u/uncopyrightability

I feel sorry for all the tutors that end up being a spare wheel for a clueless student who simply doesn't give a fuck and just wants to use up his two free trial slots anyway. To him, it's just a fun experiment, but to the tutor, it's a commitment and a serious engagement that they have to attend or else risk their profile stats.

This happened with me today and I'm certain I was just a plan B to some Azerbaijani student. I asked her politely for a reschedule so I can deliver the trial in the best logistical conditions (I can't do it at home at that time for some reasons). My message was simply met with a seen. So, instead of blocking her and cancelling the lesson (as I should without consequences), I had to go out of my way, go to a crowded coffee shop, awkwardly ask the waiter for a special room where I can talk, and pay for extra service JUST for her. Guess what? No-show. Utterly disrespectful.

We always have to carry the burden. Get ignored and still make it on time to avoid penalties. This thing feels so one-sided. It's like you're chasing students instead of the other way around.

I would understand trying to make the best out of the free offer, but at least attend a segment of the lesson out of respect to the tutor who is dedicating their time to conduct a lesson for 0 bucks to try to convert your sorry ass. If you're a student and you know this by now, the moral burden is ON YOU. Understand that trials are always 100% commission for PREPLY and a a total loss with ZERO earnings for tutors. Have some decency and, even if you use up you free perk, show some maturtiy and attend just for that one lesson, even if you don't want to subscribe.

Example here:

"I thought it was such a weird thing for him to ask me to film him saying."

I always feel extremely satisfied when I hear something like this in English. The way it rolls out is just... I can't.

My questions are:

-Do these kinds of "convoluted" sentence structures have a name or label in linguistics?

-What are books, articles, genres, etc. where I can find a load of sentences written or spoken in this style?

-How common are they?

-How common is if for you to produce something like this yourself?

-Does it sound like natural spoken English?

-Can you deliver something similar in the comments?

I got a message from this student. He sent his email cryptically. I didn't acknowledge it in chat, but made the mistake of contacting him. He said let's talk on Google meet tomorrow, and I agreed. How naive.

I quickly regretted that, sent a follow up, and said let's book a trial on Preply instead.

Made sure to send that follow up in the Preply chat too just in case (created a paper trail)

Did I mess up? I know I shouldn't have fell for this.

In Morocco, people can easily be tricked into believing someone is a native, even if they have the most obvious foreign accent, as long as they can verbalize what sounds like English (lots of rhotic Rs) and look like they're Western.

A Moroccan "English teacher" made a video of him speaking in an "American accent" (it's everything but American), slapped a fake decal tattoo on his neck, and wore RayBans at a mall. Everyone believed he was from New York (he sounds nothing like that).

He wanted to take the escalator during the vlog. He didn't know what to call it, so he said "I will put my leg here".

I really would like to know your unfiltered take on this.