Tag: teo_top_vipkid

Teaching for VIPKID lets you work from home with minimal effort.

You can make up to $24.40 an hour, create your own schedule, and work from your home — or a hostel. 

Sounds great, right? But how do you get started?

We’re about to break down exactly what it takes to teach for VIPKID: we’ll explain what basic qualifications teachers need, what materials and personality traits you need to teach, and more. 

And the best part is, we’re even answering some frequently asked questions about the job!

What is VIPKID?

If you’re not familiar with it, VIPKID is an online teaching platform that lets you conduct classes with students in China for $15.60-$24.40 an hour. 

Depending on how often you work, that works out to anywhere between $150 and $6,000 a month.

Read our primer on VIPKID salaries to find out more about how much you can make teaching for them!

Basic Qualifications

The requirements for VIPKID teachers are pretty straightforward: you need a bachelor’s degree and license to work in the U.S. or Canada. Oh, and you need to be fluent in English.

You also need 2 years of teaching experience — note that this number was recently updated from one year of teaching experience. 

If you haven’t been a classroom teacher, don’t worry. Tutoring, mentoring, and “alternative education” also count. 

What does that mean? It means that if you’ve been a camp counselor, you can include that. Been a nanny? Fantastic. Coached soccer? Great! Do you have kids? Perfect.

If, in your estimation, you have had a leadership or teaching role with children, you really should be good to go for VIPKID. 

Pass the Background Check

Every teacher who works for VIPKID must pass an FBI Criminal Background Check. It’s not entirely clear what findings will disqualify you from teaching, but if you have a misdemeanor or DUI on your record you should be fine. 

Some people say that VIPKID is mainly worried about applicants who’ve been convicted of violent crimes or crimes involving children.

Equipment

Because VIPKID is taught online, there are a few things you need to be equipped with to make sure you’re able to conduct classes smoothly.

Ready to get technical? 

Just kidding. I’m writing this at my level of tech fluency, so your grandma should be able to understand everything covered in this section.

Hardware and Accessories

First off, you need a desktop or laptop computer to teach for VIPKID. A Microsoft Surface is fine, but an iPad or other tablet isn’t adequate for teaching through VIPKID.

Second, you need an HD camera and a headset with a microphone. Your computer probably already comes equipped with an HD camera, but if it doesn’t you can get one online. 

And you can use your iPhone earphones or similar ones as your headset, or you can purchase a more heavy-duty one.

Computing Requirements

Beyond all the gadgets, you’ll also need an adequate operating system, meaning Windows 7 or Mac 10.x or above, and at least 4G of RAM on your computer. 

Not sure if your computer meets these requirements? 

No problem! Just follow these instructions:

Mac

If you have a Mac, click on the Apple logo on the top left corner of your screen. Click “About this Mac”, and a box will come up.

Under the name of your computer, it will say what version it is, and then by “Memory” it will say how many gigabytes of RAM you have!

Easy!

Windows PC

If you have a PC, search “Control Panel” Windows search bar. Then click System and Security > System.

That should bring up a box that tells you what version of computer you have, along with how much RAM your laptop has.

This box will show you your computer’s specs if you have a Mac.

You’ll also need a stable internet connection that has upload and download speeds of at least 20 Mbps. You can use Speedtest to find out if you meet this requirement.

If your computer doesn’t meet the speed requirements, you can try situating yourself closer to your router or getting an Ethernet cable. 

Last, you need at least Chrome version 51 and Firefox version 47 and updated Flash. 

Props and Teaching Setup

Okay, you guys — this is the fun part!

Besides the technical requirements for your computer, you need a good classroom setup for VIPKID.

What does that entail?

You can go all-in with your teaching space, making it totally fun and immersive, or you can be more simplistic. 

I personally don’t like having my teaching background up during the day because my classroom doubles as a home office (and I don’t want to be in “teacher mode” 24/7), and I also travel a lot, which means I need to take my teaching things with me sometimes. 

