Make sure you follow these points to set up Skype correctly. This will help you connect easily with your teacher, protect your privacy and also make sure your sound quality is the best it can be.
Skype Language Settings
You’re here to learn English, right? You should give yourself every chance to use and become comfortable with English in your everyday life. So first of all, let’s change the language on your Skype to English.
Go to TOOLS >> CHANGE LANGUAGE and select English.
Skype Privacy Settings
The first thing you should do is check your privacy settings. Go to TOOLS >> OPTIONS >> PRIVACY SETTINGS.
We recommend that you choose the settings shown in the image below:
We recommend:
- You allow calls and IMs from people in your contact list only. This will stop people you do not know from contacting and calling you.
- You choose to keep your IM history forever. Your teacher will write the lesson notes in Skype for you. If you want to review, you can check your message history. (We will also send you an email with the lesson notes.)
Edit Your Profile
When you install Skype, you will choose a Skype username and you can set a profile picture. You should make sure that your profile is set up correctly.
Go to SKYPE >> PROFILE >> EDIT YOUR PROFILE to change your profile settings. You will see a window like this:
NOTE:
- Do not put any private information on Skype that you do not want to share with people (e.g. your phone number or birthday).
- Choose your display name carefully. Your teacher needs to know who you are and your teacher needs to be able to read your name (i.e. use the English alphabet). You don’t need to use your real name or your full name. You can use your nickname or your first name and an initial. For example, “Tosh” or “Keiko H.” are okay. Something like “Pon-kun” or “Cat lover_88″ are not good.
- Use a sensible picture. We recommend a picture of you (not your dog or your favourite ramen etc.) You can set your picture to be visible to only your contacts, so you don’t have to worry about your privacy.
- Describe yourself. Please add a description to your profile if you wish. Include “I am an English Farm student.” This will help your teacher recognize you when you make contact for the first time.
Sound Settings
Your sound settings should be fine by default, but there is one thing to check. Go to TOOLS >> OPTIONS >> AUDIO SETTINGS. Make sure that the box next to “Automatically adjust microphone settings” is unchecked. You can also make a free call to test your settings:
