I first got to know the teachers at Campus Top when I was looking for English enlightenment courses for my eldest kid. Last year, as a cross-border operation specialist needing to improve my adult English level for workplace communication, I signed up for courses myself. I stepped on a lot of pits at first, spending thousands on courses I quit after two weeks, until I figured out the logic. This time I invited Luna, a curriculum researcher at Campus Top, Mark, a foreign teacher from the Manila physical campus, and Kobayashi, a fellow student who works in foreign trade, to talk about the core logic of choosing teachers and courses, all real experience for your reference.

01What to look for first when choosing a foreign teacher? Don't just stare at certificates

Student perspective (Kobayashi): I once found a European and American foreign teacher randomly, his accent was really pure, but he was confused when it came to foreign trade terms. What I needed was expressions to talk about orders with clients, but he always chatted with me about where to climb mountains on weekends. 8 classes were totally useless.

Foreign teacher perspective (Mark): I have been teaching business English at Campus Top's Manila physical campus for 7 years, and I also worked as a purchaser in a local trading company for 3 years before. Many people have misunderstandings about Filipino foreign teachers, in fact, many of us have work experience in different industries, so teaching workplace content is more down-to-earth.

To put it bluntly, certificates are just the threshold, what matters most is whether they can help you solve practical problems. Luna, the curriculum researcher, gave 3 practical criteria for choosing foreign teachers:

  • Clarify your learning needs first, and give priority to teachers with teaching experience in corresponding scenarios
  • See if the teacher will take the initiative to guide you to speak during the trial class, instead of just talking about knowledge points all the time
  • See if the teacher can answer your temporary questions, instead of sticking to the preset lesson plan rigidly

If you are still not sure whether Filipino foreign teachers are suitable for you, you can read this article Who are Filipino ESL Teachers Best For? Insights From a 5-year Corporate Training, which is very practical.

02How to judge the suitability of adult English courses?

Student perspective (myself): I once signed up for a 1-hour large class, I started scrolling through my phone after 20 minutes, all the money was wasted. Later I switched to Campus Top's 25-minute high-frequency short courses, I can take one during my lunch break at work, which is exactly the duration I can stay focused. After half a year, I have no problem having docking meetings with foreigners, and the workplace English improvement effect is obvious to the naked eye.

Curriculum researcher perspective (Luna): Our courses use the Karen Method, which focuses on getting you to speak in the first class, you don't need to accumulate half a year of vocabulary before you dare to talk to foreign teachers. Whether you need to prepare for interviews, foreign trade negotiations or daily travel, we can match the corresponding course content, you don't have to learn useless things.

Frankly speaking, I personally prefer this high-frequency short course mode. Adults have too many things to deal with every day, it's too anti-human to squeeze out 2 hours for classes, it's strange if you can stick to it. I also tried various methods of learning English by squeezing time before, and stepped on a lot of pits, until I read this article Learning English in Fragmented Time for Professionals: 3 Common Paths Tested then I completely figured it out.

03One thing you must do before signing up for a course

No matter which one-on-one online foreign teacher course you choose, you must take a trial class before signing up, and don't be shy to put forward your needs during the trial class.

Student perspective (Kobayashi): When I took the trial class at Campus Top, I directly brought the development letter I was going to send to my client. The teacher helped me modify 3 too stiff expressions on the spot. I sent the revised letter that day, and received a reply from the client the next day, so I decided to sign up immediately.

Curriculum researcher perspective (Luna): The trial class is for matching teachers and courses, you can directly say any needs you have, such as preparing for IELTS, dealing with an interview next week, we will match the most suitable teacher for you, and also give you an exclusive study plan.

Choosing the right teacher and course that matches your needs is far more useful than studying blindly for 3 months.

Actually, adult English is not as difficult as everyone thinks. You don't need to memorize tens of thousands of words, you don't need to stay up late to take classes. Choose the right teacher and course that suits you, spend 25 minutes a day, and you can see real changes after two months. If you are interested, you can make an appointment for a free trial class first, it costs nothing anyway.