How to Teach English One-on-One

Summary

This video script offers 10 essential tips for one-on-one teaching, highlighting the importance of first impressions, rapport building, and personalized lesson planning. It emphasizes the need for structured classes with clear goals, the use of visual materials, and the incorporation of student interests to maintain engagement. The script also addresses challenges like maintaining motivation and provides strategies for effective feedback, homework, and leveraging technology to enhance the learning experience.

Takeaways

• 📚 **Prepare Thoroughly:** One-on-one teaching requires careful preparation to avoid exhaustion and ensure a productive learning experience.
• 🌐 **Online Teaching Opportunities:** Platforms like Preply allow tutors to set their own prices, schedules, and access resources to teach languages online from anywhere.
• 🔗 **Building Rapport:** Establishing rapport with the student from the beginning is crucial for a successful one-on-one teaching relationship.
• 📝 **Assess Student Needs:** Determine the student's level, strengths, weaknesses, and goals to tailor lessons effectively.
• 🎯 **Set Clear Goals:** Having specific, measurable objectives helps in creating a personalized plan and tracking student progress.
• 🗓 **Establish a Routine:** Structuring classes with a routine helps keep both the teacher and student organized and focused.
• 🗣️ **Increase Student Participation:** Encourage more student talking time to improve fluency and confidence.
• 👀 **Use Visual Aids:** Visual materials like photographs and maps can enrich lessons and stimulate conversation.
• 📈 **Monitor Progress:** Keep records of student achievements to maintain motivation and provide tangible evidence of improvement.
• 📝 **Provide Feedback:** Regularly noting and addressing errors or gaps in the student's knowledge can lead to substantial improvements.
• 🏆 **Create Success Opportunities:** Design lessons with achievable goals to ensure the student experiences success and remains motivated.
• 📚 **Utilize Homework:** Assigning homework can reinforce learning, address difficulties, and maintain momentum between sessions.

Q & A

What are some challenges of teaching a student one-on-one compared to in a group setting?

Teaching one-on-one can be more exhausting as there is less expectation for students to work with one another, and the teacher has less time to move between students, requiring more preparation and energy.

How does online one-on-one teaching differ from in-person teaching?

Online one-on-one teaching allows for more flexibility as teachers can set their own price, create their own schedule, and teach from anywhere in the world.

What resources does Prepley offer to tutors to help them succeed in online language teaching?

Prepley offers resources such as a steady stream of new students, a smart calendar for scheduling, curriculum and lesson plans, and convenient payment methods.

Why is the first lesson crucial in one-on-one teaching?

The first lesson is crucial because it sets the tone for the student-teacher relationship and it's the first impression, which is hard to change.

How can a teacher build rapport with a student during the initial stages of one-on-one teaching?

A teacher can build rapport by getting to know the student from the first moment, starting with names and brief introductions, and asking questions about their background, interests, and goals.

What is the importance of understanding a student's level and goals in one-on-one teaching?

Understanding a student's level and goals helps the teacher to focus on what needs improvement, avoiding repetition of what the student already knows, and allows for personalized lesson planning.

Why is it beneficial to ask students about their specific learning goals and future plans in one-on-one teaching?

Asking about specific goals helps in creating a personalized plan tailored to the student's needs, making the lessons more relevant and motivating for the student.

How can a teacher establish a structured class routine in one-on-one teaching?

A teacher can establish a routine by opening each lesson with a conversation, reviewing previous work, and setting clear objectives for each lesson, ensuring the student knows what to expect.

What strategies can a teacher use to increase student talking time during one-on-one lessons?

Strategies include using visual materials, applying content and language integrated learning, making lessons student-centered, using prompts or gestures, and employing task-based learning.

How can a teacher maintain a student's motivation in one-on-one teaching, especially after initial progress?

A teacher can maintain motivation by keeping a record of the student's progress, setting measurable goals, providing regular feedback, and using visual and audio materials to keep lessons engaging.

What role does homework play in one-on-one tutoring sessions, and how can it be effectively utilized?

Homework plays a crucial role in reinforcing lessons, providing opportunities for practice, and preparing for the next session. It can be effectively utilized by assigning relevant tasks that address specific areas of difficulty and by checking and correcting them in the next class.

Why is it important for a teacher to give feedback during one-on-one lessons, and how can they do it effectively?

Giving feedback is important as it helps address persistent errors and gaps in the student's knowledge. Teachers can do this effectively by noting down mistakes and corrections during the lesson and focusing on these errors at the end of the session.

