People choose to study a language for a reason.Its a hobby -a way to while away some time,its a step up a career ladder for a non native speaker,a personal ambition,an interest in other cultures that can only be sated by understanding the subtle meaning in how a language is spoken.The list could go on.....
I have a large number of regular students who are learning English for many different reasons.The students range in age from 12 to about 55.These students are mainly based in countries that used to be part of the USSR.They are all private students and so pay for each lesson they have.
They want to learn.They are keen and dedicated.
Imagine being a teacher with a group of students who are like this.For me its fantastic.I get a lot from our lessons.Its worth me putting in the preparation to make a lesson individually tailored for each students needs.I love to see them become successful in their language skills and they appreciate my help ,time and teaching.
Its been interesting spending time with these people.Some students I have been teaching for 3 years now and we have become friends,swapping recipes and stories.Other students I have coached through exams in order for them to meet visa requirements so that they have the freedom to move onto a new place and experience new and exciting lives.Yet more students remain in their native cities but have progressed in their career plans because of their more advanced knowledge of the language.My younger students have developed the ability to express themselves in a foreign language ,an amazing skill and one which almost always makes for very interesting lessons.
We use the word stereotype(http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stereotype) less often nowadays it seems to me.....but it comes up constantly as a topic or an issue .Here in the West we have so many stereotypes about people and places and my students are no different in that regard.But they have a real curiosity about life elsewhere and hearing about it firsthand rather than reading or watching something.We can have some extremely funny conversations.So this is one thing my students get from our lessons-an insight into British ,Irish ,European and Western culture alongside laughing a lot.These types of lessons are very relaxed and generally happen with my students who are simply having conversation lessons.
Before starting to teach English to non native speakers I taught Geography at high school in the UK which was,frankly,extremely hard work.I spent so much of my time preparing students for exams which were important to their future plans.These plans included University study,future travel or work.Its the same with the students I tutor for exams, of which there are many to choose from.Most popular are the http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/ such as CAE and FCE.The CPE and http://www.ielts.org/ are also much in demand .The students I teach who take these exams are a mixed bag of teenagers ,young professionals,post grad students,doctors,police personnel and teachers.On the whole these students have very definite future plans ,both professionally and personally.I have coached a student from Vladivostok who now lives in Melbourne with his family,another was from Latvia and now living in New Zealand as a student ,another is currently working as a police man in Moscow but wants to move to the US to work as a deep sea diver on oil platforms.For these students ,its a dream,aim or ambition and English is vital in their plans.
I also teach general English to students who are complete beginners right up to advanced level.We practice grammar ,increase the lexical range and practice ,practice practice.Generally these students want to be fluent.Its a personal challenge.The pressure to succeed comes from within and the pace of the lesson is dictated by the students interests.
So its a fascinating job.We use text books,both academic and general,we have the wonderful resource of the internet which we use extensively from watching links on http://www.ted.com/ to http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts.We use music and pictures to stimulate conversation and dialogues.We learn together. .
