Eurekly Blog

The purpose of e-learning E-learning, i.e. the process of learning in an online setting, serves the purpose of allowing people to further their academic qualifications in a flexible way that does not involve face-to-face teaching. E-learning democratizes education, permitting students from different locations and socioeconomic backgrounds and settings to access lessons and trainings that would otherwise be out of reach. Using e-learning software, teachers can now effectively teach their students. Schools can also benefit from school management software in their transition to computerized education due to the COVID-19… Read more

Online tutoring is trendy! Given the benefits that are associated with online tutoring, it is not surprising that more and more people are turning to it for their learning and trying to find the best online tutor possible! Hiring an online tutor for the subject you want to learn is a great idea because: It allows you to select from a worldwide pool of well-qualified teachers. It is cost-effective and works out cheaper than hiring a face-to-face tutor. In these stressful times, it offers a safe solution that does not require personal… Read more

The effects of Coronavirus on families with kids With schools closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, parents everywhere are facing a new set of challenges as they find themselves juggling work obligations and overseeing their kids’ e-learning. The worldwide lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the virus is redefining people’s routines and lifestyles. Unable to receive support from their network of family, friends, and teachers, parents are taking time off work to help their increasingly agitated and anxious kids with… Read more

The Effects of Coronavirus on Education The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on education worldwide. Since March 2020, closures of schools, universities, and colleges in an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus have affected over 90 percent of the world’s student population in 193 countries across the… Read more

So far, one of the consequences of COVID-19 is that students and teachers are finding themselves relying on technology for learning. While the industry of online education is predicted to rapidly grow in the coming years due to the global pandemic, there is already a large online market, consisting of teachers who embraced technological innovations early by choosing online teacher jobs, i.e. remote tutoring… Read more

The ability to speak one, or more, foreign languages is an increasingly sought skill in today’s world. However, mastering a foreign language means more than just memorizing vocabulary words – it takes time to properly learn a language, but it is ultimately worth it as it gives us broader access to education and information and allows us to connect with people from all over the world, making life decidedly more… Read more

You’ve dropped ‘social life’ from your vocabulary, spent your every night engaged in private study, you’ve focused until you head explodes in class, you’ve hired an awesome online tutor but still, the stress is getting to you and you just can’t get a handle on the work. It’s not you, millions and millions of students go through the same meltdown every year, as the pace and distractions of life, work and classes overcome them… and imminent tests loom on the… Read more

Expressing gratitude in a foreign language Saying thank you is an important part of everyday communication in all dialects in the world and the Russian language is no exception. Even though it is such a simple expression, it can mean a lot to the recipient and reinforce bonds between people. As in every language, there are many different ways to say thank you in Russian depending on the context we find ourselves… Read more

