Two types
There are two different types of students who take first lessons:
- Corporate students who already have lesson points
- Independent students who are considering buying points
In both cases, there are a number of things you will need to accomplish within 25 minutes:
- do an introduction and understand their goals,
- choose a textbook (STS course is often a safe bet),
- do a short lesson from that book
Then, after the lesson is finished, you will need to:
- Fill in NEEDS AND COMPANY information in the student's profile
- Do a skills assessment
We'll discuss time management skills, strategies for finishing the lesson, and using a scratch pad to take notes during the lesson to use for the student's profile and skills assessment.
Corporate first lessons
The student is already committed to taking lessons and likely has a clear goal in mind. This is lower-stress, but still important to do well.
A good corporate first lesson is motivating, defines the goals clearly, and sets up the next lesson to be smooth and successful.
Goals should be as specific as possible. On the left are goals students might give, and our job is to define them into something that is more tangible:
- Do business in English > go to business meetings > give my opinion clearly, quickly and memorably.
- Get a GBC 2.2 > increase my fluency > speak smoothly rather than haltingly, and avoid unnatural pauses
Good corporate first lessons include everything that's in a good independent trial lesson, so let's dig into:
Trial lessons
Giving exceptional trial lessons is a one of the most important parts of the job. Teachers need to show students the best of what they can do.
A successful first lesson has:
- good rapport building;
- important new language or strategies,
- some practice activity; and
- a clear plan for the next lesson.
The flow is basically like a bit of a roller coaster. The Y axis is the student's feeling, and the X axis is the lesson time:
In short:
- Start easy and friendly. Build rapport. (Get them to say "yes" and/or "me too" a few times).
- After you choose a textbook, teach something that is relevant but fairly difficult.
- Take enough time for the student to understand it,
- Then throw them into a semi-real-world role-play where they find out it's actually tougher than they thought.
- Finish.
25 minutes is not a long time, and sometimes students are late or experience technical issues. It’s not easy, but it is achievable.
Notes before the lesson
You can begin assessing the level before the lesson. Check the student’s profile for test results and goals. If there are no results provided, you can ask the student via Skype.
Make sure you have added them as a contact on Skype. Add them around the time they book the lesson. If they have not accepted your Skype on the day you are set to teach them, then please use the Contact button to send a message before the lesson starts.
Warm-up/level assessment (approx. 3 or 4 minutes)
Building rapport can be done in a few simple steps:
- get a sense of their background/present situation;
- give specific praise; and
- give specific correction.
Balance correction with praise to show you have a clear grasp of what the student can do, and what they need to do.
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 minor corrections, you don’t need to dwell on them for too long:
Student: I'm from Fukushima prefecture, it's quite a rural area. I went in Tokyo for my university days.
Teacher: You moved to Tokyo. “Went” seems like a trip, but “moved” is to live there... Anyway, how’s Fukushima compared to Tokyo?
Many new students will do the STS course. In this case, you don't have to worry about the level.
If you do need 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 some examples:
So, do you like your job?
- Huh? Sorry? (Probably Elementary)
- Well, I am a designer. I like to make new things. (Probably Pre-Intermediate)
- Hm, yes. I like my job. I like many things in my job. Maybe I like the people, I work with a variety of people. (Probably Intermediate)
- 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)
- 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)
We don't need to assess every single part of their English, just the general level. Very experienced teachers can pick the right level in just a few seconds. It may take some teachers a few minutes, but it shouldn't take much longer than that.If you do need to go for a leveled course, 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,
- if you do need to change, it’s a lot nicer to move someone up than move them down, and
- being assessed lower increases the need for English lessons.
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? The quicker book, or the tougher one?”
Setting goals and choosing a textbook (< 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:
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? Meetings? Interviews?
S: Well, first I need a higher GBC score.
T: Ok, have you seen the Speaking Test Strategies course?
S: No, what is that course?