How can a teacher use visual materials like photographs and maps in one-on-one teaching to enhance learning?

Visual materials provide a rich source of vocabulary and conversation. Teachers can use them to focus on particular structures, create dialogues, and stimulate interest in discussing places, experiences, or situations.

What are some interactive activities that a teacher can use in one-on-one lessons to engage the student?

Interactive activities include role plays, information gap exercises, skits, dialogues based on real-life situations, two-minute presentations, telephone calls, writing emails, and participating in drills or games.

Outlines

00:00

📚 One-on-One Teaching Strategies and Online Tutoring Platforms

This paragraph discusses the challenges and strategies for one-on-one teaching, emphasizing the importance of preparation and rapport building with the student. It introduces online tutoring platforms like Preply, which offers resources such as a steady stream of students, scheduling tools, and curriculum support, and TutorAcademy, which provides courses to enhance tutoring skills. The paragraph also covers the significance of the first lesson in making a strong impression, understanding the student's level, goals, and areas for improvement to create a personalized learning plan.

05:00

📝 Establishing a Structured and Goal-Oriented Lesson Plan

The second paragraph focuses on creating a structured lesson plan with clear objectives and achievable goals for every class. It suggests using a book to streamline lesson planning and emphasizes the importance of consistency, patience, and flexibility during classes. The paragraph also highlights the need to increase student talking time, using various strategies such as applied content learning, task-based learning, and personalizing lessons to target the student's strengths and weaknesses. It also touches on the use of visual materials and the importance of establishing rapport between the teacher and student.

10:01

🌟 Maintaining Student Motivation and Progress Tracking

This paragraph addresses the challenge of maintaining student motivation, especially after the initial progress phase. It suggests keeping a record of the student's achievements to provide tangible evidence of improvement. The paragraph also discusses the importance of setting measurable goals, using visual and audio materials, and providing feedback to address persistent errors. It encourages the use of homework to reinforce learning outside of class and to prepare for the next session, ensuring a coherent and progressive learning experience.

15:01

🎓 Enhancing Learning Through Interactive Activities and Homework

The final paragraph emphasizes the role of interactive activities and homework in enhancing the learning experience. It suggests using role plays, gap exercises, and real-life situation dialogues to provide authentic language practice. The paragraph also highlights the importance of teacher participation in activities to model language use and interaction. It concludes by discussing the value of homework in allowing learners to practice extended writing, research, and controlled exercises, and the importance of setting expectations for preparation and engagement in subsequent sessions.

Keywords

💡One-on-One Teaching

One-on-One Teaching refers to the educational method where a single instructor provides personalized instruction to a single student. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses the challenges and strategies for effectively teaching in such a setting. The script mentions the exhaustion that can come with one-on-one teaching if not well-prepared, highlighting the importance of preparation in this context.

💡PrepLey

PrepLey is mentioned as a platform that allows tutors to set their own prices, create schedules, and teach languages online from anywhere. It is a key concept in the video as it represents the modern approach to one-on-one tutoring, emphasizing flexibility and global accessibility.

💡TutorAcademy

TutorAcademy is presented as a resource offering over 40 courses to help tutors prepare for lessons and improve their teaching skills. It is relevant to the video's theme as it underscores the importance of continuous learning and professional development for one-on-one tutors.

💡First Impression

The concept of 'First Impression' is highlighted as crucial in the initial lesson, emphasizing the importance of professionalism and preparation to establish rapport with the student. It is tied to the video's theme by illustrating the significance of setting the right tone for subsequent lessons.

💡Rapport

Rapport is defined as a harmonious or sympathetic relationship between people. In the video, building rapport is discussed as a key strategy for one-on-one teaching, starting from the first interaction and including getting to know the student's background and interests.

💡Level Determination

Level Determination is the process of assessing a student's current knowledge and skills. The script uses this term to describe how tutors can identify what the student already knows and what areas need improvement, which is essential for personalized one-on-one instruction.

💡Personalized Plan

A Personalized Plan is a tailored learning strategy designed to meet an individual student's needs and goals. The video script discusses the creation of such plans based on the student's specific goals and areas for improvement, which is integral to effective one-on-one tutoring.

💡Structure

Structure in the context of the video refers to the organized format or routine of a tutoring session. It is emphasized as a way to keep both the tutor and student focused and ensure that lessons are productive and follow a logical progression.

💡Student Talking Time

Student Talking Time is the period during a lesson when the student is actively speaking and practicing the language. The script suggests increasing this time as a way to improve fluency and confidence, which is a key aspect of one-on-one language learning.

