Teach English in Matian Zhen - Jinzhong Shi

English language teachers may experience many different classroom dynamics throughout their careers, including diversity in student need, student age, and class size. The most extreme form of class size difference is the one-to-one class versus the group class. A teacher’s toolkit will change depending on whether they find themselves working with an individual student or a large group, and both have their advantages and disadvantages. While group classes provide a community dynamic, cooperative optionality, and a range of social learning opportunities, one-to-one classes prioritize the student, facilitate a close working relationship between student and instructor, and offer instructors detailed information on student preferences and skills. Although it can be difficult to transition the benefits of a group dynamic to a one-to-one setting, there are clear advantages of the reverse: transitioning one-to-one benefits to the group environment. In a classroom setting with more than one student, learners receive the benefits of a community dynamic, the presence of their peers, and social learning optionality. The community dynamic can build energy and engagement, turning the classroom into a fun place for students to learn and grow in social, rather than just academic ways. Teachers can build on this dynamic by leveraging relationships among students to encourage learning in a safe, comfortable space that helps secure classroom rapport, as discussed in Unit 5. Group classes also allow students to learn from and practice with one another thanks to the presence of peers. Unlike in a one-to-one setting, in a group, students can learn from each other’s questions and strategies. An example of this is mentioned in Unit 20, where teachers can pair stronger students with weaker students in order to minimize differences in skill level; this technique effectively leverages the benefit of a social classroom dynamic by encouraging students to help each other. Finally, teachers have more optionality for learning activities in a group, something that Unit 19 points out can be impossible to achieve one-to-one. Activities like role plays, mill drills, and debates are far easier with several students and can provide rich language learning practice. Thus, the social classroom dynamic promotes the ultimate goal of language learning: people-to-people communication. However, even for all the benefits that arise from teaching groups, teaching one-to-one offers students and teachers a unique relationship that prioritizes the student, strengthens the student-teacher bond, and allows the teacher to have a detailed understanding of the student’s learning needs. Whereas a classroom teacher generally must teach to the median interest or skill-level in a group, a one-to-one lesson allows the teacher to focus on the individual student’s priorities. In this paradigm, the teacher can prioritize the student’s learning agenda, like for career-driven individuals hoping to improve their business English (Unit 19). The relationship formed in a one-to-one dynamic also facilitates language learning. An individual student may feel intimidated at first to be the constant focus of attention, but in time a student and teacher can develop a comfortable rapport where the student feels empowered to learn. Finally, a teacher working closely with one student quickly becomes familiar with that student’s learning style and skillset. A teacher can adapt their own teaching technique to an individual student’s benefit or can identify whether a student needs help with receptive or productive skills. Knowing the particular learning patterns of an individual student can maximize the available time and promote effective language learning. A one-to-one setting places special emphasis on the individual learner and their specific needs. Thus, both group and one-to-one dynamics can aid in the effort to teach English. Most one-to-one students have the benefit of a group dynamic either in school or at work that supplements the lack of social interaction in the one-to-one setting. Conversely, many students within a group classroom do not have access to the tailored support of a one-to-one dynamic, and thus it is important to try and replicate the benefits of a one-to-one dynamic in the classroom. First, it is worth acknowledging that applying one-to-one benefits becomes more difficult the more students that are present in a classroom. If teachers have several large classes over the course of a week, it could be physically impossible to spend time with each and every student on a one-to-one basis while also managing homework and lesson-planning. However, ensuring that each student feels supported by the teacher is paramount not only to encourage student learning, but also to provide the teacher information about the students. Teachers can attempt to leverage the one-to-one dynamic in a group class by offering office hours to meet with students at the beginning of the year and throughout the year to check progress. Teachers can also organize oral exams during class time, in which the rest of the class takes the exam while the teacher interviews each student one by one to assess oral communication. As suggested in Unit 19, teachers should distribute an interest survey during the first lesson and a mid-year survey assessing the classroom component. Teachers can organize a monthly class in which students have the option to choose a particular skill subset activity (for example, some students can access a reading activity while others access an oral activity, depending on interest). A teacher should try to maximize one-to-one time with students to the best of their ability. With these techniques, teachers can try to increase the amount of individual time with students and the amount of feedback students can give. Teachers should try to maximize the benefits of a one-to-one dynamic in a group setting to achieve both the social classroom community and the personal student-teacher relationship for English language learners.