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ESL forum >
Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > I ´m giving my first private lesson...
I ´m giving my first private lesson...
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brookee
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I ´m giving my first private lesson...
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...and am looking for some tips on how to start. I �ve never done any private teaching. My only experience is in large, classroom settings. So I �m used to lots of partner work, peer activities, etc.
BACKGROUND Student is... +a beginner +an adult +an immigrant living in the U.S. +looking to acquire language to have conversations and communicate here
The twist, she is my neighbor who I �m trying to help out, so I definitely want our lessons to be worth her while.
My questions... 1) How should I start? 2) What should I expect? 3) What techniques and activities have worked well when working with private students?
Thanks, Brooke
EDIT: @ Elodie The student has no children and has a job where little English is needed for her position. My assumptions are she wants to learn English to gain job skills, achieve greater self-sufficiency, and be able to participate in community life.
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23 Jun 2010
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ELOJOLIE274
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Hi,
to be able to really help you, can you tell us a little more? why does she want to improve her communication skills? to find a job? to talk to her children �s teachers? to understand when someone talks to her (when I moved to England, that was my main problem)?...
depending on the reasons why she wants to improve her skills, you �ll teach her in quite different ways.
moreover, you need to concentrate on what she likes - when I taught French to my pupil (who was a lawyer), she told me that she wanted to improve her pronunciation and liked to talk about politics, foreign affairs... so I used documentaries, extract from the news, newspapers to teach her...
if your student likes cooking and wants to be able to have conversations with neighbours/friends... you can start by going around her kitchen and teach her the words she will need if she wants to talk about cooking... do you see what I mean? you can encourage her to watch cooking channels where people prepare new recipes...
I know watching TV doesn �t sound like very useful, but this is how I still learn new words in English (apart from books of course)!!! you can tell your student to do that: watch a particular tv show/series and after watching it, try to make a summary of what happened (first in her mother tongue, then in English) - if there �s a scene she didn �t understand, watch it again and write down the words she understands, then write down phonetically the words she didn �t get, then look it up in a dictionary...
understanding is very important important in a conversation, and sometimes it is overlooked because people think that if they have the words to say something they will be able to talk. however, if you do not understand what people say to you, the conversation will fail... so you should concentrate on helping her improve her listening skills as well!!!
take care
Elodie
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23 Jun 2010
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freddie
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Hi Brooke
I do lots and lots of privates and I really like them because you can tailor make the lesson to fit the student �s needs. Whereas in a classroom you have to teach to some kind of average and in a more standardised way.
So a really thorough needs analysis and assessment is absolutely necessary in the first lesson (as well as future lessons) so that the needs can be well met.
Obviously all your pair work activities can be used with you as the partner. Lucky student!!
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23 Jun 2010
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corina2211
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I totally agree with Elodie. Watching TV programmes or using songs can be very useful. I do it with my students and I see they improve a lot in understanding and speaking. Furthermore, as it �s a natural way of learning they tend to remember easier what they learn. Hugs, Corina |
23 Jun 2010
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corina2211
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By the way, I found PhilipR and Jujuka �s speaking ws very useful. They might give tons of ideas. |
23 Jun 2010
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