💡Visual Materials

Visual Materials, such as photographs, graphs, and maps, are highlighted in the script as effective tools in one-on-one teaching. They provide a rich source of vocabulary and conversation, aiding in the understanding and retention of language concepts.

💡Motivation

Motivation is discussed as a critical factor in a student's progress and engagement in one-on-one lessons. The video script suggests maintaining motivation through the use of records of improvement, measurable goals, and by providing value through each lesson.

💡Homework

Homework is presented as an essential component of one-on-one tutoring, allowing for practice and reinforcement of concepts outside of the lesson. The script mentions it as a tool for dealing with grammar and vocabulary, and as a way to give the course a coherent shape.

💡Feedback

Feedback in the video is portrayed as a vital part of the learning process, where the tutor notes and addresses the student's errors or gaps in knowledge. It is used to focus on specific areas for improvement and is shown as a method to make substantial progress in language learning.

Highlights

Teaching one-on-one can be more exhausting than in groups due to higher expectations and less time to manage.

Online one-to-one teaching is increasingly popular and offers flexibility in pricing, scheduling, and global accessibility.

PrepLey and PrepLey TutorAcademy provide resources, including new students, smart calendars, and lesson plans, to support online tutors.

First impressions are crucial in one-on-one teaching; professionalism and preparation are key to establishing rapport.

Understanding a student's background, interests, and goals is essential for tailoring lessons to their needs.

Identifying students' weaknesses and goals helps in creating a personalized learning plan for faster improvement.

Structuring classes with a routine helps keep both the teacher and student organized and aware of expectations.

Encouraging students to share from their lives using English enhances rapport and practical language use.

Writing exercises, such as paragraphs about their day, provide opportunities for writing practice and immediate feedback.

Setting clear, measurable goals and objectives helps track student progress and maintain direction in tutoring sessions.

Being consistent, patient, and flexible contributes to building trust and respect in the teacher-student relationship.

Increasing student talking time through structured lessons and engaging activities improves language practice.

Using visual materials like photographs and maps enriches vocabulary and sparks conversation in one-on-one settings.

Maintaining motivation is crucial, especially after the initial progress, by providing evidence of improvement and setting measurable goals.

Homework assignments can reinforce learning outside of class and provide material for class discussions and corrections.

Providing opportunities for students to succeed by including exercises they can complete successfully builds confidence.

Giving feedback on errors and weaknesses during lessons helps students to self-correct and improve their language skills.

Using a variety of activities, such as role plays and dialogues, can simulate real-life situations and enhance language use.

Collaborating with students in activities provides a language model and demonstrates effective interaction in English.

