Chalkboard 3

C H A L K B O A R DM a g a z i n e Issue 3

S p o t l i g h tAn interview with a Lawyer and a Korean student, their perspective on learning English as a second language. An insight that can save you time and money.

M o t i v a t i o nHow to stay motivated to learn, looking at the bigger picture and working towards achieving realistic goals.

N e wTake a peak at the new website and how it effects you.

l e s s o n p l a n sHow our lesson plans are created, planned and designed. A behind the scenes look into the process involved.

By Sanj Saigal

A magazine for students who are learning English as a second language.

G u i d eAn essential list that can help you to become a better online teacher.

www.one2oneacademy.com

C O N T E N T S

2 www.one2oneacademy.com

BalanceThe following table of contents are articles that have been designed for both Skype teachers and students.

Spotlight

An interview with one of my students from South Korea. At only 16 years of age he is within the top 5 percent of marked intelligence with an IQ of 146.

He gives his perspective on learning English as a second language, indicates some of the cultural differences and provides some very useful hints and tips.

P4

Motivation

A subject that effects both students and teachers. Some very useful hints and tips to help you stay on track.

Is money the only key motivator or is personal satisfaction something that drives us?

P6

New Audio Store

Find out more about our Audio store and how it can help you perfect your pronunciation.

Ideal for those students who want to practice outside of a class environment.

P7

Lesson Plans

Sometimes it’s not easy to find inspiration if you want to create something really different. Trying not to conform to the norm means you really have to develop unique materials which surprise the student and set a standard.

Take a look behind the scenes at exactly what happens at the development stage of a lesson plan.

P8

Life Of A Skype Teacher

Is this job any different to any other job, find out more about working in this sector is like and whether it measures up to a career choice.

P9

“The magazine for students and online teachers”

C O N T E N T S

www.one2oneacademy.com 3

Company Profile

The latest news about our company. The launch of our new website and the changes involved.

Is a blog more of a personal opinion and a website more factual?

P10

Interview With A Lawyer

A fascinating account from another student which highlights useful hints and tips.

Can you learn from your mistakes, how to maintain motivation and advice for new learners.

P12

Interview Preparation

Is it a different criteria or do the same principles apply to an interview in a second language.

Discover how you can practice for an interview for free with useful hints and tips.

P16

Life Coach

What is it, how does a life coach work and what are the benefits?

A new industry that is set to change the perspective of finding balance between managing your working life with your personal life.

P18

Do You Stand Out?

What makes you so special? Do you posses the ability to distance yourself away from the competition?

P21

“A magazine inspired by students and teachers”

“You are only as good as the last class you have taught!”

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

4 www.one2oneacademy.com

One of the most exciting perks of being an online teacher is working with students from some of the most interesting parts of the world. It goes without saying that no two days are the same and this is one of my favourite locations.

I met James last year, he intrigued me as a student with his American voice tones and a thirst for learning. An accomplished student he has an IQ of 146 and is only 15 years of age. Getting bored quickly at such a high level of marked intelligence is a trait but one that challenged my skills and abilities to provide varied materials that would stimulate and develop his conversational skills.

James sits within the top 5% of students who have excelled in education and I felt very privileged that he has provided an insight into such cultural intrigue.

The interview took place on Skype recently and I was impressed at how his perspective on identifying the significance of English as a second

language was so relevant to those students who had high aspirations for the future.

Originally James had his future

mapped at a very young age, I smiled in almost admiration for such a young talent to aspire to being a diplomat. As we got to know one another he told me that he had also considered being a scientist as he boasts strong working knowledge of science, something that evidently was present with a close family member.

As the interview commenced I sat back in my chair and sipped a cup of tea, something that reminds me very often that student to teacher interaction needs to be balanced. I

asked him the following questions;

Why are you studying English?

I personally feel that it is needed for the future he said with a friendly but firm voice tone, something that is not always present with the other students that I teach in that part of the world.

Globalisation means that it’s hard not to take this language seriously for the purposes of career development. From my perspective, 99% of Korean college students take Maths/ Korean language and English. You need to have very good grades besides Social studies and science. It’s a very competitive environment! and the Government is planning to reform elements of the education system.

What do you want to do as a profession?

I would love to be a scientist and work worldwide he said very confidently as he broke the sentence with a raised voice tone , but I would also consider being a Diplomat!. I would consider studying for both as I believe that in the future people may need more than one job.

