After working at italki as a community tutor, I want to branch out and become a professional tutor. My lessons are extremely structured and informative although I am not a professional teacher so I was wondering as to whether or not I should move to a professional tutor. I think typically professional teachers are seen to be more prepared and knowledgeable. I’m not too sure to be honest. I just know that I love online education!

• What does it mean to act like a professional as a tutor?
• How good do you have to be at a language before you can teach it?
• Why are there community and professional tutors on italki?
• What qualification do you need to get their professional status?
• How can you start going full-time as a professional online language teacher?

Thank you to Gosia for this episode introduction.

Sponsored By:

• Yabla: Stream authentic shows you enjoy and learn at the same time. Give Yabla a try with a free trial for Fluent Show listeners

Links:

• How do I become an italki teacher? – italki Help and Support
• Live Lesson Strategies for Online Teachers and Tutors
• The Fluent Show: Good Lessons vs. GREAT Lessons: Life’s Too Short Not to Find a Great Tutor
• What types of certification or credentials are required for a Professional Teaching Profile? – italki Help and Support
• Facebook Group: Fluent Language Learners
• Beyond 1:1 — Slides for my workshop from the Teach & Thrive Summit
• italki: Learn a language online
• Kinyarwanda alphabet, pronunciation and language

For many online language teachers, this kind of online meeting schedule is part of a standard working week. It really is exhausting!

In this week's episode, I'm helping an online teacher who has experienced this for herself and sent a call for help to the Fluent Show.

Here is the question:

I'm an english tutor and have started teaching online because of the pandemic..you see, I notice that the "video conference" situation drains so much energy from me. I wonder if that happens with other students not used to the online class. Did you ever feel that with online lessons? Do you have tips to avoid that burn out from virtual meetings? Thank you!!

Listen to the episode to hear more about how to improve your focus, your environment, and your future prospects as an online teacher.

If you want to send your own Teacher Chat Question to the show, email it to hello@fluentlanguage.co.uk

Thank you to Estephania from Panama for this week's Listener Intro

Sponsored By:

• Teach & Thrive: Online teachers, join the Waiting List for our 2-day event filled with inspiring conversations and practical tutorials.

Links:

• Teach & Thrive Summit — Sign up for the waiting list here
• How to Master Common Italian Phrases for Travel (Like a Local!)
• The Fluent Show: Where and How to Start Teaching Online
• The Fluent Show: What To Do When You're Overwhelmed In Language Lessons
• The Fluent Show: Q&A: How To Prepare For Language Lessons on Skype
• The reason Zoom calls drain your energy - BBC Worklife
• SelfControl
• Forest - Stay focused, be present

Learn about the true pronunciation of this language's name, and why it's important to get it right.

Where and How to Start Teaching Online

It’s a great time to start offering online lessons because

• Life has just moved online
• Your school or in-person tutoring may just have been cancelled
• You can connect with people around the world, and right now that’s even more rewarding and exciting than usual

In fact, any time is a great time because working as an online language teacher

• Allows you to work location independently - as long as you can use your computer and have safe wifi, you’re ready to go
• You’re independent to work the hours that suit YOU
• Is a great stepping stone and teaches you endless things about being a good leader

If all that sounds like your kind of party, then listen to this week's episode in detail for 5 killer questions that will help you think about online teaching in a professional way.

Recommended Teaching Resources

Want further support as you build an online teaching income? Book me for a mentoring day!

Thank you to Gosia for this episode's introduction in Polish.

Sponsored By:

• Yabla: Stream authentic shows you enjoy and learn at the same time. Give Yabla a try with a free trial for Fluent Show listeners

Links:

• Lindsay's Online Teaching Starter Kit
• Evernote — My friend referral link (not affiliate)
• Zoom Online Calls & Video Conferencing
• Infographic: How to Calculate Your Freelance Hourly Rate — One of the 1000 freelance rate guides - listen to the episode to find out what else is important to consider.
• PayPal.Me
• The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language: Amazon.co.uk: David Crystal: 9781108437738: Books
• ben crystal — "Ginger man speaking Shakespearean is my jam"

Last week you already heard a little bit about how Lindsay and I got started, what we value in our businesses and our brutally honest views about both the sacrifices and the rewards of doing this work.

So in today's episode:

Effective Teaching!

I've got three fundamentals that I believe made me a better language teacher.

1. Let your student do their student thing. Allow them to know their own answers and ask more questions.
2. Put effort into explaining grammar in a way that makes sense.
3. Make the tech and the setup a non-question. This includes boundaries.

