 The benefits and pit falls when teaching one-on-one. So you studied for hours, completed the necessary work, took the test, and received your TEFL certification. Now what? You need to find a suitable company that meets your hours and teaching style. Do you want to teach in person or online? Do you want to teach a group of students or would you like the settings of one-on-one interaction? In this article, we'll take an in-depth look at the benefits and pit falls of teaching foreign students English one-on-one. Language level A major advantage of teaching foreign students when mono-y mono is that there is only one level of English that you are working with. If you had a group of 15 students, you would likely have mixed abilities and levels you would then have to cater to, for each of the lessons plans you develop. So, when teaching a group of students it is difficult to find material in the lesson plan to motivate and allow every student to actively engage the lesson. On the other hand, when teaching just one student, you can find their interests and tailor the plan accordingly to such interests, allowing the student to enjoy and engage the lesson fully. Amount of attention The main benefit for the student while learning one-on-one is that they have constant access to the professor. Therefore, his or her English-speaking interaction is dramatically increased. But with all the one-on-one time it could be exhausting for the student and the teacher. The constant, un-national interaction could lead to premature exhaustion, as both the teacher and the students have no downtime to recuperate. Faster progress Another advantage of teaching one student at a time is that the constant progression made with such student far exceeds the progress compared to their grouped peers. He or she is forced to endure constant attention with the teacher so there is no way to zone out. The teacher will be able to determine any pitfalls the student might have and hone in on such weaknesses to bring them up to standard. With a group, this would be extremely difficult as you are dealing with time constraints. This means some students might fall through the cracks and not retain the information that they should have. More difficult to plan Here come the disadvantages, teaching one-on-one can become monotonous. Teachers have a harder time planning lessons because they cannot incorporate pairs or group work. Also, teachers that are yearning to teach in person, won't be making the money compared to teaching a group of students. That doesn't mean you won't be able to find the perfect position teaching one-on-one online for a comparable wage. More stressful When teaching one-on-one, taking the role of a counselor can be stressful. Since it's a more intimate setting, teachers could feel uncomfortable listening to issues that students might have at home. Also, personality differences could have a huge impact on the quality of teaching time, being that you're only teaching one student. How will their personality affect the lesson? Are you ready to teach different groups of ESL students? Overall, it's really your preference when choosing what size classroom you would like to be in. If you want to provide a top-notch learning environment where you can see results in your students fast, one-on-one would be the way to go. I feel that it takes a certain type of teacher to teach one-on-one classes, that has a particular drive to teach in such an intimate setting. Either way, you'll feel accomplished teaching humanities skill that they can use to go further in life. Speak with an ITTT advisor today to put together your personal plan for teaching English abroad. Send us an email or call us toll free at 1-800-490-0531 to speak with an ITTT advisor today.