The meeting at Oxinity follows a structured format, starting with casual greetings and updates before moving into discussions about teaching backgrounds and goals. Newcomers introduce themselves, and there's a focus on the organizational structure, highlighting specialized roles for efficient support. Support and communication are emphasized, with colleagues offering valuable assistance and clear communication channels ensuring quick answers to questions. The teaching approach emphasizes comprehensive coverage of topics and differentiated instruction, fostering effective language usage. Teachers are encouraged to attend workshops for professional development, with flexibility in attendance. Meetings conclude with announcements and gratitude for participation, emphasizing the importance of rest.
Idea Title | Description |
---|---|
Introduction | The conversation starts with greetings and small talk among participants, expressing how their week went. |
Experience and Goals | Participants discuss their teaching experience, goals, and aspirations. They share their backgrounds, including previous careers and education. |
Introductions | New teachers introduce themselves, sharing their teaching backgrounds, reasons for joining, and future aspirations. |
Organizational Structure | The meeting transitions to discussing roles within the organization, emphasizing who to contact for specific tasks such as social media marketing, blogging, design, and general inquiries. |
Support Structure | It's highlighted that each person has a specialized role, allowing for efficient support and guidance within the organization. Participants are encouraged to reach out to the appropriate person for assistance. |
Idea Title | Description |
---|---|
Supportive Work Environment | Georgina provided invaluable support in configuring and formatting a blog, ensuring it was suitable for publishing. There's active support from colleagues like Georgina, Rachel, and Maria, encouraging participation in workshops to understand the platform better. |
Clear Communication Channels | Encouragement to ask questions about activities or complementary works to ensure quick and precise answers, avoiding confusion. Importance of knowing whom to approach for assistance, saving time for both individuals and the team. |
Idea Title | Description |
---|---|
Structured Teaching Approach | Highlighted the structured approach to teaching at Oxinity, emphasizing the importance of addressing topics, vocabulary, and grammar in a comprehensive manner. Contrasted with other teaching experiences where repetition was common. |
Differentiated Instruction | Explained the objective of creating diverse activities to provide students with varied circumstances for using English effectively. Repeated exposure to grammar, syntax, and vocabulary until students consolidate knowledge, facilitated by AI-supported platforms. |
Platform Features and Benefits | Mentioned benefits such as updated activities, a focus on listening and speaking skills, and teaching tailored to individual needs. Also highlighted the supportive atmosphere, teamwork, and interesting meetings as factors contributing to job satisfaction. |
Idea Title | Description |
---|---|
Importance of Attending Complementary Works | Emphasized the importance of attending complementary works to learn about the teaching system and methodology, not just for compensation purposes. Highlighted that attending helps teachers better understand class expectations and improve teaching techniques. |
Learning System Better | Highlighted the benefits of attending complementary works in understanding the teaching system better. Encouraged teachers to seek support from mentors and utilize complementary works to improve teaching skills and comfort level. |
Flexibility in Attendance | Addressed the issue of scheduling conflicts and reassured teachers that attendance is not mandatory every week. Encouraged attendance when teachers have questions or need clarification on system-related matters. |
Announcement and Conclusion | Announced the schedule for upcoming complementary works and thanked attendees for their participation. Reminded teachers of the importance of rest and wished them a pleasant weekend. |
FRIDAY TALK on Education-20240517_103127-Meeting Recording
1:20
Hi.
1:24
Hello there. How are you? Are you good? Yeah, I'm getting you. I'm fine. Thank you.
1:31
Hello. Good morning.
1:34
Hi,
1:36
morning. How are you?
1:40
Morning. Hello. Hello. How are you?
1:44
I'm. I'm. I'm. OK. I'm thank you. Yeah. It's at the end of the close to a week, isn't it?
1:52
Thank you like 10 times
1:56
flying this year. I agree with you.
1:58
Hi, good morning. And Zoe was closing to the end of the week. How was your week, if I may ask? Um, yeah, it was. It was it was OK.
2:12
Not bad. Suppose it's, um, number of different things. Uh, as everyone has. You have this. You have your own
2:20
home life, you have your own things, don't you, that in between you deal with. So I I meant, I meant more professional myself.
2:32
Yeah, they were fine. I I did, I did think as you said, it was more so that I think they're the ones that I did do. I think a lot of people, I don't know whether there's a pattern emerges why people don't come, but there are a few that that didn't happen. But that was OK because I got the complementary works instead.
2:52
Yeah. So you can. So you do get compensated. Ohh Yeah. No, they I don't tend to get them right at the last minute. It happens in.
3:01
So normally, yeah, I get compensated very occasionally. It's at the last minute for me but that's just look I think that could be it's just random
3:11
and did did you did you or or have you noticed or or or or experienced improvement of improvement of students any of your students recurring students
3:25
umm
3:28
maybe maybe one or two. I don't have that many students really, but because I don't have because my, my
3:36
my clicks aren't up. So that's something I'm working on. Although obviously that I think for everyone that's with experience it's not. But without experience it's a hit and miss thing. So you're finding your feet so that. So yeah, I do get clicks, but I don't get as many as I would like at the moment. So I'm not rushed off my feet so to speak, which isn't a problem at the moment, but I want to improve that, you know, clearly. So that's that's my goal as it were.
4:06
Now you got you have a mindset for that that's that's that's half, half the half the distance I think. So fingers crossed and on that on that Um. OK, good. Now good morning everyone.
4:20
Where we are growing in numbers already, which is really nice to see,
4:25
we do have a few new teachers today whom I'd like to introduce. I I I'd like to ask you to introduce yourselves. But but but before that, uh, before that I'd I'd like all the smiley people think about a good joke. Maybe somebody has one and share that with us. I don't at the moment to be honest.
4:47
So I don't know if if that Louis, I, I, I, I really trusted. OK, go ahead.
4:54
4:55
What? Um, why did the Scarecrow get a promotion?
