Attention Online ESL teachers! Time for another teaching strategy to use in your virtual classroom. Today we are talking all about Phonics. In this blog post you will learn the what, why, and how of teaching using phonics. 

First off, if you want to see this skill in action, take a look at this video of Nancy (with a cameo of baby Jack) as she shows you exactly how to say and the sounds of each letter of the alphabet. 

What are phonics?

Well here is the definition straight from the all-knowing-google-search: 

"a method of teaching people to read by correlating sounds with letters or groups of letters in an alphabetic writing system"

Basically it is the sounds associated with each letter. Now if you are like me you may have learned these with the "uh" sound at the end of each sound. For example, T says "tuh". Well when you are teaching an ESL learner the sounds it is much more beneficial to use synthetic phonics 

Synthetic phonics, also known as...

Welcome back to another lesson in ESL teaching strategies. Today we are going to focus and learn more about "MODELING". If you missed #1 about TPR, you can check it out here. 

Take a look at this video to see Nancy explaining this strategy and using it in the actual classroom. Modeling "modeling" if you will, so Meta!

What is Modeling?

No, you do not need to cue up "Vogue" by Madonna and get your catwalk shoes on. This teaching strategy is all about showing the students the expected behavior before you ask them to jump in and perform. Most often explained with the "I do, We do, You do" method, with a gradual release to independency. 

Lower-Leveled Students will require you to do each of these steps. They will need almost everything modeled and they will mimic your actions and speech. That is why it is important to use good instructional TPR and props, careful pronunciation, and encourage full sentences. 

With Higher-Leveled Students you can skip the "I do" and/or...

Hi I'm Stephanie (insert monotone echo "Hello Stephanie") and I have a confession.... I have taught with VIPKID for over two and a half years and have never taught any of the higher levels. What?!? Here's what happened, I love teaching the little ones and after the first month or two, I never had a problem with bookings. However, I must admit, I am intrigued by the depth of the content and the lure of teaching a more independent mind. So, I decided to get my own certifications for Levels 4, 5, and 6. Now that I have them, I had three questions

1-Who am I teaching?

2- What am I teaching?

3- How do I teach it?

I took some notes from my course classes and found lots of great online content to answer my questions, including this video full of great do's and don'ts from Miss Nancy Taylor herself...

I've compiled my "research" (chicken scratches stained with Mac & Cheese) here for you so that you have one quick guide for teaching higher leveled students with...

Hey there friends! Today we are going to talk all about the new Incentive Tiered pay system for new VIPKID teachers. This system will be for teachers that have passed their demo after December 2019. As of right now, teachers who have been hired before that are on the old system (explained in this post). 

As a VIPKID you should know that you are not paid an hourly rate. This can be confusing but VIPKID wants to encourage both quality and quantity in its teachers and this new system is a great motivator of both.  Your pay check is broken into two parts: class base pay and bonuses.

Class Base Pay:

When you apply to VIPKID part of the process is passing your interview. Depending on how well your interview goes plus your education and experience will determine your class base pay. It will be between $7-9 per class. 

Bonus Pay

Lifetime Classes Taught:

This will be total classes you have taught while teaching for VIPKID. The more classes you have taught...

Hello everyone! Are you a new online teacher and don't know where to start on your online classroom set-up? Or are you a veteran teacher and want to know how & where to invest in your company? Either way, this post has you covered as we talk about 5 investments to make in your VIPKID classroom. 

First of all, check out this video from Nancy all about her classroom set-up. This video is old but still very applicable in setting up your classroom today. 

You can snag Nancy's Classroom Set-Up Guide HERE if you haven't already! It has all the details on getting set-up!

1. Equipment:

Let's start here first because even in the application process, you will need basic equipment to get hired. 

VIPKID's website says:

You must be set-up with a desktop, laptop, Mac, or Surface device with an HD external or HD integrated camera and a headset with a microphone.
‍
Your device must have a minimum operating system of Windows7 or Mac...

Welcome my fellow educators and Chaos Coordinators! Today on the blog I have the first in a series of posts all about ESL teaching strategies. The focus for today is TPR. Let's boogie!

Nancy has a great video for my audio/visual learners all about this strategy. Complete with her own language (hilarious) and a real life example. Check it out:

What is TPR?

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity. 

TPR combines movement and language together. It is used by both the teacher and the student to increase learning during class time. The student connects the actions to language.

I believe that TPR comes naturally to those teaching language and/or music. When you are trying to encourage understanding and recognition of new words, actions help you explain the meaning without adding to the dialogue. This keeps the student/teacher speaking...