FAQs

What is your experience as an English teacher?

I am a native-English speaking teacher from the state of Iowa in the U.S.  I got a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in 2013 in Linguistics with an emphasis in ESL (English as a Second Language) and a second major in Spanish language and literature.  I taught English at an elementary school in Daegu, South Korea for a year and a half.  When I returned to the U.S. I began working for an American online English-teaching teaching company, instructing to Chinese students of all ages and levels, as well as recruiting, hiring and training teachers. After a couple of years, in 2017, I began teaching and consulting independently so that I could continue teaching students long-term weekly lessons with a more flexible, customized approach, which allows me to really see their improvement over time. It also has given me the opportunity to continue expanding my skills through my linguistic advisory and copyediting work.

What accent do you have? 

I was born and grew up in Iowa City, Iowa which is an urban area located in the Midwest region of the U.S.  I have a standard American accent, as Iowa and many of its surrounding states are widely known to have a populace that speaks a standard American accent, particularly in cities.

What curriculum do you use?

For Adults and Teens:  I use a curriculum platform called Off2Class which has a very wide array of well-designed, well-organized lessons for all skills and levels, including the alphabet, phonics, grammar, speaking, listening, IELTS and TOEFL preparation, and vocational and business English.  I also use ESL Library, which is a lesson resource which is great for improving all skills, and is especially good for topical lessons ranging from practical English and basic conversational skills for a variety of topics to current events, history, science and cultural lessons.

For Kids: ESL Library is a collection of vocabulary, phonics, grammar, speaking, reading and topical lessons with a very strong library of fun materials designed for young students and beginners of English.

For all students, I take into account unique interests, book preferences, and learning styles when selecting supplementary materials.  I subscribe to the philosophy that all learners are different, and it’s important to be flexible enough to find and use good quality resources that are going to inspire and motivate clients to learn English in their own way.

What software do you use to conduct lessons?

I use Zoom video conferencing software, because the screen sharing, editing and writing functions make it the best option for conducting educational demonstrations and optimizing interactivity with the student in a digital classroom.  It is easy to download and join a video conference either through a personal meeting number or a meeting link.  At the start of each session, I will send you a meeting number on WeChat, Skype, or in an email

To find out more about Zoom go to Zoom.us or Zoom.cn

How do I pay for lessons?

If you are scheduling a resume consultancy or interview preparation, pronunciation diagnostic, or feedback on a writing project, you can pay for a one-time service on the Acuity Scheduling system.  If needed, I can also invoice you myself through Paypal.

If you have decided, following your free trial lessons, to begin regular weekly or bi-weekly lessons, you will receive a monthly invoice from me powered by Paypal, which is one of the most widely used payment platforms in the U.S. and is very secure.  You cay pay through Paypal easily, as it will be sent to the email address you will have designated me to use in your intake questionnaire.

Do you only offer lessons to Chinese students?

No, of course not!  Since the vast majority of my clients are Chinese, my open schedule is based around what is typically convenient for those students.  However, if you live in another time zone and you do not see a free time slot that works for you, please send me a message here so we can discuss setting up a time that will work.  I do have other work obligations throughout the day, but a flexible schedule makes it very possible that we can find a time that works for you!

What if there are technology or internet connectivity issues, and I need to cancel the lesson?

No problem!  If 10 minute or more of a 25-minute lesson or 20 minutes or more of a 50-minute lesson are significantly disrupted due to the internet connection or technology failings on my side, the full cost of the lesson will be deducted on your next invoice.

If the issue is found to be due to faulty technology or software settings on the part of the client, there will be no refund or deduction.

If something comes up in my schedule, how far in advance do I need to cancel the lesson?

More than 24 hours’ notice of cancellation: Things come up!  I understand!  If you know in advance that you will need to cancel a lesson, please let me know as soon as possible and I will take you off the schedule for that day or work out a day to reschedule the lesson.  If you need to cancel a lesson, and you give me at least 24 hours’ notice, I will refund the full cost of the lesson on your next monthly invoice.

Less than 24 hours but more than 8 hours’ notice of cancellation: Sometimes kids get sick, and things come up so it’s hard to give 24 hours’ notice.  Again, I understand! Life is unpredictable. If you give me notice with less than 24 hours, but more than 8 hours’ notice, I will refund half the cost of the lesson.  T

Less than 8 hours’ notice of cancellation: Any cancellation made less than 8 hours’ in advance will not receive a refund.

How will I receive updates on lesson progress?

Following each lesson or consultation, you will receive a detailed lesson report via email, which includes the language worked on in the lesson, new words and phrases learned or discussed, pronunciation corrections, an account of the activities completed and their success, as well as the goals and suggested methods for the next lesson, and/or tasks to complete before the next lesson, if relevant.

Where should I send my resume or writing project for correction before my session?

You can send any relevant materials for your resume, interview preparation, or other writing projects to sayitwellenglish@gmail.com.  Make sure you include the student’s name, his or her preferred English name (if any), and indicate the date and time of your appointment with me.

What can I expect in my free trial lesson and follow-up?

Before and During the Trial Lesson

Download Zoom and make sure you have a quiet room with no distractions to conduct the lesson.  Test your audio and video settings to make sure you have

A free trial lesson is a 25-minute session during which I interview the student/s, introduce myself, engage them in a few activities that both demonstrate what a typical lesson with me could look like and also help me to understand the English levels of each student.  In a trial lesson I observe their speaking, reading, vocabulary, phonics awareness, and look for any outstanding pronunciation problems, the grammar they are able to use, and may also look at their ability to identify and write the letters of the alphabet.

A trial lesson is also an opportunity for the client to ask questions, discuss their goals and preferences for lessons, and for me to showcase the materials I plan to use on Off2Class or ESL Library, and discuss which placement tests I suggest the student take to get a measured assessment of their skill level.

After the Trial lesson

If a client expresses an interest in focusing on writing composition and prescriptive norms as a key skill they would like to improve on, after the trial lesson, I will ask for short writing sample so that I can assess their written language ability and compare the language demonstrated in the trial lesson.

Following a trial lesson, I will send you a report via email with my analysis of the student/s listening, speaking, reading and pronunciation levels, including their observable strengths and weaknesses and a suggested plan of action and methods for improvement.

Can you use a different curriculum or book series for my or my child’s lessons?

The simple answer is “no”, unless you have researched the curriculum and decided it suits your purposes best and are prepared to pay for a digital copy and a teacher’s guide for me to use to prepare lessons.  You must make sure it is in a downloadable or ebook format and is easily accessible to someone who does not speak Mandarin.

While, I discourage clients and parents from requesting to use a curriculum other than Off2Class and ESL Library (which I have already researched and vetted as a quality resource) I do encourage clients and parents to share free, easy-to-access online resources or media which they believe is relevant to their course of study or interests, if they would like to. However this is not required.

Unfortunately, the time it takes to implement use of an entirely separate curriculum for each client is not an effective way for me to teach.  It takes a lot of time to become familiar with a new course, and then even more to lesson plan for it, find supplementary materials, and often figure out how make it work well for a virtual classroom, not to mention the monetary cost.