Experiences of a teacher of English

  If we want to teach a student at private tuition we should make friends with him. Definitely. Otherwise we won’t deepen into a solid human relationship with him, and our teaching will be superficial, and we won’t teach them how to study and work on their own. We teachers should listen a lot to our students, and talk with them. Also I’d say we should explain to them that they can count on us teachers. We are at their disposal totally. If we want for them to tell us about themselves, we have to talk a lot with them, and as I said listen to them too. Only in that way we will get to accomplish teaching them seriously. I repeat on purpose: we have to set clear that they can rely on us and count on us. That will build up confidence! / Photo from: www corwall gov uk. the picture is just an illustration

  I taught private tuition yesterday, for the two brothers – one is ten years and his brother’s twelve. They show some problems relating grammar and vocabulary. I can speak freely about them because you don’t know them and will never meet them. So those are some of their problems. I’ve contacted one of their teachers at school – the younger’s one. And so I’ve learned about the younger brother’s stuff. Thus I’ve changed my private classes into classes-tutoring sessions – I talk for long with each of them too. I wish to get close to them: one is in his puberty and his brother is in his pre-adolescence. And I’ve thought to be myself in those classes. In this way I guess I gain empathy with them. The elder brother I guess doesn’t like being told many things by an adult, like me. But if you treat him with sincere affection and love of benevolence I’ve seen you can approach him pretty nice. / Photo from: www technovera in. the picture is an illustration, which tries to ...

  I have a student that looks rather sad, just sad. He is so all the time. He is a student taught by me at private tuition. I usually wonder about his being sad or the kind. I often think about what to tell him or ask him – tactfully. Well, you know, I don’t know whether I will be able to help him be happier by now, but I shall try to listen to him. And to pray for his being sad. He was a student of mine last year too. And I’ve gotten being stunned at what he can remember from my classes and tutoring sessions of last year, like for example my angel’s name: he can remember quite a lot. I guess he must feel accompanied by me, and listened to as well. Maybe one day he can smile. The point here I guess is to listen to what he tells me about. And hopefully he’ll get assisted by me. Also I’d like to contact his dad: I think to remember he’s also rather kinda sad, so it may be something of the family. I will let you know after tomorrow, about my findings. I won’t let...

  The point with private tuition is the student must learn how to study English, and that’s it! So these classes are like individual tutoring sessions. And we have to apply the correspondent therapy. For example we teachers shall teach him how to face up with a textbook which often is difficult to study. Studying English needs particular learning strategies. For instance I make him study in the classes proper, and in this way I try to make him learn how to learn! At those sessions I ask him if he has homework and tests. Another interesting point is to find out his teacher’s cell phone, for me to contact him and ask him what the student has to invest a bigger effort on. / Photo from: www dublinschool org. the pic is just a nice illustration

Yesterday I taught two private classes to two brothers. One is 10 and the other one 12.  Well, you know, I treated them as adults, in some way: I listened to them attentively, to the answers to my questions. I treated them with love of benevolence.  And the thing I think turned out well, and I noticed they’re maturing and improving at their school subject of English!  They told me they also would pray for me too, among other interesting things. Sometimes I paraphrased what they told me. I try to teach them with affection. Like grown-ups I treated them: they’re young but not silly.  Even I let the younger brother tell me about a videogame, although obviously it hadn’t nothing to do with his school – it’s something that concerns him anyway, it’s something important for him. When I was making up a sentence to any of them I used realia (some coins to use the verb “add” for instance) and meaningful sentences, for them to realize English has to do wi...

We may have private classes with a playful kid and a bit of a rascal, but let’s bear in mind that he will receive what we tell him, though he may look he hasn’t listened to us teachers, and he looks so far from what we tell him for his improvement.  Something remains in his inward mind.  Something stays in his mind, but maybe we can’t see the fruit of our marvelous labor now. Others will receive and collect what we’ve sown.  If we treat him well and with affection, he’ll receive what we say to him. Stay calm. It’ll be so.  Oh, and we teachers must learn how to listen to him! What he's saying is important for him. Listen. / Photo from: www turismodecantabria com. this region is where I have my family roots, north of Spain

Both at private classes and at group classes we English language teachers should expect and somehow demand a change on the working rhythm from our students.  For example private classes should be like a health-care therapeutics – in some way. We teach our students how to work, how to learn, how to improve, and eventually and overtime we ought to expect those changes, because they’re actually improving and we try each class be a step forward.  We teach for instance how to face up a textbook type of exercises, and overtime we must expect an amelioration and improvement at those exercises. / Photo from: rushmore mount. That above is just a picture as an illustration. Could you name the four presidents? Simple, right?

Two weeks ago I started private English classes with a kid aged 10. He’s pretty playful, and might have an ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), maybe not that serious.  Anyway I have started to listen to him, in order to help and aid him with his problems.  Well, he’s felt so great because an adult could be listening to him. In the way he said bye last day I could notice he will jump through hoops to participate in our classes. It’s a relief it seems so. / Photo from: adhd_child_learning-112412 www health harvard edu. Obviously the kid on the pic above isn’t my student

Yesterday I began to teach new private classes. One of them is to a kid aged 10.  Although he’s so young I asked him what he expected from me in order to help him. “What can I do for you?” was the question but in Spanish, amongst other reasons because it was a tutoring session rather than a class proper.  I guess this question can put him to a point of responsibility for being the student. What I meant was that he is the Protagonist of his own learning process. I tried to pass him on that responsibility.  At these classes I’ll speak in Spanish – about his homework, his tests, his grammar stuff…- except when I want to help him to improve his speaking competence and skill. / Photo from: LR-carlsberg3 newdiscovery blogfa com. the picture is just for fun and for an illustration to the post. I would appreciate any of you native English speakers to correct my prepositions use