Whether you’re emigrating to Spain next year, visiting Taiwan for a year on a work visa or trying to pass your high-school French exam… no matter what your reasons are for learning a foreign language, the idea of taking on a new tongue, especially from scratch, may seem more than just a little daunting. This might have something to do with the fact the two languages rarely follow the same set of rules or constructive processes, and learning a language is not nearly as simple as learning new vocabulary and keeping the grammatical rules the same. For example, English past tense adverbs indicate whether the verb was continuous like I was waiting or perfect like I had waited, simple like I waited or perfect continuous like I had been waiting; while Mandarin employs an aspect particle to indicate the time and nature of the verb, without modifying the verb’s form at all. This is a sticking point for Mandarin speakers learning English, who struggle to adapt to changing verbs which, in their language, always stay the same. Likewise, though for English speakers trying to master spoken Mandarin, Mandarin employs pitch to indicate variations in the meanings of words that a second language speaker might read as phonetically identical, as opposed to English where pitch alters the emotional connotation but certainly not the core meaning of a word. The fact is, while your syllabus or theory lessons are vital to forming a solid foundation in your new language, the best way to put what you’ve learned into practice is by exchanging meaningful language and conversation with a first-language speaker. Supplement Your Syllabus Lessons With Active Language Exchange You may have heard it said that some people are linguistically gifted, finding it easier to take on a new language than others. This may not be as true as you think, and may instead have everything to do with the way a language is learned and how it is practiced. For example: Are you learning Spanish conversationally or theoretically? Are you learning theory exclusively or are you supplementing theory lessons with regular, practical language exchanges? You see, language and thought are inseparable. Cognition is, to an extent, dependent on your available language constructs and, more often than not, you make sense of what you have observed by using words in your mind. It follows that learning a new language, especially one that employs a very new set of rules, is akin to learning a new way of thinking. For a Mandarin 2nd language English learner, leaning the structural theory of English tenses may be like trying to balance an equation when you’ve never had an algebra class in your life, it boggles the mind. In cases like this, where the theory behind a language is so foreign that it makes the language seem cognitively inaccessible, engaging in active language exchange, with a native speaker, is the perfect way to supplement your theory-based lessons and make the most out of your language learning syllabus. By practicing language usage with a first language speaker, struggling students may find themselves becoming linguistically gifted after all, even if the theory seemed like algebra at first! When you practice a new language in conversation, the lights ignited by your language syllabus lessons will start to burn brighter and those theoretical sticking points that seemed counter-intuitive will now be illuminated by context. Think of it like learning to drive: learning driving from a parent who lets you practice on the way to the store is easy… but learning from an instructor who expects you to know all the theory first can be very tricky indeed, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and nervous behind the wheel! Language is the same! The most effective course of action to true driving mastery is taking lessons with a professional instructor while practicing regularly with a parent or friend. Likewise with language, learning your language theory from a tutor is essential, but practice with a native speaker makes it perfect! The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis There is a popular theory in linguistics named the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity: it states that the structure of a language directly affects a people’s world view or cognition. So the way your language is constructed, in other words, has affected the evolution of your culture and it’s people’s way of thinking/living. This theory also works in reverse as, for example, the way verbs or nouns are constructed, categorized and chosen in two different languages may tell you much about the variances in cultural focus, among the native speakers and originators of those languages. For example, the Spanish language uses different forms of the word you to indicate whether the subject is a friend or family member, or a person above the speaker in social standing. You might see this as speaking to the rich friendship and familial bonds of Spanish speakers, as well as the exaggerated cast differences in Spanish societal history, for example. It follows that practicing language through a realtime exchange of conversation and culture, with a native language speaker, might help you to understand