Is Teaching One-on-One English a Perfect Fit? A Pros and Cons Guide

14th May 2024

Do you have a dream of travelling and helping non-native learners to improve their English at the same time, then becoming a TEFL teacher is the right profession for you?

But wait, do you see yourself teaching English in a classroom full of energetic students or do you prefer teaching English in a one-on-one setting?

If your answer is the latter one, it has various pros and comes with many potential challenges.

However, there's no need to worry, we are here to remove the confusion.

In this blog post, we will be sharing some of the important pros and cons points of teaching one-on-one and what opportunities are there in teaching one-on-one to students in detail.

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So, without any further delay, let’s get started.

Opportunities To Teach English One-On-One

Before knowing about the pros and cons of teaching one-on-one English, let’s get to know what kind of opportunities are there for you to teach one-on-one:
 

• Teaching English Online: One of the best available options to teach English learners individually is providing virtual classes. This will give you the freedom to teach from anywhere and not be location-dependent. You can find learners via traditional advertising, via social media platforms groups, or via referrals, and networking.
   

• Working With ESL Companies: There are plenty of online ESL companies that hire capable ESL teachers from around the globe to teach young learners or adult learners individually online. You can apply to different online ESL companies and work as a contractor.
   

• Become a Private Tutor: If you prefer to teach English one-on-one onsite then there’s a huge opportunity for an after-school English tutor. You can provide private classes to young learners in the comfort of their homes or give private classes to adult learners at their companies, houses, or in language institutes. This option is good for those who want to explore, like commuting from one place to another and teaching students in person.

Learn what skills you must have to teach English abroad Successfully:
 

Pros and Cons of Teaching One-on-One

Let’s get to know all the pros and cons of teaching English one-on-one to your learners:

Pros

Enhance Your Teaching Ability

Teaching one-on-one to your students not only improves the learning experience of students but also improves the teacher’s teaching skills. This gives not only students to try new things but teachers can also implement new teaching skills to whether what works best. Additionally, teachers also get to learn about culture or new topics that students share with them.

Deal With Less Behavioural Issues of Students

Students tend to show behavioural issues out of boredom. So, during providing one-on-one English classes to students you can expect fewer behavioural issues because you can make the learning experience engaging and interactive by assessing students.

However, do remember while choosing students to give one-on-one English classes, try to find learners who are motivated to learn for a better teaching experience.

Students Will Have Undivided Attention

One of the key benefits of one-on-one classes is students will get the undivided attention of teachers. It also makes the teacher’s job easier, because they don’t have to attend classes full of students where each of them has different learning needs. In one-on-one classes, teachers can modify the lesson plans or divide the lesson into manageable chunks to make the learning experience easier and fun for the learners.

Integrating Online Games & Listening Exercises Easily

Giving one-on-one online English classes individually makes it easier to incorporate interactive English learning games and listening exercises like- listening to podcasts, YouTube videos, or any interactive audio. This makes English learning fun and engaging for the students.

Cons

Can’t Consider as Primary Source of Income

While you can expect to earn a good amount of money by providing one-on-one English teaching services, you can’t expect this to become your primary source of income. So, we suggest to consider giving one-on-one classes with English teaching jobs at any school in your preferred destination.

It Can Get Mundane

Giving one-on-one classes to learners is considered to be the learner-centric approach. However, it can get pretty boring for both the teacher and the student. This could happen when the teacher and student are not the right fit or the student is not made for a learner-centric approach.

Limited Resources & Activities To Integrate

For a class full of students there are plenty of resources and activities which you can incorporate to make the English learning experience fun and engaging. However, for just one student there are hardly many resources and activities that you can utilize in the class.

Mostly Students Will Be Shy and Quiet

For one-on-one classes, you will find mostly quiet and shy students who struggle to keep up the pace with other students in the general classroom. You have to bring all the motivation and energy to the one-on-one classroom mostly.

Hight Cancellation Rate of Classes

In many cases, students tend to cancel or make excuses to not attend the classes due to anxiety or shyness. This could not only impact your earning potential but your teaching schedule too.

Teaching One-on-One Have Both Pros and Cons

Teaching English one-on-one to learners of every age has many benefits but it also comes with lots of potential challenges. For better clarity, you can go through all the above-mentioned pros and cons which could help you to figure out how you can make the best of providing one-on-one by making the necessary preparations.

If you want to get into the TEFL teaching industry, travel abroad, and make a positive impact on other lives then consider pursuing courses like 220 Hours International TEFL Diploma Course, where you will get trained and assistance from top industry experts.

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