T: Let's take a look. It will really help you speak powerfully in GBC and also in meetings or discussions.
We also get some cases like this:
T: So, what are your goals with English?
S: 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: Mmmmm... well maybe...
T: Sounds not that important. You really need English to attend meetings and take business trips.
S: Yes, that's right.
T: Ok, in that case I recommend our general business book, it’s very good, it’s called Business Results. I recommend Upper Intermediate. I’ll send you a link for the trial lesson.
In the minority of cases, we might get someone who doesn't have clear goals. It conversation might go like this:
T: So, what are your goals with English?
S: Goals!? Eeeh...
T: So, okay, let's imagine this. Imagine you study hard for maybe, like, 1 or 2 years. Then you can use English well, where will you use it?
S: I see! Well, I want to travel to London. And, watch American movies.
T: Travel, movies, great. Anything else?
S: Maybe if there is a foreigner in my city, I can help them.
T: That's very nice of you! Okay, you need real communication and daily English. Maybe some travel English.
S: That's right.
T: Okay. I've got a great book for you, it's called Speakout.
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.
Recall the ideal emotional flow of a lesson.
- 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 a long example. Pay attention to the flow, and think about where you would end:
T: Ok, we are looking at Speaking Test Strategies 1, how to do your best. This will show you how to think about the GBC. It will set you up for long-term success. Let's look at the Warm-up. Can you read it?
S: Your teacher has a few questions for you, answer them as you would in the test.
T: Ok, so tell me, where have you traveled?
S: Ummm.... I have traveled to... India, Vietnam, Italy, France, Germany, and Hawaii.
T: ...
S: ...I enjoyed Hawaii the most.
T: ...okay, so let's discuss your answer. First of all, I'm jealous. You've traveled many places. About your answer, I think it was a little too short! I will show you how to make it better. But let's keep thinking about this and read the Language section.
S: ...what's the point of a speaking test?"
T: So, what's the point? Does the interviewer want to be your friend?
S: Maybe not.
T: Well, right. Maybe not. What do they want to do? They want to test your English level. To do that, you have to show them your best English. Use your high level adjectives like, amazing, fantastic. Add information, like who, what, when, where, why, how was it.
S: Ooooooohh, I see.
T: Ok, so let's practice that. How about this question: Where would you recommend a foreigner visit in your country?
S: I recommend a foreigner to visit, umm, Kyoto. It is a beautiful city... There are many famous temples. Also, the food is delicious. There is, um... famous food, with many small dishes called kaiseki. And Kyoto is famous among Asian countries. Many Chinese tourists go there. So... yea.
T: Much better! You added some examples. You added what, and why... but, what about when? When is the best time to go?
S: Ooooh! Yes. Autumn or spring time are the best.
T: Right, also, your ending way, "so... yea." Is this a strong ending?
S: No, it's not strong.
T: The next lesson is about strong endings. I'm sorry we don't have much time, but you made a really big improvement. Your Kyoto answer was much stronger. It's not perfect, but, it's much stronger. Now, at The English Farm, we have a great homework system. I will give you some writing homework. Don't worry if you are busy. This is not high school. Just remember to add as much good information as you can when you write your answer....
Every trial lesson needs a practice.
You need to make a specific recommendation, and then give the student a chance to practice it. Then after the practice, praise what they did well and be very specific about what they were lacking.
Don't be afraid to end of a "difficult" note. That encourages students to study harder and they feel they have a lot to gain at The English Farm. In typical lessons, we can be encouraging and focus on strengths, but in trial lessons, the stricter you are, the more points the student is likely to buy. (Obviously be nice about it. There is a limit, but it's a very high limit.)
Outlier cases:
Late students:
Students often miss the beginning of their first class either due to technical issues or scheduling. If they are less than 10 minutes late, there should be time for a trial lesson. If your student is later than that, just do your best with the time you have. You should do your best to assess their level and assign a trial lesson for their next lesson.
If independent students are 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.
Very late students:
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.