Online English Lessons: Student numbers increasing...

Online English Lessons: Student numbers increasing...

Student numbers increasing...

I have been teaching on line for a number of years now and the summer months have always been unpredictable in terms of student numbers.Some students stop because of family commitments while others feel like they just need a bit of a rest ,an easier schedule.Often I have younger students (aged between 12-16) who either stop completely or actually increase their lessons.Or rather ,their parents choose one option or the other.

This year has been even  more unpredictable than usual.As a result of the global economic downturn and the stress on peoples pockets continues to increase ,plus the continued sanctions imposed on countries such as Russia my private student numbers have taken a tumble during the last year.My hours went from a fairly routine nine to five to being all over the place.I realised I had to make some changes in my working life so as not to find myself in a position where I was tied to my desk for twenty hours a day in order to earn what I need to meet the bills.
I made a decision to start a Facebook page devoted to on line teaching of English to non native speakers a while ago and have been trying to keep it going.I promised myself,and have failed so far,to update my blog at least weekly.I also promised myself to develop my own website where students could contact me more easily.This I have also failed in due to both lack of technical knowledge and time.I did join LinkedIn and start to make new connections with people from around the globe .Not just students but also other teachers ,owners of schools and people interested in the profession.
Its now the first week of June ,the sun has finally come out in Yorkshire and I find that demand for lessons appears to have really increased.Its interesting to note that the majority of requests for lessons that I receive now are coming through LinkedIn and most of the students are young professionals already living in an English speaking country.Also of note is the fact that a good proportion of these students are professionally linked to the world of finance.They tell me that despite having an advanced level of English its just not quite good enough to give them that edge in a very competitive job market.Pronunciation is one of the main issues for these students.
I take my hat of to all students of English.Its not easy to learn.It can be very very confusing.I am constantly impressed by the ability of the students I teach.And thankfully the numbers are up....

How to train for IELTS

IELTS-the International English Language Testing System is still one of the most common exams taken by non native speakers.It provides a benchmark as to someone's level and ability in English.It is particularly useful for those who wish to move or study abroad but also for those who wish to stay in their native countries but work for international companies.
The exam itself is not that difficult to pass if you train well in advance for it.The structure of the exam and what the examiners want is very important for the student to know about-without this knowledge the student is already behind.
How to prepare?
I think a student who is around intermediate level should give themselves a good 4-6 months to prepare.Each student is different but daily practice is required in order to improve ability and skills.

1-Decide if you need General or Academic IELTS
2-Study the test format and become familiar with its structure and very importantly the time limits for each section.
3-Check the content of each of the 4 tested skill areas so you are completely familiar with the types of activities you may have to complete.
4-find a good experienced teacher.This can be in person ,in a classroom setting or on line.
5-The internet is stuffed full of resources for the purposes of practice -use it well.Look at the following regularly
http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/how-prepare-ielts-test
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams/ielts/
6-Make yourself have daily practice-watch an English film without subtitles,listen to English radio channels,read English language books in an genre-basically immerse yourself in the language.

where does the time go....?

Busy ,busy ,busy....its been a manic month or so and therefore its been difficult to stick to my resolution to write this blog much more regularly.
I've been rushed off my feet,pushing my limits,been pulled in all directions ....
Things are beginning to settle.
At this time of year changes happen with my students.Some drop away as they prepare for state exams and summer holidays.Others become more intensely focused on their learning because they are preparing for English language exams which often take place in early summer.Some students change their course for summer and study slang or language for travel.And the remainder continue on their chosen course.
At the moment the students I teach hail from a variety of locations .I have a couple of French students,about 12 Russian students,one from Spain,a Portuguese lady ,two from Brazil and a few from China.I like this mix.The ability is also mixed so lessons at the moment are very interesting for me.

Helpful or pushy parents?

Who teaches and has the experience of what we refer to as a pushy parent?

When teaching a foreign language the idea is to build up ability in all the skill areas -writing ,reading ,listening and speaking.This happens in stages.With each stage in the learning process grammar is developed from more simple to more complicated forms.Vocabulary is increased on a lesson by lesson basis.Phrases,collocations,idioms and so on start to be used.....its a process that takes time and study.

