TEFL Pleasant Plains Indiana

Teaching one to one is could be both enjoyable and challenging. According to the Unit 19, “One-to-one sessions are usually less formal and the teacher will often be the partner of the student.” Most of my teaching experience is one-to-one, and I've discovered that the first session is important since it helps both the teacher and the student to plan the future courses. In the first session, it is essential to find out the student's stage in learning english. Needs analysis is one of the good methods, but it might take too much time. Therefore, I came up with my own list of questions that I would like to know about my students during the first session. For example: How long have you been learning english and why do you want to learn it? What does your job involve? What's your main purpose learning english? (Exam, travel abroad, study abroad, or business?) The next step is to match teaching to the student's preferred learning style. Then describe the teaching methods that will be used and provide a rationale for the student, so that nothing is misunderstood. When making the lesson plan, we should bear in mind that “Lesson plans should show awareness and sensitivity to the characteristics, expectations and motivation of the learner.” That is, the teacher has to adjust the teaching techniques according to each learner's reaction and level. After all, every student is different and unique. According to my own teaching experience, each student may react differently even when the same material is used during a session. For instance, one student may finish one unit with only one session while it may takes the other student 3 sessions to complete the same unit. It's not necessarily that the latter one has lower level of learning english, but it's that he or she just loves asking questions related to the material while the former student tends to focus on the material only. The good thing about one-to-one teaching is that the progress could be adjusted anytime, and the teacher doesn't have to worry about if the process is too slow or too fast for some of the student as that in a group lesson. There might be less limitations when teaching one to one since it's usually easier to adjust the teaching technique or material depends on only one's student's need. However, it could also be challenging for the teacher to fulfill the student's need in a one-to-one session because the student may expect a more customized course since he or she is the only student in the class. Thus, the teacher should be flexible and be ready to add new material into the course according to the student's request. Some teachers may see it as an extra burden to use different materials, but I usually enjoy it because it may make the session more interesting and I also get to expose myself to different materials. Homework also plays an important role in a one-to-one session. I always put up some homework based on the materials used in the session. For example, I always ask my student to write an email based on the topics that is covered in the session, such as invitation emails or condolence emails, etc. Clear instruction should be provided for homework so that the student would have clues when working on it. The teacher should also be flexible when it comes to the due dates of homework. Since most of my students are adults who have to work during the day time, sometimes I would make the homework optional and ask them to turn it in whenever they're ready. However, if the student is planning to take an english exam within a certain amount of time, I would be stricter and ask him or her to turn in the homework on time. Teaching a one-to-one class is different from teaching a group session. Although the teacher only needs to pay attention to fulfill one student's needs at one time, the teaching may not be necessarily easier since the student may expect more from the teacher in a one-to-one session. Therefore, the teacher should be more flexible in many aspects and keep him/herself well-prepared. References: Unit 19 -Teaching special groups How-To: Teaching One On One http://busyteacher.org/3642-esl-teaching-one-on-one.html