This page is a guide to success for when students first take a lesson at the English farm. However, many of the strategies can also be used when you meet a student for the first time.

It's vital for independent students taking a trial lesson to have a good experience. The English Farm has gained important access to potential client companies from successful lessons. 

Corporate clients' first lessons are lower pressure because they have already committed to taking lessons at The English Farm. 

Teacher's first lessons with existing students are also important—we need to make a great first impression in order to be rebooked. 

Let's start at the beginning.

Before the lesson

To begin assessing the level, check test results in the student’s profile. If there are no results provided, you can ask the student via Skype.

Make sure you have added them on Skype. Add them soon after they book the lesson. If they have not accepted your Skype request by the day of the lesson, then please use the Contact button to send a message before the lesson starts.

In trial lessons, you need to: 

It can be tough to finish everything in a trial lesson; 25 minutes is not a long time but it should be enough.

Sometimes trial lesson students are late or experience technical issues. If they are only a few minutes late, there should be time for the trial lesson. Do your best to assess their level and assign a trial lesson for their next lesson.

If your independent trial lesson student is more than 15 minutes late, refund their point. Independent students get two chances at a trial lesson, if they are very late to their second one then that’s a sign of low effort on their part.

Even if the student shows up for a moment, make sure they have a clear idea of what they are going to do in the next lesson. If you didn’t have time for an assessment/trial lesson, write: “trial lesson and level assessment” in the Next lesson box.

Ask one or two open questions to assess the level. Remember, the level assessment is not a test. It’s your impression of the student’s level. Very experienced teachers can pick the right level in just a few seconds. It may take many teachers a few minutes, but it shouldn’t take much longer than that.

Levels are also not set in stone, students can change at any time.

When in doubt, go low because:

it’s easier to add extra info to an easy lesson than it is to dumb down a tough lesson;
busy students need less time to prepare for an easier level; and
if you do need to change, it’s a lot nicer to move someone up than move them down.

Some students have a lot of time to study and they prefer a challenge. Others have low confidence and no time to prepare. The level depends on many factors, please check with the student and choose the best fit.

If you are torn between two levels, you can ask them: “I have an easier book that you can study, this one might be better if you are very busy and you don’t have as much time to prepare. I also have a higher-level book that’s better if you have some time to prepare and you like a more challenging lesson. Keep in mind, progress will be slower with the tougher book. What do you think?”

To assess the level, ask interesting warm-up questions and listen critically to the vocabulary choice, sentence length, natural phrases and intonation. The questions you ask should be open-ended.

Here are a couple examples:

What do you like most about your current job?

A 1: Huh? Sorry? (Probably Elementary)

A 2: Well, I am a designer. I like to make new things. (Probably Pre-Intermediate)

A 3: That's a difficult question. I like many things in my job. Maybe I like the people, I work with a variety of people.  (Probably Intermediate)

A 4: Well... I have a challenging job, I always get new projects in different industries so I learn a lot of new things and I meet new people. Maybe, my favorite part is making a difference, I like helping clients with tough problems. (Probably Upper intermediate)

A 5: Oh I have a great job! Sure, it’s tough, but it’s exhilarating. I get to work on big projects with major clients, and I can meet top-level people all kinds of industries in Japan, so it expands my contacts. To be honest, I might not work at my current company forever, so these contacts that I’m making now are really valuable. (Probably Advanced)

And, how’s your hometown compared to where you live now? 
(or: oh, you are from Nagoya? How’s that compared to Tokyo?)

A 1: …? (Probably BR Elementary)

A 2: My hometown is the countryside. Tokyo is the city. (Probably BR lower Intermediate)

A 3: Well, my hometown is a quiet place but now I live in the city, so it’s very busy! (Probably Intermediate)

A 4: I think Nagoya is similar to Tokyo, I still work in an office, I take the train to work, I eat ramen often and I go to Starbucks. Maybe food in Tokyo is better because there’s more variety, there are more top-level chefs here. (Probably BR Upper intermediate)

 

A: Well the differences are less than that you might expect, Nagoya is a big city too but it’s not as famous as Tokyo. I actually prefer Nagoya because it’s not as crowded and your dollar goes further, especially in terms of rent. For the price of a one-bedroom in Tokyo, you can have a large flat in Nagoya. The main difference is that most big companies have their headquarters in Tokyo, rather than Nagoya.

 

Three ingredients to successful first lessons 

If you can do these things, you will have a full schedule and The English Farm will have plenty of potential clients:

1. Build good rapport
2. Introduce important new language; and
3. Make a clear plan for the next lesson.

Now, let's go through each one:

Good rapport

Be the best version of yourself. 

Please see the basic teaching skills page for a detailed guide. 

 

Warm-up/ level assessment (approx. 5 minutes)

Building rapport can be done in a few simple steps:

• get a sense of their background/present situation;
• give targeted praise; and
• give targeted correction.

It’s a good idea to balance correction with praise. The student should know what they do well and what they need to work on. Be nice and friendly, but teach a lot.

Don’t be afraid to give correction for big topics like pronunciation, sentence structure, intonation or register. Doing this will give direction and focus to future lessons. Especially try to work in something that you can teach well, anything that will make a language learner say, “wow.”

When giving corrections, don’t dwell too much on them. Just say, “Try to be careful next time” or, “We can practice that more in the future.”

    S: I'm from Fukushima prefecture, it's quite a rural area. I went in Tokyo for my university     days.

    T: You moved to Tokyo. “Went” seems like a trip, but “moved” is to live there. Careful next     time. Anyway, how’s Fukushima compared to Tokyo?

Introduce important new language

Every lesson needs content, and it should be important. Imagine:

Sales staff: Hello! Would you like a free sample of a gourmet sandwich?

