Articles in this section

Part 5: Tutoring on Cambly Kids

Avatar
Michael
  • Updated
Follow

Welcome to Part 5 of the Cambly Kids Tutor Guide!

By now, you should know the basics of the Cambly platform, how to navigate the Cambly Kids Curriculum, how to set up a kid-friendly profile and workstation, and how to book your first reservations with students. In this section, we’ll go over the most exciting part of Cambly… chatting with students!

If this is your first time tutoring with us, we highly recommend that you watch this video which explains the basics of the Cambly Classroom:



We also recommend watching this set of videos that we showed in Part 1 of this CK Tutor Guide if you haven’t done so already:

Note: While not all of the videos are specifically for kids, they contain a lot of valuable information that can really help a first-time online tutor get off to a great start!
 keypoint.png

Tutoring Kids

Every child is different, so it can take some time for new Cambly Kids tutors to find the style that works best for them! To give you some ideas and help you find the best fit for your own skills, we’ve compiled these best practices for working with kids.

 

Pro_Tip_button.png Pro Tip: When tutoring kids, it’s important to make sure that you are not adding too much pressure for your students. For example, if you’re working with a beginner, you don’t necessarily have to formally correct every single error. Instead, you can model the correct language to use. Either way, be sure to speak slowly and clearly!

 

Total Physical Response (TPR)

No one likes sitting through a lecture, especially in a foreign language. Making your lessons more engaging with TPR is a great way to help you keep your student’s attention and ensure they have a fun experience! When a tutor utilizes TPR, they act out each word they use.

An easy way to incorporate TPR is to assign certain movements to sequences of sounds or sentences and then repeat those sounds or sentences several times, in order, making sure to also use the same movements. The repetition will help the students learn and the movements will help keep their attention!

To see TPR in action, along with more best practices for tutoring kids, please watch this video made by Cambly Kids Tutor Jenn!

Note: If you’re interested in learning more about TPR, please take a look at this thorough guide which the US State Department has put together. keypoint.png

Props

When teaching online, using props is very helpful and can serve as visual aids for young learners. When teaching children, you want your props to be colorful, fun and interactive in order to keep them engaged! You also have the option to make your own props at a low cost. Here are some examples of popular props that are used by online teachers across the globe:

  • Toy microphone
  • Whiteboard
  • Stuffed animals or puppets
  • Flashcards
  • World map
  • Plastic food
  • Hand clappers

For some prop ideas, here is Cambly Kids Tutor Elena with her Top 5 Cambly Kids Prop Ideas:


Rewards System

Keep your young students motivated by having some extra tools on-hand and offering rewards along with your praise. This will help keep students focused and add an extra bit of fun. Here are a few cost-effective suggestions but, again, no need to buy anything if you’d rather get creative on your own!

  1. Whiteboard: You can easily change up your approach to a certain topic or display an idea in a more interactive way.
  1. Stickers: You can reward students by “giving” them stickers as they participate, accomplish a task, or ask a question. You could place these reward stickers on a single sheet of paper for each lesson or each regular student.
  1. Magnetic Rewards: This is another way to approach the sticker rewards system in a reusable way. Either make or buy magnetic stickers and place them on a magnetic board so that the student can see their progress each lesson.
    • Buy magnets. The no-hassle way to get started!
    • Do-It-Yourself Magnets: Print out a design and use your own magnetic backing.
    • Magnetic Board: Stick the rewards on any magnetic surface:

Shy Students / Students Who Don't Participate

Sometimes, you may encounter a student who is a bit shy and apprehensive about participating during a lesson. As Tutor Elena explains in the video below, there are a many methods we've seen Cambly tutors use to successfully engage their students and get them to respond! Incorporating a few (or all!) of these may help turn that shy student into one of your regulars.



Note: While it may be tempting to just continue on with the lesson without the student's participation or attention, we highly discourage this as it is often the students who are able to engage and have a direct conversation with their tutor that have the most success on Cambly.
 keypoint.png

 

You may also encounter kids, who for privacy and safety reasons, elect not to turn on their video. In those cases, we hope that our tutors utilize different classroom management strategies and teaching methods to find ways to make the most out of the session. If your preference is to only work with those who have their camera on, please do your best to finish the lesson! Afterwards, you may hide from the student if you still wish to do so.

 

Impress Parents

The number one thing we hear about from parents is feedback! Sending a message of feedback and encouragement after the class is a fantastic way to show a parent you were focused on their child, and that you are able to meet their academic needs. Here's a quick example of what your feedback might look like:

"Hello! Great job in class today! You did really well with [lesson activity] and with your pronunciation of [lesson vocabulary]. Amazing! Make sure to keep practicing your pronunciation of [other lesson vocabulary]. You'll get it in no time! See you in the next class. :)"


Keep an Open Schedule

Parents love to see consistent schedules. If you can open at least 20 hours at the same times every week, you're bound to get regular students in no time! Our peak times are roughly 9:00 – 15:00 UTC. You can also schedule your availability for these times as "Cambly Kids Only" if you'd like. Remember to message your students before their class to cut down on no-shows!


Outside Resources

If you want to make sure you have materials ready to go for every student you connect with, we recommend using some outside resources along with the Cambly Library. Here is Cambly Tutor Meagan with a compilations of some of the best outside resources out there for ESL tutors:

 


Advice from Top Cambly Kids Tutors

We took the time to ask some top Cambly Kids Tutors for their tips and tricks on how to not only achieve success on Cambly Kids, but how to sustain it:


What makes a top Cambly Kids tutor? 

All of our Cambly Kids tutors are fantastic! You're a lively, fun, and professional bunch. ❤️ A top Cambly Kids tutor consistently provides the following to their students:

  • They are consistent and reliable tutors, meaning they limit no-shows, cancellations, late starts, and early endings. 
  • Outstanding ability to connect and adapt to kids of all levels by adjusting vocabulary and rate of speech. 
  • They're careful to ensure their work environment has stable internet connection to limit connection issues during class. 
  • Their work environment is kid friendly with limited distractions in the background, and on occasion, fun props to keep their kids interested in the topic!  
  • A top Cambly Kids tutor regularly uses TPR (total physical response), props, or a reward system to encourage their students to actively engage in the lesson. 
  • They have ample patience and perseverance to push through a class, even when it is not going exactly as planned. Kids are unpredictable, and classes can be too! 
  • They incorporate outside resources to bridge gaps or enhance lessons by eliciting meaningful student output. 

Screen_Shot_2021-11-16_at_8.45.10_AM.png Congratulations on Completing Part 5! Now that you understand how to Tutor on Cambly Kids, let's finish up the tutor guide with Part 6 so that you can learn about Cambly's policies and ensure long term success on your tutoring journey!

 

Return to top

Related articles