I raised an eyebrow as I realised just how much thought had gone into providing his answer, something that many of us would simply dismiss.

South Korea“An interview with one of my students who has clearly defined learning goals”.

“it´s hard not to take this language seriously”

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

www.one2oneacademy.com 5

Is there a lot of Parental pressures in South Korea?

I think there is in every country and it’s no different here he said as I could hear him sipping a drink in between responses. My parents only want the best for me and of course there is pressure to do well. They are open minded but yes they have to keep me in check. My mother always wanted me to be a Judge, my father would like me to be a Doctor. Ultimately I have supportive parents and they would respect my life choices.

I paused for a moment as we discussed football, he is an avid supporter of Manchester United and passionate about how his team performs. His love of sport is something we both have in common and it often helps us to maintain his interest in our lessons.

Does intelligence cause problems with maintaining friendships?

Not at all, they accept me for exactly who I am and I have very intelligent friends within my circle. I am aware that I have a gift but I think that everyone has a talent or a gift. We laughed together at his comment and I realised just how mature in attitude he is towards life.

What advice would you give other English students?

Some of my friends tire when faced with learning English, they get bored easily as all the materials used generally in school is repetitive and doesn’t really challenge a student. I would say that learning materials are a very important feature in the process. You need to watch TV in English and read a lot if you can. the more involved you are, the more interesting it is. Relating to the language is key to remain interested in it. It’s one of the most important subjects he emphasised almost as if the sentence was somehow highlighted or quoted within speech marks.

Does Korea use Robots to teach English?

Yes, I have actually seen one being used, I think that it’s very impressive!. It is a new concept here but it is in a very early stage of testing. Perhaps one day it may replace you, we laughed at the comment, but on some level perhaps at some time in the future the thought may prove to be reality.

Why do you choose to learn on Skype?

I only discovered online classes when I returned from a visit to the States. I wanted to communicate more effectively in English and I was drawn to the

fact that I could learn from a native speaker around my school hours.

I like this learning choice it’s more convenient and fits in around what I have to do, it also gives me an advantage over the other students who are learning English. I like it!

I thanked him for his time almost proud of his conduct, such a young student with adult opinions.

“You must have clear goals and a timescale

to measure them against”.

M O T I V A T I O N

6 www.one2oneacademy.com

T E A C H E R M O T I VAT I O N

How can one word mean so much, no matter what challenges are presented to both teachers and students we both have one thing in common, the need to be motivated.

As a teacher my advice to other teachers would be to set very realistic targets personally and with students. Your reward as a teacher is primarily the success of your students but in addition to this there must be financial reward as without this there would be no business.

Working for yourself you will relate to the fact that you are responsible for marketing and advertising, accounting, diary management, maintenance of student records, succession planning and website maintenance. Even though the list sounds like a huge responsibility there is much more to mention but I think that you get the point!.

Time blocking and realistic goal setting can help to have a greater sense of achievement and in this respect can help make you feel that you are successful at what you do. That’s such an important point to make because we are only motivated when we have some sort of feeling that we are winning in some way.

Trying my best not to sound like a self help book, however they too have their place within the process of managing your time. I am guilty of checking to see what other Skype teachers are doing in terms of material selection, use of camera and voice control, for the majority I personally found that most conformed to a minimum standard however there were some who were very obviously using this form of teaching to supplement their income.

I am currently putting together a survival pack for Skype teachers so look out for it in further editions. Thank you for the emails that you are sending in, it’s always nice to hear from other teachers who can contribute towards helping others.

Sanj Saigal

Goals“It goes without saying that if students have

learning goals, teachers should have teaching goals. These should also be achievable”.

As a business owner who works in the private sector I had to set my goals and objectives but more importantly I think that it is very useful to have these goals set on a measurable and tangible scale. In my case it was done per quarter and this can help you to compare like for like against historical data. This can be done monetarily or in terms of student progress.

“Focus”“You come first!”.

I was recently on a flight to London and as I belted up

and prepared for the worst part of the journey, Take off! the stewardess announced that we had to watch the emergency demonstration. I had watched these on numerous occasions but they had my attention. As the oxygen mask was being tugged, I heard a sentence that really put things into perspective for me; “ in the event of the use of an oxygen mask, see to yourself before your children.