5:02
It gets here. We get promotion. Why did the Scarecrow get a promotion?
5:08
I don't know
5:10
because he was outstanding in his field.
5:19
Good one. Very good. He's outstanding. Yeah. Yeah, I think,
5:24
yeah. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks Louis. Anybody else some something something else to
5:31
to make us smile or laugh?
5:34
OK, so let's get serious. OK, good. Thanks, Louis. Once again, uh, for the for the weekly start. Um, OK, so uh
5:46
few new teachers. So I think we are going to we are going to go, uh in an alphabetical order. But before before asking the first first person a few words about the Friday talks. So Friday talks are meant to serve as a as, as a as a as a place, as a platform, as a as a sport where where we can discuss ideas, we can share thoughts and and we can we can discuss key elements of our
6:16
of our teaching system and organisation and um. And it also serves as a kind of
6:25
place to to get, to get to know each other a little better. Of course, in this digital environment, it's very difficult.
6:34
Originally these Friday talks were held in UH in the
6:40
incurred Numancia, in Barcelona, in the in the Barcelona office and that that that that means that we would gather like half an hour sometimes an hour before and actually after the Friday talk also we would go and grab a coffee together or something similar. So it was really a spot to to to know those people who you don't you you don't see. We don't see each other in every days, right? Like like like normal colleagues do.
7:09
And
7:11
right. So so I do with Having said all this, um, I'd like to to encourage everyone to to
7:20
UH to speak up if you have something to share
7:24
which is related to that, which is related to the to the to the to the work, what work, what we do not, not, not, not not besides that. Right. But but yeah, because this is the, this is really the the, the, the, the, the place and the time weekly where where everyone can listen to your words or those who attend and those who watch the video later. And so so oftentimes there are good results. New things become new things, new ideas.
7:56
You, you. Thoughts. We, we, we,
8:02
we share and then UH sometimes can also implement into our,
8:07
into our organisation, into our teaching approach.
8:10
So, um,
8:13
Lilita, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing your name correctly. I I've seen that she's here. Maybe not anymore.
8:23
Yes. Hi, Lilita. Good morning. How are you today?
8:28
Ohh.
8:30
Yeah, not bad. Not bad. Thanks for asking. Uh. Lilita, welcome to Oxy 90. Would you like to share a few words about yourself?
8:41
Do you have a? Do you have previous uh, teaching experience? Uh, where are you from? And and
8:49
how did you find oxidative perhaps?
8:52
Hello everyone, I'm Lily ties. You're pronouncing my name correctly. I'm from South Africa and I I completed my tipple this year so I'm
9:05
don't have a lot of teaching experience, just from my teaching practise uh no practicals during my training. Um and I am. I have a degree in, uh a bachelor degree and I did English Literature and Psychology and I'm now completing my LLB. But I have got so few modules this year so I decided to try teaching and I found out about Oxinity on the I2I
9:37
Beautiful website and I thought I'd give it a try.
9:43
OK uh, so so you studied English literature and psychology is uh-huh or alright alright and uh, do you feel that? Would you like to stay in education in the in the long run? Not necessarily English, but in general in education.
10:06
Um, I think so. I think I would like to, um, teach English specifically in the long run. Uh. My mother was a teacher and I always wanted to see if I could and learn something about it. So I decided to. I thought I was going to do a PGCE, which is a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, but instead decided to do the tifo.
10:31
Hmm hmm. And and uh as as a as a last thing.
10:37
What do you picture about yourself? Who who would you like to teach more? Kids. Teens. Adults. What do you think? What's more for you would like to teach? I think adults more than the other levels because my
10:55
interest in teaching English is more about, um, providing access to people, uh to for to work, and also just information. And I think because English is such a global language it can facilitate that. So I I feel very clear,
11:12
yes. Yeah, that's a that's a very clear, clear approach and objective. OK, thanks. Thanks, Lilita. Once again, welcome to Anxiety.
11:23
UH,
11:25
Marinetta. I don't know if she's
11:28
she's she's she's she's not here.
11:32
No, no, no. Nicole then uh,
11:39
Nicole Klassen. Good morning.
11:43
Hi, good morning. How are you today?
11:46
I'm good, thanks. And you? Yeah. Yeah. Not bad. I I I I suppose you're also from South Africa.
11:54
Yes, that's correct.
11:56
OK. OK. So, uh, what brought you, what brought you to us?
12:02
And so I was working with a previous company, UH Tefal as well. And yes, due to some circumstances I resigned there. And then, um, I did some research and yeah, I couldn't find anything bad about Oxinity. So just all good things. So, yes, that's why I decided to apply with you. OK, Well, thanks. Thanks. That's, that's, that's good. That's good promotion. I, I, we, I hope we are recording so
12:35
something that we might associate. Something we might want to use for the future. Uh uh, OK, Nico. For for for how long have you been teaching English, if I may ask? It's a year now. I have my more than that. I have my degree in Foundation phase education.
12:54
Um, so yes, I have my four years that I, uh, was a student teacher. I am currently at work um teaching. So I'm a foundation phase educator. And so yes, and I am now two years of being an independent teacher. And then I've been doing the online teaching for a year.
13:18
And which do you like more, online or or in person?
13:23
Um,
13:25
that's
13:27
difficult to answer because there's some benefits to both. Um, but I do enjoy online teaching. I yes, I really enjoy it.
13:36
Hmm. OK, OK. And and and like age, class, what would be your your your,
13:43
um, future choice?
13:46
I enjoy kids to teenagers, but I don't have any troubles. It can be adults. Umm, but too. But like the the majority of your experience is related with the with teaching kids and teenagers. If I if I understand it well, uh-huh. Yeah. OK. All right.
14:07
Super. Nicola, thank you very much. Uh, thank you very much. Um and welcome toxicity. Thank you so much. I actually actually the Monique, I think is uh. Yes. Monica Wideman. Hi. Good morning. I, I'm sorry, but my, my, my alphabet is not working correctly today. So it it was first and and then M So good morning, Monique. UH, could you please tell us a few words about yourself too?
