{"id":2895,"date":"2014-12-11T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=2895"},"modified":"2014-12-04T13:19:43","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T13:19:43","slug":"language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For language teachers, one-on-one classes provide a personal setting in which you can really get to know your student. As such, they can be extremely rewarding for both teachers and students alike. Still, they come with a unique set of challenges that can be difficult for teachers to navigate. If you\u2019re worried about your upcoming one-on-one class, fear no more: our seasoned teaching experts have all sorts of ideas, suggestions, and tips for extracting the most out of your private lessons.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2897\" style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2897\" class=\"wp-image-2897 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"privatelessons1\" width=\"625\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1-624x415.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg 1698w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2897\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via <a href=\"http:\/\/belinguallanguages.com\">Be Lingual Languages<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h2><b>What to do on the first class<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The first day of school is notorious for causing anxiety in both students and teachers. Similarly, the first day of private language lessons can be an intimidating prospect. How can you get to know your student, determine their linguistic strengths and weaknesses, and assess their learning style, all in one lesson? Our expert explains how to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/what-should-i-do-in-the-first-class-with-new-one-to-one-students\/\">plan for your first lesson<\/a> to guarantee that your classes will be off to a great start.<\/p>\n<h2><b>How to choose a book<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019re teaching language classes in a school or business, it\u2019s likely that someone else has already chosen your coursebook. This is not the case with private lessons, in which case it\u2019s up to you what book to use. Our veteran English teacher has a slew of suggestions for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/how-to-choose-a-course-book\/\">choosing the perfect coursebook<\/a>, taking into account your student\u2019s level, needs, and learning style.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Making your own materials<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Though it\u2019s important to pick the right textbook, in private lessons it\u2019s equally important to create your own materials. The joy of one-on-one classes is that you can tailor your activities to your students\u2019 particular interests and needs, thus ensuring that they remain interested and engaged. As our writer notes, there are abundant resources that will make <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/how-to-develop-your-own-language-teaching-materials\/\">designing your own materials<\/a> both easy and fun. And for more specific ideas, take a look at our favorite ideas for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/top-5-interesting-speaking-activities-for-one-to-one-classes\/\">speaking<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/5-great-listening-activities-for-one-to-one-classes\/\">listening<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/top-5-interesting-writing-activities-for-one-to-one-classes\/\">writing<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/top-5-interesting-reading-activities-for-one-to-one-classes\/\">reading<\/a> activities, particularly selected for private lessons.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2896\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privateclasses2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2896\" class=\"wp-image-2896 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privateclasses2.jpg\" alt=\"privateclasses2\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privateclasses2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privateclasses2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2896\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via <a href=\"http:\/\/englishcafe.co.id\">englishcafe.co.id<\/a>\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><b>Maintaining motivation<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Everyone agrees that motivation is one of the most important factors in successfully learning a language. Perhaps the greatest challenge in one-to-one language instruction is making sure that your student stays motivated to learn the language. In group classes, students can motivate each other, but in private classes, the responsibility falls entirely on you. But don\u2019t let this phase you: we have plenty of experience-based <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/how-to-maintain-motivation\/\">expert advice<\/a> about maintaining your students\u2019 motivation.<\/p>\n<p>One-to-one classes can be hard. But with good planning, a positive attitude, and some sage advice from our veteran teachers, your private classes can be among the most valuable and fun classes that you teach. In the end, what could be more rewarding as a teacher than seeing your students progress and knowing that you\u2019re the reason for their language success? For more tips and tricks on managing both private and group classes, consult our article about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearnusa.com\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-groups\/\">teaching groups<\/a>, and be sure to visit our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/the-teachers-handbook\/\">teacher\u2019s handbook<\/a>, which includes over 100 free articles that are chock-full of ideas for your next class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For language teachers, one-on-one classes provide a personal setting in which you can really get to know your student. As such, they can be extremely rewarding for both teachers and students alike. Still, they come with a unique set of challenges that can be difficult for teachers to navigate. If you\u2019re worried about your upcoming(\u2026)<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 text-right\">\n\t \t\t\t\t<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-xs\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/\">CONTINUE READING &raquo;<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":2897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[66,417,412,413,414,415,416],"class_list":["post-2895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-must-know","tag-language","tag-language-teachers","tag-private-lessons","tag-teachers","tag-teaching","tag-teaching-advice","tag-teaching-tips"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Worried about your upcoming one-on-one class? Fear no more: our experts have all sorts of ideas and tips for getting the most out of your private lessons.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Worried about your upcoming one-on-one class? Fear no more: our experts have all sorts of ideas and tips for getting the most out of your private lessons.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Listen &amp; Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-11T08:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-04T13:19:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1698\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1131\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/\",\"name\":\"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-11T08:00:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-04T13:19:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5fc3ab17291407c655c9d1b0477c094a\"},\"description\":\"Worried about your upcoming one-on-one class? Fear no more: our experts have all sorts of ideas and tips for getting the most out of your private lessons.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg\",\"width\":1698,\"height\":1131},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Listen &amp; Learn\",\"description\":\"Language Courses and Language Services UK\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5fc3ab17291407c655c9d1b0477c094a\",\"name\":\"Paul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86f723954879251b89b91c55f995d0e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86f723954879251b89b91c55f995d0e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Paul\"},\"description\":\"Paul is a New York-based expat living in Buenos Aires. He enjoys playing piano, watching tango, and eating dulce de leche by the spoonful.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/paulmains\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes","description":"Worried about your upcoming one-on-one class? Fear no more: our experts have all sorts of ideas and tips for getting the most out of your private lessons.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes","og_description":"Worried about your upcoming one-on-one class? Fear no more: our experts have all sorts of ideas and tips for getting the most out of your private lessons.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/","og_site_name":"Listen &amp; Learn","article_published_time":"2014-12-11T08:00:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-04T13:19:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1698,"height":1131,"url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Paul","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/","name":"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg","datePublished":"2014-12-11T08:00:17+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-04T13:19:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5fc3ab17291407c655c9d1b0477c094a"},"description":"Worried about your upcoming one-on-one class? Fear no more: our experts have all sorts of ideas and tips for getting the most out of your private lessons.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/privatelessons1.jpg","width":1698,"height":1131},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/language-teachers-what-to-know-when-teaching-private-classes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Language Teachers: What to Know When Teaching Private Classes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/","name":"Listen &amp; Learn","description":"Language Courses and Language Services UK","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5fc3ab17291407c655c9d1b0477c094a","name":"Paul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86f723954879251b89b91c55f995d0e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86f723954879251b89b91c55f995d0e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Paul"},"description":"Paul is a New York-based expat living in Buenos Aires. He enjoys playing piano, watching tango, and eating dulce de leche by the spoonful.","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/paulmains\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2898,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2895\/revisions\/2898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}