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Terms and Features of Classes

I live in Carlsbad, California, which is in the Pacific Time Zone of the United States, so before scheduling a class with me, click on the link below to check the time zone in your country in relation to me. I have done classes with people in a variety of countries. Despite time differences, I will try to adapt to your local time schedule when possible:

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http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/  

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To do online classes, you will need a relatively good internet connection. 

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I do classes through Skype or Zoom, so you will need to have an account with one of them. You can find more information on how to setup an account and download their software below:

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Skype:

https://www.skype.com/en/
 

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Zoom:

https://zoom.us/download

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I use Skype and Zoom because they can be used free of charge and they allow you to use a webcam, so the student and instructor can see each other during class, which can be quite helpful in communicating with each other. There is also a chat box and audio, which allow the student and teacher to talk with each other, as well as write back and forth. Zoom has an added whiteboard feature. To ensure a good connection with a clear audio and video image, you will need to have a good internet connection, with sufficient bandwidth. Check out this Skype page to see if your internet connection is adequate:

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https://support.skype.com/en-us/faq/FA1417/How-much-bandwidth-does-Skype-need

 

I also use Google docs, which is also free. Google docs allow a student and teacher to share a text and simultaneously view, revise, highlight, or modify the text together. Click on the link below to learn about how to use Google docs, or I can simply explain in class:

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http://www.google.com/google-d-s/documents/ 

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I also use a wide variety of online stories, images, movie clips, from various sites. You can also find free online study materials that will also augment your learning of English:

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Free Study Materials

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I bill students using PayPal.com. If you do not have an account with them, you will need to get one. It is free to register for an account and free to use to make a payment. PayPal is a reputable and secure third-party billing service. At the end of the month, I will send you a bill from PayPal for the class you take with me. It is a fairly easy process to pay a bill, taking only a few clicks of the mouse. Please contact PayPal if you would like to learn how to set up an account with them:

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https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/general/how-to-set-up-a-paypal-account-outside 

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Typically, I write to students the day before a scheduled class to confirm our meeting. This is a good time to tell me if you will attend or need to cancel. I accept last minute cancellations the day of the class due to sickness and medical or other emergencies; otherwise, I ask for a 24-hour advanced notice of cancellation or I may need to charge you for the class. The sooner you can tell me you need to cancel, the better so I can adjust my schedule. Also, classes are a minimum of one hour long. If you schedule a class and decide shortly before class that you only have 30 minutes for class, I will need to charge for the full hour that we scheduled.

 

The students who attend class regularly and study often outside of class are motivated and most likely to have the greatest success in learning English. If you, cancel class repeatedly each month, we may have to discontinue class until you can commit to regular classes. For every one hour of class time, you should be able to devote 2-3 hours minimum to studying outside of class in order to see progress in learning.

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