How to Teach English One-to-One
- Connor O'Donoghue
- Mar 25
- 3 min read
Should I be scared of teaching one-to-one?
When a new teacher starts teaching, they sometimes get asked to teach English one-to-one and they might experience some panic in this scenario because all the training they received was geared towards teaching groups and they start thinking about how many things could be different. They might also be scared because teaching one-to-one feels like it might be more 'in your face' than teaching a group.
The good news is that there's nothing to be afraid of! If you can teach a group, you can teach an individual student too!
What are the differences between teaching a group and teaching one-to-one?
There are a number of differences to consider when you are preparing to teach one-to-one.
Timing - expect to get through materials a bit quicker when you only have one student and consider planning one extra stage for your lesson.
Focus/Topics - when planning for a group, you can choose topics that are interesting in general or for a group as a whole. When you're planning for an individual, you need to ensure that the topic is motivating for them, because they really are the only one expected to engage with it (besides you!)
Intensity - you may need to build in breaks and/or times when you're physically a little further from the student (or if you're online, times when your camera is off) if it's all just a little too intense.
Communicative practice - a one-to-one student still needs all the communicative language practice that a student in a group needs, so you need to plan on being the student's partner for all roleplays and pairwork stages in a lesson.
A sample lesson framework for a one-to-one class
Many teachers will use some kind of reformulating task when teaching one-to-one lessons.
Stage One: The teacher does the task - e.g. the teacher uses photos on their phone to tell the student about their family.
Stage Two: The student reproduces the teacher's task - e.g. the student re-tells the teacher what they remember about the teacher's family
Stage Three: Error correction - e.g. the teacher goes through notes on language the student has used when telling the story, or the teacher and student listen to a recording of what the student just said.
Stage Four: The student re-attempts Stage Two
Stage Five: Preparation for the task - e.g. the student prepares some notes and photos from their phone to talk about their own family.
Stage Six: The student does the task - e.g. the student tells the teacher about their family.
Stage Seven: Error correction - e.g. the teacher goes through notes on language the student has used when telling the story, or the teacher and student listen to a recording of what the student just said.
Stage Eight: The student re-attempts Stage Six
Is teaching English one-to-one worth it?
Yes! Most English teachers will be asked to teach one-to-one at some stage in their careers, so it's worth getting used to it. And teaching one-to-one can be a path toward freedom, because you can negotiate your own schedule and fees when you teach one-to-one. One-to-one tutoring online is one of the fastest growing areas of language teaching and it can be one of the most lucrative!
The first step in an exciting career teaching English as a foreign language is a CELTA course!
Dr Connor O'Donoghue hails from Ireland and he started teaching English as a foreign language in Poland in 2003 and he became a CELTA trainer in 2008. He has taught and trained in Ireland, the UK, France, Italy, Slovenia, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. Connor also holds a Masters and a PhD in Education from Trinity College in Dublin. He has previously managed large teacher training centres in Vietnam and in London before founding DC Teacher Training.
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