How to teach English on Zoom?

Features of Zoom

First of all, it is worth noting the quality connection and the simplicity of the interface. Anyone who knows how to use modern gadgets will be able to master the functions of the platform. Preparing for your first English lesson may take a little longer than usual, but once you get used to the new possibilities, you will realize that it was worth it. The undoubted advantage is the affordability of Zoom. For example, if you are teaching one-to-one classes and are not yet ready to invest material resources, then you can organize conferences for your students at any time, with the only limit of 40 minutes. Savvy teachers have long gotten used to this condition, so they warn their students in advance that in a minute they will need to reconnect. Group lessons are subject to a fee. It includes unlimited duration of conferences with up to 100 participants. The monthly fee for such a set of actions costs about $15. For more details, we recommend visiting the official Zoom. These conditions are used by modern online English schools.

The teacher as the organizer of the conference has a number of powers that help maintain discipline in the classroom. Turning the participant's microphone on and off is just one of them. And in order for each student to be able to speak out, there are emoticons such as a raised hand, joy, sadness, and the like. Thus, the teacher will be able to track the general mood of the class and not leave any student unnoticed.

The built-in online chat will also contribute to the well-coordinated work of the teacher. After all, there is an opportunity to send the guys links to materials, as well as write separate messages to a specific student. Thanks to the interactive whiteboard, the need to have a white board behind is eliminated, because the teacher will be able to write in real time.

Learning a foreign language should be interesting, and by sharing the screen, it will also become interactive. The teacher will be able to show the necessary tabs or other materials to his students, and, if necessary, also transfer mouse control. This function will remind students of video games and bring pleasure to the learning process. Another way to add interest to the class is to allow students to choose a virtual background for the class. Then some students will be able to study against the backdrop of a sunny beach, while others with spaceships behind.

It is worth mentioning that the screen sharing feature allows you to share audio and video with students, which makes listening tasks even more fun. Monitoring progress is easy with lesson recording. Thus, you can always find a record of the very first and last class and show the student his dynamics in learning. Online teaching of large classes or even groups can be difficult for those who are unaware of Zoom breakout rooms They allow you to divide students into mini-groups or pairs in separate online rooms with the ability to enter and comment.

Advantages

If you have already used Skype or other analogues for online meetings, you will be able to appreciate the huge set of free functions Zoom, which has no analogues yet and is suitable for teaching English to students of any age.

Undeniable advantages:

• Extensions for different browsers, with which you can log in with one click.
• Separate application for use on a tablet or phone.
• Comfortable individual and group training at a convenient time and place.
• Lack of material and time costs for travel and office rent.
• The opportunity to make classes unique and memorable.

However, an unbiased attitude includes mentioning some of the disadvantages of this system.

Flaws

Fortunately or unfortunately, but many people remain unchanged in their opinion that face-to-face classes are more effective than online ones. Such statements are usually supported by the fact that students are hard to hear and see, or there is no sense of presence in the lesson.

Such disadvantages include:

• Lack of any gadget and stable internet, which makes it difficult to study in rural areas.
• No free rate for group lessons.
• It is not possible to record lessons for free on any device other than a laptop. Which can be inconvenient for teachers who like to travel light.
• Difficulty adapting to the platform.

Introducing something new always requires patience and time in return. Even preparing a new exercise can take the teacher more time than he planned. However, without innovations, the teaching of English would still be conducted only by textbooks.

How to conduct an English lesson on Zoom?

To organize an online lesson using the Zoom service, an English teacher needs to register in the system. For convenience, it is better to download the application and place it on your desktop. The comfort of students in the classroom is a priority, as well as a guarantee that everything planned will go according to plan. To do this, we recommend writing a small entry instruction for your students. As we said earlier, they don’t have to register, just follow the link from the teacher, enter your username and password. However, for those who like to study from phones and tablets, installing the application will be a necessity. If you do not want the guys to get confused in a large number of links, then use the only one to enter the conference with you. To do this, you just need to copy the invitation link in the open application in the tab with your personal identifier ( PMI ). Since the host of the video call has certain powers, which we mentioned earlier, you can control group members, as well as their presence in the lesson, using the waiting room. To enable this option, click the "change" option next to the ID in the "Conferences" tab. Thus, if a student wants to enter the lesson early, and you have not finished with the previous group, you can safely complete the necessary tasks, and only then allow the student to enter the virtual classroom.

