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[fuzzarelly]

hey people,

Ive previously been teaching in small classes and have recently taken up teaching one on one. And, not suprisingly, its a whole new ball game....
Im tutoring in a 2 hour hit each time and am trying to manage the time and ideas so as to not burn out....
Im interested to find out how others out there manage their time with their private students.... and im open and looking for new ideas and exercises to try out...
any feedback appreciated

FuzzZZZzzz

[SueH]

I'll be starting some 1-2-1 work this Tuesday and have found that 'One to One' by Peter Wilberg (pub: Thomson Heinle) has some useful ideas. It's a bit out of date in some respects - talks about electric typewriters but not laptops, for example - but I'm glad I've got it on my bookshelves.

Sue

[spiral78]

One approach I've used successfully with 1 to 1s is to have them prepare a small 'talk' on a particular topic in advance of the lesson. You can choose a topic together, and it should lead the student to practice some vocabulary or grammatical structure that they need to work on (eg: past tense, or vocab about travel). I ask them to write notes for this and then give me the notes before speaking. The purpose is to give your student the chance to show what he/she can do with a prepared speech, so it's a chance for them to do their best. I listen to this little speech intently and take some notes regarding items that are well-done and errors that occur too. Then, we have a basis to talk about both together. For a two hour lesson, I would follow with some small articles or tapes or some supplementary stuff, probably on the same topic, or introducing the item to be focused on in the next lesson.

I think, basically, 1 to 1 lessons are an opportunity to listen to the student a LOT more!

[Glenski]

One thing I would recommend is to shorten your lesson. Two hours is too long, especially when dealing with just one person. If you can't, then designate an official five minute break halfway through. No longer.

Secondly, have a very short (1-5 minute) period designated as a warm-up just to get the chit-chat out of the way. You can both be opening notebooks, taking out your whiteboard, shuffling your photocopies during that time, as you have your student tell you what he did since last time.

Structure your lesson. After this warm-up, have a regular flow of events. That way, both of you will know what is coming next, and you won't have to worry about keeping your eye on the clock so much.

One question: just what level are your students?

[XXX]

2 hours is FAR too long- You will burn them out. One hour should be the max.

[spiral78]

I disagree. Two hours is doable. Ok, it's intensive, particularly if you have lower-level students. But I am both a teacher and an L2 student, and two hours works for me both ways. Don't get too worried about the time! I agree with Glenski, establish a routine. Take a break. But it can work well.

[Will.]

I should be working ...
Two hours is ok ... no problem for an old hand I have thousands of hours of Private lessons and never take less than a 2-hour stint.
it is not worth the travelling time for less than 2 hours. For a newbie it can be hard. SWOT analysis. personal likes and dislikes enable you to research journals or magazines for articles and focus on the areas of need your student has using these. Ambitions, regrets and current work or personal projects allow you to focus on the main areas of grammar, as do memories, old partners, family, school, work, holidays etc.
Pedagogically there is a need for a break as concentration slips after 100 minutes. A change is as good as a break. Tea break, fag, ciggy break coffee break, all of them allow free expression time for your student and the opportunity to speak as themself and not as the student to you not to the teacher. Sorry to be brief, excuse errrors, but quite often the student is your best guide to their needs ...and wants it is hard to let them decide what they want to learn BUT they are paying you. Should you be in a 1-2-1 as part of your job it is a different ballgame entirely.

[fuzzarelly]

thanx for the feedback everyone...
I agree that 2 hours is very doable... any less is not worth the travelling time etc... though a 1 hr hit is a refreshing change if u can get them in the same location....
yeah a SWOT is a good idea..
the level of the students i have come across varies dramatically... from beginners to all out english wizz's who just wants to hang out and talk with a local Aussie...
Its definately a skill to learn to adapt and cater for every student, cause everyone has diferent abilties and reasons that motivate them to learn english... this is where experience comes into play....
generally i find that with a little prep using poems, articles, pictures etc the 2 hours flows smoothly.... and yeah, a 5min drink break makes a big difference....
now, what about hourly rates? In Australia it seems to be the norm to be charging anywhere from $15-$30hr.... Im chargin $15 at the moment until i have more 1on1 experience and a good collection of materials to work with....Ive been through a TEFL and got 1 year international teaching experience under the belt... what are you charging for your time? How much are we worth?
thanx
FuzzZZzzzz

[Sheep-Goats]

First, you should take (require) a 10 minute break. Second, there's no good way around the extra work you'll need to put in. All that teacher contact means rapid progress, which means you need more material ready. Which means more lesson planning work per-hour than you would need for a group.

Simple as that.

Any other route will lead to a decline in the quality of your lessons.

[gtidey]

A thread in General Discussion about teaching ?!

Two hours is good, I have a 2 hour 1-2-1 portuguese lesson every week with me as the student and it's fine, fun in fact.

When I give 1-2-1's especially with women I break into little chit-chats every 25-30, just 5 mins. It keeps them fresh and fun and gives the two of you a better rapport.

100 Mins is beyond losing concentration, by the way whoever said that, after 100 mins of learning I am officially someplace else. Getting me to concentrate on something for 100mins would be astounding. So maybe break that down a little.

Heres a good tip: tell a story between the two of you, taking it in turns. I would start with say, "The princess had a very stressful morning choosing her prince" and then the learner does the next bit. This is another excellent rapport and vocab builder - theres been some really funny stories. Especially the one about the evil three legged witch! You can do this in any tense too.

If you find out their likes and hobbies you can suggest homework like "give me a past tense report of what happened in a football game." if they liked footy. therefore it would all be pretiret "zola was booked after mario scored." for example

the hardest thing is picking the right time to correct their mistakes, espcially in speaking as once youve interupted their flow it can be a chore getting them happy to speak and "go with it" again.

1-2-1s are pretty cool if you dont have to teach a right miserable sod.

[dmb]

[Gordon]

I taught a 10 year-old for 2 hours at a time, twice/week. So 4 hours/week and this continued for 3 years until I moved. So it certainly is possible but it depends on the student. We had so much fun, I almost never looked at my watch. If they're intermediate or higher, it is doable.

[gtidey]

I just wanna tell you this. Both my parents are hypnotherapists, a strange childhood obviously. My dad used to take lessons in french and used to hypnotise the poor woman during the lessons so that he could speak in english and she would think he was speaking french!!! He would just talk in english like "i want a glass of beer. What time is it please." and she would hear "j'vou un beer" or whatever!

i have about a zillion of these stories. hypnotherapy practices should not be given to grown men who are less mature than most 10 year olds.

[Nauczyciel]

That's what I call a thread about teaching!