1

Introduction

This thesis investigates ways of effective teaching in group and in one-to-one

courses. The research centers around a language school where I am a practicing

teacher of English, which means that I personally know the language school, its

venue, courses, management, colleagues and equipment.

I have chosen this topic because it is so essential for me, a future teacher of

English both in regular classes and individual lessons at language schools, to know

how to teach effectively. However, though both ways of teaching are widespread, so

little attention has been paid to the distinction between teaching an individual

learner and teaching a group of learners in academic literature so far. Even at

university, didactics focuses only on group teaching. Moreover, I presume that

knowing teaching strategies in these two forms are beneficial for every teacher who

strives to attain desired learning needs of their learners.

In the theoretical part of this thesis, the present practice of teaching English at

our language school is discussed. Then the setting of teaching and the learners of the

target language are examined. The next part looks at materials and resources both

for teachers and the learners. Also the role of the teacher in these two forms is

discussed. Finally, main differences between these two forms, as well as advantages

and disadvantages of each of them are defined.

A methodology section of the practical part presents planning and managing

the class and also deals with assessment of learners. Moreover, I investigate

opinions of other teachers at the same language school by means of a questionnaire

and later, I compare their opinions with mine concerning effective teaching in group

and one-to-one classes. A final part of this thesis outlines teaching strategies that can

be applied in these two forms of teaching and it tests out the hypothesis stated in the

beginning.

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Hypothesis

In my hypothesis, I put forward that both group and one-to-one forms of

teaching can be effective for learners who can learn the target language proficiently

if certain conditions are met. In my opinion, both these forms can be favourable for

the learners if the teaching is student-centered, if the lessons are focused on learner’s

purpose of learning and if real-life materials are used.

However, I also reckon that these two forms largely differ and they may have

a different impact on their learners. I presume that the group and one-to-one

teaching differ in:

• the focus of the lessons

• different pace of learning

• using different strategies by the teacher

• meeting specific individual needs of learners

• different relationship between the teacher and the learner

Taking these differences into consideration, I assume that a learner in a one-to-

one situation may benefit more for their language acquisition than in group teaching

due to a better personal relationship with the teacher, due to better monitoring

opportunities of the learner by the teacher, due to better meeting of learner’s specific

individual needs, learning style and the pace of learning.

I am not only going to provide particular arguments regarding my hypothesis

throughout this research, but also examine other teachers’ viewpoints on the

effectiveness of these two ways of teaching, and compare or contrast them with my

own hypothesis in the end.

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THEORETICAL PART

1. History, development and present practice of classroom

versus one-to-one teaching at our language school

This chapter deals with recent history of teaching English at the language

school JŠ MKM in Brno, produces evidence for learners’ interest in learning

languages and in the last part, I present reasons why learners might prefer one-to-

one and group courses.

From this chart of learners’ interest in group and individual courses of all

languages that JŠ MKM opened in last eight years [1], I have arrived at several

conclusions.

Přehled firemních a individuálních kurzů

k 31.12. individuální kurzy

skupinové

kurzy

2 - více osob

celkem

2000 33 31 64

2001 32 37 69

2002 47 37 84

2003 37 72 109

2004 50 78 128

2005 102 86 188

2006 111 102 213

2007 118 162 280

[1] Summary of group and individual courses opened at JŠ MKM in 2000-2007

The first one is that there is a rising interest in both courses. After looking

closer at figures, around 3.5 times more learners wanted to learn a language in

a one-to-one course in last eight years, while around 5 times more people learned

a language in a group course of more than two people in the same period.

The second conclusion that I can reach from this chart is that no prevailing

tendency of just one form of the courses can be deduced within the frame of one

year. In some years, more learners preferred group courses (2001, 2003, 2004 and

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2007), while more courses were opened for individual learners in the remaining

years.

The third conclusion which I have come to is that up to now, more people have

been interested in learning a language in the group form (605 courses, which means

at least 1,210 learners) in comparison with an individual one (530 individuals).

To state reasons why more and more people have been learning English in one

of the two forms in last eight years, first, I presume that the main factor is English as

a lingua franca. Computer literature and software as well as many scientific,

technical and academic books and materials are written in English. Second, a lot of

Czech companies do business with foreign companies, thus they demand learning

English of their employees so that they are able to communicate with their trading

partners. Third, a lot of these people might learn English for their own personal

reasons – to travel, study or work abroad.

Dealing with reasons why individual courses are recognizing their growing

popularity as an alternative to group learning, I suggest that individual learners

appreciate more flexible teaching styles, they might need to learn English for

specific purposes and/or they require to learn the language as fast as possible. All in

all, they are willing to pay up to three times more money than for group teaching,

because a one-to-one course can easily meet all these needs.

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2. Setting

In this section, I want to show that the environment of a language school and

the scheduling of a course are very important factors for efficient learning. It is very

important to create a positive and stimulating learning environment for learners,

therefore, learning conditions must be adjusted both spatially and temporally to fit

learners’ needs. All these, at the first sight trifles, give the immediate impression of

the professional credibility of a language school.

2.1. Where

Today, language courses can be held at premises of a language school, which

is a traditional and by far the most common option, but the classes can be also held

at learner’s place or in business surroundings of learner’s workplace. The last two

options prevail in one-to-one courses and are to be elaborated in following chapters.

A reason for this variety of learning milieu seems to be obvious – a language

school wants its courses to be flexible to meet diverse learners’ requirements. For

instance, while learning in a group might be optimal for those who need “a shelter”

(Wilberg 47) that other learners create by being in the class, others may prefer an

intensive student-directed one-to-one course in their familiar environment.

2.1.1. At a language school

In my opinion, physical considerations of the learning environment are one of

prerequisites for a pleasurable and effective lesson in both teaching forms. In all

regards, the classroom should be spatious enough to avoid the feeling of

claustrophoby in learners. Second, a large-enough table for making notes is a must

for every learner.

Moreover, since the lessons can be up to sixty minutes long, the seating

arrangement is worth considering. Rather than classical desk chairs, Wilberg

proposes comfortable seats “for avoiding postural strain” (72). Third, the room

should be furnished with posters and pictures of the target country to create “an

attractive focus or rest for the eye” (Wilberg 69) and to induce positive atmosphere

in the room. Finally, intolerable are classes with inadequate ventilation, traffic

sounds or fumes (Wilberg 70).

Similarly, the psychological space, in other words, the sensory, mental, and

communicative space, space for recollection and space for learner’s input (Wilberg

70) are as important for the effective learning as the physical conditions.

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2.1.2. At learner’s place

Since language schools are no longer constrained by where teaching should

take place, it is efficient for learners to get away from premises of the language

school and have lessons at their place. The learner might appreciate the teacher

being flexible to come and it can also save a lot of time not commuting to the

language school. These two reasons seem to be very attractive to many learners

nowadays.

2.1.3. At learner’s workplace

Especially company courses are tailor-made nowadays according to learners’

needs. Thus, lessons are often held directly in the company of the learners.

Nevertheless, this place does not have to suit everyone. While some learners might

like to be overheard speaking the foreign language by their colleagues, others might

be „fearful of meeting someone they know” (Murphey 48).

Furthermore, this place bears similar disadvantages and advantages to

learner’s place. On the one hand, the learner saves a lot of time, while on the other

hand, the teacher is dependent on the local equipment.

All in all, learning can take place in any environment depending on

preferences of individual learners and on the flexibility of a teacher to meet their

needs.

2.2. When

This section analyses at what time of the day and how long courses last at

a language school. Concerning the former, the beginning of lessons depends mainly

on their free time, but also on the age of the learners:

- Daily study courses for young learners aged 18 to 20 are held every day in

the morning.

- Retired people are offered morning courses, because they can concentrate

easier than in the evening.

- Evening and afternoon courses are established for working people who

attend them after their work.

- Similarly, early-morning courses from 7 am, are offered to learners before

their going to work.

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The duration of these courses and the frequency of lessons are determined by

the goals set and the forms used.

2.2.1. Group courses

Courses can be either extensive (one or two lessons a week) or intensive short-

term courses (usually two lessons twice a week). In both cases, the meeting times

are set beforehand, which, however, might cause a problem for learners when they

miss a lesson.

2.2.2. One-to-one courses

These courses are usually short-termed and “time-pressured with extensive

coverage” (Wilberg 50). They are intended to help learners to “prepare for specific

goals” (Murphey 37), such as working abroad, English correspondence or telephone

contact with clients.

However, unlike group courses, these can be arranged flexibly. It is not

a problem to postpone a lesson or to cancel the lesson because of professional duties

of the learner. In this way, the learners do not miss a single lesson because the

classes are arranged according to their leisure.

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3. Participants

By and large, participants are the most important factor of the teaching

process. When a course starts, the learners have never met before with others, may

not have anything in common, but they are “expected to spend a [. . .] part of the day

together in a confined space [. . .] for several weeks” (Wilberg 17). Moreover, some

of them have volunteered for that course, while other learners might have been

“sent“ by their employer who has also covered their course.

That is why it is vital for the teacher to know as much as possible about the

learners in order to “prepare adequately [. . .] and in order to adjust to them [. . .]

effectively” (Murphey 46). The teacher should get to know their personalities,

interests, learning styles, motivation, but also their attitudes to learning. In short, the

teacher has so much to learn from their learners.

3.1. Personality and learning

In group courses, especially some adult learners might feel uncomfortable

being in a schoolish situation again. On the other hand, some confident and superior

learners might “take all the floor” (Murphey 19) in the class at the expense of shy or

introvert learners.

In one-to-one courses, some learners may feel very much „one-down, anxious

and insecure” (Wilberg 61) due their being alone and the intensity of teacher’s

observation. On the other hand, since many learners are professionals themselves,

they might feel to be one-up and reasonably expect “a similarly professional attitude

to their course” (Wilberg 63) in terms of both teacher’s knowledge and approach.

