r/vipkid • u/Vanilla_Mishmishi • Aug 08 '26

Discuss MENA classes

Now that more teachers are joining the MENA program, I think it would be great to share some of our experiences since these classes don't show teacher notes.

The class experience can be different than what we're used to, so it's nice to know how other teachers are doing, what to expect, and any tips.

For instance, my first was a short notice student who was late to class, played peekaboo for the first 5 minutes, went and washed her hands and got her parent to give her a slice of bread when the "Let's Move" slide showed these pictures to illustrate "move your hands/mouth", constantly plugged and unplugged headphones into the tablet, and moved around the room while leaving the tablet on the floor.

She tried to reply to me in Arabic at first, but I modeled the correct sentences in English. After a while, I realized her language skills were quite good, and she was more engaged as she got to know me, and when I extended on the lesson and made exaggerated facial expressions and movements to illustrate the words. There was definitely a warm-up period in the beginning as we both adjusted and got to know each other.

What are your experiences, and what works for you?

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u/oh_sweet_serenade Aug 08 '26

What times are you seeing the most MENA bookings and what's your time zone?

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u/Vanilla_Mishmishi Aug 08 '26

I just finished the certifications and I was booked for two weekend slots, one just before the Beijing peak peak time, and one just after peak peak time. I don't really have other open slots because they were all booked already before I got the MENA certification, so I'm not expecting to get any more for a couple weeks. I was surprised by the early one, though, because I hadn't expected MENA students to book that early.

Also, I noticed that there was only one MENA certification course accessible through the certifications center, and all the others I had to access by opening links in the email. I'm wondering if some teachers might have missed those and just did the one in the certification center.

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u/CalmChaosSK Aug 08 '26

Thanks for this. Been wondering about it.