TEFL Hamptonburgh New York

The difference between teaching one to one and groups. In these days of increased mobilisation, effective communication worldwide has led to a great number of people seeking to better their english skills, either for work or pleasure. This in turn leads to a great variety of students. Students are not limited to those in full time education, retired and unemployed persons filling their days, or those retraining. With this broader range of students comes a higher demand for bespoke lessons. Some people find that they learn more effectively if they are the sole recipient and the class is tailored entirely to their needs and requirements. This type of highly motivated student would seek one to one tuition. Others feel that they need the community of a classroom environment. They learn better within a group and do not like being continually put on the spot. They may also be highly motivated and study intensively but within the framework of a group. For a teacher, these two groups offer particular challenges and rewards. The teacher needs to be aware of the learning style of the student. While a student may have sought one to one tuition, the teacher may assess that they would benefit more from a group structure. An example of this would be a student who feels intimidated by one on one lessons, dislikes speaking up when they are unsure and is unable to express their needs. If a student feels uncomfortable being exposed regarding their knowledge and becomes disinclined to participate aurally in lessons then the lessons will become very stilted and unpleasant for both parties. Additionally a very forward student who tries to control group lessons and seems to prevent other students participating by always being the one to speak out, answer and ask questions and basically monopolise the teachers time may be better suited to a one to one session where they can have all the time and attention they want. Once a teacher has their class, be it one to one or group, the next step is to look at the techniques that work best within these limits. With a group class this could range from 3 students to 43 students or even more. This is relevant when the teacher is looking at teaching techniques and classroom management. Many advocate the use of group work, where the larger group is subdivided into smaller groups. Each of these smaller groups is given a task and they work within that smaller unit. This enables all students to take part in the task and offer ideas, solutions and a learning opportunity. This does require a quick footed and witted teacher to ensure that all the groups are on target with the task, stick to english (esp in a monolingual class), and all students are getting to participate. With a smaller group the teacher can consider pair work for tasks. This gives students more opportunity to get involved in the task and produce work and gain knowledge. With both the pair work and group work the teacher can ensure that the whole class benefits from the results of the tasks. By nominating one person from each group or pair to feedback answers or produced worked, the rest of the class may see ideas of notions that had not occurred to them. They may see a thread or sentence structure that cements an idea for them or simply have a question raised that they had not asked. With a group it is of course impossible to have all the students at exactly the same level of knowledge, aptitude or ability and this can raise other issues. The teacher needs to be aware that while the level may be roughly equal, within these confines, individually the students will take on new information in different ways and at different speeds. Teaching a student one to one uses different techniques. There can, by virtue of numbers, be no group work and in pair work the teacher becomes the partner rather than the observer. The danger is that the teacher can end up talking more than is desired in an attempt to fill the students thinking time. With group and pair work the teacher can stand back and give students time to formulate their thought and answers but in one to one this thinking time can seem like an uncomfortable and oppressive silence. teachers need to be aware of the speed their student works at and how they retain and gain knowledge. Having more material on a topic, readily prepared, and in deed extra topics on hand, is a good idea for a very able student who may speed through prepared work faster than anticipated. With a group class the speed can be anticipated and slowed down easily to avoid running out of material mid-session. Classes may also hold a mix of enthusiasm levels. It would be fair to expect students who have sought one to one tuition to be keen and self-motivated unless this has been a forced issue for a failing student who needs extra support. Occasionally the teacher will find group members who are less committed to learning and completing tasks than their peers. This does mean that the teacher needs to manage these students so that the rest of the class and the value they derive from the class is not diminished. cost is another important issue for students. A group class is certainly more affordable for students than a tailor made personal tutoring session. Often private lessons are covered by an employer and with that may come other expectations. To summarise there are many differences in style, between teaching one to one and teaching groups, large or small. The teacher needs to use different classroom techniques and be aware of the different requirements of the students. Both styles give great rewards when a class is engaged and moving forward. References http://busyteacher.org/4265-pair-work-vs-group-work-whats-better-for-the.html http://tutorfi.com/LearningStylesandTechniques/SolitaryLearnersSocialLearners http://homestayenglish.uk.com/2012/07/16/the-benefits-of-one-to-one-esl-teaching-over-group-teaching/