However, whatever the personality the learner is, a duty of the teacher is to

cope with both kinds of approaches. Therefore, they should encourage and create the

safe environment for the former, while to behave professionally for the latter.

3.2. Learner’s needs and motivation

Every course starts with a massive information gap. The teacher does not

know the individuals and the learners do not know anything about the teacher. As

Wilberg states, “we can’t teach unless we know what the student wants to

communicate” (3). Hence, in the beginning of each course, it is essential for the

teacher to learn not only learner’s background, occupation, hobbies, but also in their

specific aims, purpose for study, and likewise their learning styles and specific

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learning difficulties (see Appendix 1), since I believe that this is the first step when

planning a scheme of work.

Getting to know the learners is not easy, but knowing “activities that [they]

enjoy and topics that they find interesting” (Nolasco 18) is not only essential for

creating a tailor-made syllabus of a course, but also for enhancing their motivation

and for “developing social relationships” with them (Nolasco 14). Therefore, each

teacher should know what the learners expect from the course and, at the same time,

the learners should see that their teacher is interested in their needs and expectations.

The key prerequisite for learning a foreign language is motivation (Edge 15),

because, as Edge further claims, learners “who are aware of their own preferences

[. . .] can better appreciate what is happening in the class” (16). Murphey

distinguishes learners’ motivation for learning a language as following (11):

• incidental – learners are not actually using the language

• instrumental – learners perceive the language to be useful for life

• integrative – learners identify with a group or want to become part of

the group that speaks that language

While the first kind is not motivational at all, the last one is the most effective

for learning a language. Consequently, learners with the integrative motivation are

usually the ideal learners.

Besides, within the identification of learners’ needs, the teacher may also

reveal their true motivation for attending an individual course. As Wilberg outlines,

there is a whole spectrum of true motivation for choosing a one-to-one course (16):

• the learner enjoys being the centre of attention

• the learner is sent by the boss

• the learner is anxious about his/her future career and he/she thinks that

English is a necessary accomplishment

• the learner’s interest in language is purely academic and he/she is not

interested in everyday communication

• the learner wishes to compete with a friend or a colleague

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These wishes, joys and fears of our learners are also worth knowing, because

this true motivation may considerably vary from the one that the learners officially

state in questionnaires.

3.2.1. Identifying learner’s needs

Knowing about learner’s language goals and desires is a necessity for every

teacher to help them guide their way and content of teaching. Thus this chapter

enumerates ways of finding out as much as possible about learners and it also gives

an account of pros and cons of each form.

According to Wilberg, the possibilities of obtaining information from the

learners about their learning needs are severalfold (46):

- an application form

- a diagnostic or an achievement test

- a class discussion

- a needs analysis questionnaire

- an essay

- a briefing from another teacher

- a self-evaluation and statement of needs

While the main aim of each method is to “establish agreed objectives [. . .] for

successful cooperation” (Wilberg 80) and for both the teacher and the student to

know “what is expected and what to expect” (Wilberg 80) in a course, these

methods vary in their comprehension, difficulty, timing and formality.

ad) an application form

While Murphey argues that “the personal characteristics can be exploited

later” (50), I reckon that it might be beneficial for the teacher to get to know about

learner’s family or interests in order to break the ice in the first lesson. Moreover,

learners usually love talking about themselves and familiar subjects (see Appendix

2).

On the one hand, this method brings invaluable info about the learner, which

might be “a useful basis for a class discussion” (Nolasco 18) or even a personal

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interview in a one-to-one course. Moreover, asking about personal info provides the

learner with a lot of vocabulary and grammar.

On the other hand, this method of acquiring information from the learner does

not reveal to the teacher anything about “the true motivators” (Wilberg 81), that is,

their subjective desires and interest in learning a language.

ad) a diagnostic/achievement test

This method serves the purpose of finding out “how well [a learner] can

understand a particular language” (Gower 134) and to reveal “the gaps in the

learner’s knowledge” (Nolasco 17) (see Appendix 3). The indisputable advantage of

this method is that it is objective for the teacher to decide which language structures

the learner can and cannot use. Consequently, the teacher can revise and practise the

target language that the learner has problems with.

On the other hand, this method reveals “little about the learners as people”

(Nolasco 17), since it is based only on grammatical knowledge of the learner and

gives no clues to the learner’s oral performance.

ad) oral interview

This method can either take a form of an interview with an individual or of an

informal class discussion. Learners might be asked to talk about things that they

need to do in English or they can discuss areas of language that they are already

familiar with.

Regarding its advantages, it “draws [. . .] information about learner’s

priorities” (Wilberg 80). Moreover, it might reveal real motives for learning English,

whether it is learning new vocabulary, practising what they already know, preparing

for an exam, or activating their fluency.

However, this method is not advisable in large classes since the discussion can

easily result in “a few confident and capable students dominating the others”

(Nolasco 18) and also not until positive relationships are developed, because this

inquiry can be met with suspicion in initial stages of a course.

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ad) needs analysis

Using this method, the learner communicates “the main outlines of their own

personal and professional world” (Wilberg 78) and reveals if their needs are

individual, professional, or both. Consequently, the teacher will be able to make

a list of areas that the learner might need to know based on their preferences.

This analysis can be carried out in the form of open sentences for completion,

multiple choice or even graphical or tabular formats (Wilberg 78). Examples of

completed open sentences are in Appendix 4.

Such an analysis gives the learner the benefit of realizing their own needs and

especially in smaller classes or individual courses, the teacher can base their

teaching on the needs and priorities highlighted in these analyses.

ad) essay

Learners might be for instance assigned to write one page on Why I want to

learn English and what helps me to learn it (see Appendix 5). What is positive is

that learners can write the paper at home and they have time to think about it.

However, there is a risk of learners’ cheating at home. Besides, an essay shows

learner’s ability only in one skill – writing and, especially in large classes, it is time-

consuming for the teacher to read all the essays.

ad) briefing from another teacher

A short discussion with a teacher who has been teaching our future learners

might be very beneficial, because we, as their new teachers, can be prepared for the

very first lesson. Nonetheless, the new teacher must avoid influences of so called

positive and negative halo effects.

A halo effect is likely to be strongest on teachers who are “inexperienced in

assessment” [3]. Under the influence of a positive halo effect, a very bright learner

can be characterized as “exuberant or vigorous” [4] while teacher’s negative halo

effect is usually connected with troublesome or misbehaved learners.

These halo effects are very unreliable information for the new teacher.

Therefore, the new teacher should avoid advantaging or disadvantaging learners

among others before they know the learners personally.

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After carrying out any of these methods, the necessary next step for the teacher

is to analyse, summarise and consequently incorporate the findings into their

teaching programme.

3.2.2. Adjustment to learner’s needs

After finding out learners’ needs, the teacher must strive to organize their class

in such a way that “it becomes possible to offer a different menu to different

learners and so cater for their needs” (Sturtridge 9). For instance, this can be

implemented by dividing the class into pairs or groups to work on materials that are

of different levels or of different contents.

However, since the needs and motivation of the learners may vary throughout

the time of the course, it is essential for a teacher to readjust when things are not

working well. I am personally convinced that such an adjustment is much easier in

a one-to-one course. My reasons are stated thereunder.

First, guessing according to the number of learners in a group course, I reckon

that the teacher accumulates much more information about their only student than

they are able to learn about an individual in a group.

Second, many individuals in a group course equals many interests, many

learning styles and many personalities. Under such circumstances, the teacher is

often pressed to use or devise materials for lessons that are more or less neutral and

which can be used by several individuals at the same time.

Third, group learning has traditionally concentrated on general vocabulary and

grammar in a pre-selected material, usually a coursebook. In a one-to-one course,

however, learners’ needs tend to be much more specific. Many individuals require

specific and personalized vocabulary to do their jobs. This may be more challenging

for the teacher on the one hand in terms of their knowledge of terms and preparation

for the lessons, but on the other hand, there is a great space for learner’s input that

the teacher may use in their lessons.

To sum up these three arguments, I presume that lessons that fully present all

learner’s needs can be only realized in a one-to-one course, yet the teacher cannot

create a fully individualized response in a group class. I reckon that meeting various

needs and desires of learners in a group course usually end up in a compromise.

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3.3. Learning styles

Each person learns in a different way and even two people of the same

profession can have different learning styles. Therefore, it is teacher’s task to

identify and meet their learner’s ways of learning, since different things work for

different people.

Many model learning styles exist. I personally like Gardner’s model based on

his theory of eight intelligences best. According to him, there are all types of

language learning styles outlined in Appendix 6 with their most prominent

characteristics [2].

However, the teacher also needs to take into account that learners are not

homogenous in their learning styles - they might learn a language via a combination

of several means of learning styles at a time.

Some learners already know what their learning style is and they can

consciously follow their learning model. Yet others do not know in which way they

learn best. In this case, teacher’s task is to help the learners know their learning

style. Numerous style surveys, tests and even class activities have been created for

this purpose and some of them are presented in Appendix 7.

Since the teacher cannot re-educate students in their learning style, it is their

task to account such differences among learners and modify their teaching according

to the prevailing learning style of their learners. Valuable pieces of advice of how

the teacher can help learners with different styles are shown in Appendix 8.

In comparison with group teaching, in one-to-one courses the teacher can

easily adopt their work to needs of the only learner. On the other hand, the more

people are in a group course, the more personal differences are expected to be

among individual learners. That is why the teacher in a large class has a challenging

task to take all their differences into account and to prepare their teaching activities

and aids for learning so that “they have a choice” (Murphey 18). One example of

meeting different learning styles for a revision is demonstrated in Appendix 9.

