15 VIPKid Words & Abbreviations You Need to Know
In every profession, there is a specific language or “lingo” that includes the terms, acronyms, and abbreviations that are uniquely associated with that profession. But as a newly hired individual, these new words can become overwhelming.
I found this to be true when I started teaching with VIPKid! So, I wanted to help you overcome that overwhelmed feeling by sharing 15 of the most common VIPKid words and abbreviations as well as their definitions.
To help you remember all of these new words, I’ve created a FREE printable cheat sheet. Click here to download your printable cheat sheet now.
VIPKid Words
1. Bookings
These are the lessons that you will be teaching. You open the time slots that you want to teach, and then parents “book” you for that specific time.
2. Booking Frenzy
Every Monday, at noon Beijing time, every teacher’s schedule opens for the following week. This is called the “booking frenzy” for obvious reasons. Parents are all vying for their child’s favorite teacher’s lesson times.
3. Priority Bookings
Priority bookings are available to parents who wish to rebook a specific teacher at the same time BEFORE the booking frenzy. This gives the parents of a previous student “priority” for that specific time slot.
4. Trial
Prospective students are given 3 trial classes for FREE to try out the VIPKid platform. Since many students have never interacted with a screen for their learning experience, VIPKid offers these trial classes.
Students are given the opportunity to take a computer test which gives a fairly accurate positioning for the child. This places them into a certain leveled trial class that (hopefully) aligns with their English ability.
However, in my experience, most students haven’t taken the computer test before the trial class…especially if it is the first trial class with VIPKid.
5. Firemen
These are the amazing folks that help us in the classroom when an issue arises. If a student is having technical problems, if the slides aren’t showing up properly, or if there is some form of a behavioral issue, these are the people who rescue you!!
We communicate with the firemen via chat within the classroom platform. I am so thankful for these hard-working individuals. They have always been very kind to me whenever I have had problems in the classroom.
Trust me when I tell you they are a blessing!!
6. Feedback
As teachers, we provide feedback to the parents on every class we teach. This is just to let parents know what their child did well with and which things seemed to be a bit more difficult. While we are REQUIRED to submit feedback, parents only submit feedback if they so choose.
The highest rating for a teacher is 5 apples, and of course this is what every teacher hopes he/she will receive after teaching a lesson. However, it doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes, we have off days and sometimes there are issues with a student that cannot be avoided.
If you feel like you have been given unfair feedback by a parent, you can submit a ticket and your lesson will be reviewed.
7. Ticket
If you have any sort of issue that you need resolved, you simply submit a ticket. This goes directly to the company, and the situations are usually resolved quickly.
I don’t have to submit tickets often, but I have had to submit tickets for an incorrect finish type for my class and also as a courtesy to let the education department know when I was going to be on vacation.
8. Finish Types
These are listed for every class once it has been completed. There are multiple finish types and each type represents a specific amount of pay. Some finish types are full pay while others are half pay or no pay.
Full Pay Finish Types:
- As Scheduled
- Student No Show
- Student No Show (24 hours)
- Student IT Problem
- System Problem
Half Pay Finish Types:
- Trial No Show
No Pay Finish Types:
- Teacher IT
- Teacher No Show
- Teacher No Show (24 hours)
- Teacher Cancellation
9. Certifications
These are the learning levels that you are allowed to teach from Level 1 to Level 7. Whenever you are hired, you will be told which levels you are able to teach. Then after teaching for a period of time, you will have the opportunity to add levels to your certifications as well as other types of classes.
10. Referrals
These are individuals that you personally refer to VIPKid. If that person is hired by VIPKid as a teacher, you will receive a one time bonus.
Sometimes this can be a little tricky because for you to get credit as the referring teacher, the person has to use your unique referral number. Every teacher has a different referral number, but if the person applying doesn’t use your number or uses a different number by mistake, you don’t get credit.
So make sure when you refer others to VIPKid that you give them your unique referral number and tell them that for you to get credit they must use that number. I have referred several amazing teachers to VIPKid and I’ve had no issues! 🙂
11. Secondary Reward Systems
In every class we teach, we give virtual stars to our students. But, some teachers aren’t aware that we are also required to use a secondary reward system.
My absolute favorite secondary reward system is Find-A-Star. I use it in EVERY class I teach from Level 1 to Level 5!! (If you want to know more about How I Use Find-A-Star as my secondary reward system, you can check out this post.)
VIPKid Abbreviations
1. TPR
This acronym stands for Total Physical Response. TPR is using your hands to further express what you are trying to say with your words. It means coordinating your body movements or motions with the words you are saying. (Want more information about TPR? This post will help you discover how to use TPR effectively in your classroom.)
2. LP
This stands for Learning Partner(s) and they are our Chinese counterparts. Once a child becomes a VIPKid student, he/she is assigned a Learning Partner. This individual can then assist parents with specific questions or issues. As teachers, we can communicate with the LP in a designated place in our feedback when we are concerned about a student’s learning.
3. MC
This represents Major Class. These are the regular classes that go from Level 1- Level 7. While there are other specialty classes that students can take (including grammar or proper pronunciation), major classes are considered the general curriculum.
There are currently 7 Levels in the Major Class curriculum with 12 Units per level, and 12 Lessons per Unit (except for Level 1 which only has 8 Lessons per Unit).
4. MC-L-U-L
For every single class you teach, you will see 4 groupings of letters and numbers. The first set of letters tells you which type of class you are getting ready to teach. Some of the classes include:
- MC-major class
- TC-trial class
- VV-voice of VIPKID
- PP-proper pronunciation
- GC-grammar class
The first letter /L/ is the level, the next letter /U/ is the unit, and the final /L/ stands for the specific lesson.
This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list of VIPKid words and abbreviations, but these are 15 of the most commonly used terms. I hope you have found this post helpful!
Click this link or the image above to access your FREE VIPKid Words & Abbreviations Cheatsheet!
If you want to read more about VIPKid, you can check out these posts.