I am a logical and methodical teacher, so the first thing I usually do is to create a plan with my students. For any plan to work, you must have a clear destination, as language learning is a journey. However, the destination, or goal set, must be realistic, and therefore it also necessary to understand what you are capable of, or how far along you are on your language learning journey, before an...
I am a logical and methodical teacher, so the first thing I usually do is to create a plan with my students. For any plan to work, you must have a clear destination, as language learning is a journey. However, the destination, or goal set, must be realistic, and therefore it also necessary to understand what you are capable of, or how far along you are on your language learning journey, before any plans can be created. Once I know what you can do, what you want to be able to do, and when you want to be able to do it by, then I can advise you on the viability of your objective, as well as create a customized course for your language learning needs, in order to reach your objective on time. So, for the initial steps, it can be summarized as follows:
1. Test - I need to know what you can do.
2. Consultation - I need to know what you want to achieve, by when, and advise your on the viability of your objective, as well as the best ways to achieve it.
3. Customization - I design a course, ideally with significant input from yourself, based on your language learning needs, and your interests, if at all possible.
4. Execution - We begin the course.
Once we have begun the course, my approach will depend entirely upon who it is that I am teaching - assuming a foundational learner, there will be a great deal of copying and repetition, with some but not a lot of independent language production, as such students need guidance to ensure that they develop good language learning habits. Assuming an intermediate level student, there will be an equal balance of copy, practice and task based learning style teaching, with more advanced students learning primarily by having assignments set to them, with clearly defined expectations by which their performance will be assessed, and feedback provided - learn by doing.
Learning a language is more like learning a skill than a purely academic subject, consistency is key - just like if you skip too many gym sessions or football practices, your muscle growth or skills on the field will suffer respectively, the same is true of language learning. You have to turn up, consistently, if you want to see any growth.
This is why I would argue that 5x30 minute lessons per week would be superior to 2x 2hour lessons per week, because consistency is key.
Read more
see less
Ashford