Offline language teaching is fast becoming a thing of the past – all the world seems to have woken up to the benefits of online classes. In this article we’ll look into some challenges of remote English teaching and effective strategies for addressing those difficulties.
With the remote teaching option, tutors can have more classes per day due to the fact there is no need to commute or have long breaks between lessons – your daily schedule might as well consist of a few back-to-back classes. On its face, it appears a pure upside, since ‘more lessons’ translates into ‘more income’. However, burnout raises its ugly head earlier than in offline teaching, as having a back-breaking schedule may result in isolation from the real, ‘three-dimensional world’, so to speak. For a seamless transition to remote teaching, follow the link and book a coaching session here.
Leading a sedentary lifestyle hasn’t benefited a single person. It can lead to back and neck pain, obesity, sleep disorders, elevated anxiety levels and a tendency towards depression. A packed schedule (yes, even 5 classes a day can feel like a grueling schedule!) means that you might end up losing touch with friends and colleagues. As if it wasn’t enough, speaking too much unfailingly leads to vocal cords strain – a sort of occupational ailment, or rather a work-related condition. The muscles or organs you overuse develop heightened sensitivity and vulnerability. Essentially, it’s unavoidable but it should be monitored and managed.
Know your limits – I call it ‘your magic number’ – the number of classes per day that you can teach without feeling drained at the end of the day. Instead, after the last class, what you should be experiencing is a sense of achievement and deep self-fulfilment. My ‘magic number’ is 5 lessons per day (6 on exceptional occasions). Don’t try to outshine yourself or exert yourself too much – portion out your energy to make it last through the day. It would be too overwhelming to have an emotional rollercoaster on a daily basis!
What I mean is that you are bound to see more new faces than you used to in the in-person teaching stage of your career. Besides being stressful, it necessitates high emotional intelligence and next-to-perfect soft skills. Therefore, I have worked out some really handy shortcuts for you! Let’s dive right in.
Based on my 14 years of experience (6 years out of which have been devoted to remote teaching), I have developed 4 generalized student profiles to help English teachers quickly adapt their teaching styles to each new client.
Keep in mind that these are stereotypes and represent general features of students, don’t treat them as silver bullets. Nevertheless, they have been put together by me intuitively based on my extensive experience and you are certain to recognize most of your students while you look through the following descriptions. These profiles can help you quickly identify what kind of client is in front you and what you need to do to meet their requirements. The odds are that using my classification, you will be able to effortlessly attune your teaching strategy to suit the needs of each new student.
He / she likes it light – after a hard day at work, they would opt for a stress-free light-hearted feel-good conversation lesson, during which they mainly stay inside their comfort zone. They are fine with just a few new words, but plenty of discussion and small talk; next to no error correction, but a cosy and warm atmosphere – something that closely resembles a therapy session. Their level is likely high (B2, C1) and one might wonder what they are really after. I’ll tell you what – emotional support, a shoulder to cry on or someone to share their success with, a heart-to-heart talk, motivation, validation and encouragement. They readily share personal stories, get emotionally attached to their teacher and keep coming back for many years on end.
Aim at maintaining the English level of the student, and dole out new material sparingly. Lower the academic bar, simultaneously raising the empathy bar. Listen more – don’t interrupt; let some grammar mistakes go unnoticed – don’t disrupt their narrative. Suggest home assignment, but don‘t insist on it. They are attending your lessons because of your empathetic personality. If you can embrace the role of a life coach or a therapist, this type of student is a dream client, as they are respectful, grateful and devoted.
(Disclaimer: Personally, it’s my favorite type)
Not only do they complete all the homework, but they often do much more than you expect them to. They write down in their notepads every single unfamiliar word from the podcasts and articles you asked them to read and listen to. They are diligent, curious, painstaking and thorough. They ask smart questions, have clear goals, which they reach without fail. This is the type of student that makes progress fast.
Give plenty of homework – they thrive on challenges. They don’t think of home assignments as punishment, rather as rewards. Provide constructive feedback, answer all the questions in full, and above all, cherish these learners, acknowledge their efforts with lavish praise, since such students are really rare!
These are CEOs, top managers, or other professionals in high-power positions. Although they have no teaching background, they want to call the shots, choosing the tasks, textbooks, materials or exercises. They are eager to be in charge of the teaching process, they are simply not ready to give up an ounce of control – they cling onto it even at such a harmless procedure as an English lesson. Another obstacle they might put in your way is defying your authority or testing you, questioning the wisdom of your methods, or making your life miserable in a dozen other ways.
Be patient, stay tactful, build trust, show you’re qualified by putting your best foot forward. Such students are a blessing in disguise – they keep you on your toes and prevent you from resting on your laurels. Once the ice is broken and you’ve won them over, they’ll admire you for the rest of their lives. You should understand the background – according to their life creed, respect is not to be given automatically, it must be deserved, gained and maintained. Thus, if you prove your worth as a specialist, you’ll be worth your weight in gold.
They have hectic eventful lifestyles, which is why they postpone or cancel classes frequently. They are often late, sometimes even fail to show up at the classes, some classes are cut short as they have a flight to catch or any other urgent business to attend to. They hardly ever do homework and the progress is slow, quite unsurprisingly. During the lessons, they might have work-related phone calls or part of the class could be dedicated to problem-shooting, document signing or answering important emails. These lessons are nerve-racking, highly stressful and unpredictable.
Stay calm, focused, but emotionally detached. Don’t pick up on secondhand stress. Instead, build resilience and stress-resistance. If you have an interruption because your student needs to make a phone call, you’re free to switch off your camera (not just the microphone). Do some deep breathing, a quick mindfulness exercise, or stand up and stretch your back muscles. Always look for a win-win.
I would like to emphasize that the above-mentioned student profiles are meant to guide you in your remote teaching journey, making it less of a bumpy ride and more of a smooth sail. Put them to use, but don’t forget to put them to test. Thank god, our personalities are unique and inimitable, and no classification in the world is capable of capturing the vast variety of human characteristics!
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