14:37
Good morning and sorry for the echo of this echo. I'm going to have my seizures,
14:43
so I'm also from South Africa.
14:46
Umm, and I've been teaching English for a year and a half now, online and in person. I have my BA Communications degree. I used to be a journalist before I decided to go into marketing there after I got into online English where I also started my own businesses. So I'm a little bit of an entrepreneur and I just like everything about the language. I also teach children on Sundays. Biblical Bible School? Umm, I'm doing my second
15:18
the anthology as well to become a pastoral counsellor. So yeah, um, I'm currently in my second year now,
15:27
but um, you know, that's me and a nutshell.
15:32
Well it's you are a pretty busy person I think.
15:37
OK ohh alright. And um,
15:41
so uh,
15:43
you uh you teach mainly children. If I understand well, or or or young that children and teenagers perhaps. Or do you also teach adults in your in your teaching practise? So I teach children, teenagers and adults. I also tutor as well I do. I've helped adults with their adult metric who hasn't done their adult metric gigs. They go into courses to finalise their metric, which is a grade 12.
16:15
So I do have experience with different age groups, but mainly it is children. I do like working with your grades four to seven, some thinking about doing another degree to get an educational degree for that as well. But you are the teenagers at church. I do teach them biblical or help them with the Bible study. I like working with teenagers because I'm going to go into trauma counselling with them eventually. So then I would like to work with teenagers.
16:45
Mm-hmm.
16:48
Hmm. Alright. And and the the the, the pastoral or Bible study, if I may ask is or is that in English?
17:00
Uh, no. It's actually an Afrikaans. Africans. Yeah. Yeah. OK. OK. All right.
17:09
Super. Monique, thanks. Thanks very much and welcome toxicity as well.
17:15
We have one more person supposedly Sarah, but it's just she's she's she's she's not here, I think Charlene as well. Good. Yeah. Yes. Thank you very much. Yeah. Good morning, Charlene.
17:32
Hi there. Hello. Hi. Hi. How are you today?
17:37
You.
17:38
I think we're all fine now and and warmed up, uh, to hear for about a new uh, a new new teacher. So Charlie, would you like to tell us a few words about yourself? Yeah, sure. And so I had done the TEFL course as well. I qualified
17:57
actually just recently this year, but prior to that I've just done 1 to 1 tutoring and teaching of English and maths to grades five, grade 3 and grade 7. And then I've done a little bit of online teaching with a student in Dubai. But that's like on a private one to one, you know. They provide me with the information that they need, help with it in English and then we would sort of like discuss it and get them acquainted with the subject. I currently have a full time job. I work for an IT
18:31
company, so we focus on software and IT implementation. Would that role. I train adults, so I do training and I do UH presentations and that kind of things for a lot of adults that deal with control rooms and that kind of thing. So that's my scope. Yeah. And and you but you did you teach them it right? Not, not not not English. Well, we have a lot of South Africans that do not speak
19:03
English well. They speak uh Zulu and um sutu and that kind of languages. So you've gotta constantly articulate and pronounce words for them to get it right. So in a sense it's it's sort of training them in English to understand it and to also read it because everything that's based on the software is English. So that's one of the main concepts, making them understand it and pronounce it so that they can give us reports.
19:31
All right. So it's. So it involves English, uh, learning and and teaching. That's not the main goal. But it involves for those for those participants that that are not savvy with English. OK, super shandling. Thanks very much and welcome to anxiety as well.
19:52
Umm,
19:53
good. So I think, I think we we we we haven't missed anyone. Yeah. No, no. OK, good. So welcome everyone. Uh, all the new teachers. Um.
20:07
And let's go and talk a little bit about Oxinity itself. Um,
20:16
firstly, today we are going to UH talk a little bit about roles. UH in our organisational model.
20:27
Um as uh the those teachers who are with us for some time already know and new teachers are um are being supported with with a lot of things because there are a lot of aspects of our of our teaching approach, of our organisation and so on and so on. So it's very important, I think, for everybody to understand, clearly understand.
20:58
Umm
21:00
like who is the best person to answer your question?
21:04
And that depends on the question what you are asking,
21:08
right? So,
21:10
so for example, uh,
21:14
the person, the person who's uh who's UH responsible for or the most savvy in numbers and social, social media marketing, Could you please come to the microphone for a moment? Numbers and social media marketing. So everybody understands who to go to.
21:35
Hi. Yes, Maria. Yes, exactly. So Maria is Maria is the person who you can ask about these questions and and she's she's the person who can, uh, quickly and effectively answer these questions to you. So whenever you have a problem
21:55
about these topics, uh, don't, please don't hesitate to to to ask Maria. OK, good. Now another thing about promotions, right? Another part of the promotions is blogging.
22:08
Actually, we write an and many of you write really beautiful and really nice blocks. Really interesting ones. Engaging ones.
22:16
Now the the person who can help you with
22:21
doing these blogs even better. Could you please come to the microphone and introduce yourself to the community
22:29
login? Hi,
22:31
yes, my name is Georgina
22:34
and amongst blog writing and blog designing and blog optimising and SEO and all that stuff,
22:40
I do other stuff.
22:43
And you do a lot of stuff. Yeah, a lot of stuff. But it's stuff that nobody wants to do, so it doesn't really, you can't really see it.
22:53
And you can find me on teams, and you can find me almost every single Wednesday from 11:00 to 12:00. Not only do we talk about blogs, it's like a free bar.
23:02
So if there's anything you want to talk about, how to optimise copywriting, how do you optimise images? How to communicate visually? How to write ads for your little marketplaces or classified ads?
23:15
UM. How to optimise? UM,
23:19
all your campaigns on social media, I consider Maria to be your coach.