When teaching young people sometimes I experience parents who are completely uninvolved in their child's learning or the opposite -a parent who demands tons of homework and a huge amount covered in each lesson.This is a tricky situation to deal with.For the totally uninvolved parent I do try to engage them a little just so that they encourage their child in his or her studies.The 'pushy' parent is trickier to deal with.As a parent myself I understand where they are coming from .They are paying for lessons and want to see results week on week.But not all students of language have a natural ability and most need time to process information before they can actively use it.

So what is the best way to approach the parents who expect to see weekly improvements?

I hold regular tests for my younger students and pass the results to his or her parents with written advice about how the child can continue to make progress.I try to explain to the parents that progress is gradual but will happen as long as the child in question is happy and engaged with the learning process. If we are forced into doing something by someone most of us don't do very well-we naturally fight against it.We see it as an unreasonable demand.parents of a child learning a foreign language need to take this on board and accept it.

As teachers we want happy learners.We know we are doing a good job if our lessons are well prepared and tailored to the needs of our students.We know that our students will learn better in a friendly atmosphere where not so much pressure is put on them -just a little push to encourage them is all that's required usually.As teachers we want happy and successful students who are confident users of the language.We also want satisfied parents .Its important for them to see that their often hard earned cash is being wisely spent.

What can a parent do to help their child be a successful learner?
Provide a good working environment ,ask about homework and check it gets done,trust the teacher to deliver what's expected,speak to the teacher about how their child is progressing at regular intervals...just some helpful advice for parents.

Sample text for advanced students

Extreme Views on the Internet

The Internet has suppressed the sharing of opposite views and their discussion, or so says recent studies. It takes little effort and even less time to search and find sites, online newspapers and magazines, blogs, and forums which support your views, whatever they may be. Believe that global warming is a hoax, for example? Google the phrase and over one million sites pop up. Or how about the US government masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Over seven million sites purport this as fact. The potential effects on society, government, and human relations in the future are immense.

With little to no debate also comes imbalanced views and extremism, as niches of like-minded people engage in one-sided discussions. If a group of supporters discussed the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol, for example, it stands to reason that few arguments would get raised about any possible negative impact. From this evaluation stems the idea that confidence grows with the absence of persuasive naysayers. An overabundance of confidence produces extreme views - a mob mentality on the Internet, if you will.

Discussions by large groups of like-minded people have the potential for good in the world, though. The Civil Rights Movement in the US and the movement for gender equality all over the world are but two examples. But it doesn't take much effort to realize the negatives, such as terrorism, cults, or fanatical regimes like the Khmer Rouge. There is the risk that people will band together and be both brash and utterly wrong in their views.

Unfortunately, sociologists worry that the harm to society's general welfare is more likely than any possible benefits. Suspicion of others whose views differ, unjustified rage, and the fragmenting of society are all grave concerns. Any adversaries could be viewed as the enemy in some kind of future war of ideals and beliefs.

This is an example of the type of text that can be used with an advanced student.Particular vocabulary is highlighted for discussion and clarity and there is a lot of scope to develop conversation with this kind of topic.

Advanced Students

I have begun to do away with the need for an agent to help me locate students and through social net working I am now beginning to teach an even wider variety of nationalities.The demand for lessons is relatively high within the UK ,particularly among the more advanced speakers.
In the last week I gained two more students who are both at this level.The main problem they feel they have is the confidence to speak and they often find themselves not finishing a sentence because to their ears it just doesn't sound right.They have lost confidence in their abilities with the language.
For these students the important thing for me as the teacher is to very quickly develop a rapport so that the student feels safe to communicate and make mistakes.

I use a fairly clear structure in my lessons with advanced conversational /general English students.We usually have a warm up -a word game related to the topic.This is followed by a questioning activity based on the topic.I then provide a piece of text ,usually with underlined phrasal verbs(to highlight their use) and some more complex vocabulary.The student reads the text ,we discuss unfamiliar words and phrases and this is followed by more questions which requires the student to respond using the new language.The lesson ends with another game which highlights the that the learning outcome has been achieved.These types of lessons do vary a little.Sometimes a student will have watched a talk,video clip or read a newspaper article in advance of their lesson and we use this material for our lesson.
For advanced students its not just about chatting.Error correction is essential as is the introduction of new phrases,idiomatic speech and so on. Using more complex grammar easily is also very important so I try to include a grammar element to our lessons.Here are links to some sites I use as a basis to these lessons.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts
http://www.ted.com/
http://www.theguardian.com/uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/
This is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what resources I use.Because of how long I have been teaching English I have now created and built up a range of lesson types for different abilities.