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3.4. Creating the positive learning environment

Although it might seem obvious, the very first tasks that the teacher has when

their course starts in order to create the positive learning environment, are to

remember learners’ names and to address the learners properly, because it has been

proved that “the teacher’s inaccurate use of, or failure to use learners’ names has

a direct correlation with inattention and discipline problems” (Nolasco 10).

Concerning the first task, remembering learners’ names not only indicates

that the teacher cares about the learners, but it also creates a much friendlier learning

environment in class. In order to remember names easily, the learners should sit in

the same places, play name learning games and the teacher should address them

with their names as often as possible.

Concerning the second task, the teacher should never start with being on first

terms with their learners even when they are much younger. Moreover, especially in

case of foreign names, the teacher should learn the correct pronunciation, because

„nobody likes to have their name pronounced badly” (Nolasco 12).

Similarly, not to insult somebody’s social status, it is advisable to let the

learners write their name cards in the way they want to be addressed by the teacher.

Whatever the address, the choice of the learner should be always respected by the

teacher.

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3.5. Teacher

Regarding effective teaching in whichever form of the course, the personality

of the teacher is also a crucial factor to consider, because, as Edge points out, there

are “as many differences between them as [between] learners” (12). Every teacher is

different and they can vary in their age, sex, experience, approach to learners, way

of teaching or their knowledge of the language.

3.5.1. The ideal teacher

In order to maximize the effectiveness of a course for learners, a teacher

should approach the notion of an ideal teacher. Murphey describes such a person as

“a highly trained teacher who also remains empathic and broadminded” (32). Smit

adds that a successful teacher should also have “total command of their subject [and

be] as much a professional as is the client” (qtd. in Murphey 40), while Nolasco

emphasizes that an ideal teacher “pays attention to all the learners” (105).

First, while I am in full agreement with the former and the last opinion, I do

not fully agree with Smit about teacher’s absolute knowledge of the language in

practice. I presume that the cornerstone of successful teaching is what Murphey

calls “collaborative approach to learning” (54), which means teacher’s willingness

to be taught by their learners, too, because it is the teacher who commands

techniques of successful learning, while it is the learner who has the specialized

knowledge of their field. In this way, also the teacher can learn a lot from their

learners.

Second, I would add to the definition of the ideal teacher an ability to create

a positive relationship with their learners, because I personally think that the better

relationship is established in the beginning, the better mutual cooperation and the

greater willingness to cope with difficulties are created.

The last but not least, the teacher should be well-organized in order to be the

right example for their learners. Finally, the teacher should be always positive about

activities that they are using, because, as Gower supports, “if you think the material

is boring, you are likely to end up with a bored class” (56).

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3.5.2. Teacher’s attitudes and modes

Based on the personality of the teacher, each teacher develops their own style

of teaching. Wilberg classifies several teacher’s attitudes to their teaching (50 and

70), to name a few:

formal x informal

casual x strict

teacher x student directed

serious x light-hearted

speedy x slow

relaxed x intense

Without any doubt, each mode of teaching carries a certain message,

influences the way learners feel and participate in the lessons and different modes

are undoubtedly effective in different learners.

However, a question arises to what extend the teacher should respond to

learners’ claim on the teaching mode. On the one hand, Wilberg claims that the

teacher must respond to “student’s moves in a way that is conductive to their joint

work” (72). On the other hand, Gower opposes him and asserts that the manner of

teaching should be natural to the teacher and that the teacher should not “put on

a performance” (56). This divergence of opinions will be dealt with thoroughly in

the following chapter.

3.5.3. Teacher’s needs

As it has been foreshadowed, learners’ needs and claims might be sometimes

inconsistent with teacher’s own styles and priorities, which is especially true with

adolescent learners.

Sure enough, the teacher should teach in a way that is helpful to the learners,

their interests and that reflects their personality. However, their teaching should not

collide with their own beliefs. In other words, the teacher should find his adjustment

to the learner satisfying and meaningful also for themselves, because, as Wilberg

puts it well, the lesson is “a two-sided affair and without [teacher’s] involvement the

student is not going to be motivated either” (55).

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Another point worth mentioning is the need of teacher’s own development.

Flanders warns that “we as teachers have fossilised [. . .] if we think we have

nothing to learn from [our students]” (qtd. in Murphey 66). Gallwey emphasizes that

“the teacher should be learning as much [. . .] during his lessons as his students”

(qtd. in Murphey 66), because he finds teachers to be learners, too.

The ways we can develop as teachers are severalfolds. First, the teacher should

have a critical approach to their own teaching. They should self-evaluate their way

of teaching in relation to the effectiveness for their learners. Second, as Nolasco

recommends, teachers should practise peer observation (105), which means visiting

each other’s lessons from time to time in order to learn new things and to learn one’s

weaknesses. One example of a peer observation is shown in Appendix 10.

An alternative to peer observation is making an audio or video tape recording

of one’s own teaching in order to see own verbal and non-verbal ways of teaching.

The only drawback is that a camcorder might make the students feel uneasy and

they might not behave naturally.

3.5.4. Teacher’s roles

In connection with effective teaching, a role of the teacher in class is also

crucial to consider, since the teacher is “the most powerful person in the classroom”

(Edge 11). Accordingly, Nolasco offers several roles which a teacher should adopt

in their classes (40-1):

facilitator devices learning tasks and helps the students find sources

of information

advisor gives advice if this is required

instructor passes on information directly

questioner makes sure that students have learned what is required

by asking questions

organiser makes sure that books, materials, etc. are in the right

place at the right time

agent of discipline keeps order

provider issues books and materials

evaluator gives students feedback

setter of social creates the mood and atmosphere of the lesson

19

climate

In addition, there are other functions according to Wilberg that the teacher

might take on – a motivator, an initiator and an explainer (50). Murphey suggests

a role of a mirror (68) that can help the teacher to tune into learner’s personality.

However, Murphey does not mean that the teacher starts aping the learner. Rather,

he emphasizes “imitating learner’s behaviour” (67), but also reacting to learner’s

mood. Moreover, this mirroring helps to build rapport with the learners.

In my opinion, the primary responsibility of the teacher is to be goal-oriented,

which means to “lead the student through the mass of available information toward

a goal” (Lancaster 241) that the teacher and the learner set in the beginning of the

course.

Second, the teacher should be a good observer of “what helps individuals to

listen, speak, and learn” (Wilberg 10), but also a good observer of what activities

and topics the learners find interesting and enjoyable, what learners find easy or too

difficult so that the teacher can adapt to their level of English (Gower 34).

The third fundamental role that I value highly is of a motivator who

encourages and initiates learners’ interest by asking them questions that the learners

“will enjoy answering” (qtd. by Wright in Murphey 67) and by giving them work

that is relevant to their outside lives. Another way of motivating learners is to show

understanding when the learners are speaking English. In this way, the teacher helps

to build up learners’ confidence by proving that they are able to communicate

successfully in the foreign language.

Finally, in order to be able to do so, teacher’s most important task is to become

a setter who establishes “a trusting relationship with the group” (Nolasco 54) and

who creates positive learning atmosphere so that learners feel safe with the teacher.

As a result, the learners will take part in the lesson, will open themselves to learning

and hence will be willing to “make risk making mistakes” (Edge 11).

Regarding differences of teacher’s roles in group and individual courses, the

most visible difference, as Wilberg can see it, is group teaching of one-to-many,

while individual teaching of many-to-many (6). In other words, the teacher in

a group course can theoretically occupy just one role that is targeted to many

learners in the class. However, the teacher in one-to-one has to perform many roles

in order to involve the individual learner in different activities.

20

Another difference is that the teacher in a one-to-one course can be a continual

controller and mirror of their only learner. Similarly, because of the number of

learners, teacher’s role of a setter of a close and trusting relationship with the learner

is much easier. In this way, the teacher more seems to assume a role of “a partner”

rather than of “a language authority” (Wilberg 6).

On the other hand, unlike a one-to-one course where teacher’s fundamental

role is of a constant participant, the teacher in a group course can afford to be

a distant observer of their learners and stand in the background while the learners

interact (Murphey 18). However, since only one non-cooperative learner can disrupt

the whole activity, the main role of the teacher in a group course is of an instructor

so that all learners participate and interact in class. Yet to ensure the participation of

all learners, the teacher should also be a motivator and a setter of co-operative

atmosphere and of group dynamics.

3.5.5. Teacher’s aims

First and foremost, as Wilberg declares, the aim of each teacher should be to

“teach the target language” (21) and to teach the learners “language skills” (21)

while the learners provide the teacher with input at the same time. Another scholar,

namely Edge, argues that the real goal of language teaching is “communication” in

the target language (17), which means to “get, give, or exchange information” (18).

I personally add to this account teaching only language that is used in real-life

situations and that is simultaneously immediately useful for the learners.

When dealing with other teacher’s aims in teaching, Geddes stresses teacher’s

effort to orientate their lessons towards learners, not to themselves (76). As Gower

confirms, if the teacher over-dominates, the learners “tend to invest little of

themselves in the class” (59). What this means is that the teacher should minimize

lecturing, talking and prescribing in their lessons in favour of their learners’

maximum possibility of communication.

In addition, the teacher should encourage learners’ independence from the

teacher, for example by using groupwork, presentations, peer correction or

dictionaries so that the learners are able to learn on their own, or by recommending

them reference books or useful websites (Appendix 11) where they can

independently improve their learning.

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Finally, each teacher should also have their personal aim. I personally seek to

learn a new thing in each lesson, for instance, new information about my learners,

a new skill, new vocabulary or I try out a new activity or a teaching aid with the

intention of improving my teaching. In this way, each lesson enriches not only my

learners, but me as well.

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4. Teaching materials and resources

This chapter deals with choosing an appropriate coursebook, whether the

teacher should use a coursebook with respect to a form of the course and what other

resources the teacher should use in order to make their teaching effective for their

learners.

