It seems that every time I use Skype to teach a student in China, the internet connection is so bad that we often have to abandon the lesson or hang up/re-connect a half-dozen times. In the last lesson I had, I could hear her just fine, but she couldn't hear me clearly, and so I needed to type all my questions & answers! This is much better when we connect during the business day (i.e., before 17:00 China time Mondays - Fridays) because everyone hasn't come home and jumped on the internet at the same time. This means, however, that I would need to wake up and teach much earlier than usual, due to the 10-hour time difference with Europe.
Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I don't want to start refusing lessons from China, but I may have to if we can't communicate. I have a student in Vietnam, and we never have any connection problems, so maybe this is a Great Firewall problem, or VPN issues, or... ?
I agree with Nan, Andy and Michael, but I would suggest one more confounding factor:
Microsoft bought Skype... need I say more?
... this from a PC/Windows user
Hi Brad. I've also been having bad connections during my lessons with Chinese students. It is so frustrating for both of us. Pardon my ignorance, I am old and a bit of a technophobe, but what is a VPN?
Brad, you can try to communicate via your browser. There is no additional soft needed. Please check this place out: