Is private English tutoring worth it? If you’re like most people, you don’t have the time or money to waste on ineffective methods. The following recommendations are based on my 19 years of teaching English to adults.
How Often Should You Take English Lessons?
Depending on your goals, you may want to take English lessons every day, several times a week, or just once a week. Here are a few things to consider:
- If you’re trying to learn English for work, you’ll need to devote more time to it than if you’re simply trying to improve your conversational skills.
- Daily classes may be necessary to make rapid progress.
- If you’re not under any time pressure, weekly classes may be sufficient.
- The most important thing is to be consistent in your studies and to find a schedule that works for you.
What Makes Private Tutoring Effective?
Private tutoring gives you personalized attention and focuses on your specific needs.
A. You have a specific objective. Tell your tutor your primary reason for learning English.
Saying that you want to become fluent is too broad. Narrow it down. Do you want English to get hired for a job or to qualify for a better job? I help you break down your main objective into manageable goals. I will use this information to organize our lesson time.
B. What makes each lesson effective?
- An effective tutor plans each lesson so it has a goal that can be realistically reached within one hour.
- Your lessons are based on the vocabulary you need in real situations.
- Your tutor gives you immediate feedback during and after each lesson.
- Your tutor assigns short exercises for you to practice before your next lesson.
C. You practice every day and make it part of your routine.
In addition to taking lessons with a tutor, commit to practicing on your own — every day. Fortunately, it doesn’t need to take up a lot of time. Just build it into your daily life. If you drink a cup of tea every morning, use that 15 to 20 minutes while drinking your tea to review past lessons.
If you don’t set aside this time each day, you risk forgetting the information presented in class (which can slow your progress).
Make the most of your tuition fees by committing yourself to at least 15 minutes of practice every day.
D. You make your practice time efficient.
Avoid distractions and multitasking while you are practicing. For example, turn off the radio and TV. Also, make a list of items that you have difficulty mastering. This way, you’ll have a list to review with your tutor at your next lesson.
E. You talk out loud to yourself.
Talk out loud when you practice on your own. Focus on pronouncing complete sentences rather than individual words. Follow your tutor’s instructions for speaking full sentences with the correct stress, rhythm, speed and intonation. However, if an individual word is challenging to pronounce, tap each syllable out. Practicing correctly and aloud are the fastest ways to speed your progress.
F. You join a supportive online conversation group with other language learners.
Participate in this group. It is usually free and it is a way to become more confident speaking English to others without being judged.
In summary, you get the most bang for your buck from private tutoring by:
- taking lessons as frequently as you can afford
- working on short goals that lead to your primary objective
- practicing aloud daily without distractions
- joining a conversation group
Hiring a private English tutor is a lot like hiring a private trainer at the gym. You get what you put into it and when you reach your primary objective, you can scale down the number of lessons you take, but you never give up the practice.
—
Barb De Wit
