much sleep..just kidding. I would say that a typical day starts with answering a lot of emails, keeping up on prospects and than talking with my other managers either on telephone or on Skype. After the usual stuff is done, I probably spend the rest of my time on the phone or in meetings with current and potential clients. Some of my time is spent supervising projects and making sure they are delivered in the way that the client requested which can sometimes get difficult depending on the highly specialized nature of the course materials. The rest of my time, is probably spent reading, which can include the latest business book or visiting several of my favourite websites including entrepreneur.com, searchenginewatch.com, msnbc.com and checking up on our industry competitors. My day doesn’t end at a specific time or start at the same time everyday, having to deal in so many countries around the world, some days I have to wake up while I am sleeping for a meeting or at supper time. You have to give up the 9-5 hours if you expect to be successful in this type of job.
What is the toughest challenge you have faced since starting with TalktoCanada.com in 2006?
I would have to say beyond a doubt, getting our first client was the toughest challenge. With such a new service by a very unknown company it’s hard to convince individuals and companies of your worth. Naturally the vast majority of those people interested in our services were skeptical and without my selling skills being full developed it took a while to get off the ground.
What would you say is your biggest triumph?
This would probably tie into the previous question. Getting our first client was the most exhilarating experience you could possibly have in a new business. A client was willing to give us the chance and I will never forget the name of this company for the rest of my life.
What is the best part of your job?
Meeting with clients around the world. I majored in accounting in university and seriously contemplated being an accountant but than thought if I am going to be in an office, I would rather do something more exciting. I haven’t looked back since and I love my job and would trade it for any other business job.
Tags: clients, creativity, daily life, demonstrations, email, english experience, esl, foreign language, global english, hot new trend, individual training, innovative teaching methods, language training, languages, manager, reading, skype, sleep, stages of development, supervising, TalktoCanada.com, work, working
Posted in English for Business, Learning English Online, Teaching Online | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
I thought it would be fun to start a “mini series” of
A Day in the Life of a TalktoCanada.com Manager
I’m 100% positive that no one really knows what we actually do all day and all night long at TalktoCanada.com, and thought that it would be a neat idea to let you in our daily lives at work.
So say tuned for a weekly blog over the next four weeks detailing one of TalktoCanada.com’s senior managers. I encourage you to post questions if you like as well — make the posts interactive — it could be fun :)
Tags: blog, day, interactive, life, Managers, mini series, night, TalktoCanada.com, teaching, work, working
Posted in English for Business, Learning English Online, Teaching Online | No Comments »
001 
Learning to speak English with confidence is not as easy as one might think. Most if not ALL of the students who sign up with TalktoCanada.com have just that problem… lack of or no confidence when communicating and speaking in English. As a teacher — no progress is really complete without building that confidence — so it is my main goal when teaching to boost up a student’s confidence as much as possible. Students can also speed up the process by taking into account these tips (however it is understandable that they are easier said than done):
