This is our third interview with teachers from 51Talk. I enjoyed this interview. You can hear the happiness in Ariel’s voice as you read her experience. If you have any questions about teaching with 51Talk, please reach out to us. You can also apply to teach at this link: 51Talk Application

Ariel, You’ve been teaching with 51Talk for the past four months. Can you please share your journey to 51Talk?
Teaching online through 51Talk is a unique experience compared to my time teaching in a classroom setting. It is one-on-one teaching and the students’ ages range anywhere from small child to adult. However, the American Academy is a program designed for child students. I like the fact that I’m contracted through 51Talk, I choose my own schedule, work with the hours I have. The classes are all 25 minutes, jam packed with fun exercises for each student in a chunk of time that revives them with the new information.

What are two things that you enjoy the most about working with 51Talk?
I enjoy the pace of the teaching experience and the students, themselves the most. I have had such a pleasure teaching these students that sign up with 51Talk. My heart melts at the happiness and joy that they feel coming to my class, and it only makes my pursuit to teach that much stronger. On top of that, I am learning so much about the Chinese culture, and have begun to practice phrases that I can repeat to them, to let them know I am curious about their culture just as much as they are about mine.

Can you please share what a day in the life of a 51Talk English teacher may look like from beginning to end?
Beginning of the day is very early for me. I wake up typically at 4:30 to 5:00 AM, so that I can begin teaching “late afternoon to evening” to Chinese students. I live in an area of the US that provides me a 14-hour time difference from Beijing Standard Time, so I’ve become an early worm in order to open teaching slots at peak hours of Chinese students.

I arrange my plethora of puppets, stars, flowers, whiteboard with colorful markers, and download the lesson plans of my students. I prepare music on my phone, thanks to Google searches and Youtube videos. Google is used constantly while I teach, to show real examples of what we’re learning. Overall, it’s great to have so many tools available and I am an opportunist in that regard. It’s a very fun dynamic.

Many of my students are repeat or regular students, though I get new students often as well. It’s a first come first claim design, with the students claiming my open slots in advance. Each student is unique to teach, and I can plan more the more I know them. We teachers write lesson memos for each student, so that we can review their vocabulary from their last lesson also.

If you were to recommend this path for other teachers, what would you tell them?
I recommend it full-force. The training and assistance from 51Talk is excellent, and they give you a lot to go off of before starting. As for the tech portion of the teaching, take it step by step. The support team has been working with the messenger and social media tools used for this company throughout all of the growth, so never forget to ask for help if you need it. Always remember why you are there, what you want to bring to the class, and enjoy the adorable students that will flood your schedule. It’s a happy life.

Can you please share something special about 51Talk with us?
I already feel so dedicated to this company. They give opportunities for new growth often and the for the most part students are excited to learn. The classes themselves have fun topics, some even involve American television shows as topics. There’s something interesting and new for each student to choose, and the teachers get some enriching discussions every day.

You can also apply to teach at this link: 51Talk Application.

To read more interviews with other teachers, please visit the following links:

Teaching from Home and Still making a Difference: Meet Katharine from 51Talk
Passionate about Second Language Acquisition: Meet Inkeri at 51Talk