Transcripts

teaching a student one-on-one can be

difficult in groups they can work with

one another there is less expectation

and you have more time to move between

them with only one student it can be an

exhausting experience if you are not

well prepared in today's video I will

share 10 things to consider when

teaching or tutoring one-on-one one

one-to-one teaching can happen in person

or more and more widely online so I want

to share properly for any teacher that

wants to make money teaching a language

online prickly allows you to set your

own price create your own schedule and

make money from anywhere in the world to

help you succeed prepley offers

resources to all its tutors which

include a steady stream of new students

a smart calendar to easily keep track of

your schedule curriculum and lesson

plans use your own or prep please

convenient payment methods to receive

your money properly tutoracademy which

gives you access to more than 40 courses

to help you prepare for your lessons and

become a better tutor so how do you

start click on the link down below and

complete your registration add your

details record an engaging intro video

once you've been accepted set your own

price and teach from anywhere in the

world get connected with students or add

your own conduct lessons and start

making money online back to teaching

one-on-one the first lesson you never

get a second chance to make a first

impression be professional look the part

and be prepared start building Rapport

by getting to know your student from the

first moment you meet start with your

name and a brief introduction of who you

are and your experience next ask

questions to your student to determine

their level start simply by asking basic

information such as their age birthday

family past experiences likes dislikes

hobbies and Future future goals pay

attention to what they already know when

you determine their level and knowledge

you can focus on what they need to

improve no need to go over what they've

already learned that way you can help

them improve faster and focus on

learning new things ask where they're

having trouble students are often aware

of their weaknesses they know what types

of questions they consistently Miss on

quizzes what topics they struggle with

and what areas they wish to improve then

find out what their goals are by having

a specific idea of what they want to

improve you can create a personalized

plan what are their learning goals why

are they learning English you can prompt

the student further by asking about

specific goals such as study work travel

personal interests and so on which level

would they like to achieve in the next

six months what about after a year

structure your class classes

establishing a routine for your student

to follow in individualized instruction

helps you keep organized and your

student to know what to expect try

opening each lesson with a conversation

about each other's day what has happened

to them since the last time you met if

you meet them every day let them go

through their schedule what did they do

what what are their thoughts on some

things you can share a song or video

clip you study a book rotate through

some games gossip interesting news

International or local events if they

are young it's a great way to learn when

you go through their likes dislikes and

use flashcards to help you you can also

review what you did the previous class

repetition equals retention most

students have a phone if they aren't

already encourage them to take photos

during their week and then share some

with you it could be of an activity

something they ate or their pets why is

this good not only do they get to share

things from their lives which increases

rapport with you but they also use

English to relate their lives which

means that it is practical and useful

you can have your student write a

paragraph or two depending on their

English ability about their day or a

specific topic this is a great exercise

for writing practice and your student

can receive immediate feedback while

also having a record to show progress

over time set goals and establish

specific measurable objectives this will

allow you to set a diagnostic to the

progress of your student and program

State objectives before you start the

one-on-one activity let your student

know what to expect from your tutoring

session always keep in mind that you

want to have Direction when working with

your student before you begin any

activity State the objective and what it

would mean for them to grasp the concept

having a structure to your lessons will

make it much easier have these check

marks of what you want to accomplish in

each lesson the chat comes in between

don't base your lesson off of chatting

have achievable goals you wish to

realize for every class if you have them

for set number of classes plan it out it

would help to have a book to work from

that way you don't have to plan

everything yourself here is an example

of a structure you can use in class

introduction practice vocabulary grammar

presentation give homework fun game or

chat to wind down be consistent make a

point to be patient encouraging and

flexible during each class a student's

life may be filled with many

inconsistencies you want to be a

constant and positive role model in

their life this will help help you gain

their respect and Trust show up on time

and be ready to work increase student

talking time now that your lesson has

structure you want to start class by

reviewing previous work checking

homework or doing a fun icebreaking

activity the reason why we do this is to

warm the student up for talking just

like you would stretch your muscles

before exercise most students need to be

eased into a talkative mood you could

also start by asking questions about

their week asking the student leading

questions about vocabulary or grammar

will help the rest of your lesson run

more smoothly on the ETI teach website

we have thousands of questions on a

variety of topics that you can use for

your classes pick from the questions or

take turns asking one another there may

be times when a student is unresponsive

creating silence in class this more

often occurs with younger Learners who

are pushed by their parent to take the

class it rarely happens with adult

students because they tend to be more

self-motivated and are probably spending

their own money to have class when a

student remains quiet it's up to your

creative lessons to generate a response

using props or flashcards really helps

them Focus visualize and talk about the

object besides organizing learning AIDS

like vocabulary notebooks or timelines

for verb tenses here are some tips for

increasing student talking time applied

content and language integrated learning

make its student centered use prompts or

gestures to elicit vocabulary motivate

engage entertain create grammatical

awareness and employ task-based learning

give them many projects to complete

employ a holistic approach to improve

the student as individual produce and

extend the language don't use the same

question over and over again add

follow-up questions recycle grammar

encourage Learners to notice language

and remember to bring personality or

your background into the class building

Rapport between teacher and student is

vitally important for them to buy into

learning personalize your lessons

teachers have the chance to customize

each lesson to his or her students needs

and the possibility to Target activities

to a student's strengths or weaknesses

is a huge plus but the greatest benefits

