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The Difference between Teaching One to One & GroupsWhen teaching English there are two common options that the teacher will find themselves in. The first option is where the teacher is teaching in a private setting and teaching one on one. The second option is the teacher teaching to a group of students in more of a classroom setting. There is a real need for both types of teaching options, but the teacher will find many differences between the two. Below some of the differences will be discussed so that teachers can be prepared for either scenario.
The more traditional form of teaching English has come by means of teaching a group of students in a classroom setting. When it comes to teaching a group of students there are certain advantages that a teacher will have over teaching one on one. When teaching English the use of group work and group input is extremely helpful for students. When you have this option, you can draw on the strengths of other students to help encourage the weaker students. You can place those students together to work as pairs or in small groups. As a result the students that are struggling are given a greater chance to understand as they get input from a student who understands the lesson.
One downfall to the group setting versus the individual setting is the fact that not all students in a group will be at the same learning level. As a result you have to find ways as the teacher to keep all students on task even when some take longer to complete portions of the lesson than others. You also have to be creative in doing the lesson plan so that you are sure to make it accessible to all students in your class. You have to keep it simple enough for the lower level students to keep up, but not so watered down that the higher level students breeze through the lesson and are left bored with nothing to do.
When looking at one-on-one teaching settings, you will quickly realize that this is becoming one of the more popular options as individual students like the idea of having a course specialized for their specific needs. When teaching one-on-one, the teacher is able to very accurately access the needs of her student and from that assessment, formulate a workable plan to help them meet their goals. The teacher can create lesson plans and provide materials for the correct level of the individual student. She can also create lessons and materials that fit the specific interests of the student. If the student loves swimming and the ocean then lessons can be based on those types of topics in order to keep the student engaged. In a group setting the teacher is limited in being able to provide topics that interest each and every student since there is such a large variety of interests.
One major downfall when teaching students one-on-one is the lack of interaction with other students learning the same information. Individual students miss out on being able to do group work where they can bounce ideas off of other students and collaborate on assignments. An individual student would have to work solely with the teacher to do any pair work given and this keeps them limited to the influence they get as they are learning. Sometimes it?s very helpful to have people other than the teacher to work through things with because it can be difficult at time for the teacher to put themselves back in the frame of mind of a student as opposed to a teacher.
No matter which setting a student finds themselves in, there are pros and cons to both scenarios and in the end both methods will accomplish the goal of teaching the student English. It?s just a matter of preference for the student and teacher.