the peculiarities of the language you are learning. Furthermore, it’s easy to see the value of native language teaching when you consider the level of misunderstanding which could arise, should you use a learned language in a company, without paying heed to these culturally-rooted nuances. Some languages won’t make these distinctions for the word you at all. In cases where new distinctions need to be learned, however, once again, there is no substitute for practice with a native speaker, who’ll be quick to highlight cases where you’re at fault or using words in a way that’s not exactly common practice. It’s easy to see why so many people believe the theory of linguistic relativity to be true if you look at some more examples of the principle in action: For example, most languages describe spatial relations in terms of the body, i.e.: left, right, front, back, yet many tribal peoples, such as certain Australian Aboriginal tribes, describe spatial relations in terms of fixed directions on the earth, i.e.: north, south, east, west. So, if I were speaking in one of those aboriginal languages right now, I might say that my coffee mug is on my desk, just north of my iMac. Strange but true… and deeply rooted in culture, as all language is! Much can be read into this and more often than not, as an English speaker like me, you may have no idea which way is north at any given time… I wouldn’t blame you, however, as Australian Aboriginal peoples are far more connected to the earth and open sky, they are deeply aware of the position of the sun, where it rises and where it sets. They use their sense of direction to judge the time of day and need to know whether the sun is low in the west or low in the east… whereas Siri robotically announces the time to me on the hour, every hour. Spoken language, as spoken by the culture to which a language is native, exemplifies this theory of relativity even more. There are countless words in the English language which are lost in time because popular culture simply has no place for them anymore. Likewise, there are numerous synonyms for ‘car’ but there’s only one name for ‘badminton racket’. The best way to put language into practice is to speak it with a native language speaker in an active cultural and language exchange. A nature language speaker will quickly tell you that you shouldn’t ask ‘where the motorized vehicle is located’ but rather ‘where the car is parked’. Language, thought and culture are inextricably linked, when the world was slow and people fewer, Shakespeare was en-vogue and small-talk was considerably more time-consuming… but now, in the 21st century, we opt for speed of delivery, now that the streets are bustling and the coffee break is short! Language lessons will tell you the ‘right’ way to use language, but language exchange will teach you the common way to use language. So, while it’s necessary to have a theoretical language backbone, regular practice through supplementary language exchange will make real-world usage a whole lot less daunting to navigate. Language evolves with culture and these evolutions are often not picked up in standard language syllabus lessons, they are, rather, best imparted by supplementing your lessons with meaningful and constructive Language Exchange, with a native language speaker. Get All The Practice You Need With Eurekly’s Free Language Exchange It goes without saying that correct or common pronunciation, common usage, dialects, and slang are best mastered through supplemental practice with a native-language speaker. These elements of language aren’t common topics in standard language syllabus, yet failing to grasp them can lead to inefficiency, misrepresentation, and confusion when you put a language into practice. To be clear though, not taking your language theory and syllabus lessons would be something like learning to drive without knowing the rules of the road, likely to make things very difficult for you at the next intersection! In other words, you should work hard to absorb the theoretical basis laid down for you by your regular language tutor, but do yourself a favor and get some real-world practice, by supplementing lessons with language exchange. In a setting like the Language Exchange Sessions now available for free for eurekly.com students, language learners are given the opportunity to engage in free, real-time online language exchange with native language speakers… the perfect solution for learners looking to master their new language fast and make real sense of language theory! During Eurekly Language Exchange, parties can meet, converse, share cultural differences and practice language skills that actually work in the real world, and they can do it as often as they want, for free. This provides the perfect platform for picking up pronunciation, slang, dialectic and popular nuances, and is the ultimate way for a student to learn how a language is really used, it’s cultural relevance and much, much more. Language Exchange Sessions on eurekly.com are more than just language practice, they are cultural exchanges and language-habit forming opportunities that are invaluable as a supplement to theoretical, syllabus based tutoring… Read more

