Archive for the ‘Learning English Online’ Category
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 »
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
I the previous post of this blog series, I talked about the importance of Choosing a Professional and Trustworthy Company (Factor #1) if you are interested in taking online English lessons.
In this blog post, I will be discussing the second of the “Four Important Factors to Consider When Choosing an Online English Speaking Course”.
Factor #2 – Choose An Experienced and Friendly Instructor
During your selection process, you want to get as much information as possible about the instructor(s) who you’ll be working with.
Information about the instructor’s experience, qualifications and interests should be easily accessible on the company’s website.
Although teaching English on the internet is fairly new, you want to make certain the instructor has at least some experience teaching online as it differs quite a bit from traditional classroom instruction.
Here are a few questions you should get the answers to:
- Does the instructor have some experience delivering online English lessons? How many hours?
- Has the instructor taught learners with similar English language learning needs and goals as yourself?
- Does the instructor have experience teaching students with the same mother language as yourself?
- Is the instructor friendly, personable and interested in what you have to say? Can you view his/her profile on the company website?
- Is the instructor able to converse on a wide range of topics relevant to you?
- What type of English accent does the instructor have?
These are some of the more important questions you’d like answered before you sign up for online English lessons. There’s nothing worse than getting into an English lesson and finding out you and your teacher don’t get along with one another.
A little research ahead of time should avoid this potential problem.
In my next post, I will be discussing the third factor of the “Four Important Factors to Consider When Choosing an Online English Speaking Course”…
Stay tuned!
Daniel
Tags: English lesson, English lessons, online English lessons, online English speaking course
Posted in Learning English Online | 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 »
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 »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Interested in taking online English lessons? Trying to decide which company to select as your provider? There are many things to think about in selection process.
In this blog post I will be discussing the first of the “Four Important Factors to Consider When Choosing an Online English Speaking Course”.
Factor #1 - Choose a Professional and Trustworthy Company
You want to make sure that the company providing you English lessons is professional and trustworthy. Online English speaking courses are a relatively new service, but many companies provide excellent courses as well as additional language services.
A quick look at the company’s website should give you an indication whether this company is taking their business seriously or not.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Has their website been designed professionally or is it built on a standard free template?
- Do they accept major credit cards as well as other online and traditional payment methods?
- Do they provide a standard postal address, telephone number, names of contacts and company email addresses?
- Are course fees listed openly or do you need to make contact with the company to get this information?
- Does the company provide a trial before asking you for a long term commitment?
- Does the company provide a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with their services?
- Are you able to make personal contact with someone to have them answer any specific questions you have?
- Are there testimonies from past students who are happy with their lessons?
These are some of the more important pieces of information you’ll want to know before selecting your online English provider. You want to be very certain that the company you choose is professional and trustworthy.
In my next post, I will be discussing the second factor of the “Four Important Factors to Consider When Choosing an Online English Speaking Course”…
Stay tuned!
Daniel
Tags: online English lessons, online English speaking course, onlinne English
Posted in Learning English 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 »
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Working online does have its obvious advantages — setting my own schedule, not having to commute, meeting people from all over the world etc… but it does have some disadvantages in that sometimes you feel stuck in a virtual world and wonder if you are just a video and a voice behind a screen helping students learn English online.
I’ve always tried to add a “human” element to my teaching – by making things real, personalized and cater to each of my student’s individual needs, and I think it has proven useful. My long time students feel more like friends than like clients – we are able to share ideas and feelings freely learn about each other and all the while learning English. Recently, I received a mysterious package in the mail, upon opening it I was overwhelmed with surprise – it was a package from one of my students with a few food items which we had discussed in class one day. Of course presents from “real life” students are common – you almost expect them at all of the major holidays or at the end of a course – but in the “virtual world” the etiquette is obviously different and more confused.
I like how both worlds tend to mesh together, whether on purpose or not. The “human element” is always there no matter how virtual things are. We need that “human element” to feel connected, and TalktoCanada.com is able to offer that to its students, by making the lessons about them rather than about a set curriculum. This does not only apply to individual students – but also corporate clients, and it shows through their improvements as well as in their continuing study with TalktoCanada.com.
I like my “virtual world” and I like how I have made it into a comfortable environment where anybody can join, no matter where they are or what they are studying, the “door” is always open.
Tags: creativity, demonstrations, english experience, esl, foreign language, global english, individual training, innovative teaching methods, interactive feedback, language speaker, language teacher, languages, Learn English Online with WebEx, method of teaching, native english speaker
Posted in Learning English Online, Teaching Online | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Learning English is not a simple task, and learning it from someone who YES may be a native English speaker — but has a difficult accent to understand — is sometimes really hard to get used to.
In my 8 years of ESL teaching — my students have always commented on how easy and clear it is to understand my “accent”. Yes, it is quite different from British, Australian, South African and even American accents. Some describe it as neutral and easy to understand and learn. Not only that but mainstream English culture uses this neutral accent.
This makes it easier for the student to learn and understand English. For beginners especially, it is important for them to learn with a neutral accent – have you ever met a non native English speaker who’s English accent was British, or Australian? It’s quite amusing as an ESL teacher to hear — a Mexican who had never been to England — speaking English with a British accent.
Now I do realize that there are some misconceptions about the way Canadians speak — no we do not say “eh” after every sentence, nor do we say “aboot” or any other weird or unusual word. Granted we do have some differences in spelling and in some words (pop not soda, washroom not bathroom) but nothing that would put you at a disadvantage, if anything – an advantage.
So take advantage of learning English with a Native Canadian English Speaker — you’ll notice the difference — not only in the ease of learning and picking up on the new accent — but also in the mannerism in which we speak.
Tags: creativity, english experience, esl, foreign language, individual training, language speaker, language teacher, language training, languages, method of teaching, native english speaker, native language, native speaker
Posted in 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):
