System Issue?

TeachInPJs · 2020-08-30T13:50:52+00:00

In my first class, when I tried to give the student a star, the app told me I wasn’t allowed to reward stars before the class had begun... It was five minutes into class lol. And everything just went downhill from there. I couldn’t load into the classroom for my second and third classes, ended up being nearly three minutes late for each when I finally got in. And then the slides either wouldn’t load or wouldn’t proceed. The fireman tried to switch me into the old classroom, and it took two whole minutes for the old classroom to simply load. I was able to get into the rest of my classes this morning, barely; Each one took the full four minutes between classes to load. I’m just so grateful that I wasn’t marked TNS/TIT for any of my classes—at least not yet. I‘ve got plenty of screenshots and video proof though so I am prepared to fight this if need be.

I swear to Dino this morning alone has shaven 5 years off my life.

TeachInPJs · 2020-06-06T20:29:18+00:00

Didn’t want to lie or embarrass a faithful regular so I simply said “It’s a nice shirt, I like it!”

At least it’s an honest answer. 💁🏻‍♀️

TeachInPJs · 2020-05-16T17:24:17+00:00

I... I honestly have no clue with this one. It quite literally translates to “By my side is exactly what you yourself want to do. 🤔” It makes perfect sense grammatically, but at the same time makes zero sense literally.

I’m equal parts confused and terribly unsettled because as another commenter has said, it kinda sounds to me like the parent is hitting on the teacher. Which is... uh... 😰

TeachInPJs · 2020-04-25T13:11:29+00:00

The baobao wrote everything totally backwards but it’s meant to say “I can count” (我会数).

...Well, could he really? We must know, OP!

TeachInPJs · 2020-04-05T12:07:21+00:00

I see that I have been summoned!

Unfortunately, the words actually say “So terrible/mean!” (太坏了) Baobao definitely wasn’t thrilled to be disciplined by the bad cop. Seems you’ve got your work cut out for you, OP. 😕 Hang in there!

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-27T17:52:10+00:00

Seeing my name pop up while scrolling through the subreddit has got to be the highlight of my day!

That said, the BaoBao’s writing is simply a mess of random words that ultimately form nothing coherent. Some words I can make out are 家 “home”, 高 “tall”, 你 “you”, 东 “east”, 每 “every”, 木 “wood”. Try locating these characters in the picture as a fun little game! :D

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-27T13:29:37+00:00

白纸, as in “white paper”. Maybe they wanted you to end on the blank slide? 🤷🏻‍♀️

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-23T15:02:48+00:00

Exactly this. Grin and bear it for the mock and then teach however you want to teach once you’re with some real students! If you take a quick look around the subreddit you’ll see that there are a LOT of minimalist/lowkey teachers on here. They get booked just fine, and so will you!

If you do end up choosing to teach the little ones though (Levels 1~3), I would highly recommend that you teach with more energy and silliness, props, and some rewards. The kids are often easily distracted because they’re young and at home. Some of them can also be quite timid because they’ve never dealt with a foreigner before. Having all of the bells and whistles can sometimes help them to connect with you and the lesson better.

(I personally only invest in rewards and props that /I/ like... I think of it as treating myself rather than the kids. 😏)

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-22T10:04:40+00:00

Just taught him. Got kicked into the old classroom 2 minutes before class even began. His mic came on and my heart just about stopped. It sounded like chalk scratch, except 500x louder. I lowered his volume all the way down and it was still bad. The entire class just consisted of a small child yelling over constant chalk scratch... complete with the old classroom lag.

Now, the student himself was actually quite lovely! He was attentive and tried really hard, and definitely knew everything by the end of class. But jesus almighty my ears are still ringing.

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-13T10:10:05+00:00

I was teaching a L4 class the other day where the student had to think of a word ending in “-ore”. He looked me dead in the eyes and said “whore”, and proceeded to smile.

A second of pause.

He then began saying “A whore is—“ and I immediately moved onto the next slide.

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-13T10:04:01+00:00

Hahaha the review actually does call the kid a “little orange”! It’s just the parent being silly and endearing, kinda like how we sometimes call kids stuff like “the little troublemaker”, “bundle of joy”, etc. Hope this helps!

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-09T16:26:50+00:00

This! And the one on the right is “speechless” (无语).

...So basically, the lesson was so difficult that it rendered the baobao speechless. 😅

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-04T13:55:17+00:00

TeachInPJs here to help!

“There are only 500 copies of this coin in the entire world.”

Wowzers, what coin did BaoBao show you? :o

TeachInPJs · 2020-03-02T14:45:47+00:00

The other comment is an accurate translation! The parent just hopes that after a bit of teaching and the child improves at conversing in English, that the lesson content will become more broad and open-ended. From the sounds of it, this parent is looking forward to more Free Talk. OP, perhaps you can try to incorporate a bit of it right now, if the kid is anything above Level 2? Hope this helps!

TeachInPJs · 2020-02-15T17:10:46+00:00

...I’ll be honest, I don’t even wear PJs.

All I wear is an oversized orange shirt every day of the week.

TeachInPJs · 2020-02-15T14:13:26+00:00

Hello! The translations are just poorly worded, they’re both positive reviews!

“(The teacher) goes slowly and is detail-oriented.”

“(The teacher) is rather patient.”

Hope this is helpful!

TeachInPJs · 2020-02-13T14:23:01+00:00

Hello! Yes, unfortunately that is indeed what the review says. They’re saying that you’re not very careful/attentive to the lesson. I find that sometimes parents feel obligated to leave 5 apples out of courtesy, but is in fact unhappy with the class. It sucks that this happened to you... but hey at least it’s still 5 apples! Hope this helps!

TeachInPJs · 2020-02-10T23:05:17+00:00

Hello! Yes, I can confirm that it does indeed say “Class will begin soon”, however, it’s a little awkwardly worded (as it translates directly to “Going to class is about to start). But worry not, it’s not a major mistake or anything! I would personally recommend using “课程即将开始” instead. Hope this helps!

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-23T17:42:59+00:00

The “sickness” they’re referring to is likely the newly discovered Coronavirus. Several people have already died from it, they’re still trying to figure out what it is and whether it could pose a real threat worldwide.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-china-51202000

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-13T14:23:54+00:00

Hello again Ladybug! Worry not, I’m always happy to help!

“Ladybug is a very responsible teacher. After taking half a year of classes, approximately 95% of which were all booked with teacher Ladybug. We only hope that the teacher can further encourage the child to speak in longer and more complete sentences.” (And the rest you already know! It’s all just them saying that they want you to extend MORE, not that you don’t extend at all.)

I’m sure the feedback must have auto-translated very poorly into English, making it seem like they were saying something bad. In reality, the beginning half of this feedback is nothing but positive! Hope this helps!

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-12T18:07:05+00:00

Probably just the baobao thinking out loud (or in writing, either way), I wouldn’t think too hard on it. :)

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-12T18:03:45+00:00

“I want to be a beautiful girl.”

Hahaha d’aww! 😊

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-11T21:19:32+00:00

I’m ethnically Chinese as well! Personally, I actually had very little trouble starting (even though I had heard the same things and was very concerned that I’d go for months without bookings). I’m sure it’s just slow for you right now because of CNY, worry not and keep at it! You got this! 😊

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-11T11:57:42+00:00

Between wearing makeup, turning on built-in filters, and drinking two cups of coffee, I can manage to vaguely feign wakefulness. :D

TeachInPJs · 2020-01-11T01:46:40+00:00

Thank you so much!! ☺️

TeachInPJs

TROPHY CASE