Teachers Go Online The Internet, arguably the most useful technology of modern times, is rapidly changing the face of many professions. Teaching is no exception to this. Read on to explore the vital role of the Internet in education and exactly how to market yourself as a teacher online. The Internet is changing teachers’ lives Technology has undeniably greatly changed the face of the classroom and, with it, teachers’ lives. With tablets, laptops, and smartphones seamlessly connected to support learning in class, teachers are embracing technology to enhance both students’ learning and their practices. The Internet not only simplifies teachers’ lesson preparation, with a lot of software available out there that allow them to plan interactive, multimedia-rich classes, but it also significantly aids assessment, making it faster and helping them give real-time feedback to their students. The Internet now also makes communication between teachers and students instant, meaning teachers can be contacted at all times with questions and initiate group discussions on the curriculum, engaging their students more effectively. With more and more students opting to take classes online, it looks like the shift to technology-based learning will keep impacting the teaching profession more and more. Advantages and disadvantages of the Internet for teaching The Internet can both benefit and pose challenges to the teaching profession. We list some of the most significant advantages and disadvantages below. Advantages: Provides access to a wide breadth of information: The Internet means that teachers have the ability to access resources from all over the world with the click of a button, which can greatly facilitate lesson planning. Bridges communication gaps: Teachers using the Internet to post information and reminders on curriculum and assignments can help to avoid miscommunication with students. This information can also easily be shared with parents via e-mail, which allows them to stay on top of their child’s performance. Energizes education: Teachers who use the Internet in the classroom often manage to get students more excited about learning than their counterparts who stick to more traditional teaching methods. Interactive online activities can make complicated subjects fun and easier to understand. Disadvantages: Contains a lot of inaccurate information: Given that anybody can post to the Internet, it is inevitable that a lot of incorrect facts end up permeating the web. Students who do not question the reliability of their sources may use and learn wrong facts about anything from historical information to scientific data, making the teacher’s job more difficult. May foster cheating: The Internet has made it easier than ever to find services offering academic papers for sale and, as such, raises many concerns for plagiarism and work ethic that have to be dealt with strictly by teachers. It can be a distraction: Students may find it hard to concentrate in class when surrounded by digital devices and it is argued that they can learn less when allowed by teachers to use computers or tablets. Marketing yourself online as a teacher With millions of teachers around the world competing for jobs, the importance of knowing how to market yourself online cannot be understated. The most successful online teachers are the ones who manage to build up many referrals and maintain a good online presence, thus making their business grow. Marketing yourself online as a teacher involves a range of self-promotional activities, from creating teaching blogs and videos, to getting a logo and a professional website and interacting with students on educational topics on social media. Reasons why more and more teachers choose to market themselves online To get the word out about their services in what is a competitive professional environment. To showcase their teaching abilities and build confidence in their service. To increase their income, by attracting more students. The role of social media in self-marketing The presence of social media is growing vigorously in every aspect of our lives. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are some of the world’s most popular social networks with many millions of active users and teachers should think of them as an opportunity to easily reach their audience and increase their clients. Effective social media marketing for teachers means developing a thoughtful brand by sharing and generating knowledge and content related to their services, in order to reach and engage with students and other educators alike. Teachers will benefit from developing a solid social media strategy to promote themselves online. Below we outline how to market yourself on social media. Instagram Promote yourself as an Instagram teacher Instagram can be a great tool for showcasing your work and promoting your teacher’s brand. Create an account especially dedicated to your teaching services and update it regularly. Your posts can range from pictures of completed student projects and exciting classroom activities to educational photo and video tutorials on your teaching subjects. Use industry-specific hashtags to maximize your reach and engage with content made by like-minded educators, to increase your visibility on the platform. Getting more Instagram followers Here are some different techniques you can try to grow your Instagram following: Using hashtags: Instagram users most often discover new content by searching for hashtags they are interested in. Make sure to accompany your post with teaching-related hashtags, in order to be easily found by students and other teachers. Creating competitions: A sure-fire way to get audiences to pay attention to your Instagram is giveaways. Offer discounted online lessons or other privileges associated with your services to people who follow your account and interact with your content. Posting attractive images: As Instagram is a visual platform, you are guaranteed to increase your following by consistently posting quality images that are colorful and attention-grabbing. Participating in “Follow Loops”: Many teachers work together on Instagram to help increase each other’s following, by participating in “follow loops”, otherwise known as follow-for-follow strategies. Making your teacher Instagram account inviting Some tips to make your Instagram account attractive and inviting include the following: Use your best images: Pick high-quality images that authentically represent you as a teacher and that will appeal to your audience, such as snippets of classroom activities. Create stories: Instagram stories are a very popular feature. They enable you to communicate messages in creative ways and allow your audience to engage through polls and comments. Write thoughtful captions: To maximize engagement, it is important to accompany your images with captions inviting the audience to participate and share their perspective. Connect your content to current events: Posts on current events tend to get a high level of response and remind your students that classroom content can be relevant to real life. Be positive: By posting consistent positive content, you become an inspirational figure for your students and can shape important attitudes about school and learning. Warning: Keep in mind that posting photos of your students is not considered appropriate, as it violates their privacy and can be downright dangerous by exposing their location to potential predators. Facebook Creating your Facebook teacher account When creating your Facebook teacher account, it is