Download pptx - Designing One-to-One Language Courses

Designing One-to-One Courses

Chris Moore, Managing Director, Specialist Language Courses

One-to-One Courses are…

specialistlanguagecourses.com

• Needs-driven – courses focus only on the language the student’s needs

• Personalised – courses reflect a student’s level and learning style and go at their pace

• Flexible – courses can change to reflect emergent needs

• Motivating – courses are designed for students to have a great learning experience

• Collaborative – you work with the student at all stages to ensure the course is on track

• Effective – courses waste no time as students progress towards their goals

Step 1. Needs Analysis


One-to-One courses start by clearly identifying the learner’s language needs. These become the objectives of the course.

The learner’s needs may be

a. Highly focused, for example giving a company presentation in English

b. More varied, such as the many types of language required to pass an English exam at school

Needs Analysis needs to be detailed. It examines the specific scenarios the learner needs to use their target language in. It identifies what language knowledge and skills they need to do that effectively.

Needs Analysis


How do you do a Needs Analysis with your

students?

Some Questions


How often do you need to

use English?

What accents do you need to understand?

What kind of writing do you

do?

Who do you use English with?

What words do you need to express

yourself?

Do you workwith native or

non-native speakers?

Describe in detail the key scenarios you need to use English in

What kind of texts do you

read in English?

Step 2. Level Assessment


• Needs Analysis is combined with a language level assessment. This measures how far the learner currently is from being able to achieve their objectives.

• This assessment should focus on the areas the learner will be using the language in. It should be scenario-specific, and target the relevant skills the learner will focus on during their course.

• The assessment results should be shared with the learner in order to manage their expectations.

• If there is a wide gap between level and needs, but not much time allocated, then course objectives will need to be scaled back to what is achievable.

Level Assessment


How do you assess what level your students have?

Level Assessment


Remember! Accurate assessment reflects what the student needs to do in English. Tests should therefore contain an appropriate mix of

a. vocabulary, grammar and pronunciationb. speaking, listening, reading, writing

And be careful! Many tests on the market are grammatically based and this may not always be relevant to what your student needs to do. In practice, for example, your student may need a strong command of a few common forms, but her vocabulary requirements may be much higher

Step 3. Learning Preferences


Learning Preferences


www.vark-learn.com

How do you discover your students’ learning preferences?

Course Design Principles 1


Begin with the end in mind & work backwards

1. Objectives What are you here? What’s the point of this course? What do you want to be able to do by the end of this course?

2. Language Skills requiredWhat language skills are required to achieve the learner’s objective?Better business vocabulary? Writing accurately? Speaking clearly and confidently? Understanding native speaker conversations? Understanding business reports? Summarising an argument? Ordering a beer?

Course Design Principles 2


3. Course Pathway• How to best to introduce, practice and review the language skills identified• Scaffolding learning – how are you developing more complex language

skills?• Is the context appropriate? Learning has to be meaningful, to make sense

to the world outside the classroom

4. Lessons• Identify discrete modules, activities and map them out so they match the

Course Pathway• Share it with your student, elicit feedback – both you and the learner need

to know what’s happening• Build in regular reviews and assessments

Course Planning Alignment


Objectives Language Required

Course Pathway Lessons

Course Design – sample 1


1. Objective: “I need to write company reports in English”

2. Language Skills Required:- Writing to your audience (shareholders, board of directors, staff)- Using formal language correctly – register, style, passive voice, modal verbs- Connecting ideas within and between sentences, different clause types- Using an appropriate format – headings, paragraphing- Expressing key ideas effectively, eg summary, problems, conclusions,

recommendations, forecasts- Writing clear case studies and industry examples



3. Course Pathway needs to include:Vocabulary- Connectors.. Within sentences, between sentences- Language to.. introduce ideas, describe cause and effect, state challenges, recommend solutions, conclude- Formal language conventions – contractions, phrasal verbs, formulaic expressions. Impersonal style- Relevant business and technical vocabulary

Grammar- Reporting what happened, past tense- Describing processes, focus on passive, present tense- Using modal verbs, especially would- Forecasting future, including 1st conditional

Report Writing- Understanding the audience and writing appropriately- Format, structure, paragraphing- Writing an impactful executive summary- Importance of clarity



4. Lesson Plan ObjectivesWeek 1:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Course Programme

ArrivalNeeds Analysis & negotiation of this week’s Course Programme

Describing processes, using present tense, inc passive voice and impersonal style

Focus on connecting ideas effectively – sentence and paragraph level

Describing the past clearly and accurately

Write an effective executive summary Review



4. Lesson Plan ActivitiesWeek 1:

PleaseZoom!

