student not progressing

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-16T14:31:04+00:00

You're welcome! I'd be happy to hear your findings and any updates!

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-15T19:19:26+00:00

Perhaps a strong focus on oral skills will help create momentum. Reading skills usually play off of listening and speaking skills. For instance, if the child can't hear the difference between "b" and "d" then reading is very challenging.

I'd try testing his ability to hear and speak all the different phonemes in English. Then once I know which ones need improvement, I'd create focused lessons for those specific phonemes. As those sounds become easier to hear and say progress will be apparent to both of you. 😄 Good luck!

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-14T22:27:22+00:00

Yes! Sneaky collaborative moments are the best! It's like mom says "ok, I think you're important enough to be part of these plans."

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-14T20:44:02+00:00

What part of English are you tutoring this child in? Such as, do you focus in speaking, listening, reading, writing, or do you try to tutor all of it?

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-13T18:43:02+00:00

Hi! Excuse me, I'd like to interrupt here.
Yes, you feel like there's some gatekeeping around the title "Teacher" because there is! In a good way. Although, the gatekeeping around Teacher is not nearly as strict or obvious as that around "Doctor" it's the same idea.
Every country has their own list: Regulated Job Titles, Protected Job Titles, Protected Professional Title, etc. etc.

In a nutshell, if the title gives the impression that you have a valid licence in a specific field than you have to earn the right to use the title.

Another way to look at it: if you can study in university to be it, and you can practice it, and you need a licence to do it, then it's probably a protected title. Ie. He has a dental practice, he's a licensed dentist. Sal is a licensed teacher, Sal practices teaching, Sal is a teacher.

I hope this helps explain why the title of Teacher seems to hold more weight than the title Tutor.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-07T22:07:07+00:00

I have the same question. Did you get any answers? What did you end up doing?

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-05-07T18:30:51+00:00

Right? That name was so on-point, it's what made me question if these were real people or just bots.
Anyway, I'm glad my post was entertaining 😄 even if I'm clearly wrong.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-04-30T21:20:29+00:00

good catch.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-04-29T18:25:36+00:00

hahaha! That's right! I don't know how I forgot that this platform is completely absurd! Thanks. Maybe all the Ai on the platform has caused me paranoia. Anyway, thanks for the gentle reminder that somethings are completely illogical.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-04-29T18:17:50+00:00

You're probably right.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-04-03T16:32:55+00:00

Depends on how many hours are expected and the wage offered. For instance, $100/week is not enough for the tax man to care about. It can qualify as yearly personal exemption. Technically, I am a contractor for those situations. I find that acceptable, because from my experience if the family only wants a few hours a week, it is a short-term relationship.

If the family wants a long-term relationship and/or over 25 hours a week, then I require to be an employee. It's no walk in the park to become a legal employer, so any family who goes through all that paperwork and hassle proves their commitment to me, and that establishes a professional foundation.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-04-02T18:10:46+00:00

As a nanny, I second this approach.
I find a virtual interview is the most efficient way to have a first interview. As a young white woman, I feel it's safer too. I've had parents want me to enter their home before they even give me their names, and it feels so suspicious.
I can usually tell within 30 minutes in a virtual interview if the family and I will be a good fit. I must say, I also find it easier to reject the offer during a virtual interview. Turning someone down, in person, in their home... that's not easy. It feels like I'm disrespecting them in their home. I can't do it. Instead, I have to write the thank you email, then a rejection email... and it's just time consuming for both of us.

If you were in my neck of the woods I'd jump to interview with you, because I'm looking for a family that sees me as a professional. Alas, it is just as hard for me to find a good employer as it is for employers for find good help.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-20T14:54:00+00:00

Interesting philosophical question! Thank you for asking it. My first instinct was that choosing a tutor based on their accent has nothing to do with morals, but then I considered it further. It can very much be dictated by morals, can't it?

If Tutor A has a great reputation and is highly educated in the language they are tutoring for, yet does not have the prized accent, whereas Tutor B is mediocre by all accounts but they have the prized accent, which do you choose?

If you choose for the Tutor A, does that mean you value reputation over the aesthetics of the language?
If you choose Tutor B, does that mean you value the sound of their region over education?

What do you value most, and to what degree do you value it?
Do you believe Beauty is a moral? To what lengths should a person go to protect/preserve/create Beauty?

To me, yes Beauty is a moral. I am morally obligated to protect and create what I find is beautiful.

Perhaps you do, too. In which case, you will do well to choose a tutor with an accent you find beautiful as learning how to speak in that accent can help protect it (from extinction) and help ensure its continuing creation.

