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In the field of teaching and all its many styles there are none more binary as teaching a single individual versus a group of individuals. In this paper, we shall explore the differing benefits, drawbacks and the effect on students of one on one made by this simple, but instrumental change in style. So, when the teacher is teaching only one individual they can focus on their specific needs and wants, which is an incredible boon for the student’s growth. Teaching one-on-one has many benefits for both the teacher and students alike; one the greatest being the friendly relationship between teacher and student that can only forged in a interpersonal one on one setting. Once this this strong teacher/student relationship is built, the other benefits of teaching one on one such as student motivation, feedback and efficacy of custom lessons can only be enhanced. For example, a student of mine, who loves sweets but has been plagued with chronic problems with weight, was having trouble understanding the word “temptation”. So, I related her experience outside of the classroom to that word enabling me to make the meaning of ‘temptation” real to her using her love of cakes. The one on one environment allows the teacher to give the student 100 percent of their attention, prime feedback and use effective custom lessons that maximize on the student’s experiences. Even though there are many positives to teaching students one on one, no style of teaching is perfect. In this section, we’ll be outlining the drawbacks of teaching single individuals. Most of the drawbacks associated one on one teaching is caused by simply not having any other students in the class. One of the most common complaints among one on one teachers is the loss of classroom dynamics. With the presence of other students to connect with and bounce ideas off of a student will not only learn from the teacher but other peers. From my experience in the classroom I have learned that students like to feel special by being able to help each other. I also found out that students also learn extremely differently from their fellow students. When the classroom dynamics fall onto the teacher, a few issues can more easily arise; such as it may be boring to interact with the same person every time or personality conflicts. Other drawbacks of teaching students one on one is that it’s obviously not possible to do many traditional class activities because they were mostly designed for a group setting. For example, in a class conducted using the ESA (Engage, Study and Activate) teaching method it is very common to have students working in groups or pairs in the study session and especially the activity session. A major benefit of group/pair work is that by using the strong students to help the weaker ones the class can autonomously improve their own skills, build confidence, connect, and have more recreational elements to engage with in the process. For that reason and others, very few dedicated teaching resources have been created for one on one classes. Frequently, the lack of materials requires the teacher to be more creative and create their own. Teaching students one on one causes you to lose nearly all the benefits that can be gained by teaching in a group but brings in positives that simply can’t be ignored. When it’s just the teacher and student, they can’t depend on others to help in the learning process. Therefore, they must put in 100% of the work and work together to succeed. If they achieve this through effort and understanding, the learning experience will fulfill the needs and wants of the student more efficiently than any group course.