Ok, it’s not quite the same but the point is that the teacher needs to be organised, structured and methodical in approach. Before you teach ensure that all the work behind the scenes are taken care of otherwise you will let your student down. Take care of your needs first to ensure that you provide a set standard of teaching that will never change.

Recharge“You can’t be successful if you are burnt out”

Working on different time zones still confuses me, I don’t always have a set time to eat or take breaks, but that’s what I signed up for and I love it!. What I will say is that sometimes you have to change your approach as to how you schedule your classes. There is no point just cramming them throughout the day from morning to night.

Most of my friends think that I have a very easy job, but the truth is that no two days are the same.

Blocking lessons in twos with a 15 minute break is a great starting point to ensure that you have a rest period for your voice and your mind.

Fresh air and a walk is the best way for you to recharge, but unlike other jobs you have to do this regime throughout the day - after every block. Sitting down at your desk with the excuse that you are working will not help your cause in the long term.

Diary management is very important, it’s stating the obvious but so easy to forget, if you want to

have breaks you have to plan them or you won’t get them. There is a certain discipline to enforce this idea, and this means get off Skype and put your computer on sleep mode.

Having a window of time to fend off enquiries is difficult to do but very effective. If you want to have more free time, you have to eliminate waste. So try and find out where you are bleeding time so that you can cut it out from your daily schedule or routine.

Frustrated

Sometimes income drops and classes get further apart so it’s important to condense classes into blocks to free up a day that you would not normally get. This day can be spent on preparation or something more productive than sitting around and waiting.

I always compare this to a new parent and the famous quote that says “sleep when the baby is sleeping”. Take your rest when it’s not busy. Finding a happy medium can produce better results in the long term.

Define your working hours and try to discipline yourself around them. It’s easier said then done but there has to be a starting point and a system if your going to remain in the private sector.

In my experience these tools are important to keep the balance and helps to keep you motivated, there is a direct connection between how you feel and how you make your students feel.

You

A U D I O

www.one2oneacademy.com 7

New Audio Store“ Specialised materials with female and male native speakers who have produced conversations that target pronunciation”.

Variety

The productions are based on different scenarios. As native speaking teachers we have catered for a variety of different situations.

Priced for students, we feel confident that you will benefit from the materials and improve your pronunciation.

You can access the store directly from www.one2oneacademy.com or through the following link;

http://vibedeck.com/learnenglishonline

Press

You can enjoy listening to recordings, some of which are free. Our goal was to provide more than a free resource could, with this in mind we wanted an easy, user friendly system.

Prices start from just 50 cents and we will produce materials for you specifically for your individual requirements.

Exchange

Some of the recordings can be exchanged for a Facebook like, simply visit the link to our store and those recordings which can be exchanged are indicated just under the title of the recording.

Voice Tones

There is much more value in a recording than there ever used to be, having the ability to listen to your teacher on demand is useful but you get used to the voice tones of a particular teacher. This helps with the learning process and will demonstrate stress points used within the context of a conversation.

Brand

The Audio store is the latest edition to the brand and it’s very rewarding to see how it’s grown over the last year, thank you for all your support.

You can join us on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin, getting to know other students is a great way to know first hand what the process is like and learning from them can save a great deal of time and money.

http://vibedeck.com/learnenglishonline “ a great way to develop and perfect your pronunciation skills!”.

L E S S O N P L A N S

8 www.one2oneacademy.com

With a wealth of free resource on the internet, to include forums and podcasts it’s sometimes very difficult to find the motivation to write new materials, I admit that teaching nearly 180 classes a month challenges the time that I have left to be creative!.

Sometimes the best resources available to me are my students. Students intonation change when they are faced with answering questions that they really have an opinion on. On a day to day basis I keep a small note book open and when those intonations exceed normal levels, I write down subject matter.

With a portfolio of Doctors, Lawyers, Pilots, It Engineers and Police to name a few, there is no shortage of materials to write about.

Behind the scenes I would be lying if I said it was an easy process to transfer words in such a graphical way. A story board is created with all lesson plans and in draft form can look more like childish drawings and scribbles.

A second draft provides structure to the lesson plan clearly mapping out objectives and clearly defining subject matter. I balance my time between

teaching and this activity although sometimes changing location, mainly the beach helps to inspire and motivate me to get the job done.

On average a lesson plan can go out over a hundred times before what I call coming in for service. During this process the concept is broken down and maintaining it’s original value is re built with a more user friendly layout and design.