4.1. Coursebooks in group courses

In favour of using a coursebook in class, a coursebook is something “what

many students expect” to use in a course (77). Second, as Gower acknowledges,

since all modern coursebooks are graded according to the CEF level (Appendix 12),

this creates a kind of “psychological security” (Murphey 58) in learners, especially

in those who are preparing for an exam in English, that they are taught the proper

level, grammar, skills, functions and topics necessary for their level of English.

Moreover, when a teacher follows the syllabus in a coursebook, learners can easily

trace back what has been done in a particular lesson if they happen to skip a lesson.

Using a coursebook is also advantageous to the teacher, because it is a source

of tried and tested activities (Gower 77). Besides, each unit is usually well-balanced

in order to practice all four learning skills in one lesson. In addition to this, the

coursebook is usually accompanied with a workbook for learners’ practice and also

teacher’s book that offers formatted materials without any teacher’s work.

On the other hand, coursebooks are usually aimed at “an abstract average

student” (Wilberg 15) in order to be appealing to as many learners as possible. That

is why it is not always easy to find a coursebook that suits the specific needs and

interests of all learners in a class. Moreover, Gower argues that every coursebook

also necessarily needs adapting to the age, culture and ability of the learners (78).

Second, it should be pointed out that since units are ready-made in

coursebooks, using them can “stop the teacher from being creative” (Gower 78) and

from searching new texts and materials that might interest their learners. On account

of this teacher’s passivity, Underhill warns that there is danger that the teacher

reduces themselves to “a materials operator” (qtd. in Murphey 54) who only refers

to things to do.

As a result, since no coursebook provides a tailor-made recipe for all learners,

the teacher should follow Gower’s advice and consider the following criteria of

a coursebook according to the needs, interests, level and age of the learners (84):

23

1) layout and presentation – density on the page, use of colour, illustrations

2) ease of access – contents page, index, reference sections, glossary

3) topics – variety, interest, cultural balance

4) language content – grammar and functions included, vocabulary,

pronunciation, balance of skills, ordering of language items

Moreover, the teacher should also personalize all activities to suit the learners

as much as possible. In other words, the teacher should think about parts of

a coursebook which can be omitted and about activities which need supplementing

with materials from other sources. Furthermore, the teacher should enable learners

to select materials that are relevant and useful for them. As a result, they will be

“more motivated when they have the choice” (Murphey 26).

4.2. Coursebooks in one-to-one courses

As for choosing a coursebook in a one-to-one course, there is a remarkable

shortage of coursebooks or materials that specifically address one-to-one teaching.

Still other coursebooks have been targeted mainly at Business English, for instance

Business one: one by Oxford.

This arouses a feeling of pity due to the increasing demand for individual

courses. Therefore, teachers of these courses have little or no chance to be guided or

to be inspired by already published materials. Hence, inexperienced teachers usually

apply in a one-to-one course what they have learnt about class teaching.

On the one hand, the teacher in one-to-one situation is reliant on auditing

a coursebook designed for a group course. Wilberg proposes several points to

consider when auditing a coursebook for a one-to-one learner (67). To pinpoint

some:

1) Does the coursebook contribute to an overall course objective?

2) Are units of most relevance to the student?

3) Is language presented relevant to student’s needs?

4) Are topics relevant?

5) Are exercises and activities appropriate? Do they practise the

relevant skills?

24

6) Are activities interesting? Do they stimulate/motivate the student?

7) Does the material provide space for student’s input?

In this way, the teacher creates “a personal [coursebook] for each student”

(Wilberg 54) by omitting, supplementing or adding extra exercises according to the

needs and interests of the learner, which reminds us closely of the process of using

a coursebook in a group course.

On the other hand, there is an alternative to a coursebook in a one-to-one

course – using no coursebook at all, because, as Wilberg sets out, “coursebooks may

be 90 per cent redundant to a particular student’s needs or contain far too many units

for a short course” (69).

In this case, the learner themselves becomes the primary material for the

teacher. The teacher prepares an individual lesson by utilizing authentic or

biographical materials provided by the learner. In this way, the learner gradually

creates their own, personalized file which becomes a record of the course.

Unlike a group course, using personalized materials can never lead the teacher

to routine or repetition. Although these highly individual materials can hardly ever

be used for another individual learner, at least the ideas and techniques that the

teacher has used can be used again.

4.3. Teaching materials in both forms of courses

What is common for both forms of courses is the requirement for providing the

right coursebook or material for learners. In other words, the material should not be

too difficult to discourage the learners, the material should be based on learner’s

interests and, finally, the teacher must create space for learner’s input (Wilberg 77).

I highly recommend supplementing any coursebook with real-life materials,

such as newspaper articles, advertisements, programmes, menus or leaflets that are

meaningful for the learner, even though it takes some teacher’s time to find the

relevant ones. The reason is that they provide examples of real language, cultural

content and they also “add value [to the lesson] when current concerns are

discussed” (Murphey 59).

Moreover, all communicative tasks should be authentic for the learner so that

everything has some relevance to the learner. Also the teacher should be authentic in

25

their lessons by saying something of themselves from time to time, because it “far

more likely engages the interest and attention of the learner” (Wilberg 25) than

teacher’s speaking without saying anything.

A variety of materials that the teacher is using is another necessary condition

for making a lesson effective. Materials should come from various sources and

should concern various topics. Besides, it is also advisable for the teacher to have

a wide range of biographical topics prepared for the learner in order to base their

communication on learner’s opinions and experiences. One such summary of topics

for learner’s biographical talks has been prepared by Peter Wilberg (see Appendix

13).

4.4. Supplementary materials and resources

Fortunately, there is a wide range of supplementary materials accessible in this

country nowadays. Among them, there are resource books, skills books, readers,

magazines, websites or computer programmes which I am going to deal with at

length in this chapter.

In my opinion, main reasons for using supplementary materials to

a coursebook in class is that they not only provide practice in grammar and language

skills, but they also enlarge learner’s vocabulary and, primarily, add variety and

enjoyment to the lesson, because the learners can engage in role plays, simulations,

group work, drills or language games. However, the teacher must bear in mind that

using supplementary activities in class is not simply “a series of unrelated fun

activities” (Gower 80) or a time-filler, but they should rather ensure that each and

every activity or material fulfils the aim and objective of the lesson.

ad) resource books

From my own experience, they are an excellent source of practical activities

for learners. Moreover, activities can be used many times with different classes or

individual learners when adapted to suit their needs. Naturally, these activities are

designed to focus on several language points and are divided according to learner’s

level of English. To name some that I am personally using:

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a) for practicing grammar:

- Basic English Usage Exercises by J. Seidl and M. Swan (Oxford)

- Zajímavá témata 4 – Anglicky každý den o trochu lépe (INFOA)

- A Practical English Grammar by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet (Oxford)

- Grammar with Laughter by G. Woodlard (Thomson)

- Essential Grammar in Use – Elementary by R. Murphy (Cambridge)

- Essential Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises by R. Murphy and H.

Naylor (Cambridge)

- Grammar Practice for Upper-Intermediate Students by E. Walker and S.

Elsworth (Longman)

- English Grammar in Use – Intermediate by R. Murphy (Cambridge)

- Play Games with English 2 by C. Granger (Heinemann)

- 50 Mixed-Ability Grammar Lessons by Mary Glasgow Magazines

(Scholastic)

b) for practicing vocabulary:

- Vocabulary Practice by Juraj Belán (Didaktis)

- English Vocabulary in Use Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate by S. Redman

(Cambridge)

- Timesaver Vocabulary Activities by Mary Glasgow Magazines (Scholastic)

- Slovní zásoba 3- Anglicky každý den o trochu lépe (INFOA)

- Vocabulary in Practice 1 to 4 by G. Pye (Cambridge)

ad) skills books

As Gower suggests, these books are halfway through “a very carefully graded

coursebook and ungraded authentic material” (79). However, rather than on specific

areas of language as in the previous section, these books focus on four language

skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening. Still, it is possible for the teacher to

make use of just those units that fit their syllabus. Again, a list of skills books that I

am personally using is stated thereinafter:

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a) for reading

- Reading Extra by L. Driscoll (Cambridge)

- First Impressions by S. Eckstut, et al. (Longman)

- Challenge to Think: Teacher’s Edition by Ch. Frank, et al. (Oxford)

- Timesaver Reading Lessons by Mary Glasgow Magazines (Scholastic)

- Timesaver Read and React by Mary Glasgow Magazines (Scholastic)

b) for writing

- Writing Extra by G. Palmer (Cambridge)

- Writing 1: Cambridge Skills for Fluency by A. Littlejohn (Cambridge)

- Timesaver Writing Activities by Mary Glasgow Magazines (Scholastic)

- Writing Intermediate by A. Maley (Oxford)

- In the Picture by T. Hedge (Nelson)

- Pen to Paper by T. Hedge (Nelson)

c) for speaking:

- Timesaver Speaking Activities by Mary Glasgow Magazines (Scholastic)

- Now You’re Talking Pre-Intermediate by D. Hall and M. Foley (Nelson)

- Pair Work: Student A and B by Peter Watcyn-Jones (Penguin)

- Let’s Talk by E. and A. Peck (Fraus)

- Speaking Extra by M. Gammidge (Cambridge)

d) for listening

- Listening Extra by Miles Craven (Cambridge)

- Active Listening – Levels 1 to 3 - by M. Helgesen (Cambridge)

- http://www.eslpod.com/website/index.php

- http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia

- http://www.npr.org

- http://askaboutenglish.blogspot.com/search/label/Audio%2FVisual

ad) readers

These books designated for learners of English can either have simplified

content (Penguin Readers) or can be graded according to English levels (Oxford,

Macmillan Readers), which ensures comprehensible input for their readers. Some of

28

them are even bilingual (INFOA) so that learners can immediately refer to the

translation of unknown words. A teacher can find a wide range of genres among

them. In addition, there is audio support available to most of the books, which may

practise learner’s listening skill at the same time.