Daily Record of Lessons

Clarify needs – language scenarios, skills required, student priorities Language Analysis – spoken, written (contextualized to reflect needs) Learning Preferences test Map out programme, agree with student

Read text describing relevant business process. Check for comprehension. Analyse structure and grammar used. target present forms and passive Focus on present – simple, continuous, perfect Practice on mixed forms (gap-fill, writing) Focus on passive (in present tense) Apply to process description – student writes text from pictures/notes Review, look at ways to improve

Intro different connectors:By type (within and between sentences)By meaning (contrast, addition, exemplification, time, etc) Practice – gap fill, write examples (relevant to report subject matter) Integrate with relevant process text Take text from yesterday and improve with connectors

Read past narrative (relevant to student needs, eg business case study). Check for comprehension Look at examples of grammar – past simple, continuous, perfect, modal Analyse use and balance in the text Practice using mixed forms Write a case study on a relevant topic. Use notes/video to introduce Review, look at ways to improve

Read 2 examples of exec summaries – 1 good, 1 bad. Analyse- Subject- Audience- Structure- Tone- Impact Practice – words into sentences Write an executive summary (from a report where the summary has been removed), review and discuss, compare with original, look at ways to improve Review main learnings from the week, look forward to week 2



1. Objective: “I want to speak better English”

2. Language Skills Required:- Key Skill 1: Speaking with clear pronunciation- Key Skill 2: Understanding a variety of accents- Scenario 1: Getting to know people, networking- Scenario 2: Talking about your interests and preferences- Scenario 3: Asking questions, responding appropriately- Scenario 4: Travelling overseas – asking for info/directions, ordering food/drink, etc- Scenario 5: Key functions - inviting, suggesting, requesting- Scenario 6: Giving opinions



3. Course Pathway needs to cover:

Scenario-focused language development• Introducing yourself and others, small talk, • Discussing what you and others do in free time• Getting to know people, asking questions• Going places: Asking for info, making invitations and suggestions• Travel – ordering food and drink, asking for directions, asking for help and info Pronunciation focus• Individual sounds• Intonation – word & sentence level• Connected speech

Listening skills development• Listening for gist, listening for key information• Different accents – native, non-native• Dialogue practice



4. Lesson Plan ObjectivesWeek 1:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Course Programme

ArrivalNeeds Analysis & negotiation of the week’s Course Programme

Talking about yourself – self, family, job, where you live Pronunication focus

Greetings, Asking questions Pron focus

Describing preferences and free time activities Making invitations/ suggestions Pron focus

Travelling overseas Ordering and requesting Asking for information Review



4. Lesson Plan ActivitiesWeek 1:

Please Zoom!

Daily Record of Lessons

Clarify needs – language scenarios, skills required, student priorities Language Analysis – spoken, written (contextualized to reflect needs) Learning Preferences test Map out programme, agree with student

Listening to people introduce themselves Note key phrases, practice in context (mini-dialogues) Read transcript, highlight (a) target language (b) common grammatical structures (b) new vocab Practice – student introduces him/ herself (could be a famous person – teacher guesses who) Extend where appropriate – note vocabualry Pron focus:Highlight one area of weakness & review/ practice. This should be prepared beforehand. Include listening practice.

Elicit greetings – formal informal Elicit question words, contextualize with simple questions Focus on question structures (a) qs about the subject (b) qs about the object Focus on intonation for questions (listening ex) Familiarisation work: gap-fill / words into sentences ‘Meeting people’ st writes qs to ask when at a party (review some language from yesterday) Roleplay above, using greetings, Q&A with teacher, review and feedback Pron focus:Highlight one area of weakness & review/ practice.

Elicit free time activities – sports, hobbies Personalise – Q&A on favourite activities, when started, how often, achievements, etc. Note language as it emerges – focus on likes, dislikes, preferences Focus: language of preference – analyse, practice, contextualize Introduce invitations and suggestions in context, eg through listening /video activity – highlight and note down key phrases. Roleplay the above, review, feedback – look at question forms used, note common forms Pron focus:Highlight one area of weakness & review/ practice.

Elicit target vocab – travel, accommodation, activities Note key scenarios and elicit language needed – eg asking for directions/help, ordering food/drink, requesting a room. Use listening/ video prompts Roleplay the above, note use of relevant language Note down key expressions – check understanding. Practice again. incorporate target language from previous lessons where possible. Review week’s learning points (inc pron), feedback on student progress, note areas of improvement

Find out more


Specialist Language Courses organises outstanding 1:1 courses around the world.

Choose from:• English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic and many more• Intensive immersion courses at language schools around the world• Tailor-made in-company courses• Specialist online courses • A blend of the above

Contact us to find out more:

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