The following guide is designed as an approach to using and conducting Fluentize’s interactive lessons in an online environment via Zoom with your private one-to-one students.
Log in to your Fluentize account and make sure you have credits in your account to download the lesson you want. Download the lesson and open the interactive lesson files on your computer in a PDF viewer software, if you have it, in your web browser. Download the Teacher Guide separately and open it in another device, if you have one, so that you’re able to easily refer to it during the lesson.
We’ll get more into this in the lesson conduct section below, but it’s great to already have the video that goes along with whichever lesson you’re doing open in a tab within your browser. You can have it open either on the Fluentize lesson page or YouTube.
After opening the lesson file on your computer, share the screen in which you have the lesson PDF open, whether it’s open in a PDF viewer or in your browser. This function is enabled in Zoom’s dashboard. You’ll switch over to video later when it’s time for viewing.
The remote control feature on Zoom’s dashboard allows another person to take control of your screen. This allows for more flexibility in your lessons by enabling the student to type or write answers within the interactive fields on the teacher’s screen. You may have to adjust some preferences on your computer to enable it. Guide the student along as they type their responses in the provided fields.
The demo below features parts of a Fluentize lesson in action with an upper intermediate student, Cristiano, and Fluentize’s founder, Jake. The lesson demonstrated is titled FOMO: Our Relationship with Social Media.
English Language Learner (B2)
ESL Teacher
Fluentize Founder
Preview (1) is mostly focused on speaking and conversation. If there are interactive fields for the discussion material and topics, you can instruct the student to write their ideas and answers in the fields, or just have a discussion. You could do a combination of both as well, as you can see in the demo.
Check out Preview (1) in action!
Check out Preview (2) in action!
For pre-teaching the vocabulary, you can either go through each item one by one with your student on the go, or you could also give your student time to do it independently (5 – 10 minutes is generally sufficient for this part if you choose to assign it as an independent activity). Make sure the instructions are clear.
There are two different ways in which you could have your student watch the video. The
best way would be to share audio with your student and play the video from your own
screen, which you can do with Zoom if you navigate to the “screen share” button in the
dashboard. You can then play the video through your own browser, and the student will be
able to hear and watch it from your screen.
Another way to do it would be to send the video link to your student via the chat box or
email, and then instruct the student to view it on their own computer or device. After
viewing, go through the items one by one with your student, or assign it as an
independent activity and give the student 5 minutes to complete it on their own.
Check out the viewing part in action!
Watch Post-Viewing (1) in action!
The lesson content and activities found in Post-Viewing (1) vary with each lesson, as the activities come in a range of different formats. However, it generally consists of writing or gap fill activities, so it works great as a homework assignment. Send the student the lesson file and specify which parts they should do, and then review it at the beginning of the next lesson.
In our older lessons, you’ll find a lot of grammar activities featured in Post-Viewing (2) but in our newer lessons you’ll find either additional speaking tasks that you can discuss after viewing the video. It works great to do this part at the end of the lesson if you have some extra time, or you could also go through them in your next lesson. Contribute your own thoughts to the questions and don’t forget to error correct.
Check out Post-Viewing (2) in action!
Check out the Quiz & Review in action!
The quiz and review section is straightfoward and designed as a warp-up to be done with students after you complete the lesson content with them. If you skip the grammar section for any reason in a lesson, it’s recommended that you avoid going through it in the quiz and review section with students. Many of the quiz and review activities come with a creative bonus activity at the bottom if you have time or interest in completing it with your student.