Because of that, my whole classroom setup is super mobile and transportable — and less flashy and impressive than some other people’s. At the end of the day, though, it gets the job done and the students love it. And that’s what matters most!

Let’s bust a common VIPKID myth: 

All VIPKID teachers used to have to wear orange t-shirts to teach, but that is no longer the case! 

Rejoice and wear whatever solid-colored shirt makes you feel comfortable (and doesn’t make you look like you have freaking scurvy).

Just make sure you’re not wearing anything with logos or anything that’s stained or too revealing. 

Personal Traits and Behaviors

Waking up super early to teach young students who might not speak any English takes a specific personality type. 

For one thing, you need to be on first thing in the morning.

You might be teaching pretty young kids who can’t understand the bulk of what you’re saying, so you’ll have to rely on exaggerated facial expressions and movements to help them understand you and keep them engaged.

Be Friendly

You should be enthusiastic, friendly, and smiley to make your students feel comfortable and engaged in your classes.

A note on this: you might see Youtube videos from VIPKID teachers who are super duper chipper and preternaturally happy all the time. 

That kind of personality is great, but if that’s not you, don’t worry. It’s not me, either, and I get along just fine.

You don’t need to act like you’re in the cast of Disney on Ice during your classes — just be friendly, awake, and welcoming, and don’t be afraid to be a little silly. Your kids will love you for it!

That’s especially important during the mock class: learn how to pass the VIPKID mock class successfully here.

Be Patient and Understanding

While we’re talking about personality traits, I’d like to note that all this smile-ness goes along with plain old not being rude.

It can be really frustrating when a student doesn’t understand a concept you’ve explained 46 times, especially when it’s 4:30 in the morning. 

But remember that your student is probably frustrated, too, and your impatience will only make them feel worse.

A little patience and understanding go a long way when you’re teaching for VIPKID.

Not being rude also means listening. It can be hard to stay focused in class (especially if you’re teaching the same lesson for the 3rd time in a row), but it’s important to stay engaged, listen to the student, correct their mistakes, and provide encouragement.

Be Awake

Yawning in class is a big no-no, and some parents will call you out on it. 

I definitely have days where I can’t help but let a little yawn escape from my mouth, but I’ve found ways of disguising it: by covering my mouth with my hand, ducking out of the screen to “grab a prop”, or opening my mouth and acting really surprised! 

You’ll find methods of disguising yawns that work for you, too — promise.

Being awake also means not looking like you just rolled out of bed. Again, you’ll see some people on YouTube who go to class at 5:00 in the morning with freshly curled hair and a full face of makeup. Again, I am 100% not that teacher and I do just fine. 

I usually go to bed in a solid t-shirt with no logo so I can teach in it, and then I make sure my hair looks just this side of being a rat’s nest before I teach. 

If I do wear makeup, it’s usually mascara to make me look more awake and maybe red lipstick to help students pay attention to what shapes my mouth makes when I pronounce words in English. 

The great thing about the camera is that it really blurs your features, so you’ll look good even if you have a raging zit on your nose and an eye booger the size of Texas hanging out in your tear duct.

Be Self-Motivated

Working from home means that you don’t have a boss telling you what to do and when to do it. So you need to make sure that you’re prepared, organized, and ready for class. 

Beyond that, you need to be your own hype man, making sure you’re motivated and confident before class!

You need to hold yourself accountable, making sure you’re aware of when your classes are scheduled and are prepared for them.

Availability

Exactly when you need to wake up to teach for VIPKID depends on what time zone you live in. 

You don’t need to be available during every slot that you can possibly teach lessons, but it’s a good idea to make sure that you’ll be able to teach some classes before you go through the effort of applying and interviewing.

You can teach for VIPKID anytime between 7:30 PM and 9:00 AM CDT, or between 8:30 AM and 10:00 PM Beijing time. 

