What are the Benefits of Teaching English One-to-One?
Teaching English one to one can have many benefits for the students as well as the teacher. It is a way to create excitement and provide a motivation to learn that is more personalized to the learner. This individualized way of teaching gives the teacher the ability to discover where their student's abilities and their interests lay. By being able to know the students on a deeper level, they can help shape their lessons directly to meet the student's needs. These direct lessons, in turn, can aid in the student's ability to improve their English. Teaching one to one can also benefit the teacher, as they will only need to plan for the individual student, not for thirty students, and classroom management may be easier to address with one student.
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lindsey O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Instruction way
Teaching one to one offers more direct instruction to the students than a typical classroom. I have taught students one to one in the past and I especially enjoyed the first lesson getting to know the students on a personal level. This is not always possible in the classroom setting, so I enjoyed the one to one teaching. I was able to learn about the student and understand their current interests and why they are choosing to learn English. From there I was able to gauge their English language ability. Each lesson, I can directly assist with pronunciation and sentence structure of the given grammar point. Since the lessons were being taught directly, I could monitor the student's progress more effectively and could see that language growth was occurring.
Also Read: How To Start Your Own ESL Teaching Service
Lesson planning
Lesson planning for one can be exciting for the teacher, as they are only planning for one student. These lessons will be more focused and directed toward the student's individual needs and games that are to the interest of the student. Instead of the student using a peer to play a game or activity with, the instructor will act in the place of the peer for the student. I find this to be even more beneficial for the students being taught. While playing the games, I can model the correct language throughout so the English language can be constantly in use. I can be listening to how they are using the sounds and correct mistakes if needed. Students can put their English into practice more frequently because there is no one else in the class. They are in a way placed in a position that requires them to practice the language being taught.
Also Read: What is the difference between TESOL and TEFL?
Flexibility
The last benefit of teaching English one to one is that you can modify lessons for the students more frequently. If you find during a lesson that the concept is particularly challenging and the student needs more practice, you can slow down the lesson to work on the specific grammar point. Giving the student that time to fix what they are struggling with can help them retain that learned knowledge in the future. This will also allow you to be able to use repetition with the students every lesson, thus giving students the practice and clarification needed on any given grammar point.
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
Overall, teaching English one to one can be very beneficial for the student and the teacher. Students can have more individualized instruction, as well as many opportunities to practice the language. The teacher can benefit from having just one student and the ability to be able to monitor that students progress more closely and adjust lessons to meet the needs of their students. I believe this can be a positive solution for students who could use a more directed lesson than the whole classroom setting could offer.
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