When logging in, be sure to make sure that your microphone and video camera are turned on using the corresponding buttons on the left of the bottom toolbar. The next tab "participants" will help you control the microphones of the participants in the conversation. And "reactions" and "chat" will make it easier to encourage and coordinate students. We recommend that you practice conducting introductory lessons in Zoom. So you can immediately show a potential student what awaits him in the classroom, provide your support, and demonstrate non-standard and exciting teaching. First of all, such a lesson will be needed to build a clear training program and determine the level of language proficiency. And to figure out suitable online activities for different ages, we recommend that you read our article on this topic.

How much do online classes via Zoom cost?

Over the past few years, teaching English online has become so popular and in demand that it allows you to have a constant flow of students and control your own income. This is a convenient way for self-employed educators to be independent of online school materials or their regulations. You will be able to build the learning process at a comfortable pace for yourself and your students, as well as change the schedule as needed. If you think that online classes should cost less than face-to-face classes, then you are wrong. Sometimes preparing for such lessons takes more than 5 hours a week. Much depends on two factors: the material and your ability to present it interestingly. Let's assume that you have a ready-made lesson plan on the topic, including all the necessary materials. Your task is to correctly use the functions of the system so that students can not only open brackets in grammar exercises, but use technical capabilities. For kids, this will be a fun activity, and adults will help to stay focused on the process. The pricing of your online classes depends on many factors: work experience, competence, confidence in using the platform and your own time costs. So the prices for such classes can vary from 300-2500 rubles for 60 minutes with Russian-speaking teachers. Native speakers are not as resourceful in using digital assistants, so you can safely use this as a bright differentiator among other teachers. Native speakers enjoy modest Zoom functionality and prefer to stick to offline methods.However, lessons with them can cost 500-3000 rubles per hour.

Where can you teach online?

Most English language schools provide an opportunity to study and work on ready-made materials for the lesson. Since the creation of a video communication platform is relatively expensive, as a result, not all online institutions can afford it. Therefore, educators often work using Zoom. Given the technological progress, this site is always a fallback for classes. Therefore, the practice of working on it is necessary for every English teacher.

You can work using ready-made school materials if you do not want to waste your efforts and resources on creating author's lessons. You will find job offers in the Russian-speaking segment at SkyEng, Englex and EnglishDom. Such schools also provide interactive tasks for greater student involvement.

If you are looking for opportunities to gain international teaching experience, then we recommend that you pay attention to Italki or Lingoda. Their English courses have proven themselves all over the world. And since many teachers there still use Skype , you can stand out with your knowledge and attract more students.

You can teach on your own without the support of third parties, using Zoom and your own work. But be prepared for the fact that you will have to take on advertising and organizational responsibilities.

Your choice will depend on your confidence in teaching and using online resources. To better understand what working conditions await you online, we have prepared a detailed analysis of various online schools and platforms here.

Conclusion

As you can see, using the Zoom will help you stand out in the job market and make your English courses unique. Having mastered this service, you will help your students overcome the language barrier. Even the most shy will be able to turn off the cameras and start chatting. Thanks to a huge set of functions, the teacher will be able to choose a convenient work schedule for himself, take important notes during class, and even help students with homework. Of course, in order to masterfully use such technical equipment, you need to perfectly understand the goals of the lesson, and only then try to embellish it with interactive additions. You need to clearly understand which tasks are suitable for kids, and which for adult students or "teenagers". An experienced teacher will be able to modify even face-to-face activities for use in a virtual classroom. The online TEFL/TESOL course for 150 and 250 hours has an additional section on how to teach remotely with the necessary links to resources. Knowing how to adapt offline programs to a remote format will greatly facilitate your start in online teaching.

Take the opportunity to take the course with a 50% discount. Go to the main page of TEFL/TESOL website for more details. We hope this article has answered your questions about Zoom teaching. If you have any questions, write them in the comments below, and we will be happy to answer them.