23:24
Uh, like your personalised coach, Uh, of course she knows a lot. But then I always thought, maybe I'll show you how to do it and she will tell you exactly what to do and she will do follow up with you.
23:35
And then I'm always around. I was also part of the Activity Creation Crew team
23:40
pair.
23:41
Uh. I'm also a lover of the business model
23:46
an interesting thing was interesting distinction what you made and I think it's it's worth to worth to listen to that that Maria tells you exactly what to do and you can help them with how to do it.
23:59
It's got quite, quite a quite a difference but an important distinction to understand actually. Uh so yeah. Thank you, Georgina.
24:09
Yeah, Umm. Now when it comes to designs for promotions,
24:15
the person to talk to would be
24:19
please come to the microphone as well for a moment.
24:23
That way.
24:25
Yeah, we do. We do, we do with the loud voice. Uh, yeah, exactly. So that would be Raquel. So if you have something for your blogs, what you need is a picture or as a table or something to set up, you can you can you can reach out to Raquel and she's going to help you to to
24:43
to do it better, to do it correctly. She can also help you with generating AI
24:49
made images and so on and so on. So she's the person to to attend UH when you have questions about about this part of the promoting
25:02
now uh whenever you have any questions feel free to UH to to address Jonathan. He's going to, he's going to write you back very quickly and and and answer your questions as soon as possible.
25:17
Now uh, but uh, jokes on the side. It's very important to understand these these roles and why, because these people, they know what they do the best
25:30
and they can answer your questions quickly, effectively and precisely.
25:36
So it's saving time for these people and saving time for you as well, right? Because you don't need to wait for so long to to to get an answer.
25:45
Uh it's it's it's it's important and believe believe me it's it's important for you as well. You are not just you're not wasting the time of anyone because we we we are here to help all of us but but it's it's it's better to ask the person who really knows the answer for your question. It's it's just like that,
26:08
Zoe. Zoe
26:10
Yeah, I just wanted to add, um, that's exactly what's happened this week. The most interestingly. I was given a blog. Um subject. And um, the writing of it is one thing, but the, you know, the configuration of it, the formatting of it to make it STO. Yeah, proof. And Georgina was invaluable
26:37
only the latter latter end of this week, but was very supportive and very and um engaging me on a daily basis and helped me prep it. So it was Immaculate so and I felt comfortable then and she obviously as a team felt comfortable in it being published. So I think that's you know very very active support at all times
27:02
Immaculate what what what the world really thanks thanks thanks Zoe and and and so so remember also that that if if you have these things to ask and if you want to hear
27:16
want to hear others opinions and you want if you want to see how this works
27:21
live like on the screen
27:24
don't forget to join the don't forget to join the workshop on Wednesdays between 11:00 and 12:00 with with with Georgina is there Rachel is there Maria is there and many others and it's it's a kind of collaborative approach to to come up with come up with new things or you can just simply sit over there and check what others do and how things are how things are done. It's it's it's important because on some on some parts the the the platform might need a little you you might need to understand
27:55
how things work
27:58
uh on on this part, on this particular platform or interface and it will be just quicker for you. You you see, you you you you look at it once, twice, the third time, and it's going to be like a
28:12
umm routine.
28:15
Um, add it to that um. Some of these workshops, uh, might also be recorded and they can be found to be to be watched later, for instance the Friday talk itself.
28:31
Uh, right.
28:35
And then we still have a a a 4th, 4th aspect here. Uh, which is which? Which are the activities and the complementary works. So
28:46
whenever you have a question about activities or complimentary works, however small that is, please don't hesitate to write to me.
28:55
OK, so so your answer, so so your questions can be answered quickly and precisely and effectively
29:05
because last week or the last two weeks we had this kind of confusion I think with a few teachers that I received uh people asking about blogs and then and then others were so. So try to keep this in mind, who to ask when you have a question and it's going to save save time for you and save time for the people
29:28
you work with.
29:32
Sonia is not joining today. Hmm. OK now. Umm good. So this this was something, this was something to to talk about a little bit after the after the introductions. And it's also I think very valuable for the new teachers who are just joining us to to to to understand who can you, who can you go to when you have when you have some trouble. Of course you have your mentors as well who help you join the anxiety and complete the onboarding,
30:00
and they can help you with things as well and overtime. But uh, for the future, perhaps it's it's worth to to keep in mind, uh,
30:11
where to go. It's like, it's like, you know, a building with number doors and you know the door number where you need to go to, to, to
30:20
to get the payroll done, to get this done or to get that done or where the copy machine is and so on and so on.
30:26
OK, good. I'm good. Now um, let's go then and um and talk uh about, uh, another thing which is important to understand better than than we do at the moment. And that is our teaching approach.
30:46
So for the sake of the newcomers, for the new teachers who would like to in a in a few minutes tell Why is Oxinity different, What is the different approach? What we have compared to to others, right here, a few people, I think. I think
31:04
Monique and and and Nicole, uh, they they also they also or they come from a from a a different but English teaching background already. So what would you say?
31:19
What's going to be different,
31:23
UH teaching a toxicity compared to their compared to their previous UH experiences with teaching? What do we do differently? What should they expect to be different?
31:36
Um, is it OK if I go?
31:40
OK, So, yeah. All right, let's let's go for it. Yeah. Yeah. Give it a go. Of course,
31:46
so um, before this, I haven't officially joined like a corporate environment. So normally I would because I have marketing experience, I was advertising my own, you know clients leads and also I do face to face tutoring as well for English teaching. And what I notice is that you guys have a very, very important structure that you guys follow with the topic, the vocabulary, the unit structure and everything and how you guys, so you address everything where a lot of people would kind of repeat
32:19
the same activities. Um. But I think the structure and how you guys tried to change it, you tried to bring in a lot of importance English structure and grammar and work that normal companies wouldn't really think about addressing. Um, that's what I found different.
32:39
Have you have you taught classes with Doximity already, Monique?