are for the students it grants them the

unique opportunity for intensive

practice if the student speaks for most

of the lesson he or she will make

progress faster and the same goes for

other skills still the teacher is the

one responsible for maximizing their

time with the students visual materials

work well in most one-to-one situations

materials such as photographs graphs

maps pictures and so on provide a rich

source of vocabulary and conversation

and can be used by the teacher to focus

on a particular structure maps and

atlases are particularly useful as most

people find them interesting and are

ready to talk about places they have

visited or would like to visit in the

future a sign of fluency in any language

is being able to fully describe a

situation or scene print out pictures or

use images in a textbook rip out ads

from magazines and have your student

explain what's going on you can ask

follow-up questions to create a dialogue

during the first lesson you establish

the needs of your student if their goals

are work related to improve test scores

or improving their General English

communication and the strengths and

weaknesses use that information to

create a curriculum for your student and

build lessons that put them at the

center point if they feel that a lesson

is valuable they will be more engaged

and motivated to improve which is why

they want you as a tutor in the first

place another challenge is maintaining

motivation after initial progress after

the first few lessons students may feel

like they've reached a plateau their

progress is less obvious to them because

they don't have other students to

compare themselves with by keeping a

record of what they have done learned

achieved they have physical evidence of

improvement which will keep their

motivation high you can have a list of

vocabulary that they learn each week set

up quizzes to help them gauge their

levels and see what still needs to be

worked on write short journals it's a

nice routine that can be done at the

start of class about simple topics such

as their week hobbies and current events

or at the end to review set measurable

goals have a time-based plan for each

lesson understanding what they will be

working on in a Time manner will help

Focus your students attention be

consistent make it a point to be patient

encouraging and flexible during each

session visual materials work well in

most one-to-one situations materials

such as photographs maps and pictures

provide a rich source of vocabulary and

conversation and can be used by the

teacher to focus on a particular

structure I love asking my students to

share a photograph from their phones

then they have to explain the photo and

I can engage in follow-up questions

leading up to specific things we are

working on in that lesson audio and

video are also useful tools in the

one-to-one classroom apart from

providing the obvious listening skills

benefits they are also an opportunity

for the student to year different voices

and accents and for the teacher to move

out of the Limelight as an alternative

try making the student responsible for

the activity by giving them control of

the audio or video they will then pause

or rewind when they need to do so not

when you think it's necessary if

possible I would recommend going to your

nearest bookstore and look for a

workbook that suits your students needs

and has useful content inside that way

you don't need to create all your

lessons from scratch and you have a book

that you can work through give feedback

many one-on-one lessons can develop into

a pleasant chat that fills the entire

lesson amazingly quickly no doubt this

is useful fluency and listening practice

for the student and sometimes that's

what they ask for what it doesn't do

however is deal with persistent errors

or address weaknesses in grammar or

vocabulary make it a regular practice to

have a blank sheets of paper and note

down any significant or persistent

errors or obvious gaps in this students

language knowledge make one column to

the left that shows mistakes they have

made and a column to the right for

Corrections this will enable you to

spend 10 minutes or so at the end of the

lesson focusing on these errors and

where possible getting the student to

self correct students often appreciate

this approach because it is very focused

and Deals precisely with errors they

make you can also use any gaps you

notice as the basis for future lessons

provide opportunities to succeed while

you should be working towards goals you

don't want to discourage your student by

setting the bar too high every session

should include exercises you know the

student can complete successfully from

there you can build on the lesson

towards more complex exercises that may

prove more challenging if the student

doesn't perform at the level you expect

don't give up repeat the exercise until

he or she completes it correctly when

they do he preys on the student for

working through an obstacle

spend time working on errors they are a

great opportunity to make substantial

improvements homework a lot of useful

language work both grammar and

vocabulary based can be prepared as

homework and then checked in class this

gives you the opportunity to deal with

any problems and this student can ask

you to clarify any areas of difficulty

it may also be a more realistic approach

to dealing with grammar on a one-to-one

course than upfront teaching followed by

some form of controlled practice regular

homework can also help give the course a

coherent shape and each session by

looking forward to the next one the end

of a tutoring session doesn't mean the

student is finished for the week make it

clear that you expect them to prepare

for your next session in the time you're

a part if there is any work that wasn't

finished during the session assign it as

homework for the next meeting if you

have a fun activity plan for the next

session tell the students about it so

that they have something to look forward

to Learners like homework if it adds

value and teachers often forget how good

a tool it can be use homework to get

your learner to do things you wouldn't

do in class for example extended writing

research or more controlled practice

exercises some exercises you can use

with students include role plays info

Gap exercises skits be prepared to take

on a different role as a teacher for pay

work with the student dialogues based on

real life situations such as work or

everyday life provide authentic examples

of language like articles or simulating

real conversations focus on productive

skills writing and speaking and

receptive skills like reading and

listening you can combine the skills

through activities like diction or

playing back conversations two minute

presentations telephone calls write

emails as homo do drills or games like

you would in a group lesson you can

really help your student by

participating as an equal partner in

many of these activities for example if

you ask the learner to give a two-minute

presentation you should be prepared to

do the same when two people are together

they produce a dialogue not separate

monologues which means that you the

teacher have to interact provide

feedback and make sure the conversation

flows as smoothly as possible by

collaborating with your learners in

these activities you provide a language

model and a model of how to interact

when conversing in English if you do

this well you may find that your lessons

become more enjoyable conversations in

which learning occurs here is a video

with games and activities you can use

when teaching one-on-one