| If you've thought about teaching English privately to | | | | understand the problems they have with English. |
| adults who speak English as a second language, you | | | | 6. Clear Speaking |
| may not be aware that it is actually easy to organise | | | | Are you a good enunciator? Do you pronounce your |
| the first lesson. It is a lot harder to get the second. If | | | | words clearly? It’s surprising how many people |
| you don't do a good job in the first lesson it is unlikely | | | | think they do and they actually don’t. The best way |
| students will come back for the second! | | | | to find this out is if you record your voice onto a tape |
| So, before you even have the first lesson it is best to | | | | and play it back, then compare it to someone reading |
| be prepared. Make sure you ask a number of | | | | the news. If you can’t understand it easily, if your |
| questions of your potential student when you first | | | | accent is too strong for someone to understand, |
| schedule the lesson so that you are able to take along | | | | you’re going to have to start speaking clearly. |
| the appropriate exercises or conversation topics that | | | | A quick way of doing this is to say ‘Wow’ in |
| the student wants. Obviously every tutor will want to | | | | front of the mirror a few times. If you can’t see |
| prepare for their student but there are other qualities | | | | your tonsils, you’re not enunciating well enough!. |
| you need, to make the lesson successful, that have | | | | Open up your mouth more when you speak. |
| nothing to do with lesson planning. | | | | 7. A friendly or interested personality |
| The following checklist is helpful, and, in some cases, | | | | Yes, if you don’t show that you’re friendly or |
| crucial in getting your private adult ESL students to | | | | interested you’re not going to keep your students |
| come back for more lessons. | | | | for long. You should know about pubs, clubs, travel, |
| 1. Patience | | | | adventure, sports, parties, and people. Students want |
| Patience is extremely important. You can’t do this | | | | to hear crazy stories that increase their knowledge of |
| job without patience. Patience to listen carefully to | | | | particular subjects. If they want to ask about drugs, |
| what your student says. Patience to understand | | | | briefly tell them about your time in Amsterdam. If |
| completely what they are saying before jumping in | | | | they’re interested travelling, tell them about the flies |
| with your answer. Patience to speak slowly and | | | | attacking you in Uluru. |
| clearly. | | | | If you’re an English teacher at High School or |
| 2. Focus | | | | University, you would be teaching from a text book to |
| If something bad has happened in your day, or | | | | a class and the students would listen carefully to every |
| you’ve had an argument with someone, or are | | | | word you say and study for a test at the end proving |
| worried about something, this will show up in your | | | | they’ve listened. Private tuition is completely |
| lesson and you may scare your student off. Be | | | | different. Students can cancel even on the day of |
| focused on the lesson and the student and don't get | | | | your lesson so make sure you’ve got the |
| distracted. | | | | personality to keep them coming back! (This may |
| You must leave all problems at home. Your sole | | | | mean you’ll need to employ your acting skills, or |
| responsibility is to your student at that time. If you don't | | | | become great at making up stories! Maybe those flies |
| think you can do that, reschedule the lesson. | | | | on your trip to Uluru lifted you off the ground!) |
| 3. Understanding | | | | If you’ve been working behind a desk for too long |
| If you have strong opinions on things, you have to | | | | and are worried that you may not be able to show |
| leave them at home too. It’s rare to get a student | | | | your engaging personality, you can brush up your skills |
| that will want to demonstrate his or her feelings for | | | | by either doing a short customer service, hospitality or |
| something, but if you do, and you strongly disagree, | | | | acting course. Make sure that the course includes role |
| it’s better for you to ask them to explain their point | | | | playing! You could also practice your tutoring skills in a |
| of view. | | | | language exchange environment. You can find many |
| Not only does it help them practice their English, it might | | | | people wanting free language exchange lessons at |
| also give you information that you can use in your next | | | | this site: Japanese Language Exchange |
| lesson, because, if a student finds you agree with | | | | I have a student that has near perfect English who |
| them, they’ll be more comfortable with you and will | | | | wants to continue practicing with me purely because I |
| want another lesson. | | | | make her laugh! I've been teaching her for over a year |
| Of course, there are students that want to discuss | | | | now and have told her on a number of occasions that |
| and debate controversial topics, but you probably | | | | she doesn't need any further lessons but she says I'm |
| won’t find this out until after you’ve got to know | | | | the only person she can practice her English |
| your student over a few months. I’ve only met two | | | | conversation skills with and be entertained at the same |
| students who were happy to pay me to debate a | | | | time! |
| topic that they felt strongly about. | | | | 8. Pronunciation (also known as accent reduction) |
| If this looks like you’ll need to be hypocritical, think of | | | | This is probably one of the hardest parts of tutoring |
| it as practicing your acting skills. “That’s an | | | | English. You are going to have to get into the habit of |
| interesting idea”, “I haven’t heard that view | | | | correcting almost everything that your student says |
| before” and, “We must discuss this at length at | | | | (not all at once, of course!). And you’ll need to be |
| another time, but now let’s move on to…” are | | | | able to explain to them how to pronounce difficult |
| good phrases if your student touches on sensitive | | | | words like ‘lorry’ or ‘exists’. Tongue |
| topics, like ‘whales are delicious’ or ‘women | | | | twisters and reading practice are good ways of |
| should stay in the kitchen’ or ‘Come along to | | | | helping students improve their pronunciation. |
| my church/Amway meeting this Sunday!’ | | | | I had a student once who was so distressed by her |
| So, understanding the characters, personalities and | | | | experience with a previous teacher forcing her to read |
| ideals of your students is a good way to continue your | | | | a turn of the century book about a blind woman for an |