This extensive reading can develop or strengthen learners’ attitude to reading

and enrich their vocabulary, in consequence of which they will make overall

progress in English. Extensive reviews of accessible readers offered by Penguin

Readers and Macmillan Readers can be looked at in Appendix 14.

ad) magazines

Since they are written directly for EFL learners, they are graded according to

English levels. Furthermore, their content covers both appealing topics to learners

and interesting facts about British culture. Some examples of these magazines,

which are primarily aimed at teenagers, are:

- CLICK Elementary by Mary Glasgow Magazine (Scholastic)

- CROWN Pre-Intermediate by Mary Glasgow Magazine (Scholastic)

- TEAM Intermediate by Mary Glasgow Magazine (Scholastic)

ad) websites

Some useful websites for teachers and their learners for practicing English:

- www.primarysources.co.uk

- http://eleaston.com/methods.html

- www.getworksheets.com

- www.eslflashcards.com

- www.theteachercorner.net

- www.learnenglish.org.uk

- www.abcteach.com

- www.easyenglish.com

- www.onestopenglish.com

- http://a4esl.org/a/g3.html

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ad) computer programmes

Computer software Hot Potatoes 6 can be helpful for revising various language

items in English. It is a very useful tool for preparing tailor-made exercises for

learners, because they can immediately see whether their answers are correct or not

and they can also see the correct answers at the end of the exercise. One example of

an exercise made in this programme can be found in Appendix 15.

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5. Key differences

As I have already stated in my hypothesis, I presume that there are certain

characteristics that influence effectiveness of these two forms. In this chapter, I try

to specify these differences and demonstrate how they can contribute either

positively or negatively to the effectiveness of teaching.

5.1. In group teaching

Concerning advantages of group teaching, Murphey considers its power to be

in pairs, peer tutoring and small group discussions and in observing peers (6).

Moreover, Geddes stresses the teacher’s variety of roles that can be either central

and controlling or that of a “non-participating monitor of events” (65), which is

infeasible in an individual course.

On the other hand, dealing with disadvantages of a group course, learners that

are to meet regularly in one class come from varying backgrounds, have diverse

abilities, learn in a different way and, mainly, feel that “their personal interests [. . .]

should determine [. . .] the content of the lessons” (Gower 185).

However, I fully agree with Gower who claims that the teacher has no other

way to meet all their needs than to “balance what individual learners [. . .] need with

what the class as a whole needs” (184). In other words, although the content of

a group course is originally composed of all learners’ needs, the resulting group

teaching is based on “what different learners have in common” (9), as Wilberg

nicely puts it.

In this way, the teacher creates some standard image of learners’ needs,

because it would be unwise to let some learners’ needs dominate the class. As

a result, some of learners’ individual needs become subordinated to those of the

group in order to find, as Geddes calls it, “neutral ground” (65) for all learners in the

group. Consequently, some learners might become less satisfied during the course.

In addition, teachers of group courses at language schools are often restricted

with a course syllabus. They are usually working from a coursebook and the content

of the course is covered in a syllabus that the teacher is bound to keep up with. In

this manner, learning efficiency is sacrificed (Geddes 64) at the expense of a fixed

syllabus.

31

Furthermore, due to the number of learners, they might feel less involved in

the class, which permits them to become “passive for long periods” (Wilberg 19) or

not to pay attention to the teacher at all. That is why, it is important for the teacher

to control the whole class and to “keep everyone awake and busy” (Nolasco 33).

In my opinion, all these factors of subordination of individual needs, restrictive

syllabus and split attention of the teacher may considerably reduce learning

efficiency of individuals in a group class.

5.2. In one-to-one teaching

On the one hand, to state benefits of an individual course, there is no balance

or even subordination of learner’s needs at the expense of something or somebody

else as in group teaching. Subsequently, the teacher can fully concentrate on and

adjust to all learner’s goals and needs and “build the course around the learner”

(Geddes 64).

Moreover, besides the flexibility of a teacher who can come to their learner’s

place or office, the learner can also decide what they want to learn, how they want to

learn and from what materials. In this manner, unlike a group, the learner provides

the content of the course by bringing “self-selected materials that they find relevant”

(Murphey 71), while the teacher provides a tailor-made syllabus that can be easily

adapted during the course in order to meet all immediate learner’s needs.

As far as pace of learning is concerned, learner’s pace of language acquisition

can be sensitively adjusted by the teacher without learner’s frustration of falling

behind other learners or “waiting for a slower classmate” (qtd. by Sturtridge in

Geddes 10).

Regarding communication in this form of a course, Geddes presumes that the

learner develops his “personal interlanguage” (66) more quickly and more naturally,

because there is a greater amount of learner’s talking time and, besides, the learner

is in authentic communication within the whole course, even in role-plays.

Besides, the learner can feel more comfortable due to their personal and

informal relationship with the teacher who acts more like a supportive partner than

a one-up. Therefore, especially an adult learner might not feel embarrassed for

“being corrected in front of his peers” (Geddes 66).

32

Furthermore, I am convinced that the individual can learn more effectively,

because the teacher gets “a lot of immediate feedback” (Wilberg 89) by

continuously monitoring learner’s progress and their errors. However, the teacher

should be aware of danger of over-loading the learner with constant “correction and

information” (Murphey 45) and avoid “advancing too quickly” (Wilberg 89).

Instead, the teacher should adapt to the learner’s pace and give them space for

learning and for self-correction.

On the other hand, the individual course also has some drawbacks. Most

importantly, this form of learning is unsuitable for learners who prefer “the spectator

role” (Murphey 18). If such an irresponsive learner attends this course, it might

result in the teacher being too verbal and dominant.

Furthermore, the learner, as well as the teacher, have no chance to rest,

because the learner has to be “on-line for a complete hour” (Murphey 41) being

forever addressing by the teacher. This total concentration might be very tiring for

both sides. Moreover, the individual may become too used to “hearing only

teacher’s English” (Wilberg 89), hence they may later have difficulties

understanding other people’s English. This problem, however, may be overcome by

frequent listening to tapes with various speakers of English.

The last but not least, the lesson might become monotonous or even boring for

the learner when looking at and interacting with the only person all the time - the

teacher - without any possibility of cooperation with other learners, group work or

class work.

To sum it up, I reckon that the self-regulation of a course without any

compromises, its intensity both for the learner and the teacher, using only authentic

communication, its space for learning, adjustment to learner’s pace, no group

control problems and the learner being the one-up are the main advantages of the

individual course that make it effective for the learner.

33

PRACTICAL PART

This second part of my thesis is divided into three main areas. The first one

surveys planning and managing classes, including materials, ideas, techniques and

strategies that a teacher can use in order to teach effectively in either individual or

group courses. The second part deals with effective correction and evaluation in

these courses. Finally, my hypothesis stated at the beginning of this thesis is tested

out in the third part on the basis of comparison with other teachers’ opinions which

they stated in anonymous questionnaires.

6. Methodology

As I have outlined in the theoretical part, I presume that there are considerable

differences in teaching group versus one-to-one courses. On grounds of these

distinctions, I am going to propose strategies in this chapter that a teacher can use in

their teaching if they want their learners to benefit maximally from each lesson.

6.1. Preparation before the course

I consider adequate preparation of the teacher for every class to be an essential

component of teacher’s basic duties. However, it also contributes to effective

learning, because both the teacher and their learners “are likely to be more relaxed

and [. . .] more productive” (Wilberg 63) in class if the teacher is well-prepared.

Not only does the teacher need to gather language materials, but also prepare

the classroom itself. Regarding the former, although many group courses have

a coursebook already assigned by the administration of the language school and

there are hardly any coursebooks for one-to-one courses in practice, it is teacher’s

general responsibility to examine ahead all, mainly specialized, materials that are

available so that the learners might choose those which are most relevant to their

needs and interests.

Concerning the later, the teacher should put everything necessary on the board

before the lesson proper and bring all needed equipment and materials not to “waste

time at the beginning of the lesson” (Gower 183). Besides, the teacher should decide

on the seating arrangement of learners in the classroom beforehand for “effective

and enjoyable study” (Wilberg 66).

34

Finally, before entering the classroom, the teacher should check that they have

everything they will need during the lesson, such as a lesson plan, technical

equipment or handouts, which are advised by Gower to be arranged in the order that

the teacher will need them (182).

What is also worth practicing for the teacher is their punctuality. They should

come to the lesson at the appointed time. This displays not only their

professionalism and their “positive attitude towards the lesson” (Gower 52), but that

learners will also take their habits from the teacher, which can positively contribute

to their rapport.

6.2. Lesson plan

The main reason why a teacher prepares a lesson plan is that every lesson

should have an aim of what the learners are expected to be able to do by the end of

each lesson. Therefore, designing a plan will constantly remind the teacher of the

proposed target. Moreover, by keeping lesson plans, the teacher can look at previous

lesson plans to remember what has been done and what should be revised in order

to maintain continuity of lessons.

Apart from the aim of the lesson, Gower also advises to include following

entries into the lesson plan (176):

- procedure

- approaches and activities

- materials

- aids and equipment

- anticipated problems

ad) procedure

The teacher should draft their plan according to the subject of language item.

Their mode of delivery of the language item should start with a lead-in, then

continue with more controlled and end with freer tasks. Besides, the tasks should be

easier for the learners in the beginning, followed by more difficult ones towards the

end. On top of that, tasks should be arranged from very active, such as warm-ups

and climax to quieter ones, such as follow-ups and cool-downs (see Appendix 16).