If my son has problems concerning studies I look for a private teacher. No. The problem is that your son should study harder, with more effort, solving his own problems, organizing and running his studies, focusing on reading, etc.  You know, the point is carrying out his current profession as a student, engaging his brain, sitting down and planning and thinking about his studies.  He’s old enough, let’s talk about these things with him because we’re his parents. / Photo from: www mirror co uk

When teaching private classes we could have our student get the school subject of English off the ground.  With regard to exercises from his textbook, urge him to face up the instructions and the possible example. Make him think.  Tell him he will need B2 level of English onward (within the Common European Framework). Be demanding with him. If you have agreed about the end of the class, have him sitting down next to you until the final minute.  If you write with your right hand, sit down at his left hand, so as for him to see what you’re writing. Sorry for these trifles but I guess they’re somehow interesting!  Assign him, through negotiation, if he should revise something or do an exercise at home for such and such minutes. Give life to the examples you write to him: things connected with him and with his world.  With your sincere concern, you can pass him on the like and interest for English... hopefully! / Photo from: Private_Lesso...

Teaching English is not just teaching in the classroom and correcting and grading or marking tests, and a bit else.  Working transcends all this. For example we owe our private student or our class-group members love of benevolence.  This means we don’t confine to those indispensable tasks.  I know we’re busy.  This job transcends and goes beyond and farther away. It means we plan each class, with the student or students in mind. What does he need?  Why is this happening lately?  Why does he fail tests?  What can I tell him or them in order to improve?  Or what about that other thing yonder?  We get concerned and worried about the student or students. We get preoccupied; better yet, we get occupied and engaged in teaching him or them.  I do know most of you do things somehow similar. Bravo! / Photo from: www eslclassesboston com

If you're a teacher of English or any other language, and want to have conversations in that language, as a private teacher, you need to have the language.  And even more if you want to have those conversations at high levels - think of B2, C1 and C2, which are the highest levels within the Common European Framework.  You're a professional teacher, I presume. So something that can help you refresh the language is by means of reading a novel in the target language,  for instance, as simple as that.  Why novels? Because they have everyday language. You'll remember words and learn others. / Photo from:  Private classes. afabudhabi org

A teacher has trained a candidate for an exam of Cambridge, CAE, Certificate in Advanced English (C-1). The day of the exam has arrived.  The kid is nervous and anxious. But his teacher, his private teacher has told him not to be nervous and anxious: many, many an hour has been applied to the training and study of the exam.  His student is smart enough to know that if his teacher told him to be easy, he SHOULD be tranquil.  The kid thought that that was enough to be easy, and that he had to gently applied his acquired competences and knowledge to be easy and face up with the exam as one more session or class.  He trusted his teacher.  He did the exam somehow easy. Now he’s expecting for the grade… / Photo from: student in library. examiner com

Teacher A said to teacher B, “It seems sound that our students use the dictionary to learn English. When they are 10 more or less it may be an adequate age to learn how to use a dictionary, a bilingual one.  The dictionary is like a private teacher.  For learning to utilize it I implement the following game in my classes.  Oh, and by using the dictionary they become more autonomous learners.  I write on the whiteboard for example the following list of words: be, beseech, believe, believer, bachelor, bee, banquet, been, being . They’ve got to tell me the order of sequence they keep in the dictionary. I work with the whole class as a group.” / Photo from: paperboy. www lendio com

Teacher B said to teacher A, “In private lessons ask your student if he has an exam of English soon.  If the answer is affirmative, both of you should focus on preparing it: revise the exercises he has done with his school teacher of English, and which exercises are in his course book or on the workbook.  The key thing now is for your student to pass that exam. Ask him to focus on an exercise and do it again in the private class. Ask him to focus on grammar tables too.  The key thing now is to train for the exam however way his teacher sets exams. Ask him to tell you what exams are like.” / Photo from: www waterloo k12 ia us. teacher and student in dress code female   

Teacher B said to teacher A, “We’re about ending the academic year. Three years ago a student asked me to teach him classes of math, at the endings of April.  Okay, I’ll see how I can help you, I told him. We arranged a date, for the next week.  I arrived at the school the scheduled day. However he did not come. I decided not to send him an email: he should recognize his fault. This way was – I’d say – the most educative thing to do: then it was his turn to give signs of interest. He has changed a lot.” / Photo from: www brendanmyers net. celts lineup  

Teacher B said to teacher A, “When you meet with your student of private classes, first ask him if he has an exam or test soon.  That is the priority: focus on revising for the test. And bear in mind he’s the protagonist.” / Photo from: www brokenairplane com. art class 3   

Teacher A said to teacher B, “I can tell you something about private classes.  When you’re with him, at the end of the private class, ask him if he has something else to do as homework. Another way is helping him carry out his homework during the private class.  And the most important thing is for you to ask him if he has a test on coming days.” / Photo from: www guardian co uk. private lessons or classes

  One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Last year one of my students had Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. I would say that all of us teachers should know that this disorder just exists among our students. Between 5 and 8 per cent of our students have or may have this disorder. I remember that one teacher taught him private classes, apart from the regular scheduled ones in a class-group. The teacher told me that he assigned short, small and challenging goals to the kid, taken from the boy's course books.” / Photo from: rv-103 com. RV 103 towed web pic