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Hello everyone!

We’d like to formally welcome you to a new type of blog article on our website - Teacher Features.

With these articles we will feature real people working in the industry in the hopes of providing some insight into industry peoples’ day-to-day lives and to help people in the industry connect with each other.

If you think you (or someone you know) would be a great person to feature in these articles, please get in touch here.

Our very first Teacher Feature is with Nancy Taylor, former teacher at VIPKid and Outschool and current online teaching coach.

Quick Facts

Name: Nancy Taylor
Companies: Nancy Taylor LLC - Used to teach for VIPKid, Outschool
Hometown: Utah
Number of years teaching: 9.5 years
Number of years online teaching: 4.5 years
Fave food: dark chocolate or lasagna
Fave animal: dogs
Fave vacation destination: Caribbean/ Hawaii

1. How did you get started with online teaching?

I started teaching online when my first child was 5 months old. I was substitute teaching at the time and was looking for a work from home job and I found VIPKid, and it was an answer to my prayers.

2. What do you like most about teaching English online?

I love the energy and joy that it brings me and my students. It is so rewarding and the flexibility of being able to be a full time stay at home mom and online teacher has been a dream come true.

3. What are the challenges associated with your job and how do you cope with them?

At first, the early hours were hard to adjust to, as well as the fear of getting a teacher no show. Once you get into a routine it isn't too bad. I took the first year to learn the best techniques for working online. You learn management for the online classroom as well as the best troubleshooting procedures when technology is giving you troubles. You should be flexible and make sure the child leaves feeling better than they did when they showed up.

4. What is your daily schedule/routine like?

This adapts with the time, season and what I'm currently working on, but I always have my morning routine where I work, workout, eat and get ready ad then I'm on mom duty with my 5 year old and 2.5 year old. We do preschool, play and everything in between during the day and then I work a bit during naptime/quiet time and if I'm not finished I can finish when they go to bed. Any live working time (teaching/coaching )is always scheduled in the mornings before my kids wake up. It is the absolute best!

5. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to get started teaching online?

Make sure that you find a coach and research the companies. I have a course that helps others find a good fit for teaching online and connects them with a coach for the specific company that is a good fit. There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to teaching English as a Second Language and when teaching online. You can check out the course here.

6. What is your most memorable experience teaching online?

I would say my most memorable moment is a compilation of connecting with the same student over and over again and building a lasting relationship. I had the opportunity to meet several of my students in China and it was the experience of a lifetime. I will never forget one of my student’s mother's hospitality as they took me to dinner, spoiled me with gifts, and gave me so many great memories.

7. Do you have a favorite student? If so, tell us about him/her and why he/she is so great!

I used to teach 4 hours a day and see a variety of students, but within the past year, I cut down to about 5 students a week that were always the same students. I really got to know these students and each of them has their unique gifts and talents that I loved seeing in class. Eva is the one I met in China who is a prodigy child and was at a level 7 (6th/7th grade) at the age of 7/8. She was so fun to play Harry Potter with during class. I had a student take classes on vacation on a boat on the river named Julie. She was always filled with so much gratitude and love towards myself and learning. Larissa reminded me of myself always overachieving and doing her best in everything. I loved working with her as she was patient and always respectful. I had a student Kevin who loved to tease and have fun in class as well as my student Bryce. We all had inside jokes and would have a lot of fun in class. I have so many great memories with my students that I'm so grateful for!

8. Have you experienced any cultural differences teaching online? If so, how did you overcome them and what, if anything, did you learn?

I had a student go to the bathroom with the iPad when I was teaching. I had heard that this may happen and knew that I could close my camera and ask them to do the same until they were finished. Glad I was aware that this may happen and knew ahead of time how to handle it because if I wasn't aware I think I would have panicked.

9. Please describe your teaching style and personality type. 

I believe learning needs to be engaging and fun. A student learns when they are interested and excited about what you are teaching. Connecting the content to what they are interested in is key as well as including movement and making the content sticky and memorable. Teaching is an absolute blast and I'm so grateful for finding my passion and love for teaching.

10. If you could invite three famous people To dinner, who Would you choose and why?

It would probably be my own business mentor, Amy Porterfield! I am a huge fan. She teaches people how to build digital courses and was my mentor as I started creating my own resources and learning about business and marketing. I would love to connect with the leader of my church President Nelson. He is filled with wisdom I would love to learn from him. The third person would be my closest family and friends, even though they may not be famous to the world. With COVID I miss having dinner with them regularly and it would give me so much life and energy to be around them all in person.

11. When did you first decide to focus on recruiting and building your online presence?

I started recruiting after teaching for 1 year when they had an incentive to go to Beijing. I jumped all in. I had started my YouTube channel about 7 months prior. With time and experience I learned that the two went hand in hand and today I teach other educators how to build a profitable YouTube channel. It is such a gift to pass this on.

12. What advice would you give to someone who is trying to build their own recruiting brand?

Just start and having a mentor and roadmap will save you time and energy. Many think about starting a YouTube channel or starting to recruit, but they put it off and don't take action and they are exactly where they were one year prior wanting to start. You just have to start and then everything else will fall into place! You grow, learn and adapt as you go!

13. What made you decide to start with Outschool?

I loved that it was a marketplace for educators to teach what they are passionate about. I went through the application process and have only heard good things from teachers that teach on this platform. Such a great opportunity for those looking into teaching online.

14. How has the industry changed since you started? Where do you see the industry in 5 years?

Online education is much more common than it was 4.5 years ago when I started. There are many online companies and many opportunities to work from home. I see online education growing and becoming more of the norm as the years go on. It is such a great tool that is convenient and opens up education from all over the world. You can learn language, cross cultures and learn from experts in what you specifically want to learn about. I've learned from mentors all around the world through digital courses and personal coaching and I'm so grateful for technology allowing that to happen. We truly are blessed.

Thank you for having me! What a great privilege to share my experience here. Thank you! Cheering for you!

Discounts for Our Readers

Nancy is currently offering her course, worth $195 in value, for only $57.