35

ad) approaches and activities

The essential condition for including activities into the lesson plan is their

relevance to the language item. As Gower stresses, each activity should have

“a clear idea of [its] purpose” (46). This means that the teacher should especially

avoid fun activities that only serve as a filler of time and which are hardly relevant

to the language item.

Moreover, the teacher should include a wide range of activities to be used in

their lesson. Gower distinguishes controlled, guided and creative activities (44). An

example of the former ones are drills or short dialogues (see Appendix 17) where

the teacher decides on the exact language to be used and where only one answer is

correct. Concerning the guided activities, they are characterized by certain freedom

of the learners to choose the language. (see Appendix 18). However, Gower

suggests using the more controlled and guided practice, the lower the level of the

learners is (101). During the latter activities, though the teacher supplies the

motivation, the learners are free to use any language. This type of activities develops

especially speaking and writing skills in learners (see Appendix 19).

ad) materials

First and foremost, the teacher should choose only materials that they presume

to be interesting for their learners. Moreover, they should be balanced in terms of

language skills. In other words, the learners should have equal opportunities to read,

write, listen and speak English during each lesson. Besides, chosen materials should

practice both fluency and accuracy of the learners and, above all, they should create

“opportunity [for the learners] to talk to each other” (Gower 45). And finally, the

activities in a group course should not only include class work and group work, but

also pair work and individual work.

ad) anticipated problems

Each lesson plan should also include notes about what the teacher estimates

that might be difficult for the learners during the lesson. Usually, the most frequent

problems appear in language items where the first language differs from English.

Therefore, the teacher should strive to stress the differences in order to prevent

possible misunderstandings in learners.

36

Besides, according to Gower, the teacher might outline substitute activities for

unexpected situations, for instance if the learners have already met the material, if

they find the material too easy or too difficult or if some learners finish before the

others (178).

It is also advisable to keep the lesson plan simple (Gower 179), with numbered

sections or references to pages and with the most important elements highlighted so

that the teacher can refer to it quickly.

Above all, the lesson plan should only serve as a lead for the teacher and

“should never prevent [the teacher] from responding to the needs of the moment”

(Gower 175). In other words, the pace of the lesson should always reflect the pace

and progress of the learners, not the anticipated time allocated for each activity.

Therefore, the teacher should be always able to adapt their lesson plan by speeding

up, slowing down, omitting an activity, or proceeding to another one according to

actual circumstances.

For the personal development of the teacher, I suggest that the teacher goes

through the plan after the end of each lesson in order to revise it and make remarks

of what worked and what did not work well. In this manner, the teacher learns from

their every lesson, which can improve their future lessons to its greater effectiveness

for learners.

6.2.1. Lesson plan of a group course

In my opinion, the core of each lesson plan should be learners’ needs.

Accordingly, on grounds of these needs, a teacher considers the format, the content

and the language (Wilberg 65) and consequently selects appropriate materials to be

used in a lesson. However, in majority of group courses, a course programme is

already set to fit the timetable (see Appendix 20).

I fully take Wilberg’s side who claims that lesson planning is “an art of

selection” (53). This can be especially true in intensive group courses where

different learners come with different needs, but all expect from the teacher to fulfill

them and, on top, in a very short time. Therefore, the teacher should cover up a wide

range of topics in their plans to satisfy miscellaneous needs of the learners.

To take the main advantage of group courses – interaction of their participants,

activities should be preferably mingling ones, because, as Gower claims, they not

37

only give valuable talking time for the learners since they listen to each other rather

than to the teacher, but they also encourage rapport between learners (45) (see

Appendix 21).

Another effective type of activities suitable for group courses are problem-

solving activities in pairs or in small groups, because they encourage fluent,

uninterrupted communication among learners and a valuable exchange of learners’

opinions (see Appendix 22).However, regardless of the type of activity, the attention

span among learners, especially the younger and again among older ones, can be

very short. That is why it is vital to plan “frequent changes of focus or activity

within a lesson” (Nolasco 35). Also telling a good joke can do wonders (see

Appendix 23).

At the end of each lesson, it is advantageous to learners to summarize what

they did. In this manner, the learners are reminded of the aims of their short-term

goals. Wilberg also recommends the teacher to prepare some “take-away products”

(54) for each lesson, such as worksheets, transcripts or cards (see Appendix 24). so

that learners have a direct proof of what they have achieved Moreover, in order to

motivate the learners and to “help them to look forward to [. . .] their next lesson”

(Gower 54), at the end of each lesson, the teacher can tell them something

interesting that will happen in their next lesson so that they do not miss the

following lesson.

6.2.2. Lesson plan of a one-to-one course

Unlike preparing a lesson plan for groups, this one can be more adjustable for

the learner. One example is a “self-directing” lesson plan (Murphey 22), which

means that the learner themselves controls the content of the lesson and the way

they want to learn. In this way, the learner brings their own materials to the class,

such as brochures, manuals, correspondence, reports or a personal material that they

want to employ in their lessons.

Another way of preparing the contents of an individual course to write a lesson

plan based on interpretation of learner’s needs analysis. However, even in this case,

the contents of lesson plans should be able to alter easily not only within the lesson,

but also within a duration of the course, according to actual learner’s needs.

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All in all, materials prepared by the teacher should be as diverse as possible.

The reason is twofold. First, to meet a wide range of learner’s needs and second, to

hold learner’s attention. Wilberg lists some formats that the teacher can utilize in

order to keep variety in their one-to-one classes (78):

- formatted pages

- dialogues

- presentations

- cards

- dictation

- drill

- reading aloud

- language graphs

- gestures, actions

The wider this choice that the teacher has at their disposal, the more likely is

that the individual learner finds something which fits their particular needs (see

Appendix 25). However, the teacher should also fully make use of the main

advantage of one-to-one courses – possibility of learner’s input in the lessons.

Wilberg offers various formats for learner’s input (151), such as:

- open dialogues (see Appendix 26)

- CLL

- interview (see Appendix 27)

- telephone calls (see Appendix 28)

- letter writing (see Appendix 29)

- role play (see Appendix 30)

Unlike the lesson plan of a group course that needs to have good timing of all

stages so that learners “do not go away with the feeling that the lesson finished

badly” (Gower 54), it might happen in an individual lesson that it ends up with

another outcome than had been anticipated, for instance a different tense or

language function is discussed or revised. This may occur quite frequently, because

39

the teacher sees first hand if a certain activity or topic is interesting for the learner or

not (Murphey 42) and can immediately replace it for another activity or topic.

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6.3. First lesson

6.3.1. First lesson in a group course

In a group course, the first lesson is typically organizational. Its main aim for

the learners is to get to know each other so that “they are comfortable working

together” (Murphey 58) during the rest of the course and the main aim for the

teacher is to find out learners’ needs and desires.

Typical first lesson activities are ice-breaker activities (see Appendix 31) for

knowing each other better, followed by individual work such as Unique me or

completing a personal profile form (see Appendix 32).

Using these egocentric activities in class not only gives the learners an

opportunity to talk about themselves, which most learners love, but it also places

them in the role of the one-up, because they “know the information [that] the teacher

does not” (Murphey 62) and, above all, no answer is wrong.

Furthermore, pair activities such as an interview on some personal information

are a good method how to employ all learners to be active at the same time. Group

activities such as What we have in common, and also class activities such as Find

someone who or The last person who contribute to establishing a good class

relationship and cooperation among learners.

Moreover, towards the end of the first lesson, learners complete a needs list or

a questionnaire of their study habits and the ways they think they learn best (see

Appendix 33) so that the teacher understands what the learners want from the

course, they identify what kind of learners they have in class, what their

achievements and strong points are.

To sum this lesson up, learners should not be corrected in their very first

lesson so that they have a feeling that English can be fun and easy. On top of that,

the first lesson should end with an easy and amusing task so that learners leave the

class with a positive feeling and look forward to the next lesson. For an example of

a group lesson plan, see Appendix 34.

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6.3.2. First lesson in a one-to-one course

To start with in the very first lesson, the teacher should briefly and moderately

introduce themselves to the learner. However, I stress the words briefly and

moderately in order to avoid the negative feeling in the learner of being the one-

down.

After that, the learner might be asked to represent themselves, their profession

and their needs and expectations from the course (see Appendix 35). Various

formatted pages, such as a registration form or a questionnaire (see Appendix 36)

may be used during this interview so that the learner can easily refer to the language.

It is advisable to put more interesting questions in the questionnaire first in order to

“catch the learner’s attention” (Wilberg 65) and for the learner to see its usefulness.

In this way, the teacher draws the information they need in order to tailor their

following lessons to learner’s needs.

In order to balance the roles, the learner might be then asked to interview the

teacher or an imaginary person in the same way and then to summarize what the

person has learned. The teacher can either pre-teach some useful phrases or

expressions or they can focus their attention to the use of language after the activity

and reformulate what the learner has said “at the level one degree above their

performance level” (Wilberg 99).

Then, the learner can be asked to write an account of their typical day on their

working or personal life or to describe their plans for the coming week or month. As

a next step, the learner presents this account orally. After teacher’s reformulation of

learner’s speech, the learner re-presents their account in this reformulated language.

It is always important for the learner not only to note down but also repeat the

reformulated language in order to remember the correct language better.

To close with, the teacher should have a stock of topics and materials prepared

to discuss especially in the first lesson. However, the teacher should not exploit all

their topics and activities but rather offer choices and let the learner talk about what

is pleasant and natural to them. For an example of a one-to-one lesson plan, see

Appendix 37.

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6.4. Organizing and managing classes

In my opinion, another essential part of effective teaching is mastered

classroom management, because without it, as Nolasco claims, confidence in the

teacher can erode (23) and in consequence, learners are unlikely to continue learning

under a badly-organized teacher.

That is why I explore various techniques for organizing and managing a class

in this chapter, such as maintaining discipline, giving effective instructions and

checking their understanding so that both the teacher and the learners know what is

going on in the lesson.