32:44
Yes, I have.
32:47
OK. OK, cool. Cool. Thanks. Because uh yeah it's it's in in a in a way it's it's it relates or it it it the the base was said or the the the fundamental difference was was was mentioned here. Why is this difference? What Monique just mentioned about Oxinity. So
33:12
what's the? What's the? What's the? What's the? What's the objective
33:18
of this uh, different approach?
33:22
Why do we create so many activities? Why don't we use the same activity again and again?
33:28
Besides, we don't want to bore our students to death.
33:34
It's to help them put them in different circumstances that English is a very broad category and how you can use it differently and in different
33:45
instances.
33:46
Hmm. OK, OK, yeah, yeah. To to to to check various
33:53
contexts in which uh, particular grammar or vocabulary or semantic field can be applied. Yeah, yeah, very good.
34:04
Why do or or why does the same? Uh, Why does the same? Uh, umm.
34:12
Same structure, the same grammar or the same same vocabulary
34:17
appear in a class. Again,
34:21
why does our system?
34:24
Why does our system do that?
34:28
Star system with the different aspects of English and to help them with it,
34:34
Yes, yes. But they need help. They need help because they because because they Myrna. What do you think about it?
34:43
Is it because they might not have, um, gotten the concept yet?
34:48
Yeah, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So, so
34:54
those those, those parts of of syntax, grammar, semantic fields and other stuff will be covered again and again and again until
35:05
the students
35:07
consolidated the knowledge. And this is, this is the fundamental difference with with our, with our system. Because with the, with the, with the,
35:18
with the AI supported platform, we are able to to to pick those parts of the language that the students still need to practise. So they need to. They don't need to go over entire blocks of grammar again, But we can just we can just precisely choose,
35:40
precisely choose what? What they need, what they need to know.
35:45
And this is a very important difference and very important approach with with with our system. And for this reason, we need to have this amount of activities so that we don't use the same activity again and again and again until a student understands a particular
36:07
grammar structure or or vocabulary or or other stuff.
36:13
So yeah, so this is, this is a really important difference. And this is what you can expect in, uh, what new teachers can expect. Um,
36:21
from uh, teaching at Doximity.
36:26
OK, What else would you tell a new teacher? Imagine. I don't know,
36:35
not, not really new teachers, but all. But all the teachers or new teachers as well. They are
36:41
Millie, Shazi, Mark Josie. Whoever imagined that? Imagine that the friend of friend of yours approaches you.
36:49
That's ohh, I'm teaching English for, or Spanish or German for that matter, right For a couple of years and I would like to join your I would like to join your organisation. What can you tell me about it? What would you tell this this friend of yours who's already teaching? But but what? What should they expect from this this platform? What should they expect from
37:11
teaching
37:13
what? What should they expect from being Oxinity?
37:20
Not much.
37:23
That's a that's a real that's a real pity. OK, OK uh, maybe we can mention the big data or that, you know, the activities that we create, everything's always very updated. Uh, that it that the the game. Uh, the the the fact that you know, we're teaching what you need, not repeating stuff that you already know that that's, you know, that's all done. Yeah. Yeah,
37:53
because focus on listening and speaking, especially focusing on listening and speaking. OK, Catherine, Yeah, yeah, very good, very good. Now, as a teacher, as as teaching practise. Like many of you, you you you had an established teaching practise before, before joining Oxinity.
38:15
What made you stay
38:18
So what was this what was this thing that that that goes better here or what's? What's what's the
38:24
what's the what's the the the thing that that's that that helps us a lot many small. I mean there is a good. There is a good atmosphere the teamwork the support. Hmm. You know that. OK, OK. OK. I mean interesting meetings is not something you find at most companies.
38:46
OK. So you stayed for the Friday talks. OK, alright. Alright. Uh, good Mark, Thanks. But this is, this is actually a really important part and and this is something I heard from, from not only you Mark, but from many of you in private conversations that the atmosphere of the of the of the of the working environment is just nice
39:10
which is, which is uh considering the amount of hours we put into uh amount of hours of our lives which we put
39:19
into work. It's it's pretty important to have A to have a good atmosphere at work right. So it's it's a it's something that that
39:29
it should be mentioned. Um, militia, you wanted to say something?
39:35
Yes, thank you. Good afternoon. Good morning to everyone. And the selling point for me of
39:41
is then the freedom, the flexibility that was important for me and as well as we can contribute to the existing Lesson plan and that is very useful for each and every one of us. We don't have to go and say, hey, fix this, hey, can you do that so we can immediately and fix it. So that was the great major selling point for me. So we all contribute and we all work together as to say the leverage of 100 people is better than the leverage of one person. So that was the biggest.
40:14
Turning point for me. Thank you.
40:17
Pretty cool. Thanks. Thanks.
40:20
It's uh, yeah.
40:23
Nothing to add to that Josie
40:27
and ISA is police structurally freedom. But um, I also really enjoy the teaching system because I think when you start you know, it can feel like quite a lot to try and fit in three activities. But then when you get used to that system, it just makes the lesson so much more interesting for me, as well as the teachers as well, the teachers as the students.
40:50
But I really enjoy the challenge now of being able to try and fit in all of these different aspects. And I feel like, you know, the students never sit there being bored. They're always really engaged for the whole lesson. Umm,
41:02
Hmm. OK. Interesting. Interesting point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Engagement with the, with the lesson and engagement with work. That's,
41:11
that's, um,
41:13
that's something very important. And I think our system, UH, provides us with, with, with the necessary tools to to to be engaged with, with our, with our work and with our clients or students.
41:31
What do you do when you see that, uh, a student is not
41:36
not paying attention or or getting bored or or
41:42
just reluctant to answer?
41:44
What can we do with these people? Should we do anything with these students?
