Teaching one-to-one has never been more in demand, especially now more and more students are choosing to study online. However, it can be challenging as you need to maintain students motivation, and develop approaches to ensure your learners improve their language skills or achieve a specific goal. You also need to learn how to get the most out of your materials.
In November 2021 we launched our brand new IH Certificate in Teaching One-to-One, a four week course to help teachers develop the skills they need to teach individual students effectively both online and face to face. We interviewed two teachers who took the course to find out how they got on. Mia Karaman Gates is an English teacher and teacher trainer in Berlin working at GLS Sprachenzentrum and Rima Bou Aoun is a freelance teacher working from home.
Why did you decide to take the IH Teaching One-to-One course with International House’s OTTI?
Mia: 'I decided to take this course because I wanted to be better armed to help my student achieve their goals. I mostly work with high level students (B2+) and it is sometimes difficult to know how to help them step up their level when they are already very proficient'.
Rima: 'Because International House OTTI is the reference to go to for anything related to second language learning and teaching'.
Would you recommend taking the IH Teaching One-to-One course? If so, why?
Mia: 'Yes, and I have already recommended your courses to a colleague of mine. It is most useful for teachers who would like to transition from teaching classes to teaching individuals. There isn’t enough focus on how to work with individuals on the CELTA. I’m not sure about other teaching qualifications. The weekly amount of course work is manageable, the weekly live sessions were quite enjoyable too'.
Rima: 'Because it is formative; it requires discipline and dedication; only good things can come from hard work!'
How did you find the IH Teaching One-to-One course content?
Mia: '...I have been a teacher and CELTA teacher trainer for a long time so the content wasn’t new to me. (However) it was good to refresh and update my skills.
Particularly valuable was the opportunity to revisit the reformulation techniques on students’ productive skills. In the past, I have shied away from doing this because recording students can be a lot of trouble. These days it is very easy and I have integrated this more into my lessons, especially exam preparation lessons.'
Rima: 'I learned how to manage, plan and deliver individual language lessons in a tailored and professional way.'
If you are a teacher like Mia and Rima and would like to become more effective in teaching online then join us for the next IH Certificate in Teaching One-to-One: https://ihworld.com/teach/ih-online-teacher-training/ih-teaching-one-to-one/
Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels