Teach English in Nancun Zhen - Jincheng Shi

Teaching is a well plan skill that allows all teachers to transfer their knowledge in many different forms to their pupil. On the daily basis a teacher is exposed to many different things and if well adapted, it can be the difference between a successful lesson or an unsuccessful lesson. One of these differences is knowing the variation between teaching one to one and groups. As many of you might be familiar with online teaching, it is very common to have a class that vary in sizes for many different reasons. It is for this reason that a teacher must be prepare for this variation in an online class. One way of preparing is by knowing how one to one teaching compares to group teaching. Let’s consider a 30-minute lesson given to a student who is learning English at the beginner’s level and compare it to a student in group who is learning the same lesson. In the one to one lesson, the student benefits from the teacher’s unique devoted attention and the teacher is able to focus 100% on the student’s ability so he/she can proficiently learn the lesson’s objective. The teacher is able to work with the student one on one and without any disruption from other students. Without student disruptions it increases the student’s concentration and understanding in the lesson’s objective. Because the student is able to concentrate and understand, the student is able to cover the material at a faster pace. A 30-minute lesson might only take half of the time to cover and more reinforcement activities might have to be planned in advance to accommodate this change. The student can also feel more comfortable asking/answering questions because he/she is the only one in the room. There is no one in the room that will cause the students to feel stupid in case the student makes a mistake. One to one teaching can benefit the student in the long run however, one must be aware of the factors that can make a one on one lesson not productive. Sometimes the only interaction that occurs in the classroom is between the student and the teacher. With only two people in the room the time might seem to go by slower and the students might become bored. If this occurs during the lesson the student might become unmotivated and the student’s learning retention might decease. It is best for the teacher to variate the activities and space them into smaller sessions to avoid the student from losing interest. Games, singing, and teacher/student conversation about the student’s interest might do the trick once in a while. Teaching a group might seem a lot easier taking into account issues that one to one teaching encounters. For some teachers this is a more appealing method since it provides more variation and challenges in the classroom. It is easy to assume that the higher the number of students in the classroom causes the discipline issues to increase and requires the teacher to be able to juggle more students at one time. If the discipline is not set in place, a 30-minute lesson becomes less productive due to the time that is required for the teacher to address discipline issues. Sometimes students who want to learn are ignored to accommodate the students who are seeking attention. On the other hand, if the classroom is well managed the student can benefit in many different ways and the teacher can still proficiently have the students learn the lesson’s objective. For starters, the student can learn from other students as well as from the teacher. The teacher can pair the students and plan activities that require more than one student to participate. In a group, students can help each other by explaining directions, practicing, and making the lesson more enjoyable. Few of the downsides to group teaching might be when the teacher has too many students who require assistance. The time might not be sufficient to address every student’s need and the teacher will have to balance the time accordingly. In some cases, not everyone in the class might be learning at the same level or having the same problem. Some students can learn faster than others or some can refuse to work with others. In this case the teacher has to figure out the best method to address everyone’s needs equally. There are many other differences when teaching one to one or in groups. There is no magic blue print that outlines completely these differences to help the teacher teach one on one or a group of students. One of the things that has helped me be successful in both cases is planning ahead, getting to know my students and enjoying every single moment with them. Both circumstances have its advantages and disadvantages. Teaching can vary per class and the type of students. Always be familiar with how the class size changes the environment, the time management, and how different activities the classroom make a difference in with the students.