The highest demand for classes is between 5:00 AM and 9:00 AM CDT, and between 12:00 AM and 9:00 AM CDT on the weekends. And high demand means you have an increased likelihood of getting booked during those times.

Note that there’s no Daylight Savings Time in China, so the schedule shifts forward an hour when Daylight Savings Time starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

This section includes answers to a few common questions about VIPKID teacher requirements. If you have a question that’s not answered here, feel free to drop a comment below!

Am I Locked into a Certain Schedule Once I Sign Up?

No! You can open slots whenever and close them back up again until a student has booked them without penalty. VIPKID is super-duper flexible — it’s one of my favorite parts about it!

How Long Is the Contract Period for Vipkid?

Each VIPKID contract period lasts 6 months.

Do I Have to Teach a Certain Number of Classes Each Week to Stay Employed?

Nope! VIPKID recommends that teachers teach for at least 7.5 hours a week, but you won’t be penalized if you don’t maintain that every week or have to go on vacation or take time off.

Can I teach for VIPKID if I’m not living in the U.S. or Canada right now?

Yes! You just need to be eligible to work in either country.

Conclusion

Teaching for VIPKID is super fun, and almost anyone can do it! All you need is a bachelor’s degree, English fluency, eligibility to work in the U.S. or Canada, and 2 years of experience doing some type of teaching or childcare.

VIPKID has flexible hours, and you can teach online English classes from almost anywhere with a quiet corner and a stable internet connection!

If you’re interested in becoming a VIPKID teacher, drop a comment below — I’d love to answer any questions you might have and help you on your journey!

If you’ve been researching ways to earn money from home, you’ve probably already heard of VIPKID.

This online teaching platform is a great way to make money from anywhere in the world, whether you’re doing it as a side hustle or a full-time job.

Not everyone who tries to teach through VIPKID earns as much as they’d like to, however.

So how do you earn more?

In this article, you will learn how to calculate your salary and get 6 concrete tips for increasing your earnings. 

What is VIPKID?

If you haven’t heard of it before, VIPKID is a platform to teach English online where you can hold classes with students in China. 

VIPKID provides lessons and curriculum, has excellent support staff for teachers and students, and schedules your classes for you once you’ve decided your availability.

All you really need to do is show up with a smile!

VIPKID classes are 25 minutes long, and the students are 3-12 years old.

How to Calculate Your VIPKID Salary

At most jobs, your wage is calculated using a simple equation, more or less: your hourly wage times how many hours you work.

Simple, right?

You can earn between $15.60 and $24.40 an hour teaching through VIPKID, and you can work … well, pretty much as many or as few hours as you want. 

Which is great, except all the wiggle room doesn’t tell you much about how much you can actually expect to earn through VIPKID.

In the next two sections, we’re going to break down each component of your VIPKID salary to give you an idea of where on the spectrum you might fall and how to increase your paycheck.

Part 1: How Much Can You Earn Hourly?

As we’ve mentioned, you can earn $15.60 and $24.40 an hour through VIPKID. 

How much you’ll get paid depends on how many classes a month you teach, how high your base pay is, and whether you finish the class on time.

Your finished class incentive is determined by how many classes you teach per month and how many lifetime classes you’ve taught through VIPKID.

And remember, there are two classes in an hour.

How is Base Pay Calculated?

Your base pay is calculated based on two factors: how much teaching experience you have and how well you perform in the interview and mock class.

We have a whole article about acing the mock class that you can read to help you pass it with flying colors.

And here’s an in-depth post about the requirements for VIPKID teachers.

In terms of teaching experience, you may be wondering what does and doesn’t count.

Obviously, classroom experience counts. It’s unlikely that you’ll make $9 base pay per class unless you’ve been a classroom teacher and have your teaching certificate or have some other type of significant experience. 

However, if you have a TEFL certificate, have been a classroom assistant or tutor, have taught abroad, or have even been a camp counselor, you should list these on your application — they do count as past experience, and they very well may help you get higher base pay.

