Welcome to Fluentbe! Now, that you have had your practice courses assigned, this guide will walk you through navigating the platform, configuring your tools, and managing your classes so you are fully prepared to teach.
Checklist
Before diving in, make sure to open the onboarding checklist:
The checklist is divided into sections that correspond directly to the below video guide.
Complete the checklist step-by-step as you watch/read through the instructions.
Review your answers and ensure everything is filled out before your next meeting with your mentor.
Practice Course with Fluentbe Materials - Video Guide
We recommend completing the checklist with the video guide, but you can also find the full written steps below for quick reference.
Section 1: Finding a Course
To find your assigned classes:
Head to your teacher dashboard and navigate to the Courses List.
Locate and open the specific training course titled with "Fluentbe materials" in the name.
Take a moment on this course page to note critical details: the language level, lesson duration, assigned materials, and the number of students enrolled.
Section 2: Booking a Lesson
To practice scheduling a session:
Go to your Courses List and open your PRACTICE Fluentbe materials IND Onboarding Course.
Click the "New Lesson" button.
Select a time slot roughly five minutes from now and click "Save."
Wait for the green confirmation banner to appear.
Filter your view by clicking "Show only course lessons" to see your newly booked lesson highlighted in green.
Section 3: Starting a Lesson
Clicking on the date and time of a scheduled class opens the Lesson View. Here, you can preview the day's teaching materials.
The 5-Minute Rule: The "Start Lesson" button becomes active exactly five minutes before the scheduled start time.
Troubleshooting: If you are within the 5-minute window and the button remains gray or inactive, simply reload the page and try again.
Once the classroom loads, you can manage your media:
Camera Policy: Turning your camera on is compulsory for all Fluentbe lessons.
Change View: Use the designated layout buttons to change between Lesson View (focused on Fluentbe presentation slides) and Video View (focused on the video).
Video Tools: While in Video View, you gain access to screen sharing and the interactive whiteboard.
Picture-in-Picture: Activate this feature to let the student's video float on your screen.
Audio, Video & Connection Settings
In the bottom-left corner, click the Settings icon (gear) to access three diagnostic sections:
Audio and Video: Test your microphone and speakers. You can also toggle Noise Cancellation and Low Bandwidth mode if your internet is struggling.
Background Effects: Change or blur your video background.
Connection Quality: Run a quick live test of your current internet stability.
Section 4: Teaching a Lesson
For most courses (excluding Young Learners and Exam Preparation courses), materials are built directly into the platform and load automatically for both you and your students.
A standard lesson should flow through these stages:
Small Talk: Start with a brief icebreaker. Switch to Video View for a more personal connection.
Core Lesson Flow: Switch back to Lesson View and progress through Revision, Goals, Warm-up, and Target Language Introduction.
Interactive & Speaking Activities: Maximize Student Talking Time (STT). Find the balance between giving students the independent space to complete activities and stepping in to guide and reinforce learning.
Note: Students can only see the "Student View" - they do not see your teacher instructions or lesson timers.
Yellow Activities: These are optional, complementary activities at the end of the presentation. If you need them to fill time, complete them before moving to the final wrap-up.
Summary: Summarise what was learned and remind them of homework.
Coming Next: Introduce the next lesson's topic to motivate them to complete their pre-lesson work.
Built-in Teaching Tools
Standard Tools: Utilize the integrated Vocabulary, Extra Vocabulary, and live Chat features.
Advanced Tools: Keep an eye out for activity-specific Tips, an integrated Translator, and other context-menu tools.
Student Tracking: Use the dashboard tools inside the lesson to check if students completed their homework, pre-lesson activities, or flashcards.
Section 5: Student No-Show
If a student does not show up to class, the lesson is still your responsibility:
You may turn off your camera and microphone.
You must keep the lesson page open until the scheduled end time. Students are permitted to join late.
This rule applies even if a student messages you in advance stating they cannot make it. If a lesson is officially scheduled, the teacher must start it and remain present.
Section 6: Finishing a Lesson
Once the session concludes:
Click the "Finish Lesson" button.
Confirm the lesson subject.
Log student attendance and note whether there were any technical issues.
Click "Finish Lesson" a final time to officially submit the data.
Section 7: Contacting Students
To communicate with your students outside of live class hours:
Go to Courses, click List, and select your course.
