Chapter 19: Getting Specific: Teaching Just One Student and Business English 279
Enjoying the pace
In the actual lesson, you find that the student who just wants to chat saves
you quite a lot of preparatory work. Of course, you should never go to a
lesson unarmed but your lesson may be spread over several sessions if the
student has other matters to get off his chest. Unlike in classes, students can
use their time to talk if they prefer, as long as they don’t have deadlines to
meet, such as looming exams (in which case try to steer them back to more
structured study).
On the point of preparation though, bring along more material than usual for a
one-to-one because the student needs a great deal of variety.
Planning and teaching a one-to-one lesson
Planning a one-to-one lesson is largely similar to planning a lesson with a
group of students but in order to be effective, you need to keep certain points
in mind.
Have clear aims for the short- and long-term. Have a detailed interview with
the student before you start the course and review the aims often. This
should prevent the lesson turning into a chit-chat every time (unless that’s
what the client wants of course). A course book that you can dip into may
help with this, if you can get your student to buy it, that is. A course book
allows you to set homework and have extra material on hand without too
much photocopying. Course books also show students how to develop study
skills, which may be necessary for those who’ve been out of education for
many years.
Although you need to make your lessons varied and bouncy, remember that
your student can only absorb so much in one session. So revise previous
topics a lot, after the student has had a day or two to absorb them. Even
during the lesson it’s not a bad idea to leave the room for a few minutes to
give the student a bit of space to think and reflect.
If you do happen to get an intensive course, 15 hours a week for example, you
have to pull out all the stops to keep it interesting. I’ve found that having a
running saga is good fun.
What I do is to base a series of lessons (listening, reviewing, narrating and so
on) around a film that plays out over the course of the week. The student is
keen to know what happens next and is therefore more motivated.
