5 reasons why 1:1 lessons are a great way to learn English

There are many ways to learn a language: you can go to school, you can get immersed in tv shows and movies, listen to podcasts, socialise in the language you are learning, read all round you, do exercises - it's overwhelming and it's hard to know where to start and how to focus.

As a language learner (Japanese) and a language teacher (English), here is why I believe that finding the right teacher that you can do 1:1 lessons with, is a great place to start.

1. You can have Conversation Lessons. Depending on your motivations and reasons for learning, it is likely that you would like to be able to converse well in the language that you are learning. A teacher can encourage you, ask you questions, tell you stories, you can chat about a good movie you watched, or what's going in your life and in the world. In short, everything that happens in a normal conversation, only it's focused on you and your ability to talk about these things in the language you are learning.

2. 1:1 lessons are totally tailored to you. Everyone's goals are different, everyone's journey is different. One week you might need help to explain what you thought about a book you just read, next week you might need help to understand a certain accent or natural fast-paced English, maybe you have a question about a strange idiom you heard. Your personal tutor will help you with all of these things, as you need them. 

3. Corrections. This is a really important part of learning. Again, it depends on your goals with the language, but you should be aiming to reduce the amount of errors you make in speech. What is the best way to identify what these errors are? Have a conversation with a teacher, who will notice them and correct you in the right way. Not every mistake needs to be corrected, but making mistakes, identifying and correcting them is a fantastic learning opportunity. Embrace your mistakes and learn from them. Effective correction is a skill that experienced teachers have honed, and they will help you. 

4. Pronunciation: Your accent is something you acquire as a child. It's very difficult to change in adulthood and would require intense pronunciation lessons. So you have to ask yourself, is it necessary? I'm not so sure. Your accent is lovely. I work with students to correct pronunciation errors that cause confusion or change the meaning of words. Many Italians need to work on the 'h' sound - one of my students told me yesterday that they liked my 'air'. Some Spanish students have trouble with 'y'. One student said to me 'The daffodils in my garden are a lovely bright jello'.  These are the pronunciation issues I work with my students on.

5. Build a relationship:  When I first moved to Japan in 2016, I struggled so much to learn Japanese. Then I met Momo and it all changed. We became friends and I wanted to talk to her about everything. We started spending so much time together, working together, hanging out, eating together, and my Japanese improved dramatically in a year. The way to speak a language is to talk, talk about things that matter to you with someone you trust and want to talk to. You need to find a teacher you trust and can talk to about things that matter to you.  This also builds a positive association with the language and makes it a real part of your life, you want to speak it and you look forward to your next lesson. 

Thanks for reading my 5 great things about 1:1 lessons. If you want to take a trial lesson with me and see if you would like to take my 1:1 lessons, fill in the form here. 

More Café News next week.
Eve :) xo