important to keep it clean and professional. Ensure your personal account is private and use your teacher account exclusively for education-related purposes. Choose a professional photo as a profile picture and list your educational background professional teaching achievements. Updates to your page can include announcements, blog posts, and videos about the subjects you teach, in order to establish an online community around your classes. Communicating with students via private messages Facebook, as a platform, has a large focus on personal, one-on-one interactions and makes it very easy for teachers and students to communicate quickly and directly. However, it is a legal grey area in education whether private communication over the Internet is appropriate and should be allowed. While a lot of schools do not yet have policies in place that prevent this, it is best for teachers to stay on the safe side of the law by restricting communication to the official, monitored and supervised platforms in order to not inadvertently cross professional boundaries. Using Facebook to promote yourself as a teacher When getting started on Facebook, it could be very useful to post an advert about your services. Once you start to build up your following, you should aim to keep your audience engaged by regularly sharing photos and videos of student projects, activities, and events and content related to the subjects you are teaching. This is, essentially, marketing yourself, as not only posting on Facebook can give your students’ parents a glimpse into what their children get up to daily, but it works to inspire trust and confidence in your services as you are building yourself up as a thought-leader in the education community. Ways to use Facebook in the classroom Facebook can be a lot more than a self-marketing tool, though. A growing number of teachers are actually using the social networking platform creatively to boost engagement in the classroom. Here are some ways you can do that too: Create a Facebook group for your class: Groups on Facebook have privacy settings, meaning that teachers can make a Facebook group for their class that is a safe place to share information online. Use the Facebook Timeline for class projects: The Facebook Timeline feature can be a fun way to share presentations. Share multimedia: Resources, such as videos and website links, can be shared across the social networking site. Create Facebook polls: Students love taking polls, so this added Facebook feature helps to keep them engaged with the curriculum. Use Facebook Live to provide additional help: Facebook Live allows teachers to record videos which students may view through live streaming or later, a feature that works wonders for supplemental learning. Pinterest Pinterest for teachers Pinterest is a favorite platform with educators, as it is a great place to find inspiration for lessons and classroom activities. Using online “pinboards” teachers can save anything from photos to blog posts in one easily accessible and usable place. Pinterest not only contains a huge wealth of posts with tips for teachers to look through, but users can also create their own pins linking to their website, blog or other social media and gain exposure themselves. Teachers can also create collaborative boards on the platform, making it a truly interactive tool. Earning money from Pinterest as a teacher There are several different ways to make money as a Pinterest teacher, such as: Affiliate Marketing: With affiliate marketing, you receive a commission for every sale that occurs from your referral link within one of your posts. Teachers should focus on sales of products that fit within their niche, i.e. education. Selling Your Own Product: Creating a pin linking to a product, such as an online course, could be a great way to boost your tutoring income. Re-pinning others’ pins to win an audience and, indirectly, make money: By pinning people who are in your target audience’s pins, you draw attention to your own, thereby building a following and potentially gaining new clients. ‘Teachers Pay Teachers’ Teachers Pay Teachers, commonly referred to as “TpT”, is an open online marketplace, where teachers come together to sell and buy original educational resources in digital, downloadable formats. Since its establishment, it has become widely popular with educators across the globe, who use the platform not only to earn extra teaching income but also to communicate with a very active community of like-minded professionals. Teacher Blogs What they are Teacher blogs, often referred to as edublogs, are blogs created by teachers for educational purposes. These blogs help teachers share their knowledge and ideas and allow them to connect with their reader-base of other educators and students, all while establishing their professional brand. The rising popularity of teaching blogs With websites like WordPress, the landscape of blogging architecture is becoming increasingly simplified and so it is no wonder that more and more teachers are turning to blogging. Blogs give teachers credibility since they are evidence of their passion and commitment to their work. Educational blogs also often create conversations around various topics, inviting students, parents and other teachers to participate, establishing strong and curious learning communities. How to increase your income with a teacher blog: Here are some ways to make money through your teacher blog: Placing ads: Ads are the most straight-forward way to make money from blogging. Partner up with companies that share your values. Using affiliate programs: An affiliate program pays you a percentage of sales each time people click from your site to theirs and buy something. Doing product reviews: Many companies are looking for credible bloggers to review their products online for a fee. Online Tutoring Platforms What they are Online tutoring is the process of tutoring in an online, virtual environment in which teachers and students are separated by time and space. Most tutors use established online tutoring platforms for their lessons, which are websites that incorporate the latest technological developments on the market to create sophisticated learning environments. Using online tutoring platforms has both benefits and challenges for teachers. Benefits: They offer user-friendly, synchronous teaching environments that allow easy interaction and file-sharing. They often provide training for tutors. They vet tutors professionally, thereby increasing their credibility. They actively help tutors find students. Challenges: They sometimes present technical problems or system compatibility issues for the users. They can be impersonal, with only a small percentage of tutors actually using the optional digital whiteboard and chat features. They do not allow students to develop a full range of skills in certain specialized subjects, given online courses are rarely accompanied by practical requirements. Time to Market Yourself! In today’s age, marketing oneself is paramount for professional success. In an online education environment that is rapidly growing, teachers can significantly increase their earnings by successfully using Internet resources, such as blogs and social media, to build a credible brand. While online tutoring platforms often help to advertise their tutors, it is wise to independently maintain a carefully-curated online presence that will earn your clients’ confidence. Join Eurekly to reap all the benefits of tutoring on one of the world’s leading online tutoring platforms and maximize your… Read more