Learn more about the special online teaching training from Let’s TEFL.

Part 2: How Many Hours Can You Work in a Week?

There are a bunch of factors that you have to consider in answering this question!

The first is what you’d like your schedule to look like, and the second is whether you’re hoping to work part-time or full-time for VIPKID.

The majority of classes are held in the early morning and late at night. I live in the Midwest, so I teach sometime between 6:00 AM-9:00 AM regularly and from 5:00 AM-8:00 AM during Daylight Savings Time (China doesn’t have Daylight Savings Time).

I could wake up at 4:00 am but I’m not trying to burn out — after all, this is not my full-time job.

I rarely fill all my slots and I don’t teach on Fridays, so I end up teaching 2 hours a morning 4 days a week.

I make $20 an hour, so that totals out to somewhere around $20/hour x 2 hours a day x 4 days a week x 4 weeks a month = $640 a month.

Not bad as extra income, right? 

There are people who teach with VIPKID full time. You can make upwards of $4,000 a month if you wake up super early to teach (some people wake up as early as 3 am!) and stay up all night on the weekends. 

It definitely requires a certain kind of lifestyle to keep these hours, but for many people, it’s worth it to get to work from home, have their days off, and spend time with their children during the day.

Your Schedule is Completely Up to You

The really great thing about VIPKID is how flexible it is. 

When I first got started, I opened every single slot, waking up super early and then taking a nap when I was done teaching at 9. I got a lot of students that way, and I learned what kind of schedule worked for me.

I know now that I like waking up at 5:00, but 4:00 is way too early for me. I also know that I am absolutely not willing to stay up all night teaching on the weekends — I tried that exactly once and swore to never do it again. 

I also know that if I teach more than about 4 classes back-to-back I start losing focus and stop being a good teacher, so I try to schedule breaks or leave an empty spot in my schedule on days when I’m booked full. 

I figure that it’s better to sacrifice $10 here and there than to burn out and be miserable during my classes. 

I went all-in when I first started VIPKID and then let my foot off the gas a little bit, but some people go the opposite route: they dip their toe in the water, opening more and more slots each week until they’re booked full. 

You don’t have to decide whether you’re going to be a part-time or full-time teacher now, and you don’t need to stick to any decision you don’t want to long-term.

And that flexibility, in my opinion, is one of the best things about VIPKID.

How Can You Increase Your VIPKID Salary?

Now that we’ve broken down the elements of your salary, here are a few tips for how to raise it.

These six tips will help you organize your schedule, book more classes, and maximize your teaching time for higher profits.

Book More Classes

This one is obvious, but the more classes you book per month, the higher your finished class bonus will be. 

Having that goal in mind (and watching your earnings increase) will keep you motivated throughout the month.

Try to set weekly goals for yourself to hit that mark — for example, 11-12 classes a week.

Promote Yourself

Creating an appealing intro video and a concise, impressive bio will do wonders when you’re trying to book classes.

VIPKID is like Tinder for teachers — parents can pick from any number of candidates to conduct their classes, so you want to stick out from the crowd. 

Tips for Your Intro Video

Speak Slowly and Clearly

If parents can’t understand your intro, they probably won’t feel overly confident about your ability to communicate with their children in English.

Make sure your lighting is good

Film outside at midday or in a well-lit room to make your video look bright and cheery.

Use Props

A silly hat, a stuffed animal, whatever! Props and goofy accents will make your video more memorable to parents, and they’ll also show them how fun and engaging you are as an English teacher!

This simple video is a great example of how to create your video.

Don’t be afraid to play around with it — parents will love seeing your personality shine. And that means more bookings! 

Show up on Time

This one is a giant no-brainer. Not only do you need to show up on time and end on time to get a bonus, but doing so also makes you look professional and will lead to better comments from parents.

A teacher with a reputation for not being punctual probably won’t get too many bookings.

