First of all I would like to say I have found a fantastic teacher, whom I really enjoy lessons with and her teaching method matches my learning methods perfectly.
However when I was originally looking for teachers I realised it’s very hard to tell if a teacher is good or not, because if you haven’t noticed- no one leaves negative feedback, all teachers have 4.9 rating at least. Now I understand some people may decided not to use a teacher because their learning style doesn’t match with the teachers methods so they don’t leave negative feedback, which is fine, that wouldn’t make someone a bad teacher. But what about those who have a lesson and just found it awful? I have seen some videos of teachers where they barely speak the language they claim to speak but there is positive feedback :s ( I check out English teachers out of interest.)
I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on the subject? I know the best way to tell if a teacher is good normally is by how many repeat lessons a student takes, but what about the teachers with 5 start feedback, but they have a high percentage of students that don’t retake or leave feedback.
If my teacher is reading this, you are a fantastic teacher, this doesn’t apply to you :).
The people will flatter as long as the theacher rating remains not anonymous. I think it should be made anonymous.
The system of feedback and rating is pretty much useless. Reading profiles and watching videos doesn't really reveal much either. I think the only really reliable method is to try a lesson, if you enjoy it take 3 or 4 more. If you've not gone off the teacher by then, you've probably found a good match.
Best way to identify if the teacher is good or not is through the number of repeated sessions. Some students won't leave a feedback but they loved the session and sometimes they hate it but still write something positive. But I have seen bad reviews and really strong bad reviews, if you want, I could show you some in private hehe!
And as to the ratings, well... many have 4.9 or 5.0 which is good but some of them you can see with 4.5, 4.6 and this is not good in my opinion because it takes a lot of " regular " ratings in order to become that and I don't buy a session with a teacher whose ratings keep the same low ratings.
As to the video, hmm,it's hard to judge because some people don't feel comfortable recording a video and might give a bad impression in terms of fluency and accuracy of his/her own language, but maybe you're right and they suck at it but perhaps during the session they are different. Anything could be possible!
Another good way to find a good teacher is to scroll down to the bottom of their personal profile (not found on their teacher profile) and find the "Community Activities."
Take a look at how they comment on discussions and especially read how they have answered and helped the language learning community. If they answer in a manner that you understand and fits your learning style, that teacher may be a good fit for you.
Quynh, if I had a student who was really unhappy with my lessons, I would like him/her to tell me first so we could have a chat. It would be way more beneficial this way : trying to fix the problem, improve the lesson or adapt my teaching style to the student, rather than leaving a bad comment for the world to see where as (not sure about the use of this conjunction, I want to oppose/contrast) a solution could be found.
If you leave a bad comment without talking to the teacher first, I think that the situation can only get worse and the teacher is going to dig his heels in and will react very emotionally. Nobody likes to be exposed like that.
My two cents, as a teacher :)