A trait which I know I posses is that sometimes I can put too much time into a lesson plan, however on the other hand I really am committed to a students need to receive the best product, price and service. usually I dress the materials to magazine quality and have set that as a benchmark which is non negotiable.

Current affairs is a subject that most teachers find useful, I am no exception to this. Sometimes what is news to one student is a real turn off to another so it’s difficult to find the exact balance. I am often asked if there is a time where I will get someone to help me to takeover the creation of plans . I know that that time will never come as although challenging, I am extremely passionate about writing and creating.

My advice to other teachers would be to add a slice of creativity to a lesson, your own stamp on a

class can make all the difference. More than anything it shows how committed you are to the cause.

For me, everyday is so different and if you asked me what the next lesson plan is going to be about I would tell you that I don’t know yet. Waiting for the right inspiration in terms of subject matter and design comes when it want’s to and not when I want it to come to me.

I hope that you found this article informative and useful to your own circumstances.

Lesson Plans“Teachers need to be inspired too!”

— Sanj Saigal

“Sometimes you have to wait for inspiration”

L I F E O F A S K Y P E T E A C H E R

www.one2oneacademy.com 9

Working For Myself

There is always a time delay when asked the question; “so what do you do?, it’s a job that no one can file in any way. There are countless benefits with the ability to work from home and the main one is that I work for myself.

There are occasions where you feel strange, particularly when you go out into the real world so to speak. On average spending about 180 hours a month teaching does make you feel that you live in a box and there are occasions where your students feel the same but I wouldn’t swap it for anything.

My day usually starts at about 8am in the morning so I have to wake up at least an hour early to prepare for my day, the first thing that I do is switch on my office and and check my emails something I think that we can all relate to. My day can change quite rapidly so I can’t really plan too much in advance.

Fortunately I use software to guide me through my day so I tend to make a high level of diary entries throughout the day. I tend to block hours out much like Lego bricks each one mapping a task so that I give my day a structure. I work closely with another teacher so if time allows we both find it useful to have a quick briefing about the structure of the day that way we don’t overlap activity.

I do like a fair amount of pressure otherwise it’s easy to become lazy, so between writing my second novel, writing articles, teaching and maintaing several online platforms I find my motivation for the day.

In my personal circumstances my productivity is higher when I work in a pressurised environment. Behind the scenes there are additional tasks like accounts, marketing and advertising that need to be completed. I am excited at how the brand is growing and developing into something more substantial.

Clients are my managers and I admit that I have so many of them from all different walks of life. I always make sure that the classes give them a reason to come back - it’s very important to me and a good measure of my performance. This said, you begin to take pride in your work and develop a strong moral sense of purpose.

Culture and tradition is a consideration every time I cross time zones. What is regarded acceptable in one country is not in another. I often make a small note to self when I am crossing different zones especially Hong Kong and South Korea. This same

reason also changes the dimension of my day often leading to a long span of hours. Behind the scenes it is common for me to work between 8am and 9pm. I would sound like a super hero if I told you that I complete these working hours in one go, sadly I don’t.

In my circumstance I am fortunate to have access to a beach and enjoy 320 days of sunshine a year, this type of work suits the environment that I work in as there is plenty to do within the natural span of a day.

This is an important factor because you really need a very good desk and chair so that you don’t suffer any long term damage to your back.

Achieving Goals

I would love to tell you that this skill is easy to acquire and that anyone can do it but sadly that’s just not true. It’s a very challenging job which requires real dedication - a skill base that lends itself to this type of work.

The good news is that if you develop a business goal you can provide yourself with the necessary structure to succeed. It has taken me just over 2 years of investing every minute I could afford into this business that I now so proudly talk about.

Camera

Although the camera is a great tool, there are occasions where the benefit is felt by not using it. Students listening skills are put to the test, it really depends on the

weaknesses and strengths of the student and their individual learning needs.

Rewarding

I smile every time one of my students gets a new job, promotion or moves country. It gives me a

personal feeling of success. Having moved country, I have had my fair share of getting new jobs and have experienced both sensations. I can relate to how vulnerable and lost students can feel.

Change

Not everyone likes change, but in my opinion it should be welcomed not feared. It helps to set new goals and keep pace with the ever changing needs of a student. As a business model we have changed significantly over the last two years but those modifications to our business model have proved very beneficial.

