How to improve Teacher Profiles?

We had some feedback that some of our teacher profiles come with not so great English (which is definitely true). I found out some aren’t even filled out at all. It is something we didnt pay too much attention to in the recent past, mainly because nobody ever mentioned it in the forum. Now someone did, which is great, so I know that there are people actually checking those profiles too, so its worth spending time on improving them.

I spent a lot of time designing that page at the beginning when we started with Flexi, but then it was never mentioned in the forum again so I kind of forgot a bit about it. Super excited to hear that the page is actually used by students and is useful.

Would love some feedback, for example to those questions

  1. Do you look at teacher profiles? If yes, how regularly?

  2. If you look at them, why do you do so? What kind of information are you looking for?
    If you do not look at them, why do you not look at them?

  3. What kind of information would you like to see displayed in the teacher profiles?

  4. Any feedback about our current teacher profiles?

  5. Anything else? All feedback most welcome.

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Good feedback and I agree about getting them checked for English.

1 - I always check the teacher profile before booking a class.

2 - It doesn’t impact whether I sign up for the class, but I like to know a bit about the teacher before starting the lesson. Getting to know your teacher is important and this is a quick and easy way to get a head start.

3 - I like the layout and information as it is. For me no need to change anything or re-invent the wheel. Just needs to be tidied up. Perhaps a minimum number of bullet points or sentences so they all look quite consistent. If I see a shorter one I feel like the teacher isn’t bothered so much. Of course that’s not true but it’s my first feeling.

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Website has stellar design. Process is great. Yes, I look at teacher profiles. Helps me make decisions. No profile lowers probability of sign up. But then teaching philosophy descriptions that I disagree with are even bigger cutoffs. Teaching philosophy descriptions (My study Tips) I agree with are a big yes.

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I use the profiles for the exact same things. I second everything here on Max’s reply

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I do look at teachers profiles, everytime i sign up for a class. I like to know what my teacher is like, their teaching style (if mentioned), what their background is, etc. I think the three sections right now are perfect, I don’t think we need to know more about them, but I think they should be filled out for every teacher, because between two of the same classes in optimal times for me, I will probably choose the teacher who has their info filled out, so I know what to expect, and who I think will click with me more!

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Like nearly everyone else who has commented so far, I mostly look at teacher profiles when I encounter a new teacher. I find that knowing a bit about their background puts me at ease. Every once in a while I’ll return to a profile when I’m in the middle of class with a new teacher and have forgotten her name. :blush: I also enjoy it when the teacher notes where in China they live or have lived. That way, when that location comes up in a lesson, I can ask about it.

I don’t care much about how much teachers describe their teaching style or approach in their profiles. I trust that each teacher has been well-vetted by LTL already and will be professional. Since I’m moving through HSK 2, I also expect that a lot of the lesson structure is predetermined. In the end, I try to take lessons with a variety of teachers. Though, like most people I’d bet, I have my favorites!

In general, I think the teacher profiles are great. Besides polishing up the English, I think think it’d be fun to see a note of how many times I’ve had class with the teacher or how long they’ve been teaching with LTL.

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I agree with everyone else. I definitely look at the profiles, particularly if it’s a new teacher, although I admit I rarely have a new teacher now as I’m a little attached to a small group of them. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

I haven’t figured out how to view the profiles without going through the My Classes page or the Book A Class page. That would be a nice addition, if it’s not available.

One other minor change I’d make is to the name shown. Currently the profile shows pinyin and the teacher’s Chinese name, but some teachers also have a western name. For example, Seline has 杨老师 - Yang on her profile, but when she is teaching a class, her name comes up as Seline Yang. As my memory is still struggling with the triple threat of 汉字 / pinyin / English, it would be helpful to have all three on the profile, if relevant.

One day I’m going to book a 1:1 class to learn more about Chinese names. I find it really interesting how names are chosen and what they mean.

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1.Always
2. From which part of China a teacher comes from, and lives now. And as it is now, something personal a teacher likes to tell. Kindergarden experience like your example above, (big plus for me), lived abroad for some time, special hobbys, something one can use for the small talk or shows mentality.
3. Mistakes in English is no problem at all for me, so I can guess the experience with English, or also how carefully somebody wants to inform. :wink:
4. I would like to know the tone of a teacher’s Chinese pinyin name.

  1. I always check what I wrote in my ratings if I had a teacher before already. So the rating really is useful for myself.
  • What about the teachers with “no classes” for a longer time. Have they all left LTL? So sorry about that.
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  1. Yes, when I have a new teacher or when I start to get to know a teacher and want to find out more

  2. &3. As most said, where they are from, have they lived abroad, a bit of personal info is nice too - hobbies, pets, etc.

  3. Format is good, just ask people to fill it out properly - some have lots, some have none :slight_smile:
    I agree I don’t care on teaching style, as Micheal said, I assume they teach to the same standard as usually provided by LTL. I personally don’t mind the language errors - I think the teachers at HSK 4/5 level often have less good English (as most translation is done in Chinese) but if I was HSK 1/2 I would gain confidence in a teacher that had good english on their profile

3 Likes
  1. Do you look at teacher profiles? If yes, how regularly?
    Yes. Pretty much for every class.
  2. If you look at them, why do you do so? What kind of information are you looking for?
    If you do not look at them, why do you not look at them?
    I usually book classes that fit my schedule, and often way in advance. So I don’t know what teacher I will get. For this reason, I only ever check their page because I’m curious about them. I’m looking for a little summary of who they are and what they like.
  3. What kind of information would you like to see displayed in the teacher profiles?
    I love to see a little stat that says whether they’ve taught me in the past and how many times.
  4. Any feedback about our current teacher profiles?
    They look great to me!
  5. Anything else? All feedback most welcome.
    加油!
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Yes. Every time I see a teacher I haven’t met before (or met a long time ago).

Like others mentioned before, I’d like to get to know a teacher as a person (and not just another anonymous LTL instructor). I always look at teacher profiles.

Their profile picture, where are they located, what languages do they speak or teach, and their favorite studying tips or anything else they would like students to know about them.

I like the idea of showing little stats (e.g. “You’ve taken 99 classes with this teacher. Your average rating is 9.9”). Other than that, maybe customize the page based on the language that is currently selected (it’s always 老师 even if you’re looking at Vietnamese lessons).

I don’t mind English language errors at all, we’re a community of learners and we learn from mistakes. If anything, I appreciate the effort the teacher put into the introduction. One suggestion I would make is if teachers could - in addition to English - also provide the intro in their target language, so if someone teaches Mandarin and Shanghainese, they could add the same text in those two languages.

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I suggest …

  • Encourage teachers to provide more complete profiles. (The Vietnamese profiles are mostly blank with no photos.)
  • Encourage teachers to specify what hours and/or what classes they prefer to teach.
  • Provide a list of the current teachers for each language, with links to profiles.
  • Consider adding a messaging system. (One of the profiles says “do not hesitate to message me,” but I don’t think the system allows us to send messages to teachers.)
  • I agree with the suggestions to show the native-language names in all relevant formats, and also show any English nicknames. Currently each Vietnamese teacher profile page shows only the surname, and only in English letters.
3 Likes