In today's show, I'm also answering a listener question from Chenelle about successful collaborations

How do I go about approaching someone about my project in order to get them to come on board with me?

For us as one-person enterprises, it's often so beneficial to collaborate with others when it comes to creating successful projects like courses, books, and lessons. Look around you and you will see DOZENS of collaboration examples. In the online teaching space, here are a few that are successful:

• Languagelovers.au by Penny and Bec in Melbourne
• Con Parole Nostre by Elfin, Silvia and Barbara in 3 countries
• Women in Language by Lindsay, Shannon and me (and all of you!)

And of course let's not forget [Teach & Thrive](www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/teach-thrive) by Lindsay and me. And [German Uncovered](www.german2019.com) by Olly and me. You've got me, I love collaborating. It's more social, compensates for weaknesses and creates cool results.

So how do collaborations work best? How do you become a success? Listen in to hear my 5 most important tips - all hard won through experience.

Thank you to Maria for this episode introduction. Sorry about the slightly lower quality sound - next week back to the usual high standards.

Teach & Thrive: Open Now!

The Teach & Thrive workshop series is opening its doors to you this weekend. Sign up at www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/teach-thrive to join our 6 monthly masterclasses on creating and selling product, reaching an audience through marketing, and of course staying sane while becoming more successful.

Support This Podcast
Like all podcasts, the Fluent Show is supported by your online reviews and word of mouth.

If you liked this episode, please tell someone about it. Click here to tweet about the show, go to your Podcasts app and leave us a review, or simply text a friend about the Fluent Show. Thank you!

Sponsored By:

• italki: Get $10 USD in italki Credits with your first lesson purchase - no code required, click here to claim this offer

Links:

• Live Lesson Strategies for Online Teachers and Tutors

We present to you a project that we have been working on together for a while: German Uncovered, a course for beginners who want to become fluent in German. I've been working on this for a few months, and we are slowly getting ready for launch. Exciting times!

The special thing about German Uncovered is that it is entirely story-based, meaning you will not just learn the language step by step, but you'll also have read a whole book by the end. Listen in to find out how this works!

If you're interested in what drives course creators to come up with innovative ideas, and how a language course comes into being, this show will give you great behind the scenes insights.

German Uncovered is coming - sign up here to get a notification of our launch!

Special Guest: Olly Richards.

Sponsored By:

• Clozemaster: Visit our sponsor Clozemaster, the free addictive language app in over 50 languages

Links:

• Conversations by I Will Teach You A Language — We briefly mentioned this product for intermediate learners
• German Uncovered - A Story-Based German Course for Beginners
• Spanish Uncovered (affiliate link) — The OG Spanish course teaching the language through a story.
• What's the Difference? Input vs Intake
• I Will Teach You A Language — Learn more about Olly on his website

Madeline, Interpreter for Survivors of Torture and Trauma

Community Interpreter Madeline Vadkerty gives me an overview of what it is like to interpret for survivors of torture and trauma. This interview was an incredible chance to learn more about interpreting from her, and to hear why helping refugees and toture survivors get their stories heard matters so much.

The people Madeline works with were caught in situations that we take for granted in many other countries: running for political office, being a homosexual, or expressing different opinions to the mainstream.

She says got into her field "for the love of humanity", and shares what you need to know if interpreting intrigues you.

Marianne, Religious education teacher...turned teacher for refugees

When Germany accepted a large number of refugees back in 2015, many communities sprang into action. In this interview, I'm learning more from Marianne Manz, a school teacher who decided to put together a motivated group of volunteers to offer language classes in German.

Marianne works with a range of untrained language teachers - there are some pitfalls for sure and the group needed to find unusual techniques for teaching.

Special Guests: Madeline Vadkerty and Marianne Manz.

Sponsored By:

• Clozemaster: Visit our sponsor Clozemaster, the free addictive language app in over 50 languages

Links:

• The Community Interpreter
• Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma · Causes
• Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma PSA - YouTube
• Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsch | Deutschunterricht für Flüchtlinge entwickeln
• Tips for teaching English to migrants and refugees in the UK | British Council
• Hominum International e.V. - Home
• Wycliffe Associates | Accelerating Bible Translation
• Home | Do-it.org volunteering made easy
• A Few Simple Ideas for New Language Learners — Greg Thomson's approach to self-directed language learning.
• Public Service and Volunteer Opportunities | USAGov
• Creative Language Learning Podcast Episode 43: Wikitongues — Language documentation and preservation charity Wikitongues, interviewed by Lindsay for our show