41:52
Malaysia, you're raising? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I just changed the topic and asked him something totally different to grab the attention, make a joke,
42:05
distracting just to capture the attention again. That's what I usually do,
42:10
yeah. Brilliant. Brilliant. If I may ask. Uh,
42:16
does it happen to you that you lose the engagement with the class or with the students?
42:24
And no, it's not me. It's, well, in my point of view, it's not me. It could be because they don't understand,
42:32
so they cannot yell or understand what I'm trying to sell then then they lose their interest. So then I tried to grab the attention again.
42:42
Do you like apples and like, why apples? So that's the conversation attention going again? Yes. Hmm. Can we afford to in your, in your, in your consideration? Can we afford, as teachers to to feel disengaged with the class and with the student? Can we afford to do that?
43:07
Unfortunately not avoidable
43:09
happens as we as teachers don't always know the students level, the level of comprehension, the level of vocabulary they have. So it's not avoidable, but we can try to minimise it
43:22
because we have to try to, as I always say, try to learn and read the nonverbal language. How the student is engaging at the time in the lesson? Yes,
43:36
let me let me let me stress on this part a little bit because I maybe you misunderstood, misunderstood. My question is like we as teachers
43:47
can we can can, can we can, Can we be disengaged with the class, not the students, but we teachers? Can we allow ourselves to get bored in class? To put it in other words,
44:01
no,
44:02
no, We must keep it interesting at all times. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's that's that's something that's something is very important to to remind ourselves I think about because
44:18
uh
44:20
I could because
44:25
we are we are we are we are as as a bottom line we we are providing a service
44:33
and we are getting paid for that service what we what we provide. So it's it's it's
44:41
you You can throw eggs you can't but you can throw the excess like the exit the the camera. But so The thing is that maybe it's not the not not the best comparison but imagine yourself walking into a restaurant and sitting at a table where this where the waiters are like yeah. What? Yeah. Yeah. Just you're OK we are what you know like it's it's it's we are we are we are providing something to them what they pay for
45:11
and by the way they pay for their own personal development. So let's not forget that we are actually educating all right. Maybe we are not not at an academic level but we are helping people to become better and for many people this is a kind of stepping stone what will change their lives. So it's really important that that the the what what we do we take it seriously even even though even though there is a student who who seems to
45:43
uh to to be uninterested.
45:48
We need to try this is this is this is part of the job and and and and it's it's really important that we remember this.
45:56
I think
45:57
Catherine please go ahead.
46:00
Well most of the lessons I would say are are 30 minutes long. So they're rapidly paced. So there isn't actually and there's more than enough materials and loads of questions to ask. So I mean the the fact is it's it's a very engaging 30 minutes all the time.
46:17
I think from my my perspective,
46:21
yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, all right. It's still, if I if I may be so picky, 30 minutes can seem very long if you're sitting with the student who does not want to be there. Right. So it it, it might might be, might be like tedious, but but the students can't notice that. That's very important.
46:44
They cannot cannot notice that because because we are all humans and we we remember and the next time when you will be the teacher
46:54
they they will be ohh no this guy again come on it's like you know so it's it's it's it's not good it's not for yours for for your sake as well but for the for the communities communities sake and let's not forget another important thing and and and and Nico just a moment and and I would like to hear what you want to say. Let's not forget that oftentimes
47:19
we are teaching the clients
47:22
of another teacher.
47:24
So actually what we do affect a colleague. The quality of work, what we provide and the quality of service we provide affects
47:34
another partner
47:36
and it's important to remember
47:39
because because you would expect the other teachers
47:43
take good care of your clients too, I suppose. I think we can say that again, Nicole, you wanted to add something. Sorry,
47:55
ohh yes, sorry. You might hear the kids in the background.
48:00
Well, what I wanted to say was, umm, when I first joined, Um, yes.
48:07
And when I heard the lessons were only 30 minutes long and only 30 minutes because the previous company that I worked with, we had an hour and a half lesson
48:19
and it wasn't as engaging as this. Um, you know, they would, I would explain PowerPoints, they would go off and do an activity for like 10 minutes. We would get back and discuss it. So
48:33
yes, it's Um. I'm very excited for this journey ahead because of how engaging and how interactive opportunity is with their students.
48:43
So I just wanted to say that
48:46
thanks, thanks Nicole. And for you it it, I think for you it is going to be a a a big difference from from 1 1/2 from 1 1/2 hours to 30 minutes definitely that's going to be a high pace. So it's going to be like like like this sometimes and and and for for you for you the the, the challenge will will be the management of those 30 minutes to to have to have that that bit of grammar that bit of vocabulary, that bit of
49:18
of pronunciation and then a topic to be to be fit in the class. But I think you're going to be well, OK. Thanks Nico. Really, really, really, really Thanks.
49:29
Wow.
49:31
OK. Now
49:34
um,
49:36
I wanted to talk about activities, but I think in the 12 minutes what we have is going to be a little difficult to to, to, to suppress into. So
49:48
click on if no Jonathan, you want to add something then please, please go ahead. So let let me help you with this. 12 minutes.
49:57
So, um, what I was thinking, is that OK, if you focus on 30 minutes class, OK, It is important for teachers to realise that we're not gonna be teaching English in 30 minutes, OK? Not even in an hour or maybe 2 hours a week, OK, maybe we would need like maybe, I don't know, 80 hours a week to to make our students learn. So how do we do that and why we go for 30 minutes? Right. So the reason we are going for 30 minutes is because we are not kind of like the teachers
50:29
that are gonna teach
50:31
our students, but we are going to give tools so they will learn. OK. So it is very important for your students to understand that the more they phase English or the more their practise and listen and stuff, that's the way they're gonna be learning, OK? So they have to use us as
50:54
an accelerator, right? So everything that they would need to go and start building their own learning OK that's what we have to provide
51:04
so and and that role it is so important because in the traditional way of teaching probably languages it's meant to be the more hours you are with the teacher the better results you're gonna get and that's not true. You can spend like lot of hours with the teacher doing filling the gaps and you're not going to get anything out of it right. So the more that
51:28
you need to go and express yourself, the the, the, the. The more you're gonna advance, the more you're gonna learn, right? So I wanted only to say this, that you have to think about the role of a teacher here in anxiety. Not the person that would get all the content that a student needs. But the person that will provide with the tools so they can learn faster.