As an organisation we have goals and objectives that we would like to achieve and

believe that our attitude to change is key to try and achieve them. For now though we would like to thank the support from all of our students for the commitment, dedication and focus that they have invested into the English language.

C O M P A N Y

10 www.one2oneacademy.com

Decisions“thanks to you our company is growing step by step”

Blog

Very thankful to blogger, there has been and continues to be an amazing response to our blog sites over the last one and a half years. Collectively receiving over 26,000 hits and growing.

As our company grows and in an effort to provide a user friendly service the decision was made to develop a website allowing us to have greater control with the layout.

Our intention is to maintain our blog sites although they will all be more article based containing free resource for our students. So far the feedback that we have received has been very positive.

Branding has remained the same although their will be some variations from time to time. Our new website address is

www.one2oneacademy.com

I take pride in saying that both Mandi and myself have pieced together and designed the website ourselves. It’s been a great learning curve for us and I think that it is more user friendly.

Website

As many of you already know, we write and produce our materials as often as we can. The ability to share an educational experience is so important as it demonstrates to others just how effective it is.

The new website layout allows you to leave testimonials and includes a forum section which allows you to interact with teachers and students in a debate scenario. There are a lot of you out there as we approach the 100 mark so getting involved with others is so important!.

Lesson Plans

Our lesson plans are bespoke and inspired by a students wish list. Advertisements for lesson plans are now at the bottom of our home page so you see whats new.

All of our lesson plans are very large files which is why you can view them directly from the following link, please let us know if there are difficulties we would love to hear from you!.

http://issuu.com/learnenglishonline001.com

Change

Yes it’s true that we are expanding and that there is change but we hope that you will find our new system of working more beneficial to you.

Soundcloud

All links have been arranged in a button format to help you to find exactly what you are looking for. In my spare time our company provides audio

On our website, you can now find links to Soundcloud, an online audio store providing you with an assortment of topics to build on your listening skills. Now approaching over 1,500 plays our intention for the future is to fuse these to our lesson plans.

We hope that you find our move from blog to website a positive one and that the changes that have been made in the way that we work enhance your learning experience!.

https://soundcloud.com/search?q=sanj%20saigal

F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E

12 www.one2oneacademy.com

I have had the privilege to meet a variety of students from all walks of life over my career as a teacher. A challenging student who literally could not speak in English just under a year ago, is now one of the students I talk about the most.

Organised, structured and with a keen eye on pronunciation, Maria has set her sights on the English language. From my perspective, I don’t just teach a language, I help develop a personality in another language. Most people raise an eyebrow when they hear me say that!. for a long time now I have been questioning myself whether it’s possible to be extrovert in a mother tongue and introvert in a second language.

Maria proves my theory, it’s a special moment in the learning process when you know that a student not only shows improvement but applies what has been taught. Laughter is one such indicator as we now share this trait.

As a Lawyer who is based in Northern Spain, Maria explained

how most professions now require English as a set minimum requirement. I think that it’s more of a necessity than a luxury she said, “nowadays you will struggle to find a job if you can’t speak English!”.

I asked her what advice she would give other language students, she was really keen to answer this question and she did without hesitation; “ I would tell them to focus on learning, try and remain proactive and try to learn from a native speaker because their perspective on the language is very different”. I smiled as I felt proud to

be that native speaker she referred to in her answer.

I was quick to ask her to explain so that it didn’t sound like an advert for my services and she responded by saying that it was more challenging.

My next question was directed towards motivation, she claimed that her need to find a suitable job and a career drives her ambition but also acknowledged that everyone´s circumstances were different.

When discussing time, she indicated that she studies just under two hours a day but that she wanted to help other students by telling them the

importance of watching Television and listening to pod casts to get real benefit.

“Surrounding yourself in a language is the only way and sometimes finding excuses not to do something is very easy.”

Composed and calm she answered my next question with compassion as she was keen to help others in her situation. My next question was directed to her need to find work and I asked her whether she thought that employers in Spain really needed English as a second language.

She said that although businesses didn’t really need the language at this time, their need to expand their client database and prepare for an uncertain future was on a high list of priorities for most organisations.

Interview with a lawyer“I have got one goal, to master the English language”.— Maria

“Businesses will need this language in the future”

F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E

www.one2oneacademy.com 13

Knowing now some of the criteria for what to do, I directed the next question to her “not to do” list.

