TEFL Hartselle Alabama

Teaching individual students has become an increasingly popular alternative to group teaching in recent years. The flexibility and specificity of teaching individual students seems to alleviate many of the challenges that teachers face in group teaching. In one to one teaching, times can be easily changed and modified to fit the schedule of student and teacher. Since it is only one student, less structure and planning is needed to navigate lessons. Fewer materials need to be prepared. The teacher can respond to what the student's specific needs are and target ways to help the student in those areas and at the appropriate pacing needed. There is no need to worry about mixed ability levels or conflicting personalities. However, although initially seemingly less daunting than teaching a large class of english students, teaching english one to one comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. First of all, teaching english one to one may lack structure. Since there is only one student, there is very little need to carry on classroom norms and teach according to a scripted curriculum. A teacher will need to be creative in designing lessons to meet the needs of the student and “go with the flow” of what the student struggles with at the moment. The teacher will also need to think quickly and always be alert to areas where the student has room for improvement. As a result of this type of needs based teaching, a mix of curriculum and material ends up being used. The teacher may feel frustrated in the lack of continuity or structure due to the nature of the mixed curriculum and lesson planning. It also may be difficult for the teacher to measure the progress of a student without the framework of a syllabus and the progress of the other students. In addition, there is no clearly defined role for the teacher. The teacher becomes a tutor, a friend, a psychologist as the student relies on the teacher to give information, to be encouraging, and to listen to what the student has to say. Although there is no “classroom management” needed, the teacher still needs to instill respect, a sense of order and decorum, and a signal for seriousness while teaching the student. Second of all, teaching english one to one may lack the usual energy of the classroom. teachers often feed upon the energy and enthusiasm of many students but with individual students, it may be difficult, especially if the student is unresponsive or very passive. It may feel to the teacher that he or she has to spend a lot of time waiting on the student and asking question after question. Group dynamics get lost as the concept of group work, pair sharing, and role plays become nonexistent. It also becomes more difficult to play games and the teacher often has to take on the role of fellow competitor, partner, etc. As a result, teaching one to one may actually sometimes be more tiring than group teaching since more energy and attention is expended to focus on one individual student. In order to have a positive experience in one to one teacher, teachers should take time to accurately assess student needs and wants and plan the lessons accordingly. A needs analysis form may be useful, as well as a test and survey find out the student's language level, specific language issues, life experiences, interests, work schedule, etc. A discussion should be held with the student about the format and goals of the sessions. An agreement should be made about the priorities are for the one to one class. In each class, the teacher should always explain what he or she is doing and why so that the student can be on board with what the teacher is working on. A variety of techniques and materials should be used so that the student doesn't lose interest and so that he or she is exposed to a number of different resources. Phone numbers and emails should be exchanged so that student and teacher can reach the other. While a good relationship may come from teaching one to one, it is important to draw boundaries and be able to retain the authority as the teacher to direct the flow of the lesson. No matter the challenges, teaching always has its reward. Many students who seek out one to one teaching are highly motivated and benefit from the specificity and attention of the lessons. In addition, the teacher often feels a stronger sense of personal responsibility for the student since more of the learning factors are controlled in a one to one environment. With this sense of responsibility comes an encouraging feeling of success when the teacher is able to develop a good working relationship with the student, see that individual progress and grow, and know that teaching makes a difference. Thus is the beauty of one to one teaching. References: http://www.thebeijinger.com/forum/2010/05/05/10-practical-tips-for-making-one-to-one-teaching-work