Teach English in Hangang Zhen - Jining Shi

My interest in this topic stems from my personal experience as new English teacher. Earlier in the year I was in the unique position of gaining employment as an English teacher at a language school in Bulgaria. I am a native English speaker but have no experience teaching. This led me to the ITTT in order to become a better teacher. Within a few week of starting the course I was presented the opportunity for private tutoring for an adult beginner. It was a valuable learning experience that I was woefully unprepared for. One of the main differences of one-on-one teaching is that it’s completely customized for the student. The student dictates what they want to learn, how they learn best, as well as developing personalized goals. Additionally, the speed of learning is completely based on the student. With that comes it’s own challenges. Most adults have preconceived notions of how they learn and may have unrealistic ideas of what it takes to learn a foreign language. Many students don’t enjoy grammar and they don’t want to spend too much time with grammar. But as a teacher we know that is the foundation of learning a language. A skilled teacher will work in a grammar lessons without it feeling too much like a grammar lesson. Classroom management is another way a one-on-one lesson differs from a group lesson. Essentially, one-on-one lessons don’t require discipline management, but it required a great deal of curriculum management. Group lessons often follow set curriculum put in place by a school or administration. One-on-one lessons require personalized curriculum that is flexible and can easily change with the students needs. Typically, adult group lessons will have little discipline issues but will probably have a few students that are disruptive or like to hear themselves talk. It’s up to the teacher to manage those students and allow all students the opportunity to learn and participate in appropriate ways. One of the best ways one-on-one classes differ from group is the student/teacher relationship. Quality group language classes are small allowing for the chance to learn students unique personalities and learning styles. In one-on-one classes teachers and students have the opportunity to know each other on a personal level. The more a student is comfortable, the more they’ll learn. It’s non uncommon for friendship to develop, allowing lessons to move from more teacher centered lessons so the student taking on more responsibility in learning. Some of the challenges of one-on-one learning are that many students are self-conscious and feel more confident in a group environment. Students often learn from each other and that dynamic is eliminated with personal lessons. Learning a language is mentally exhausting and exhaustion happens faster when the focus is 100% on them. In private classes it’s also challenging to come up with new approaches when a student becomes bored or unchallenged with the material. Lastly, with private lessons a teacher may feel extra pressure to achieve specific student dictated results that may or may not be realistic. Many tools and strategies used for large group classes can be adapted to a one-on-one class. With private classes it’s crucial to explain what your are doing and why. Additionally, point out why it will specifically help your student with their personalized goals. Each class should start with a list of objectives. At the end, check with the student to make sure you achieved those objectives. If those objectives weren’t achieved assign appropriate homework and spend additional time in future classes. Keep the agenda flexible so the teacher can speed up or slow down as needed. Check in often with the learner to ensure the classes are valuable to them and make necessary changes. The student is spending valuable time and money so every possible effort should be made to cater to their needs. Give consistent feedback as encouragement and correction. These strategies to some extent should also be done in group classes. Homework is also a valuable aspect of both group classes and private classes. It’s a way to extend the lesson, provide extra practice and hone in on topics that need extra attention. In the end, my private tutoring ended after 1 month. Upon self-reflection there were a variety of reasons that led to the student cancelling. I’ll never know the true reason but it has changed how I will approach one-on-one lessons. I will lay a better ground work in explaining why each skill (listening, speaking, grammar, reading) plays role and why they are all important. Rather than planning each lesson individually I will plan out for several months with each lesson building upon another. I will share the lesson calendar so the student sees the bigger picture. I will start very easy so the student gains confidence and doesn’t feel too discouraged. I will find better curriculum. I was too new in my teaching career to adequately provide the lessons this student needed. Now that the ITTT course is complete I have a much better understanding of the teaching to provide a better private lesson, as well as group lesson.