Show up to All Your Classes

This one, like the last one, is less about making more money and more about not losing money.

If you miss class without canceling it or cancel within 2 hours of your class, you’ll be charged a $10 no-show fee. And if you cancel between 2 and 24 hours before class, you’ll be deducted $2 per canceled class. 

Note that there are exceptions for emergencies, so you don’t have to worry about being penalized should something awful happen to you or a loved one unexpectedly.

Besides the cancellation fee, parents will be unlikely to book you again if you’ve missed a class with them (unless you have a legitimate reason for doing so), because you’re wasting their children’s time when you don’t show up to commitments you’ve made with them.

Keep a Regular Schedule

Keeping a regular schedule will get you more bookings because you’ll get regular students who book you at the same time each day or week.

Instead of opening slots willy-nilly and sitting around between classes, you can get more reliable clients when you keep a more reliable schedule.

A regular schedule is also more sustainable and will keep you accountable, so you don’t start finding excuses to cancel classes right and left when you just don’t feel like waking up early.

Get More Certifications

The more certifications you have, the more levels you’re able to teach. And thus, the greater the pool of students you can teach!

If you want every slot you open to fill up, you should get as many certifications as you can, so you’re available to teach every student.

Conclusion

VIPKID can look just about however you want it to:

You can turn it into a full-time job and work all hours of the night, earning $4,000 per month.

Or you can do what I do and teach a few hours each morning, earning between around $150 and $700 per month depending on your schedule.

Make it your own! Teaching for VIPKID is flexible and low stakes.

I love teaching for VIPKID, and I’d love to respond to any questions or concerns you may have about it. 

If you’re thinking of applying to VIPKID, you probably already know about the mock class. 

It’s an essential part of the application process, and the good news is that it’s not as scary as it seems.

In this article, we’re going to break down what the mock class looks like. We’re also going to give you some essential tips about preparing for it to help you ace it and become a VIPKID teacher faster!

Note that VIPKID’s mock class procedure changed in September 2018. This post discusses the mock class process now.

What is the VIPKID Mock Class?

The mock class is perhaps the most essential part of training if you want to teach English online for VIPKID: it helps determine whether or not you’ll be hired by the company, and it also has a role in determining your base salary for VIPKID.

It’s an opportunity to practice your teaching skills using VIPKID’s platform with a certified VIPKID teacher, and to make sure that you’re fully ready to teach before you enter the classroom with a real student.

Look at it as an opportunity to improve your teaching skills and fully prepare to become a VIPKID teacher rather than an exam to be graded on!

You’ll take the mock class after you complete your application, interview, and demo. 

If you don’t do a totally amazing job on your first mock class, don’t worry: you can take the mock class multiple times!

And here’s the best part: no matter how you do on your mock class, once you’ve gotten to this point in the hiring process you will get hired as a VIPKID teacher. You can take the mock class infinite times, and you’re guaranteed employment once you finish the phase no matter what!

So congratulations on making it this far!

What Does the Mock Class Look Like?

Your VIPKID mock class will take place with a current VIPKID teacher, who will act as a student while you teach and then grade you on your performance. 

The teacher will also answer any questions you might have and give you feedback immediately after you finish teaching. 

Their feedback (and their availability to answer any questions) is enormously helpful, so be sure to have a pen and paper handy so you can jot down notes when you’re talking to them before and after you teach!

What Will You Teach in the Mock Class?

Once you’ve passed your interview, you’ll be able to enter the Certification Center and choose which level you want to do your mock class in. Completing your mock class will certify you to teach students at that level.

Don’t worry too much about which level you choose: you can always go back and get certified for other levels later. 

After you’ve chosen which level you want to certify in, you’ll be given materials to prepare for two different mock classes at that level. 

In addition to VIPKID’s materials, there are tons of videos online of teachers going through the mock lessons so you can see how they teach them and decide how you want to conduct your class. 

