Welcome to Fluentbe! Now, that you have been assigned to your practice courses, 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.
Note: If you are assigned to teach Young Learners or Exam Courses, make sure to watch the specialized extension video and fill in the relevant checklist sections.