| tutor relationship with them. | | | | entire lesson that she checked with me about what I |
| 4. Be interested in everything | | | | was going to teach her and would only hire me if the |
| One skill I have that keeps students coming back to | | | | lessons were interesting! Of course I guaranteed that I |
| me is that I’m interested in almost everything. I can | | | | wouldn’t force her to read something she |
| talk about bosing tang, cancer, Winter Sonata, | | | | wasn’t interested in. |
| Japanese chat shows, Brazilian criminals, Thai insect | | | | Reading aloud is the best way of improving a |
| dishes, Chinese business development, Australian | | | | student’s pronunciation. But a few students hate |
| Aboriginal folklore, politics, economics, reincarnation, | | | | reading aloud and hope to improve their pronunciation |
| Buddhism, Islam, Christianity etc. The list is endless, but | | | | purely by talking with you. In these cases make sure |
| because I read from various different areas regularly I | | | | you have a long list of subjects to discuss so that you |
| always have something to talk about and almost | | | | can challenge their vocabulary and pronunciation. |
| always have a ready comment on just about anything | | | | Also, when you are correcting, concentrate on only |
| the students ask. | | | | one or two areas per lesson. If your student has |
| “What do you know about the latest developments | | | | problems pronouncing ‘th’, that will be your |
| in microparticle physics and time travel?” | | | | focus. Make sure they get it right. No point in totally |
| “Why is Freud more famous than Descarte?” | | | | depressing them during the first lesson by telling them |
| “Is it true that Shiitake Mushrooms cure | | | | all their pronunciation mistakes. |
| cancer?” | | | | 9. Grammar |
| But if you don’t have the time or the inclination to | | | | Yes, I know. Who worries about grammar when |
| be interested in everything, what can you do? | | | | speaking these days? Well, students from any country |
| The first lesson is where you ask all the questions | | | | where English is a foreign language! Students want to |
| about hobbies and interests. I’ve learnt that surfers | | | | know about modals, prepositions, conjunctive adverbs, |
| of huge Hawaiian waves need to be taken up to the | | | | collocations, euphemisms, phrasal verbs, idioms, puns, |
| top of them by speedboat, or that there’s a | | | | and more. They believe the more they know, the |
| skydiving wind tunnel available in the States for people | | | | better they'll be able to speak. It'll be up to you to try |
| afraid to jump from a plane, purely because I had two | | | | and convince them that none of us learnt grammar |
| students interested in those subjects. | | | | when we were 5 years old and we could already |
| Watching the news every night is good too. Avoid | | | | have long conversations at that age. You need to |
| sports news. No use to you in a lesson unless | | | | explain that they have to make mistakes to |
| you’re teaching someone who only wants to talk | | | | communicate and learn. If they worry about ending a |
| about sport. And you should focus on international | | | | sentence with a preposition all the time they'll never |
| news. After all, do you think foreign students are going | | | | have any sentences to speak with (!) A grammar rule |
| to be fascinated by the local news? | | | | is a record of how we have spoken in the past. Not |
| So, after they're happy with your first lesson, and to be | | | | how we should speak. English changes daily. With 3.5 |
| prepared for your second lesson, go through all the | | | | million English words and billions of ways to put them |
| hobbies and interests they brought up and produce | | | | together, is a grammar rule going to help all the time? |
| related articles, news reports or exercises on them for | | | | If that doesn't work, and you are unable to answer |
| the next lesson. I'm sure there's at least one website | | | | their complicated question about split infinitives and |
| out there with articles related to what you need! | | | | future perfect continuous, for example, you can say |
| 5. Acceptance | | | | "hmm, that's a very interesting question. It's not part of |
| Well, this is extremely important. You must accept | | | | today's lesson plan so I don't have any exercises on it |
| everyone and everything if you want to be a good | | | | with me, but I'll prepare something for you for the next |
| private English tutor. | | | | lesson and we can discuss it then. |
| So, if you have any racist attitudes, no matter how | | | | 10. Have fun! |
| many stories you have to back up your view, you | | | | You can have a lot of fun in your lesson too. Find out |
| should accept every person as a unique individual. | | | | what your students love and surprise them with your |
| They may even surprise you! | | | | knowledge in the next lesson. I had a student that |
| I’ve learnt that just because 10 unrelated students, | | | | wanted to know about Anime in Australia so I |
| that originate from a particular country in Asia, have | | | | researched that, prepared an exercise, got hold of the |
| been late to my lessons, doesn’t mean that the 11th | | | | beginning themes of our most popular anime and |
| from that country will be. Or that even though some | | | | played them to him on my mobile phone. He was very |
| students from a particular country want to negotiate a | | | | pleased. |
| lower price, some from that same country actually | | | | One of my female Korean students really wanted to |
| want to pay the full price for 10 lessons in advance! | | | | have a late night lesson at the pub. So, we went to a |
| So, you can't stereotype your students. Treat | | | | popular pub for Koreans on George St in Sydney |
| everyone as different. | | | | around 9pm, chatted for 2 hours, drank beer, talked |
| You also need to be flexible. Awhile ago while teaching | | | | about relationships and Korean customs in Seoul, and I |
| at Adult English School I had a student whose | | | | got paid for it! |
| schedule had been delayed and he hadn't had time to | | | | There are of course many other things you need to |
| visit his mosque before visiting me. He asked if he | | | | know before teaching a lesson and you may not yet |
| could use my office for a few minutes to pray. Of | | | | have some of these skills. Don't let that hold you back. |
| course I agreed and organised a space for him. | | | | You can always learn as you go. But you'll find |
| You must be able to appreciate and embrace the | | | | students stick around longer if you can prove to them |
| differences everyone has. Showing interest in another | | | | you've got the skills to make the second lesson even |
| person's culture or customs will enable you to better | | | | better! |