You won’t find out which of the two lessons you’re teaching until your mock class begins, so it’s important to prepare for both of them just in case!

How Should You Prepare for the Mock Class?

The mock class tests you on whether or not you’re ready to be a VIPKID teacher.

So by the time your mock class rolls around, you should be fully prepared to teach. That means having your classroom set up and knowing how to interact with students and use the classroom. 

Setting Up Your Classroom

Having your classroom ready means that you have a stable and fast Internet connection, headphones with a built-in microphone and a well-lit area to teach in. 

It also means having a decorated teaching environment complete with a teaching backdrop, a reward system, and props you can use to illustrate concepts you’re teaching. 

Props

As you can see in the picture above, I have cutouts of Meg and Mike (two characters that appear in VIPKID lessons) near my computer. I also have props and illustrations for concepts that I take out to have on standby for certain lessons. 

For example, if I’m teaching about animals, I’ll take out my toy cow and cutouts of horses and other animals in the lesson.

Classroom Background

Your background doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Lots of teachers include maps or ABCs in their classrooms, but really you should do whatever works for you. The main thing is to make sure to have your name and your reward system visible. 

As you can see in the picture below, my classroom setup includes my name, some simple colorful decorations, and my reward system, which is currently a flower (the petals are all Velcro so I can put them on when the student earns a point). 

My reward system itself is Velcroed to the poster so that I can change it out depending on what I’m teaching.

You can make your reward system anything you want, and there are tons of ideas online if you can’t think of one! 

My article about VIPKID teacher requirements has more information about what exactly you need to ace the mock class and become a VIPKID teacher — and it has pointers for making sure your lighting and Internet connection are up to snuff!

How Should You Conduct Your Mock Class? 

Let’s get into the dirty details: how should you teach in your mock class to ensure that you pass?

In this section, I’ll break down …

Be Enthusiastic

Above all, be sure to be happy, enthusiastic, and engaging in your mock class. That means big smiles, positive encouragement, and lots of big body movements. 

You want to make your students feel welcomed and safe in class, not like they’ll be judged if they make a mistake. 

A big part of positive encouragement only is not saying “no”. When the student makes mistakes, don’t say “no”. If they’ve said something that’s not correct English or answered a question wrong, simply model the right answer, cue them to try saying it the right way, and move on.

Make Yourself Easy to Understand

Remember that your students are not native English speakers, and some of them may have little to no English at all. 

You have to make it easy for all students to understand you, no matter what their English levels may be. 

…By Making Your Voice Heard

One way to make yourself understood more easily is with your voice. 

You should slow down your speech and enunciate every word to help students pay attention and comprehend more easily. You can modulate how you speak depending on what level of students you’re teaching. 

If you’re teaching students at a very low level, it’s important to speak extremely slowly and clearly. 

It’s also important not to pepper your speech with anything extra. Rather than explaining things using language they might not understand, simply jump into activities and make sure to use simple language that won’t confuse them.

If you’re teaching more advanced students, you can speak more normally — just gauge their understanding and be sensitive to it rather than speaking according to how much you think they should comprehend.

…By Using Nonverbal Cues

Use teaching tools and body language to illustrate what you’re saying, especially when you’re teaching younger students. 

The best way to do this is by using TPR, or total physical response. This means illustrating your words with body language and hand motions and using body motions to give instructions rather than saying them out loud. 

If you want the student to circle something on the screen, draw a circle with your finger. Cup your ear when you want them to speak, and put your finger on your chin pointing at your mouth when you’re speaking. 

Your grader will be looking to make sure you use TPR, so be sure to incorporate it throughout your lesson. 

The other nonverbal tool you can use is props. 

Stuffed animals, paper cutouts, and other objects will help you explain what vocabulary means and illustrates concepts! And your grader will definitely be happy to see that you’ve prepared materials to accompany the slides. 

