Teach English in Yanji Zhen - Ezhou Shi

Teaching is a broad discipline that can take on many styles and manners. When teaching, there always involves a classroom, yet the size of this classroom may vary depending on where and how you teach. In a school you will usually find group classes consisting of anywhere from five to twenty students on average. In a more private setting, teaching can take on a one to one form, being only the teacher and the student. Both settings have pros and cons when it comes to variables such as price, flexibility, content, and speed. Group classes can be great for multiple reasons. This is usually seen as an affordable option and can allow friends or family members to take it together to help motivate each other. Having this group setting allows for a variety of ideas and experiences to flow around as students learn the English language; this can have a positive influence on content when doing group activities. Group activities are beneficial because students can talk to a variety of people while hearing other people speak English besides the teacher so they can get use to other accents. Despite these positive aspects, teachers can find many difficulties when it comes to teaching in a group setting. When scheduling a group class, there is little flexibility in class times. A set time will normally be made before the class begins and it is up to the students to make this class period fit with the rest of their schedule whether they are working or going to school fulltime. A standard classroom is full of students that are all around the same level due to placement tests, however, there can still be a large gap found between the most advanced and the least advanced student in a classroom. This can cause difficulties to the teacher regarding content and speed. When planning material, the teacher must make sure they use material that will meet the needs of the average student level while having a little extra to challenge the more advanced students, so they do not finish early and get bored. While material can help keep students occupied, not all students will feel they are going at the speed they wish to due to the average group speed not fitting their learning style. Overall, these pros and cons contrast to those found in one to one teaching. A one to one setting, also referred to as private lessons, can have many benefits, despite the lack of having a normal classroom dynamic. With a setting consisting of one student and one teacher, there is a lot of flexibility allowed. While scheduled times may be set up, it can be a lot easier to cancel or shift the time due to it only affecting one student instead of multiple. Being in a less formal setting that does not have to accommodate to a classroom full of mixed levels allows the content and speed to be just as flexible as the time. The student has more say in deciding the pace and what they want to focus on in their lessons; this can lead to higher motivation in the student. To add on that, while the teacher should teach the student all the basic grammar and vocabulary, the student can ask for more specific lessons and activities that may apply to their work or daily life. However, with this variety in speed, it is important for the teacher to remember to over-prepare since they may move through activities much faster, since there is no need to wait on other students. This variable, along with the fact that the teacher must play the role of teacher and partner, can lead to tiredness. In addition to the content variable in private lessons, there is a lack in the ability to do certain group activities; this does not allow a student to be exposed to a diversity of English learners. Lastly, one to one lessons can be more expensive for the student as they are all alone, yet they are also receiving all the attention, so they do not need to fight with other students for speaking time. In conclusion, both class settings can be beneficial if you take advantage of the diversity in the classroom style and the chance to speak; however, teaching individual students allows for more personal growth at your own rate without being held back or pushed too fast by other language learners. Yet, I will clarify that one to one lessons are better when doing it in person rather than online because of the reduction in dealing with technical difficulties. In person classes, whether group or private, allow students to not only hear the language well but to also read the teachers lips and body language to better grasp innuendos in the English language.