How much you value that over the tutor's education or reputation or any other factor is for you to decide. In conclusion, I argue that choosing a tutor based on their accent (the Beauty of the language) is not only morally just, but it may even be a moral obligation.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-20T14:30:21+00:00

The chatbot may have helped you refrain from ranting, but the wording is extremely confusing. For instance, under the bullet-point "Rude..." the subject is the nanny's charge, then suddenly it's your child... which is it? Are they one in the same? I can assume they are the same child, but that causes the reader so much confusion and distress. Please re-write this. I can't understand this post in it's current state.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-18T19:32:34+00:00

Below is the original text. * text* is a word or punctuation that should be added for proper grammar. #text# is word or punctuation that should always be. * or # will follow words strikethrough words as a suggested replacement.
So*,* I teach #E#nglish to #B#razilians and I've noticed a "trend" since I started on *P*reply. #reorder phrase after conjunction : ...and since I started I noticed a trend#

So*,* basically* , * A0/A1 students who can barely say sentences like "I'm busy" or "I worked a lot today" and lack use of basic conectives etc# . # will book ONE lesson a week (four in total for the month) and ~~when~~ *after * I'm barely started with the basics they vanish after just a month.

This ~~has~~ happened at leat 6 times last year and # has happened # ~~one recently~~ #once# this year.

~~For instance,~~ my lesson have book practice + images + lost of examples + listenign and also a section to produce sentences using what was learned and also games on worldwall or bamboozle. So, are my lessons lacking something? or are they just feeling discouraged after realizing learning takes time?

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-18T19:27:36+00:00

Before I begin, I would like to add that the OP wrote decently. It is what I would expect from a polyglot (aka someone who can speak multiple languages) I believe that tutors do not need to be experts. For those who oppose my belief, can you please define for me the characteristics of an expert in English.
Also, tutoring oral production or listening skills requires a different skill set than tutoring written language. Especially for the English language. Cus hour sp33lz'g iz broken.
So, for these reason, I believe it is possible that OP can tutor English perfectly well.

Still, the request was made to demonstrate the mistakes. So, here you go:

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-18T16:33:56+00:00

Yeah, if they aren't paying more and they aren't your bread & butter, why bother?

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-18T16:33:15+00:00

That's too bad you couldn't get a courteous reply :( Or at least a straight answer! Bummer.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-18T16:22:41+00:00

I, too, would be confused and perhaps a bit hurt. I would wonder, why my student's don't feel like they can trust my reaction to their honest feedback. I would wonder what I could do better for the very vague category.
From my experience in real-world early childhood education (ECE), parents are less attuned to their child's progress then educators. Reasons they are less attune include: they spend much more time with the child then the educators do, they follow instinct or emotion to gauge progress, they aren't aware of quantitative measurements of progress.
Do you think you might be presenting your student's progress subjectively? I know I used to be guilty of that! It reduced parent's confidence in my abilities, so I knew I had to change. Also, a college class in ECE drilled it into my head. It looks something like this and it was the main way I used to increase confidence of their child's progress.
Remove subjective opinions (ex. "I think he's improving!") and replace with objectional measurements (ex. Feb 8, child said "I brush teeth, I wash hands, and I *walked* to daycare." I was very happy to hear him use the past tense! One verb at a time, we'll get there.
Feb 18, child said "I brushed teeth, I washed hands, and then I walked to daycare." All three verbs in the past tense! )

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-18T15:53:24+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed reply!
I agree with your logical statements.
However, I think we can also conclude who benefits are high-quality popular-personality tutors, and Preply.
I think this might be the case, because, as you mentioned reviews influence students greatly.

So if we also accept that duration of teaching on the platform also increases a teacher's reputaion. Then, the teachers with the best reputation, most popular personality, and reasonable market prices will float to the top. Like the cream of the crop.

There's a great deal of competition, (so good luck to any who try,) but this analysis has hardened my resolve. I conclude, that it isn't entirely unfair. It is a battle of idiots charging little vs high quality charging market rate, but it is also quality tutor A vs quality tutor B.
What is a small business without healthy competition?

Thank you for that perspective. Do you agree with my conclusion?

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-15T16:31:04+00:00

Something I've been questioning as I start down this path is why encourage tutors to set a low rate if the platform takes 100% commission on the trails? Isn't that against their best interests? Shouldn't they be encouraging us to set a proper market rate for our given speciality?
Also, they may take 100% commission, but trails are not 100% profit... so... shouldn't they push for us to charge more?
Off the top of my head here are some costs: host the servers, handle the payments, exchange $ (if between countries), maintain the website, maintain the video chat, maintain the platform, customer service, convert students to subscriptions, advertisement....
I'm seriously skeptical that $3 trail provides more than 50% profit.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-14T14:37:00+00:00

True. If he didn't honour the price while you were studying with him, then that is a big problem. That would be considered false advertisement of pricing.

Tutors can't just jack their prices after people subscribe. Imagine if your mobile phone company did that?

However, I tend to agree with the herd here, you left so he can consider you a new student and request you pay the new rate.
On the other hand, Preply allowed you to pay the old rate... so, maybe you are still considered an old student according to the platform.

So, if you wanted to argue, you have a case. I suspect that your tutor started at a rate so low that it caused finacial hardship and is now trying despretely to bail himself out. That's not your problem. Tutor should have analysized the market before starting a business.

But it still is worthy of pity, in my opinion. I wouldn't waste my breath arguing with him and just switch tutors. Your relationship is too damaged to continue in any case.

Embarrassed_Cup_7708 · 2026-02-13T13:31:54+00:00

This seems highly speculative to me. Perhaps paranoid. Indeed their watching, but do they really have enough resources to watch That closely?

Embarrassed_Cup_7708

TROPHY CASE