Pace Yourself

VIPKID classes run on strict time parameters, and it’s important for teachers to finish all the material in each lesson during class time so that students don’t fall behind. 

For that reason, it’s important for you to show that you can stick to time parameters during your mock lesson. 

Try to teach about a slide a minute: it’s a good idea to set up a timer on your phone and put it next to your computer during your mock class to make sure that you’re sticking to the time frame.

Watching other teachers teach the mock lessons in YouTube videos will also help you get a good idea of how to pace your lesson.

Watch Out for Mistakes

Your teacher trainer will be checking to make sure that you’re an effective teacher, which involves being able to spot and correct any mistakes your student makes. 

In the mock class, your trainer will make some obvious mistakes on purpose. Be on the lookout for grammar and pronunciation errors, and when your “student” makes them be sure to correct them (without saying “no”) immediately. 

You should also always encourage your student to speak in full sentences. 

Make corrections gently but promptly.

Let the Student Speak

VIPKID is all about helping students learn English, so it’s important to make sure that they have ample opportunity to speak during class instead of just lecturing the whole time. 

With more advanced students, you should shoot for a 70:30 student-to-teacher talking ratio. With beginning students, aim for a 50:50 ratio. 

Of course, it can be hard to gauge exactly how much time your student is spending talking, but you can make sure to hit your ratio by having your student read as much of what’s on the screen as possible instead of reading it to them (even when the teacher instructions on the side of the screen say you should read it to them). 

Extend, Extend, Extend

Extending is another great way to get your student talking more, and it also shows that you have flexibility as a teacher. Extending simply means adding on to slides and fitting the lesson to your student more. 

The first way you should extend is by having some free talk at the beginning of class. Ask your student a few questions about themselves, modulating the question to fit their level. 

I always open lessons by asking students what their name is and how they’re doing. Then I do a few other questions to warm them up before starting class. 

Throughout the lesson, you can also extend by asking the student additional questions. For example, if you’re learning the names of different aquatic animals, you can ask, “What’s your favorite aquatic animal?” or “Have you ever seen a manatee?” 

Don’t stress out too much about extension — the way you extend doesn’t have to be anything special, just make sure to do a bit of it.

Be Prepared

This one is obvious, but worth mentioning just in case. You should have gone through the slides before class so you’re not reading what’s on the side of them or figuring out how to teach them during class. 

You should also look professional, with your hair combed and wearing a plain shirt with nothing on it.

Last, you should have some props and teaching tools at the ready aside your computer, so you aren’t reaching for them throughout the class. 

How are you Graded in the Mock Class?

Your mock class grade will be based on your performance in four areas:

• ESL Foundation
• VIPKID Techniques
• Teaching Practices
• Professionalism

You can refer to the VIPKID Teacher Applicant Performance Indicator for a more in-depth look into the specifics of how you’re ranked.

Mock 2

A huge percentage of teachers need to do a second mock class after their first one, and some even need to do 3 or more mock classes. 

Doing more than one mock class is not a big deal or a sign of failure: simply look at it as a chance to practice more. 

I did two mock classes, and I taught ESL abroad for two years. And I have a friend who’s a classroom teacher who had to do two mock classes as well. So remember that doing more than one mock class doesn’t say anything about your teaching ability.

Mock 2 (and 3 and 4 and 5 …) look just the same as Mock 1, but in these ones you’ll be armed with the feedback you’ve gotten from your first mock class. Be sure to put the tips you get into practice in your next trial class!

Conclusion

Passing the mock class can definitely seem daunting, but it really doesn’t need to be. 

Just keep calm, prepare, talk slow, and you’ll be great. And don’t forget to smile and use lots of body language!

If you’re still nervous about your mock class, remember that it’s only 10 minutes long. It’ll be over before you know it!

And if you have further questions about passing the mock class, please drop a comment below. I’m always happy to help another VIPKID teacher out!

P.S.: Here’s an honest report about what I love about working with VIPKID and what I don’t.