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How I teach English Online
1年前I use a variety of strategies for teaching English online. My latest focus follows this flow:
1) Find What Matters: Let the student speak about something important to them. Examples of topics important to students may be standardized tests, interviews, jobs, challenges in managing team members or subordinates, mastering a grammar point, developing leadership skills, overcoming shyness, explaining their ideas in a meeting, presenting information to a group, learning how to write, answering questions logically, improving pronunciation and accent, learning how to listen, understanding American cultural etiquette, social norms, networking, and building relationships, reading and analyzing complex texts, writing difficult and emotional or risky business emails, traveling and general communication.
2) Get Specific: If the student requests “general communication,” I immediately ask questions to determine a more specific direction, because general communication is just too vague. In America, we use the idiom “shooting in the dark”, because in America we know something about “shooting.”
3) Note the Errors: The student will make errors when speaking. I write down as many notes as I can, as quickly as possible. Fortunately, I can listen and type simultaneously.
4) Prioritize: I summarize and prioritize these errors using the Pareto principle or the 80/20 technique. Time is precious, so I focus on the issues that will make the most significant impact in terms of frequency of use in English.
5) Set Goals and Timelines: I consult with the student to determine what they would like to achieve as a result of these lessons and by what deadlines.
6) Assess Skills: I provide the student with short tests to assess their skill levels in English writing, reading, listening, and speaking.
7) Blend it All Together: I put all of this information into my mental “blender” and produce a plan of tasks, activities, and planned learning outcomes, which includes a schedule of learning, girded by the principle of spaced repetition, the student’s preferred learning style, increasing levels of task difficulty, and the student’s commitment to doing ‘homework’.
8) Does It Work?: Well, it does for some students. And for those it doesn't, I'm always ready to accept their feedback and find what does work, based on the student's learning style and priorities.
9) I feel a headache coming on. My mental blender has been working overtime.
