Teach English in Liuhu Zhen - Xing'an Meng — Hinggan

There are differences for teaching English to a group of students and in teaching one-on-one. Some of these differences are disadvantages and others are advantages. I will go over first some of the disadvantages in teaching each type of student, and then go over the advantages. Then I will give my preference for which I type of student I would prefer to teach. Teaching groups and individuals both have some disadvantages. First, I would like to look at some of the disadvantages to teaching a group, especially a large group of students. Students learning a second language often learn at different paces and generally learn material differently. Therefore, you may have some students who finish activities faster or more easily than others do. You risk then having some students bored and some students left behind. To overcome this you can group stronger students with weaker students so they can help each other, or give the stronger students extra activities to keep them challenged. Another disadvantage of working with large groups of students is keeping them working together, making sure that all students get equal attention from you and have equal opportunities to speak. One more disadvantage in working with a group is if they can communicate with each other in their native language, they may be tempted to use that instead of English. A solution would be to diversify the student groups so that not all of the students in one group speak the same native language it would discourage students from reverting to their native language to communicate and encourage them to use the one they have in common. Some disadvantages for working one-on-one with a student is that you cannot do many activities that are essential for learning English. There is no opportunity for group work or games, and the teacher must be part of the pair work. In addition, because it is just the two of you, the student cannot get help or ideas from other students and learning from each other. There are many advantages in working with groups and other advantages teaching one-on-one. An advantage in working with groups of students is the variety of activities you can do. You can encourage students to practice their skills by playing games like hangman and Pictionary. Another great activity is doing class surveys where they practice speaking to each other, gathering information and sharing it with the whole class. They have the opportunity to learn from each other’s mistakes and successes. These activities need to assist students in building vocabulary, practicing hearing and speaking English, writing correct English and using everyday English. Often in the large group classes, students may work for the same company or live in the same city. The similarities they have can help you tailor materials to interest the whole group (like following the World Cup in Spain, or using business English on the telephone for students in the same company.) An advantage for working with an individual student is that it is very easy to tailor the topics to their needs and interests. You can also teach at just their learning level or speed. When you work one-on-one you can also develop a good rapport and relationship with the student it can be easier for them to trust you, and to feel comfortable in practicing their English as there is no one else there to cause embarrassment or lose face in front of. I have had the opportunity to train large groups of students in my current job as a corporate trainer. Although I am not currently teaching them English, I am teaching them business skills. I certainly know first-hand some of the challenges and advantages of teaching a large group. One disadvantage I have all the time is that they learn at different speeds. Therefore, I need to have additional activities planned or time for them to work independently. I also have a challenge sometimes in teaching new skills when everyone needs some one-on-one attention, and there is only one of me and sometimes as many as ten of them. So you have to organize the class structure with some things they can do (like systematic manuals) while you help one at a time. Some advantages I’ve found to working with a large group is in getting more conversation going, more ideas shared and more energy in the classroom. I have also had the opportunity to tutor two students one-on-one in ESL English learning. There were also disadvantages and advantages working with these students. One big disadvantage for my schedule was cancellations. The one student often cancelled when her children were sick. It made it hard to keep the teaching lessons on track (we had to review a lot more because it could have been a couple weeks between lessons) it also made it hard for me to schedule other parts of my life. One of the good things about working one-on-one was the relationships I developed. I became good friends with the one student over time. As her language grew, we could change the focus for what she needed and wanted to learn next, which eventually included taking her American Citizenship exam. Since I have trained both individuals and groups of students, I can say that I enjoy both and find challenges with both. I would like the opportunity to teach English to a group, and hopefully in another country. I have taught ESL here in America but I would like to see the different challenges and advantages when you are living in a country where English is not the native language and how that affects the learning process.