A video is worth a million words...
Your teacher introduction video is probably the most important part of your profile page. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your personality, mention skills/credentials and explain to students why you're the right language teacher for them. Rather than making an elaborate video, we recommend keeping things simple and straight to the point by following this format:
Length
- 2-3 minutes
Structure
- Introduce yourself.
- Mention your background, experience, skills.
- Teach something short and simple (like a greeting or some basic vocabulary).
- Invite students to try a lesson with you on Verbling.
Style
- Keep it simple, concise and personal.
- Be creative if you want. However, avoid animations/sound effects unless you are extremely confident in your video-editing skills. If you are not a skilled video editor, adding animations/sounds can actually be damaging as it might make your video look unprofessional.
- Show yourself! Make sure you are visible in the video so that we can see you and hear your voice clearly.
Setting
- Make sure you have excellent lighting. Avoid dark rooms and shadows.
- Try to be in a nice, comfortable environment (no dirty laundry in the background please!) If possible, record in front of a solid-color wall. The fewer distractions you have in the background, the better a student will be able to focus on you.
Language
- At least some portion of your video should be in the language that you are teaching.
- If you wish to address a particular audience - for instance, if you're teaching Spanish and want to address English speakers who are at a beginner level in Spanish, you could/should speak in English too.
- If you are multilingual, feel free to record parts of your video in each language that you speak; however, please remember you can only TEACH one language per account on Verbling.
Quality
- Make sure audio and video are of high quality. If you don't have a good webcam/microphone, please invest in them (there are some very affordable ones online); you'll need them for your teaching sessions as well.
- Record your video on your computer and then upload it to YouTube.
- Here are some suggestions for free recording software on your PC or Mac: http://www.wikihow.com/Record-from-a-Webcam
Title
- Title your YouTube video "Verbling Teacher [NAME] introduction video"
Smile!
- Don't forget to be happy and smile in your video 😃
Things to avoid...
- Do NOT mention your email, Skype, Zoom or any other external apps or websites. All communication with students, and all teaching, must be done through Verbling.
- Do NOT enable YouTube ads on your video.
- Do NOT make your video "Private" on YouTube. Please mark it as "Unlisted", which means only those with the direct link (you, Verbling, and anyone you choose to share the link with) can see it.
SOME MORE TIPS TO HELP YOUR VIDEO STAND OUT
Standing out is sometimes not an easy task, especially if the language you teach is very popular on Verbling... but there are many things you can do to help!
SHOWCASE YOUR CREATIVITY
Elizabeth has chosen to show a social situation many potential students can identify with and it generates interest. It makes you want to continue watching to understand what she is trying to achieve by opening her intro video with this scene.
Other aspects you might want to consider:
- Subtitles in English
- Well-structured
- Briefly discusses her background and experience
- Targets a particular group of students by mentioning she has vast experience teaching English to Spanish native speakers
- Mentions her proficiency in Spanish
- Clear and visual indication to what her trial lessons entail and the type of lessons she delivers
- Encourages students to message her
Bianca uses her creativity to draw the student’s attention and has included footage of her delivering a lesson.
She also mentions and uses a unique trait, which is the fact that she is also an actress. This could attract students interested in film, English for drama, or presentation skills (for more on this area, please visit Personal Branding for Teachers).
DISCUSS YOUR APPROACH
Mark specializes in IELTS preparation and shows some of his resources and techniques. Moreover, he discusses how he deals with the different exam papers, which gives students a feel for what to expect from his lessons.
Matthew justifies his teaching methodology by discussing his own experience learning a foreign language. We believe it is important to let students know why us teachers do things the way we do and what the objective is.
Kyle includes a clear and visual mention to the type of lessons he offers.
Other aspects you might want to consider:
- Good lighting
- Good quality video and audio
- Subtitles in English
- Briefly introduces himself and discusses his experience and specialization
- Mentions what to expect from his first lesson
- Invites potential students to check his profiles and ask any questions they might have
FIND ALTERNATIVES THAT WORK FOR YOU
Although Ashley’s video does not include subtitles, she has added key concepts to help potential students follow.
To guarantee the focus is on her and on the message she’s conveying, Rachel has blurred her background.
Among other student types, Barika teaches children. Although her intro video includes information only parents would appreciate and consider, she makes great use of age appropriate gestures and emotions to help children become interested in her as their teacher.
DELIVER AN EFFECTIVE DEMO LESSON
Elizabeth’s intro video includes a short but effective demo lesson. It is not over-rehearsed and she even gives her fictitious student homework.
REASSURE STUDENTS
Sarah comes across natural. She smiles throughout the video, reassures students and puts them at ease (“Don’t worry. You’re in good hands!”, “Most important of all, I don’t want you to stress about English. I can help you, I will help you and everything is going to be OK”).
The last bit is also a very nice and original touch.
Thank you very much to all the teachers who agreed to share their videos in this article!