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Many new ESL teachers will begin their journey in the traditional format: they will go through a three to six month paperwork process, fly to their new country of residence and begin teaching ESL in an academy or classroom setting. This new setting will be intimidating enough for the new teacher, though after a while, they will become more confident in the classroom setting and will be looking for a new challenge (and potentially some extra spending money). The demand for teachers in a one-to-one setting is often steady in many ESL markets, and can satisfy the new teacher’s goals, if legal in one’s country of residence. However, while many may assume that teaching one-to-one is the same in practice to teaching in a classroom settings, there are key differences that will determine the effectiveness of the teacher in this new setting. To start, often the goals and motivations of the one-to-one learner are more urgent and specific in nature than in a classroom setting. In most cases, the rate of a one-to-one lesson is higher than in a classroom setting, and the parent is willing to pay the difference in order to meet a specific goal at a quicker pace. Further, where classroom goals and teaching methods are often clearly stated by your director in a formal school setting, it becomes the responsibility of the teacher to determine how to help achieve the student’s goals in a one-to-one setting. Goals may include preparation for an upcoming external test, preparation to move to an English speaking country, or entrance exams for a school, to name a few. The teacher is often their own boss in this arrangement, so while there is more freedom for the teacher to design the lessons, student satisfaction can be the difference between making money at a given time or not. If the teacher understands the goals from the outset, it may be possible to arrange for mock exams can be obtained or designed, or for lessons to be designed around a specific country’s dialect. With more information about individual goals, lesson preparation will be more focused and streamlined, and there will be a greater chance of student satisfaction. While determining the goals of the student, the teacher will also want to discover and cater to the student’s interests. It would be impossible to cater to every student's individual interest in a classroom setting, so the teacher often relies on activities that appeal more broadly to a given age group. However, in one-to-one lessons, the teacher has the privilege and opportunity to make lessons more appealing by tweaking the content to the individual. As will be explained later, lessons will be much more restricted for different settings, so establishing a student’s specific interests will make it easier to maintain a student’s interest and build anticipation for one’s lesson if they incorporate and teach new elements of the things they love. To take Harry Potter as an example, the teacher will be able to motivate a young learner to complete course book or grammar lessons with more focus if the student is anxious to spend maximum time reading a fantasy story or designing his or her own dragon in the Activate stage. The student may not initially be able to communicate their interests if they are not yet comfortable with the teacher, so be sure to listen for clues about books the student enjoys, musical instruments they carry, or posters on the wall to determine what their interests are. The atmosphere of the one-to-one setting needs to be much different from that of the classroom. An ESL classroom teacher has trained to have many different dynamic tools and activities ready for class time; some involve group work, some involve pairs, others involve brainstorming or class drilling. Many of the classroom teacher’s more dynamic activities are not appropriate or possible in the one-to-one setting, nor is a dynamic teacher presence. Often, lessons will take place at the student’s home or at a café where other people will be sharing the space; the student and the teacher will be limited to sitting at a small table with many unique distractions. Pacing of the lessons, or more precise time management, is imperative to keeping the interest of the young learner if the focus is solely on one student for the entire lesson. The student will need to move at a pace that will better keep her or his interest while staying in one place, usually for one to two hours, and it will be the responsibility of the teacher to help the student maintain that pace. The teacher needs to keep the interest of the student by designing ESA activities that will challenge and entertain the student while maintaining a calmer atmosphere. Teaching in a one-to-one setting can be very intimidating the first few times, especially if the teacher is unprepared for a setting unlike the classroom. It is often the first time a teacher is fully responsible for the development of the student and in control of their own employment. Keeping these differences in mind will help with the transition from a designed, structured atmosphere to one of the teacher’s personal design.