Click on the Messages tab.
Here, you will see a historical log of all in-lesson chat messages (including text sent during class).
To practice, type "Test for onboarding" in the message field and send it. Your onboarding mentor will review this and reply before your next meeting.
Section 8: Fluentbe Course Program
To review or prepare materials ahead of time, look through the Fluentbe Presentations tab on the left in your dashboard.
Select a program (e.g., B2.1 Business) and click "Details". You can search the curriculum and preview lesson slides, pre-lesson tasks, and homework assignments.
Automatic Grading: Pre-lesson activities, homework, and student flashcards are assigned and reviewed completely automatically by the system. Students access these via their personal Student Space.
Section 9: Updating Lesson Subject
The platform is designed to record your lesson subjects sequentially and automatically. However, if a mistake occurs or a lesson sequence gets out of order, you can manually fix it:
Open the specific Lesson View.
Click the Wrench Icon in the top right corner and select "Edit Subject."
Remove the incorrect topic and select the right one from the list (or type extra info in a custom subject if necessary) and click Submit.
Return to your course view, toggle "Show only course lessons," and scroll down to verify the subject has updated correctly.
Section 10: Company Courses
Courses designated for corporate clients are easily identified by a Briefcase Icon next to their name. Managing these courses requires:
Contractual Alignment: You must follow the course program precisely. Teaching subjects out of order is prohibited, as the exact structure is legally tied to Fluentbe’s contractual agreement with the business client.
Automated Progress Tests: The system automatically triggers progress tests based on this exact structure, sending the results directly to company HR coordinators.
No Unauthorized Changes: If you feel a company course needs a different level or alternative materials, you must consult the office team in advance for approval.
Section 11: Finding Replacement
This protocol applies strictly to group courses. If you know you will be absent and need a colleague to cover your classes:
Click the Wrench Icon on the course page and select "Find Replacement."
Select all specific lessons you will miss, choose a reason from the given options, and click "Generate."
Go back to your course page to check that the lesson statuses have updated, and check your email inbox for an automated confirmation message.
Reassigning: If you cannot continue with a course permanently, you will find an option at the top of this window to reassign the entire course.
Crucial Deadlines: All replacement requests must be submitted at least 12 hours before the lesson start time. Anything shorter than 12 hours is deemed a "Late Cancellation." Refer to the Knowledge Base cancellation policy for details, and note that frequent replacement requests may result in the platform permanently reassigning the course to someone else.
Section 12: Cancelling One-on-One Lesson
One-on-one (1:1) lessons do not use the group replacement system; they must be managed or cancelled individually. To practise a cancellation:
Book a lesson about four weeks out in the same Practice course as before.
Go to "Show only course lessons" and click on this future date to open its Lesson View.
Locate the "Lesson Status" field and change it from Scheduled to Cancelled.
Select the appropriate cancellation type and reason, then hit Save.
Return to your course view to confirm the status has updated to Cancelled.
Section 13: Reporting Issues
When technical bugs or problems arise, communication with support needs to be fast and accurate.
Always include a screenshot. Tech support cannot troubleshoot effectively without a visual of the error or page state.
Practice Step: Take a screenshot right now. Go to Chat in the bottom right corner, write a message containing the phrase "Test for onboarding", attach your screenshot, and hit send. Your mentor will check this submission before your upcoming meeting.
If you are assigned to teach Young Learners, Exam Courses or other than English and German languages, make sure to watch the specialized extension video below and fill in the relevant checklist sections.
Practice Course with Other Materials - Video Guide
We recommend completing the checklist with the video guide, but you can also find the full written steps below for quick reference.
This section explains how to prepare for and teach Young Learner and Exam Preparation courses, including how to find the course plan, access book materials, share them during the lesson, and adapt the course to the student.
Young Learner Course
1. Course Program
Open the course you want to teach in a new browser tab so that you can keep both your Fluentbe profile and the course page open.
Then open the Course Program (found under Teaching resources) in another tab. It contains:
the Lesson ID,
lesson objectives,
corresponding book pages,
and additional teaching ideas.
When checking a scheduled lesson, use the Lesson ID to identify the correct pages in the course materials. The lesson view also displays the lesson program, including the assigned pages and objectives.
2. Accessing the Assigned Book
If you need to access the book more than 15 minutes before the lesson, click Open Materials and request access.
Once credentials have been assigned:
Click Open Materials.
Sign in.
Copy the login and password from the course page.
Paste them into the material platform.
Never save these credentials in your browser. Login details change and saved credentials can cause access problems. Always use the credentials assigned to the specific lesson you are teaching.
The credentials are automatically available less than 15 minutes before the lesson starts.
3. Opening the Book, Finding the Lesson Pages, Annotating & Interactive Elements
The book may open on the page where another teacher last left it, so do not assume that the opening page is the correct one.
Use the table of contents to navigate to the pages assigned in the Course Program.
You can annotate directly in the book using tools such as:
draw,
highlight,
erase,
zoom.
Oxford books may also contain interactive audio, video and exercises.
When you finish, do not use Save and Close. Simply close the tab and sign out. The books are shared between teachers, so they should always be left clean, without saved annotations or answers.
4. Teaching a Lesson
Book and start a lesson. If the Start Lesson button is inactive, refresh the page and try again.
To share course materials:
Click the green Share button.
Select the correct Chrome tab.
Check the preview.
Make sure Share Audio is enabled, especially when using audio or video.
Click Share.
If you want to keep the student visible while annotating the book, right-click the student’s video from the Lesson Tab and select Picture-in-Picture. This allows their video to float over the material tab.
To use the whiteboard, first stop sharing the course materials and open the Whiteboard from the lesson tab.
You and the student can type and draw on it. Whiteboard content can also be sent to the chat or exported as an image. When finished, close the whiteboard and resume sharing the course materials.
5. Teaching the First Lesson
The first lesson is particularly important. Use it to:
get to know the student,
establish classroom routines,
create a supportive learning environment,
and check whether the assigned level is appropriate.
Young Learners do not complete the standard Fluentbe placement test before starting. Their initial level is assigned mainly according to age, so the teacher needs to assess it during the first lesson.
Kids
Use the first unit of the course during the first lesson. Work through relevant activities and use the student’s responses to judge whether the assigned level is suitable.
Young Adults
Open the Course Program and use the Starter Unit to assess the student’s level.
Teens
The Course Program contains a link to a placement test. Go through it orally with the student to assess their level.
If the level needs to be changed, follow the course-adjustment process explained in the next onboarding section.
6. Assigning Homework
Keep homework manageable so that it supports motivation and engagement.
Before assigning homework, check whether the student already owns the coursebook or whether alternative materials are needed.
If the student would like to purchase their own coursebook, ask them to contact the office team for assistance.
Exam Preparation Course
Most of the technical skills needed for teaching book-based Exam Preparation lessons - such as accessing materials and screen sharing - are already covered in the Young Learner section. If you want more practice, return to the Teaching a Lesson chapter there.
In Exam Preparation courses, the Course Program is a guide, not a fixed lesson plan.
Adapt the lessons to the student’s:
exam,
current level,
gaps,
priorities,
and individual goals.
Starting from the beginning of the program can help you assess the student, but some learners may want to focus only on particular exam tasks or language areas. If the Course Program does not match their priorities, adapt the lesson accordingly and make sure the lesson subject is updated to reflect what you actually taught.
Work together with the student to create a personalised learning plan. For most Exam Preparation students, regular homework and self-study are essential.
1. Accessing the Assigned Book
Material access is slightly simpler in Exam Preparation courses because the credentials are always available.
Open Open Materials, then copy the login and password from the course page. As with Young Learner materials, never save the credentials in your browser.
For Pearson materials, open the student’s interactive book and use the table of contents to locate the unit and pages you need.
Pearson books are interactive and allow you to:
annotate,
zoom,
complete interactive activities,
check answers,
clear answers,
and open additional resources attached to activities.
At the end of the lesson, leave the book clean and ready for the next teacher. Close the tab and sign out.
Key reminders
Check the Course Program before teaching.
Match the Lesson ID with the correct book pages.
Never save material-platform credentials.
Always use the credentials assigned to the specific lesson.
Use Share Audio when sharing audio or video.
Leave shared books clean after every lesson.
Assess Young Learner levels during the first lesson.
Keep Young Learner homework manageable.
Treat Exam Preparation programs as flexible guides.
Personalise Exam Preparation lessons and assign regular homework/self-study where appropriate.