Person: Sure.

S: Here you are!

P: Um, this is just two pieces of bread.

S: Yes! If you want the meat, you have to come back next time

P: Thanks…?

In their trial lesson some students just get a fluffy chat without real content. We don’t want this. 

 

 

 

Setting goals and choosing a textbook (less than 5 minutes)

 

Our business students are very good at dealing with goals and can usually give clear answers to direct questions. You should know all the courses we have to offer, and how they fit with student goals. Here are a lot of examples:

 

Teacher: So, what are your goals with English?
Student: I want to attend meetings and take business trips. Also, in the future, I want to lead international projects.

T: Ok, that’s it? No test scores or anything?

S: Well, I want TOEIC 990…

T: Ok, is that a high priority, or a low priority?

S: Low. Very low.

T: Ok, in that case I recommend our general business book, it’s very good, it’s called  Business Results. I’ll send you a link for the trial lesson.

 

T: So, what are your goals with English?
S: I want to get GBC 2.2, my current score is 2.0, so….

T: Ok, anything else?

S: Well, really I just want a higher GBC score.

T: Ok, have you seen the GBC course?

S: No, what is the GBC course?

T: I’ll send you a link for the trial lesson.

 

T: So what are your goals with English?
S: Well, I want to speak in business meetings, and I want to do interviews. Also, I need a higher GBC score. And I like to travel.

T: Ok, so business English, travel English and a higher GBC score?
S: That’s right.

T: What’s your top priority?

S: Umm… well…

T: Which one do you need the soonest?

S: I need to increase my GBC score within three months.

T: Ok, we do have a general business course, and a GBC course. I recommend starting with the GBC course so that you have understand how to give strong answers. What do you think?

S: Um, what is the GBC course?

T: I’ll send you a link for the trial lesson. Let’s try this, and see if it’s useful for you.

 

T: So what are your goals with English?

S: Well, my boss wants me to study, so…

T: I see! Well, thanks for studying. Where do you want to use English?
S: Actually, I don’t use English.

T: Really? But.. you are using it now.. right?

S: Haha, that’s true.

T: Ok, imagine, just imagine ok, in the future, that you speak English really well. Where would you use it?

S: Well, maybe traveling, or maybe to help a foreigner in Tokyo.

T: Ok! So, travel English, everyday English. I got it. We have a good general textbook called Speakout, can I show it to you?

S: Sure.

 

 

T: So what are your goals with English?

S: Well I need to speaking at the meeting with English. Also I need to score 2.0 in GBC but now I am only 1.5.

T: You need to speak in meetings in English? Ok, also for scores, the better verb is “get”, you need to get a score of 2.0 in the GBC.

S: Yes.

T: Ok, I’m hearing some grammar problems today. Have you ever tried studying grammar?

S: Yes, at the high school.

T: Oh, how was it?

S: Uh, not so good.

T: Ok, would you like to try again?

S: Well, I need to higher GBC score.

T: You need a higher GBC score.

S: Yes.

T: Ok, so, looking at the score sheet you sent me, it looks like your grammar score is quite low. So if you can improve your grammar score, that will help your overall score a lot.

S: I see. Ok. Yes.

T: I’ll send you a link for the trial lesson of intermediate grammar. Remember, if it’s not useful or not interesting, we can always change your book. But I recommend this one.

 

The textbook lesson (use the remaining lesson time)

 

Depending on your timing this might be short, but the main goal is to get your student on board with the content and level, and get them excited about taking their next lesson. Teach interesting language, don’t over-teach, but let the student practice as much as possible.

 

Advanced/ninja technique:

    

The ideal emotional flow of a lesson is for the student to feel:

 

    First, “oh this language is important for me!”

    Then, “ok, this is new, but I get it, this is kinda easy.”

    Finally, after trying it, “That was way harder than I expected! I want to try again,         next time I’ll get it.”

 

To put that another way, introduce new language that’s easy to understand, and point out when they don’t produce it. Or if they do produce it (which is unlikely) praise them but say, “that didn’t quite sound fluent. Keep thinking about it and practicing it so you can sound nature next time.”

    

Here’s an example:

    T: Ok, our trial lesson is about vague language. Can you think of some vague language?

    S: I’m not sure…

    T: Like, about, sort-of,

    S: Oh! Right yes. Words like maybe, possibly.

    T: Yes! Ok, here’s a great phrase I rarely hear: “and that sort of thing.” Have you used that?

    S: No, never. What does it mean?

    T: Well,  you can put that at the end of a list to make it vague and indicate there are more     things. For example, I love oily food: ramen, tempura, french fries and that kind of thing.     Can you give me an example?

    S: I like healthy food, salad, sushi, and that kind of thing.

    T: Perfect! Just like that.

        [later]     

    T: Ok, let’s try that vague language. What do you think of Tokyo?

    S:….

    T: Good, but you forgot to use “and that kind of thing”! Please use it next time. Sorry but     we only have a couple minutes left so let’s wrap up here.

 

Every trial lesson needs a practice. Not every typical lesson needs one, but practice is powerful. Students need to know that understanding new language is not enough. They have to use it. That’s why they need speaking lessons, rather than just reading a book or watching videos about English.

 

Don’t worry about making it a little bit too hard for the student. It’s proven to be more effective than making the trail too easy. Ideally, your student should end the lesson thinking, “I want to try that again! Next time I’ll do better.”

 

If you think about it, this is essentially the same principal as an addictive game on a mobile phone. It makes you say, “I understand how to do this but it’s tough to actually do! Now let me try once more.”

 

If you can achieve this, then your student’s motivation will be very high and there are also good chances of them booking another lesson with you.