Different ways to take private lessons in English

To learn the English language is tricky but not impossible. Do you find yourself confused or overwhelmed as to where you must begin? With so many online spoken English courses coming up and each of these claiming to be the best online English speaking course, it has become imperative to have your own shortlisting framework. We have covered multiple articles in the past on this topic- be it lesson delivery, course structure, choosing an online English speaking tutor, spoken English lesson types and so on.

Today we are helping you with one more article that takes a “funnel-down” approach to identify your learning style with a primary focus on the different ways to take private lessons in English. We will also cover pros and cons of private versus group lessons, online English classes versus classroom English coaching classes.

The first step in the decision funnel is to identify your learning objective and the course curriculum.

Step 1: What is your topic of interest? This entails that you choose one or more or all of the below as your learning objective.

1. Business English for working professionals or job aspirants
2. English lessons for kids
3. Spoken English fluency lessons for beginners
4. Advance spoken English fluency lessons
5. English writing lessons
6. English vocabulary building exercises
7. English accent softening assignments

Also important at this stage is -

1. to choose an English course that covers these topics either in-depth or at least comprehensively,
2. that the course fits your learning budget and
3. the time you can afford to allot each week or month towards these lessons.

These are the basics, then you need to zero down on the big guns.

Step 2: What is your learning style? You may not be aware what you’re learning style maybe to begin with. So let us help you with an easy check-list to identify this.

1. Are you a social individual who thrives on interaction with your peers?

If your learning style is heavily influenced by collaborative study, we recommend that you choose an English coaching class (offline) or group tuitions at a nearby course or an online English course that groups students into batches. Social individuals thrive in groups where they can make friends, socialise and are comfortable with a predefined pace of lesson delivery. This collaborative style is strongly linked to their motivation and progress.

2. Do you prefer private lessons with a more personalised or customised set-up?

If you find yourselves overwhelmed or shy in a crowd and prefer more “quiet” set-ups, private lessons will work for you. Introvert personalities usually do much better in private tuitions which can be either one-on-one private lessons online or in person.

Private English lessons have a multitude of benefits in terms of

1. Faster result outcomes in a shorter amount of time as both the student and the English tutor are able to focus on learning requirements proactively
2. More customised pace of lesson delivery suited to the student’s learning style and learning goals
3. Students are more intrinsically motivated to perform well since a great learning rapport is established between the student and the English tutor

A very common misconception about private English lessons is that most people believe that any private tutoring will be more expensive than group lessons. To learn any language, your motivation levels are your number one factor towards language fluency. You may spend “n” fold times and still achieve nothing substantial or you may invest your time and money wisely, up your motivation and earn smarter outcomes.

For example, if you choose to adopt a free language learning app, the amount of time you spent learning the language basics and practicing it will determine your success ratio. This does not mean you will not master English fluency; it means you may take longer to get there. More commonly, it has been observed that students usually drop off on free programs since they lack the motivational drive and commitment it takes to put in that extra effort.

This is where a private English speaking teacher helps the most! Having a personal language training mentor will increase your learning speed and help you attain English fluency faster. Moreover, knowing that you have a mentor invested in your goals will keep you motivated to do better in your assignments.

Now comes the main question. What are the different ways to take private English lessons? You can either enrol to an online course or a private lesson in person.

3. Do you prefer online English speaking courses or classroom set-ups?

Answer to this question depends entirely on how technologically savvy you are or to simply put, are you comfortable taking lessons on a device versus a classroom. Owing to this pandemic, the entire world is holed up in their homes and businesses are being conducted online or digitally.

Today we however believe that you do not have much of an option here to choose since most of the lessons are already being conducted online and this may be the norm for some time now or at least till a point it becomes safe for all of us to again venture out.

Online English speaking classes have several advantages over traditional formats. To name a few:

1. One stop solution to a variety of course offerings
2. Access to world-class learning content and subject matter experts
3. Flexibility of learning schedules
4. Ability to have a global perspective on your topics
5. Cheaper alternative to an otherwise debt-ridden schooling system

Offline or classroom private English lessons on the other hand have a more structured and disciplined setting. The routine in-person interactions help immensely in interpersonal skill development.

At the end of the day however, the real progress depends on the learner, his/her dedication towards learning the skill and his/her ability to stay motivated despite the odds.

What other factors do you consider when you choose an English course? How helpful was our article to you?

Related article: https://www.speechify.in/en/blog/why-is-learning-english-so-difficult-one-to-one-english-speaking-lessons-to-your-rescue-1

Related article: https://www.speechify.in/en/blog/why-are-one-on-one-english-speaking-lessons-better-than-group-tuition