6.4.1. Class management

Necessity and extent of maintaining discipline in a class depend mainly on the

size of the class, but also on the age of learners, their motivation for learning and on

the respect for the teacher (Gower 60). This implies that the more learners, the

younger and the less-motivated ones, the stronger the discipline is necessary.

As Nolasco believes, the teacher can establish effective classroom

management via discipline and order and a positive environment (21-2). Regarding

the former, the teacher should be firm, but fair to their learners and create a few

reasonable rules which they also stick to. Concerning the latter, the learners should

have “a sense of purpose” (21) in classes.

Moreover, in order to manage a class effectively, the teacher needs to gain

respect in their learners. Gower outlines some qualities that characterize a respected

teacher (60-1):

- punctual

- well-prepared for the lesson

- returns homework promptly

- does what he/she says he/she is going to do

- treats learners consistently and fairly

- does not ignore problems

- never loses his/her temper

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Usually, the most challenging task in class management for each teacher is to

find the right balance between exercising control and creating a friendly, relaxed

atmosphere in the class. However, Gower proposes that the teacher sometimes has

to sacrifice their popularity for respect (60), which is particularly true in large

classes of teenagers.

Besides maintaining discipline, giving poor instructions that might confuse

learners is also a common problem in organizing classes. Therefore, it is necessary

that the teacher always gives the right instructions to their learners. In order to do so,

Nolasco suggest giving them a list of classroom instructions at the beginning of

a course (37), such as Useful Language Bookmark from a coursebook First Choice

(see Appendix 38). Besides, he advises the teacher to avoid giving the instructions at

length (27), because they are difficult to follow, but rather in stages (24). Another

scholar recommends not giving out handouts to the learners before the instructions

(Gower 40), because they might distract their attention. Gower also insists on

a demonstration of the task to the learners (41), which I reckon to be an excellent

idea, because visual demonstration seems to be more acceptable for many learners

than just telling them what to do.

After giving the instructions, however, it is essential to check that they have

been understood before the learners start the activity proper, because even

a relatively simple task can be very difficult to explain. To check whether learners

know what to do, Gower suggests teaching the learners expressions such as Can you

say that again? or Sorry, I don’t understand (48) that indicates a problem among

learners. However, I assume that not all learners, especially teenagers and adults, are

willing to admit in front of others that they did not understand something. Therefore,

as a more feasible solution, Nolasco recommends asking the learners to interpret the

instructions (32).

Besides, every teacher should ensure in their class that all learners are involved

and no one is cut off from the rest of the group. Therefore, in order to keep the

whole class “on their toes” (Gower 20), the teacher can ask not only questions at

random, but also ask the question first and then address someone. Nolasco gives an

example of What is the capital of Ireland, Eva? (33). Furthermore, the teacher can

ask their learners follow up questions to what has been said, such as Is she right? or

Do you agree? (Nolasco 35) or use their names to get individual attention.

Similarly, when one group of learners finishes an activity earlier than the others, the

44

teacher should give them another activity that is related to the task to keep them

constantly alert.

Above all, the teacher should strive to develop responsibility in learners for

their own learning, which positively contributes to the maintenance of discipline in

the class. For example, as Nolasco suggests, the learners might be involved in

correction and evaluation by their peers (26).

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6.5. Teaching strategies

In this chapter, I am going to analyse teacher’s presentation, practice and

strategies of all four language skills, vocabulary and grammar so that it is effective

for learners. Ways that might help individuals not only acquire but also produce the

correct language form will be outlined here, as well.

First of all, a teacher should consider what strategies they will take in

accordance with learners they are teaching. As Nolasco admits, the ways the teacher

presents the language vary not only according to expectations of the learners (39),

but also according to their age, learning styles, or level of English (Gower 128).

Moreover, as Wilberg agrees that different modes work differently with

different learners and not with the same results (55), the teacher often needs to

experiment with various approaches despite “the risk of failing” (61) and offer

learners several options to choose from. In particular, the offered options of work

must be interesting and motivating for learners.

6.5.1. Teaching vocabulary

An important component that influences the way the vocabulary is presented is

whether a teacher wants the student to learn a certain word productively so that they

will be able to use it actively, or just receptively, which means that they will

understand the word when they come across it. However, as Lewis and Hill point

out, all words at the beginning level are taught in order to be acquired for active use

and it is not until intermediate or higher levels when most of the words learners

meet will be needed for passive use (100).

In respect of teaching lexis, Lewis and Hill also stress that it is important to

develop in learners an understanding that “languages do not consist of ‘words’ with

equivalents from one language to the other” (98). This applies mainly to beginners

of English who might feel distressed when they come across expressions that cannot

be translated into Czech word by word, for instance Here you are or How do you

do?

In consequence, the teacher should present “the whole picture” of each word

(Gower 149). In other words, the form (spelling, pronunciation, collocations),

meaning and use (style, register) of a word (Gower 144) should become inseparable

components of teacher’s presentation. Besides, he recommends presenting easy

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words before difficult ones, concrete before abstract and the most frequent before

the uncommon ones (145) for more effective learning.

In order for the learners to remember the vocabulary better, the words might

be also presented with a realia, picture or a flashcard (see Appendix 39) with mime

or their translation. Lewis and Hill also propose learning vocabulary in groups of

synonyms, antonyms, complements (morning, afternoon, evening) or converses

(parent vs. child, employee vs. employer) (101), because “context makes meaning

clearer” (Cunningsworth 40).

After the presentation, learners repeat these words after the teacher and write

down the new lexis into their vocabulary book according to the topic, using

“different colours for different parts of speech” (Gower 146). I personally believe

that learners at language schools should be given a possibility of choosing

expressions that they find personally useful and that they want to learn from each

lesson (see Appendix 40). Using these grids, learners are encouraged to use a new

language item in a personal, memorable sentence.

Furthermore, the teacher should also invite their learners to find their own

ways of learning new vocabulary according to their own style. For instance, Gower

suggests recording words on tape and listening to them in the car (152). I also

consider making cards with an English word on one side and their Czech translation

on the other side to be very effective.

Similarly, since the teacher aims to give learners responsibility for their own

learning, they should show the learners that the form of lexis can be also found in

a monolingual or collocations dictionary, while how the word is used in real life can

be surveyed in a concordance programme, such as the British National Corpus.

Regarding practicing and reviewing vocabulary, the more often is the word or

phrase encountered with, the better for the learners. For ten good ways of recycling

vocabulary [6], see Appendix 41. Alternatively, the teacher can ask the learners to

tell a story using the vocabulary or simply give them a short test.

In terms of revision of phrases, learners can be assigned a role play set in

various places or the teacher can prepare a set of cards for practicing

question/answer or address/response (see Appendix 42).

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6.5.2. Teaching grammar

In order to teach grammatical items effectively, Cunningsworth advises the

teacher to start with a presentation of the new item. Then a practice stage follows in

which learners start using the item in activities with different degrees of control,

starting from carefully controlled ones such as mechanical drilling up to guided role

plays (37) when learners become more confident with the new item. Finally,

teaching ends with a production stage where learners use the language in

uncontrolled activities (37).

It is advisable that the teacher presents the new language in a “coherent and

systematic way” (Cunningsworth 35) because especially adult learners and those

with a logical mathematical learning style can learn a language more easily if they

can see regularities and rules in what they are learning. For instance, I have prepared

a chart for my learners in which they are able to see certain patterns of irregular

verbs (see Appendix 43). Furthermore, graphical time lines have proved to be

beneficial to learners especially when discussing English tenses that are non-existent

in Czech language (see Appendix 44).

6.5.3. Teaching reading

As it was stated earlier in this thesis, it is essential that the teacher uses

materials in their lessons that are on learners’ level, because, as Lewis and Hill

claim, “if there are more than about six new words per 100 ‘running words’ (which

are all words in the text) it is too difficult” (107) for learners to cope with.

Moreover, the materials should be also varied and authentic, such as

newspaper or magazine articles, leaflets, reports, notices or letters. These materials

can be either read for pleasure since they are related to learner’s interests or job or

they can “become familiar with new vocabulary and grammar structures” (Cross

41). Besides, the materials can serve as a means of revising vocabulary or as a basis

for other speaking or writing tasks.

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Cross offers several types of reading activities for learners, namely (41):

skimming reading quickly for the general purpose

(see Appendix 45)

scanning searching for specific information

(see Appendix 46)

extensive reading reading longer texts

intensive reading reading closely

Dealing with practical reading activities, a good text preparation involves,

first, an introduction where the teacher can ask the learners what they think they are

going to read according to the title or a picture. Second, pre-questions can be asked

before the learners read the text and finally, vocabulary that occurs in the text can be

pre-taught (Lewis and Hill 107).

On the contrary, after reading the text, Wilberg suggests that the teacher asks

the learners to identify phrases that they first, do not understand, second, understand

but do not use and third, phrases that they want to be able to use (32). As a next step

in a group course, learners can compare their grids and exchange information.

Furthermore, learners can be asked to find and highlight various language items in

the text, such as collocations or certain tenses.

In order to check whether learners understand the targeted language in the text,

the teacher can prepare several types of exercises for the learners (Wilberg 112-3):

- scanning – Find a word which means ...

- gap-filling – Fill in the correct preposition

- correction – Correct errors in the following words

- reading aloud – Read the text in a different tense/person/register

- comprehension – Identify the missing information

The last but not least, since the English pronunciation differs from its written

form, it is essential that the teacher practices spelling of written words with learners.

Wilberg again offers several activities for improving pronunciation of new English

words, such as “reading the text syllable by syllable instead of word by word” (133),

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distinguishing English sounds by pointing to a phonetic chart or reading the text as

different people or in different manners (see Appendix 47).

