In this Article:
Types of Chats
Ways to Receive a Call
Types of Chats
As you prepare to start meeting students on Cambly, you may be wondering just what students are looking for in their lessons. As every Cambly student has different levels, interests, and goals, you may encounter a variety of callers who are looking for a certain kind of lesson. Let's take a look at 3 types of chats you may have with a Cambly student:
1. Call with Curriculum
When a student subscribes to Cambly, they can choose a course from Cambly's Curriculum to enroll in. If a student has already enrolled in a course, the lesson will automatically pop up when you answer the call. The courses are created for tutors to complete them without preparation or preview; however, if you'd like to preview the Cambly library, you may do so in your tutor account.
Trial callers also call in with an assigned curriculum that will automatically pop up when you answer the call. Trial callers are students who are simply testing out their first call on Cambly. To support tutors with these first-time students, Cambly has developed curriculum that the tutor and student can follow.
2. Free Talk
There are many students who have joined Cambly to practice their conversational skills in English. You will encounter students who are not enrolled in a Cambly Course, but would rather just have a free-flowing conversation with their tutor. If this is a first-time student, you can utilize the time to get to know the student a little more, help identify their English goals, or come up with some fun icebreakers.
| Pro Tip: If the student has been a Cambly student for some time, you can use the first few minutes to introduce yourselves and move on to some fun/interesting conversation topics or questions, as this student has probably already had the "get to know you" conversation many times already. |
3. Student Requests
You may meet a student who chooses not to enroll in a specific course and doesn't want to free talk, but instead wants to focus on something more specific. For example, maybe the student wants to practice for an upcoming interview in English, read and discuss a news article, or focus on a specific part of grammar.
As you become more familiar with the platform, you can utilize material from Cambly's Library, share resources in the classroom chat, or use the screen-share feature to share outside resources with your student!
| When you're comfortable with the platform and ready to take your tutoring to the next level, visit this help center article to learn more about using additional resources in your lessons! |
Ways to Receive a Call
There are also 3 different ways to receive a call, making it easy to tutor in the way that best fits your schedule. Plan your tutoring ahead of time -or- simply tutor when you have some free time. Let's have a look at the 3 ways you can receive a call from a student:
1. Priority Hours
A Priority Hour is a one-hour block where a tutor commits to being available on Cambly for the full hour and answering all incoming calls. Priority Hours are a great way to start meeting new students, build your confidence and familiarity on Cambly, and build up a strong base of regulars. While on a Priority Hour, you may receive calls from long-time students or even first-time students who call through their trial.
If you have signed up for a Priority Hour, you can also receive reservations during that hour block, so don't be surprised if you see a reservation with a student appear. These reservations will be auto-confirmed since you have already committed to being online for that hour, so don't forget to check your schedule.
| Did You Know? Not only do you receive guaranteed minutes when completing a Priority Hour, but Cambly will also send you "Notify Only You" calls in order to help introduce you to new students. You can read all about Priority Hours and what to expect here in the Tutor Guide. |
2. Reservations
Opening up reservation availability allows students who view your tutor profile to request a lesson during your available time.
As you meet new students through Priority Hours, you will begin building up a base of regulars, as a number of these students will want to have a lesson with you again. You can plan to see these students again by opening up your reservation slots.
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NOTE: As you continue to meet more and more students on Cambly, you may want to prioritize your schedule to specific students you want to work with on a regular basis before opening it for all Cambly students to see. You can do this by marking these students as "Regulars", and opening up your schedule to "Regulars Only".
You can read all about how to open your reservation slots and more in this article in the tutor guide. |
| Pro Tip: Scheduling Breaks: During each Priority Hour, you will have the option to take a 5 minute break. However, if your entire Priority Hour fills with reservations, you may not have an opportunity to take that break. When scheduling Priority Hours and opening up reservation availability, it is always a good idea to schedule breaks so that you can rest or eat a meal uninterrupted. |
3. Reservation during a Priority Hour
When you sign up for a Priority Hour, you commit to being available on Cambly for the full hour and answering all incoming calls. Once you've signed up for a Priority Hour, students will see this as open availability on your schedule and can book a lesson during that hour.
While typical reservations must be booked 6, 12, or 24 hours in advance depending on your settings, reservations during a PH require no advanced notice. This means even during your priority hour, you could receive a reservation during your PH time. Don't worry, reservations begin to "ding" when it's time to start the reservation, alerting you to the reservation on your calendar. Reservations during a PH will never extend past the time that your PH is supposed to end or interfere with a current PH lesson.
Reservations while on priority hour are auto-confirmed, as you have already committed to being online for that time.
4. Go Visible
Don't have time to commit a full hour to a Priority Hour? Does your schedule change too often to open up your reservation slots or book Priority Hours ahead of time? Do you unexpectedly have an extra 30 minutes of free time? If so, going visible may be the best option for you.
Going visible allows you to go online and receive calls without the commitment of needing to be online at a specific time or staying online for a full hour.
| IMPORTANT REMINDER: It is important to complete the entire student lesson at the requested length of the call. If a call comes in and you are unable to complete the entirety of the call, please simply click the decline button. Please read this helpful article to learn more about answering and declining student calls. |