Skype has been around for over a decade, and in my opinion, it is the best way to learn French, however, many people have concerns about using it. To alleviate some of those concerns, I’ll explain the top five reasons why I think Skype is the way to go.
01 // Flexibility
Skype lessons are really flexible because you can choose when and where you want to learn without having to travel to class. This means no travel cost and no commuting time – and – more energy spent where it needs to be – in learning! Think about it – you could be enriching your vocabulary by an extra 20 words just by not spending that idle hour in traffic or waiting around for a train.
02 // Motivation
Motivations is the most important factor in the learning process, especially when learning languages. The more you enjoy learning, the quicker you will start speaking confidently. My job is to find out that thing that makes you tick to get the best out of your performance as quickly as possible. Skype helps me do this very effectively. While I won’t be sitting right next to you, our interaction will happen in real-time and will be very real. This intimacy will help me understand you better and customise my classes to suit your learning style.
03 // Focus
Skype lessons help you focus. Why? Because as humans, we are naturally drawn to the screen. That means fewer distractions like daydreaming or staring out the window. In fact, my students frequently tell me that their hour-lesson on Skype feels more like a 1.5-hour class, just due to the concentration required.
04 // Shared Chat Box
Traditional whiteboards are obsolete – not only do they get erased when teachers move on to the next topic, but students also can’t interact with them. Skype’s shared chat box allows me to interact with you by writing down notes, vocabulary and corrections as we speak. The best part is, it’s personalised and adapted to you. You can also copy and save the notes and study them whenever you want.
05 // Freedom
The close relationship that you will have with me will mean that you have quite a lot of freedom to learn the way you want at the pace you feel most comfortable. If you work irregular hours, my classes don’t have to be always at the same time each week. If you are a student, you could schedule me just before a speaking test. You can do as little or as many classes with me as you want, and because the lessons are tailored to your needs, I’ll help you on whatever aspect of the language you want to focus on.
I love teaching online and I love human interaction – and these are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Skype provides a unique personal space that allows lessons to be engaging, motivating and above all, fun, while offering a further bonus of accessibility and convenience. In the near future, things are going to become even more exciting though. Developers have already started to create hologram based face-to-face learning experiences, and it’s only a matter of time before that becomes universally accessible. Exciting times to be learning!
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Much love – Alexa
Great article! Really informative!