That’s an easy question to answer in my opinion she said, try not to talk all the time, try and develop your listening skills. I laughed as I made the comparison in the new Maria verses the old one, listening skills was something on her learning curve that she has finally made development with.

She continued with adding that so many language students are shy, reserved and scared to make mistakes. At any given opportunity they are reluctant to practice for fear of making errors.

I wanted to find out what she thought about why so many people have left Spain in pursuit of another life outside of the bad economic times that Europe is suffering with. My question caused some hesitation with her answer but not for any significant time. “ I think that there are people who think that rather than put up a fight, it’s easier to leave, from my perspective most will return over time”.

“This topic is a very sore point with most students particularly if they don’t currently have a job but the Economy is a cycle and I think things will improve in the long term for sure”.

We were approaching the end of the interview, for me her words could influence other learners and I wanted that to show and not sound like an advertisement for my services.

Experience is something that can’t be learnt, and happy that the interview had a point to make I thanked her for donating her time to this cause.

I felt Maria genuinely felt that she was helping other learners but it was also an opportunity also to reflect on her journey. there is a message in that sentence somewhere.

Our special features are open to anyone who would like to participate and we would love to hear from you if you have advice for others. This magazine is non profit making and I donate my free time to help where I can.

Job Hunting“Learning a second language, getting married and finding a job is a tall order but I won’t give up!”

— Maria

“ find your motivation and stick to it!”

I N T E R V I E W P R E P A R A T I O N

16 www.one2oneacademy.com

“I spent 5 years working for a recruitment agency in central London and loved every minute of it!”

A subject that effects us all and there is no way to dismiss it’s importance. Students have improved a great deal when it comes to preparation, especially in a scenario where they have to draw on all their skills in context of a Skype class.

If I could offer you advice on this subject, you have to identify with every detail in your current position and then translate it over to English. That seems an obvious task to perform however it’s not so simple without the use of “Buzz words”.

These are demonstrated here with some basic sentences;

• I have a good attention to detail.

• I have a friendly but firm management style.

• I always give more than is expected.

It’s not good practice to use too many but you should become familiar with their definitions. An HR manager is looking for a good fit with their team dynamic and so needs to find someone who demonstrates a balance between personality traits, educational background and experience. It’s your

job to meet these requirements as best you can within an interview scenario.

Recording your voice and learning more about the way you sound can help. Skype classes can develop confidence and sometimes that is all a candidate needs.

More and more HR managers prefer to adopt CBI or competency based interviews, these are designed to test your experience by demonstrating how you react in different situations.

These type of interviews are much more challenging to someone who is studying English because answers to these questions really put your grammar skills to the test.

At this point I feel that it’s important to be true to yourself, describing situations that you haven’t experienced in the hope that you will get the job will only expose you and the outcome will not be positive.

My advice to you is to present a professional CV in a modern format that will guide the interviewer and influence the type of questions you are asked. Use this working document to help you to prepare for the interview by generating questions from it.

Finally you have to demonstrate empathetic voice tones or “say it like you mean it” answers to questions. The interviewer has to know whether they can manage your expectations from the out set so stress the parts of a sentence that reflect how you feel. This is so important because the interviewer can judge how excited you are about their opportunity and this can influence the decision.

Interview Preparation“Preparation is key”

“your interview date is your goal so prepare

for it the right way!”.

L I F E C O A C H

18 www.one2oneacademy.com

“A professional whose job it is to improve the quality of his or her clients life by providing advice on professional and personal matters such as a career, health, relationships and providing guidance as to how to balance life between work and play”.

Working as a Skype teacher has provided an insight as to how people work and live their lives outside of work. It gives me great pleasure in announcing that our exam preparation Skype teacher here at this academy has recently qualified as a Work and Life Balance Coach.

Helping people to make decisions, goal achievement and problem solving are only part of the job description. An online practice seems to be a natural complement to teaching for Mandi and her new online office http://www.perspectivecoachingonline.com

is already making headway receiving over 1,700 hits in under 3 weeks of

launch. It’s a qualification that has taken a huge commitment and pushed Mandi´s personal skills, such as time management, project planning and motivation to the test.

Mandi has some great promotions on to kickstart her new venture and she will be continuing to balance her time between teaching and her new online practice.