51:55
Does it help? Gotta go. Yes a lot. A lot because I I actually I kind of lost my flow because the agenda I put down as a little broken and but thanks because this goes back to the to the point what we were we were talking about
52:10
uh the in the beginning, right. So what is the difference between Oxinity and other and other other academies and other platforms? And what Jonathan said is a very important difference is that we accelerate the learning.
52:28
It's it we students, students should, should, should be aware and we should make our students aware better. Have said that that the the learning, the the the the majority of the learning, it happens outside of the class. And that's why that's why Oxinity is their best choice. Because you don't. They don't need to pay for those minutes or hours of of learning what they can do themselves.
52:59
They can read themselves at home, they can listen, they can listen to podcasts, they can watch
53:05
UM series or videos or whatever, with or without subtitles, right? So there are a plethora of options to to
53:16
to improve their language skills,
53:20
but there are certain things that they can't do alone. And that's where that's where anxiety and that's where the anxiety teachers and that's where the anxiety classes come
53:31
to the spotlight in the sense of
53:34
we are focusing on the things which we noticed they don't understand and they are not able to solve themselves.
53:42
Our system also enables our students like the game
53:48
mentioned by someone in the beginning, I can't remember, but so on our platform they can practise vocabulary. On our platform, they can preview and they can review the content of the classes, which will help them a great deal to understand or cover those little, or clear out those little doubts that they might have at the end of a lesson or or or in the evening when they don't remember what the lesson was about.
54:17
And now comes another other important thing
54:21
is the feedback what we give to students.
54:25
We talked about this lately,
54:29
the feedback to students.
54:32
So they can, they can check the material before the class, they can check the material after the class.
54:39
And how can we best remind them
54:42
what we covered in the class, what we did in the Class,
54:48
A very important part of
54:51
of accessibility
54:53
to China. Your microphone is off.
54:56
Yeah. I said general appraisal.
54:58
Was that what we're looking for?
55:00
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. General appraisal. Uh, what do you put in your general appraisal? Or how do you write your general appraisal?
55:10
I copy and paste what's in the chat box. I write Alexis. I format it.
55:16
Uh, I write. Watch out or look if there's some things that were a bit like travel trip or today
55:25
the student was confusing customs and costumes so that's like thing and then have a corrections which is for the fluency. Sometimes I send them real material because
55:38
that's what they're going to be, should be exposed to anyways, and that's
55:42
the real world. So sometimes I send them videos and songs, sometimes very stupid. Yesterday there was a quick question that said are we strangers in the night? So I sent this the song Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra.
55:56
I just do things like that.
55:59
I send them podcast. I send them YouTube videos. I sometimes I recommend series.
56:04
Um, sometimes I even in the feedback I use
56:09
part of the target language when I write. Not only did you do a great cross, but we had fun, so I integrate that
56:17
and uh, sometimes there's a lot of collections, sometimes there are no corrections because they're doing fine. So it shows. You said a few weeks ago, just a little message encouraging them and depending on how I feel and there's one class I said, hey guys, no corrections, But you know what? Here are 5 songs from my top five favourite bands
56:38
and um, since I tend to say that I'm American, although I'm not, but that's the music that I love so I will send them uh songs from the 60s and 70s of American pop culture. So I would send them something or I always try to, but I think that sending a real material is much more important than anything else. Or sometimes I find videos related to what we saw in the class. I don't know.
57:03
Remember this one time it was this activity about dogs. I think it was dogs that are honoured in Afghanistan or something. So I found a video that spoke about that
57:15
and we talk about travelling sometimes they send the video Best Cities to Visit in 2024. So I always send them something that has to do with the class because I, you know, they're not going to learn English.
57:28
Coming to have 30 minute classes twice a week, They're not. They're gonna learn English the more they listen to it. And kindness is something that is out out there. It's not in the class, it's out there. So the more they get used to listening or working with English outside the class, the better. So the best way to do that is by having them listen or I I hardly ever send them
57:51
blog posts, uh, of ours or of any sort. It's always interesting because that's what I'm used to. And I should. That's what I'm used to doing.
58:00
And uh, I never send them grammar stuff. For example, I know this great grammar blogs, but I'd rather they have fun and enjoy listening to songs or thinking about the lyrics and stuff like that.
58:11
But that's the great thing. They're going to class to another teacher. And maybe there's another teacher who do that, but it's not my style. But that's how I
58:18
to the general appraisal. Hmm. Yeah. Well, it's you. You do you do feel, uh, feel it's up quite well, I think with with with with relevant content. So not sending blocks from our from our own blog. Perhaps it's not it's not something that they they miss in this case. But it's an opportunity or it's a it's a possibility. It's an option which which is worth which is worth mentioning
58:50
because uh because our blog lately is uh is starting to look uh organised in the in the sense of of. More and more and more grammar can be found on the blog, right? So actually
59:08
it's starts to become, um starts to become a place where students can not only read interesting articles, but they can also directly find help
59:24
in certain, uh fields of grammar
59:27
questions for which they might need answers. They can find it on our blog.
59:34
OK, good. Um, so let's not forget this, um, general appraisal
59:40
message.
59:42
If you don't send an, if, you don't send it at the end of the class, because you have three classes in a row or four classes in a row. I think that's fine. Just don't forget to send it before you finish the day. That's important because the students expect it
59:57
from from us and and you believe it or not, students do complain when they don't receive the e-mail from the teachers. So it's important that we that we do.
1:00:12
Besides, besides, I think it's kind of a normal expectation to have feedback from from our teacher. It's also something we tell them in our business proposal.
