ESL Students and Leaving Voicemails

I've had a few ESL students who are reluctant to leave voicemails. For some, they think that their English isn't good enough. For some of us who are old enough, we can probably remember back to when it was just plain awkward to leave telephone messages on answering machines. So maybe we can appreciate our students', or other ESL speakers', reluctance to leave voicemails.

The only time that I insist that students call me (and possibly have to leave a voicemail) is when they are potential new students who I haven't met or who haven't been referred to me. This is just for the sake of safety. It helps me to get a little bit of a feel for the person I may be meeting. I meet my students in a public space, so I have less of a safety issue than someone who meets new students in a private location.

This is just one of those safety tips I want to mention for private ESL tutors.

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