Mandi is

specialising in working with clients who are trying to balance a work and home life. She is eager to point out that there is a difference between a directive life coach and a non directive coach as the main difference is the level of interaction. She has told me that her job is not to tell a client what to do, or how to do it but to help the client find these answers out for themselves. The best

way I can describe it, she says is “I push the right buttons, they do the rest!”

Online Skype sessions are a valuable asset to a client she said as it allows sessions to fit in with there lifestyle

and commitments. However, currently email coaching is proving to be more popular

amongst Mandi´s clients as there is no interruption to a

client´s day.

Although Mandi

has started her new career with clients originating in the UK, States and Australia, she is keen to develop the business in Europe as she feels that the current economic woes have caused a host of instability and presents her with a real opportunity to assist.

I wanted to find out more about this Industry and asked her to provide

our audience with an insight into this relatively new industry.

How long did you have to study for?

It took me over a year to study and it was a really challenging part of my life - balancing my teaching business with studying and two children. I pushed all my personal skills to the limit!

Why this profession?

Being an English teacher and helping people to meet their goals inspired me to do more and it seems like a natural

progression.

How do you find clients?

I have been very lucky so far and have had many hits from my online presence - my website, linkedIn page etc. I have also been fortunate enough to work with a lovely lady in the UK who recommended me to her friends!

Life Coach“An insight into the industry that is about to change the way we think about life”.

— Sanj Saigal

perspectivecoaching online

perspectivecoaching online

perspective coaching online

L I F E C O A C H

www.one2oneacademy.com 19

“My mission is to provide support to those who feel that they need to find a support mechanism in order to find balance between their home life and work life”.

How much does it cost?

Fees in this industry vary considerably but I am priced competitively and a full list of my prices are indicated on my website. As a new business I am giving away sessions to demonstrate my value as a professional and the value of this type of service.

How long is a session?

Each session is about an hour long but honestly it depends on the client. Some clients don´t want to talk for long periods and may only have a few things to say! Email sessions are also available and are more suitable for clients with

less time or clients who want completely anonymity.

How can clients pay?

Clients can pay via Paypal, it’s an instant form of payment and more

flexible for clients to use.

I asked Mandi about her time blocking techniques, as this has become something that she is famed for with her existing clients. “ I use a

simple but effective technique which is very user friendly and can be adopted quickly and efficiently”.

What are your goals?

That’s an easy question for me to

answer she said confidently;” to provide a valuable service that clients will find beneficial, competitively priced and give value to finding a balance between a work and home environment”.

How can people contact you?

I have tried to make my website as user friendly as possible, my contact details are featured on the menu bars at the top of the website.

A new business that is set to take on the ever increasing number of people that need help to establish stability. I wish Mandi the greatest success for the future and am really excited that we have such a dynamic forward thinking teacher on our team here at www.one2oneacademy.com . We will catch up with Mandi in a future edition to see how she gets on with her new venture.

www.perspectivecoachingonline.com“sometimes we need a little help to find balance”

— Mandi Saigal

“A flexible solution for clients who need to make change!”

by Sanj Saigal

A R E Y O U D I F F E R E N T ?

Nullam arcu leo, facilisis ut 21

What Makes You So Special?“Standing out can influence your career”

ContactIf you wish to contact us please use the contact sheet provided on our website:

www.one2oneacademy.com

If you are planning on developing your career, identifying what sets you apart from the competition is the first step to consider. In my experience students who are preparing for interviews are more concerned with being able to describe their role at work as opposed to being able to market themselves and stand away from the competition.

For example, at the end of a conventional interview, a candidate is usually asked if they have any questions. I refer to this part of the interview as an opportunity to ask an intelligent question.

Do your research on a company before you attend making sure that you keep one and I mean one question that you can ask. Question matter that I would recommend is based on company profile so it could be on expansion, acquisitions or the department that you could be working in.

Whilst there are plenty of topics you can talk about, there are some subjects that are taboo and these could be those topics related to your pay and fast track training programs. These subjects only warn the interviewer that the company cannot manage your expectations from the outset.

Identify with your own personality traits and skill base and practice talking about them. This will give you the upper hand when you need to talk specifically about your role and the type of skills that will translate to a new company.

Finally, if you can let your personality traits show in a second language. This is very important as it effects team dynamics, a topic that you can be sure the interviewer is considering. Listening can be more valuable that speaking sometimes, so consider that this element of the English language is as important.

By Sanj Saigal

By Sanj Saigal

“A magazine for students and teachers”