1:00:25
So by joining Oxinity they they do expect,
1:00:30
they do expect receiving these these emails or appraisals, general appraisals,
1:00:39
right? Uh,
1:00:42
headphones. Please don't forget to use headphones or earphones when you go into the classes, OK? Because
1:00:50
we know that many students do not do not use them and it's
1:00:54
really annoying and it's it's a it's a pain in the neck, but they are the paying clients and we are the provider. So we need to have these things ready and if they not we can ask them 100 times or a or 1000 times
1:01:09
and we can mute the microphone or we can ask them to mute the microphone when they when they don't speak what we can't do that with them. So it's very important that we are in a place which which is suitable for a class,
1:01:25
preferably without an echo and we wear micro, Well, we wear headsets, headphones, earphones or something that that that makes us, uh, clearly audible. Very important.
1:01:41
OK, now um
1:01:45
in the
1:01:47
what? What are you saying? Georgina, background,
1:01:52
emotions, background. I mentioned bench and background. Yeah, mentioned background. Yeah, OK, sorry. So yeah. So The thing is that that yeah, the background is is what what I meant with the with the suitable place. So, so if, if, if, if possible, if you need to, if you need to sit at the kitchen table, try to sit in a way that
1:02:14
your partner is not behind you. Cooking
1:02:18
kind kind of thing, thing, things like this. Obviously sometimes you don't have an option and I think we can all respect that. Just just try to pay attention to these these things because all these little little bits add to the to the quality of the class and therefore the progress of the students.
1:02:38
Because because because then the students will not pay attention to you. They will look at the the vapour, they will try to guess what's cooking. They will get hungry and so on and so on. We are all humans and and it's it's just like that
1:02:56
I'm in school and I also don't like when my teachers when my teachers connect from home and then then the the girlfriend is forward folding the clothes or their boyfriend is cooking or something because it it just I I lose attention so it's it's kind of like that
1:03:13
um OK good um so uh as closing as closing rounds um. In the end I'm happy that we didn't speak about activities today at all because maybe you are already or or or bored about always talking about activities. We will though because we need to. But these were really important questions what we addressed today and I'm
1:03:39
very happy and I hope all of you that are new teachers had
1:03:45
quite a few things to say about about about our organisation and about our teaching approach which is, which is really nice because it means that
1:03:55
they engage with with with Oxinity and that's I think it's it's it's a good thing.
1:04:02
1:04:05
Before I forget to mention, UH,
1:04:09
this week on the on Wednesday in the complementary works webinar, there was no attendee
1:04:17
UH, which is a little alarming. Maybe all of you know everything about about the Complementary works,
1:04:24
but uh,
1:04:26
when you have questions, even if you come for 5 minutes or 10 minutes, it's it's better to come and and do things together because we all learn from each other. And regarding the next week, the next week there will be
1:04:42
workshop Complementary Works workshop only on Wednesday. On Thursday 11, there will be no workshop. So if you have questions about complementary works for the next week, please make sure that you attend on Wednesday between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. Georgina, you want to add something?
1:05:05
Yeah, I just wanted to add that. Those complementary works,
1:05:09
They're not only useful
1:05:11
to create the complementary works and to get compensated, but the more you work on those, the more you understand what is expected from you in the class and the more you understand how to make that fit in the 10 minutes and the more you understand how that has to be done and made. So
1:05:29
I wouldn't only go there just because I have a complimentary work, I would go there to understand how to teach better with the system and the methodology. For example, a lot of people freak out when we say ohh 10, uh three activities and 30 minute class
1:05:44
there You will understand why and how for example. Or we say OK, we gotta learn where to speed up the pace or slow down the pace or we gotta learn um maybe what to avoid, that's where you learn it. So there was one point, sorry, gotta go from the beginning and we said OK, where do you go to, Who to go to for this, this, this, this. But who to go to regarding the teaching system, how to teach? Of course your mentors, Josie and myself, that's what we teach you. But of course, Terrago also does that.
1:06:14
And if there's any problem with teaching,
1:06:17
we should also know that you've got people to go to
1:06:21
and the complementary works have that function as well. Like when you understand why the material is done a certain way, how material helps you,
1:06:31
how the material should be transmitted to the student, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You will learn how to teach way better. You feel more comfortable. You will feel, you know, it's it's for you.
1:06:41
Yeah. Thanks, Georgina. Very important. Yeah,
1:06:46
learning, learning system. Better term or you wanted to say something too?
1:06:51
Yes. Uh, if I have classes at that time on Wednesday, then it's not possible.
1:06:57
Yeah, yeah, OK, fair enough. That's why we have, that's why we have two. That's why we have two workshops. Uh, a week. I just thought that I will mention that it was a kind of, you know, like not even one teacher is like, OK, OK, maybe everyone was so busy and we had so many classes at the same time that that no one had the opportunity to join. But
1:07:21
yeah, of course if you have classes you can't and. And by the way it also needs to be mentioned I think for the fairness. It is not expected from you to come every week, really not. But when you have questions. So when you think that OK, I don't understand something about the system or I or I I have a complementary work which I don't understand better to come better to check in and and
1:07:46
and UH and and really UH what Georgina mentioned is that we learn a lot from each other. We we nearly every week we find one or two new ways to approach things and then we try to implement those, of course both to creating or correcting their activities and both to the the the teaching system.
1:08:10
Good. So
1:08:13
6 minutes past. Sorry for keeping you here for so long and thanks everyone for the meaningful comments. I think it was a really nice Friday talk again and I wish all of you a nice weekend. Rest well and see you.
1:08:29
No, no. See you in two weeks time. Sorry. Next week, next week uh, there will be someone else. Uh hosting and and and and moderating the Friday talks and we meet again in two weeks time. So thanks very much for being here and I wish you a pleasant afternoon
1:08:47
by everybody. Thank you. Bye, bye. Thank you. Thank you.
1:08:52
Bye.