6.5.4. Teaching listening

According to Bress, this skill is the most practiced one, because learners can

experience “a degree of powerlessness when they can’t understand the language”

(Bress). Moreover, teaching this skill to learners will help them to acquire

“vocabulary and syntax, as well as better pronunciation” (Cross 73).

Similarly, as in the reading practice, learners should be trained to be able to

distinguish words from the sounds when listening to a speech. One example of an

effective way of making learners aware of all words is a dictation. Wilberg offers

several types of dictations (125):

Teacher as a dictaphone Learners give the teacher instructions where to stop or rewind the dictation.

Auto-dictation The learner reads a line, repeats the line without looking and tries to write down the line from memory.

Gapped dictation The teacher reads aloud leaving all instances of a given language feature. The learners fill in the gaps.

Keyword dictation The teacher reads aloud. The learner writes the most important content and then reconstructs the text.

Correction dictation The teacher includes factual mistakes that the learners correct.

Picture dictation Learners recreate the original picture/graph/object from a description by the teacher.

Transformation-substitution dictation

The teacher reads in the first person and learners write in the third person singular.

Another effective way of making learners aware of all words is total physical

response activities. The most frequent one is Simon says or a TPR pelmanism (see

Appendix 48).

As another means of practicing listening, learners can be asked to listen to

a speech and then retell it in their own words. It is even better if the learners can

watch a DVD at the same time and thus see “a connection between the utterances

the speakers make and the things they refer to” (Bress 43). Besides, on condition

that a language laboratory is available, learners’ speech can be recorded and then

compared with the original speaker.

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6.5.5. Teaching speaking

When teaching speaking, the first thing for the teacher is to find out what their

learners’ communicative needs are. A needs analysis or a questionnaire discussed in

the chapter “Learner’s needs” can be used for this purpose. Besides, the teacher also

needs to identify the level of learner’s oral discourse. A test-teach-test approach can

serve well to find out what language items the learner can and cannot use accurately.

In consequence, real communicative practice can follow.

However, as in case of teaching grammar, the teacher should progress from

presentation, via practice to free production of the learners (Cunningsworth 43).

Moreover, the teacher should strive to find a balance between controlled practice

and free speaking in their lessons, because too much emphasis of the controlled

practice means that the learner “will not be adequately prepared for the real world”

(Cunningsworth 43).

Regarding the presentation and practice in beginners, Wilberg recommends

using drills, because they provide “a secure and predictable framework for language

practice” (130). He offers various drilling methods, out of which my favourite is

a transformation drill when learners are to change the tense or turn sentences from

positive into negative. However, Cunningsworth opposes Wilberg in by claiming

that there is danger that some learners might have no understanding of the meaning

of what they are saying when drilling (38).

Furthermore, to enhance learners’ speaking skill, Edge emphasizes that the

teacher should connect learners’ communication with personal interests as soon as

possible (21). Also Murphey supports his viewpoint and offers using community

language learning method (CLL) in which the learners say in their native language

what they want, the teacher says the translation into their ear and the learners

consequently repeat their idea in the target language aloud.

In addition, Gower suggests that learners can play roles using the new

language item, which makes the language “vivid and memorable” (122).

Alternatively, open-ended card conversation can be very effective according to

Wilberg, in which each learner must use the word/phrase that is on the card in their

response (115).

All in all, irrespective of the level of learner’s English, the communication in

class should be always meaningful and the teacher should create “space for

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authentic learner input” (Wilberg 21). In other words, the content of speaking should

always reflect what the learners really need to say in real life.

6.5.6. Teaching writing

Both writing and speaking are excellent sources of learner’s input and

creativity, because learners can be inventive and supply their own words (Cross

101) into what they are saying (see Appendix 49) that is why a teacher should

incorporate both these skills into their lessons regularly and as often as possible.

However, Cunningsworth advises to start with letting learners write “a short,

controlled text based on a model given” (45) (see Appendix 50) and gradually

advance to freer, yet more difficult writing tasks, such as writing a story being given

only its ending (115).

In order to enhance the writing opportunity of learners, learners can be asked

to keep their own diaries in which they regularly add records of their own activities

(Cross 108-9), while Murphey suggests corresponding with learners by means of

sending them cards or notes (22-3). However, in my opinion, this can be feasible

only in an individual or a small group classes, otherwise the teacher would not have

time for anything else apart from continuous correction of all their works.

When dealing with correcting written works in a large class and teacher’s time

spent correcting them, Doff comes with an idea of “assigning controlled writing

activities” (193), such as copying sentences in the correct order, a gap-filling

exercise or simply writing the correct answers on the board so that learners can

check their own results, which saves a lot of teacher’s time.

Finally, concerning corrected learners’ written outputs, it is important to stress

that learners should always rewrite their original work according to teacher’s

corrections or suggestions. Only in this way are the learners made realize their own

mistakes, thus there is a high degree of probability that they avoid making them

again next time.

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6.6. Correction and evaluation

This chapter primarily focuses on proper ways of teacher’s correcting and

assessing a performance of their learners, but it also touches a notorious problem of

accuracy versus fluency in using a language. Finally, it concludes with an evaluation

of a course in terms of its effectiveness for the learner and also with self-assessment

of learners’ gained knowledge from the course.

6.6.1. Accuracy versus fluency

Regarding accuracy in learning a language, a teacher is concerned with the

language system and emphasizes “correctness and formal grammatical usage”

(Nolasco 2). In other words, the teacher insists on the form rather than the use of

a language item. Therefore, typical activities for language accuracy are filling-in-

blanks exercises (see Appendix 51).

On the one hand, this approach is especially suitable for learners who are

preparing for a language exam where accuracy is examined. On the other hand, as

Murphey points out, if the learners focus on every tense and stress in every word,

they might easily “become frustrated with the slow progress” (9).

Unlike accuracy, fluency emphasizes the use of all language resources the

learners have in order to express their attitudes, feelings, emotions or fears. Nolasco

explains that what matters here is what is said rather than how it is said (2). Typical

examples of fluency activities are opinion gaps (see Appendix 52).

On the one hand, this type of approach not only provides learners with “natural

language use” (Edge 15), but it is very motivational especially in the very first

lesson of a course, because it leaves learners with a feeling that they can

communicate in English (Murphey 12). However, keeping learners in this ignorance

should not last for the rest of the course since they might easily start to think that

“they are just paying for talk” (Murhey 14).

In conclusion, as Edge admits, every teacher is constantly juggling between

teaching the language system and teaching an ability to communicate (19) in order

to find the right balance and to utilize advantages of both these approaches.

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6.6.2. Correcting mistakes

Making mistakes is a natural and inseparable part of learning a language and

giving feedback to learners is “one of the most important responsibilities of

a teacher” (Gower 163). However, when learners are wrong, first and foremost, the

teacher has to tell apart whether the mistake is a sign of learner’s inattention which

they can correct by themselves (a mistake) or if it is a sign of learner’s effort to use

a new word or expression without knowing the correct form (an error).

As Gower suggests, the teacher should be the last person in the class to correct

the learner. First, there should be space for self-correction. Second, peer-correction

is preferred to the correction by teacher, which Gower recommends to use “only if

the learners cannot correct their work by themselves” (170).

In conclusion, the teacher has to always bear in mind that the primary aim of

their correction is to help the individuals to progress, not to discourage them.

Therefore, the teacher should never use a red pen when correcting written tasks or

give the lowest grade or mark in order to prevent “a slap in the [learner’s] face”

(Murphey 80). Similarly, the teacher is advised to look for positive points among

mistakes to comment upon to give learners more confidence (Murphey 64). But

above all, the teacher should never interrupt the learner’s speech with their

correction. Preferably, they can take discreet notes and comment upon them after the

oral performance of the learner.

6.6.3. Evaluation and self-assessment

As Edge regards, success of any course can be measured most obviously by

“how much their students learn” (Edge 11). However, success of a course can be

passing an exam on the one side, while a slight improvement of student’s learning

on the other side, as Edge argues (22), depending on the initial goal of a course.

Moreover, since teacher’s and learner’s perception of what they have learned may

also vary considerably, it is advisable for the teacher to let the learners assess

themselves subjectively (see Appendix 53) since it is the meaning of the learner, not

of the teacher what result the course has (Wilberg 86).

Moreover, since “every student [. . .] is your teacher” (Wilberg 61), it is

always beneficial for the personal development of every teacher to be evaluated by

their learners, either several times within the duration of the course or at the end of

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the course. In this way, the teacher can learn how effective they seem to be for their

learners and also what the learners do and do not appreciate about their way of

teaching, so the teacher can avoid doing in the future. One personal example of

learners’ assessment can be looked at in Appendix 54.

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7. Questionnaires for teachers

In order to find out what other teachers think about the differences between

group and one-to-one courses and to learn their opinion on what makes the teaching

effective, I have asked teachers at our language school to fill in a short anonymous

questionnaire (see Appendix 55). The questionnaire was prepared for teachers of

any languages both in Czech and English versions so that all teachers could

participate in this survey. There were ten questions that inquired about teachers’ sex,

teaching practice, coursebooks and materials they use, content of their syllabuses,

their preparation for lessons and primarily about their opinions on effectiveness of

their courses.

7.1. Summarizing answers of the questionnaires

After reading all filled in questionnaires (see Appendix 56), I would

summarize teachers’ answers and viewpoints into the following outline:

1) How long have you been teaching?

Teachers that took part in this survey have been teaching for a period from

almost one year to fifteen years. Unlike the insignificance of teachers’ sex, there are

certain differences in opinions in terms of the length of their teaching practice:

i) Teachers with one or two years’ practice have agreed that their syllabuses,

preparations and their approach to learners differ. Similarly, a prevalence of them

believe that individual courses are more effective for learners.

ii) More teachers with three to five years’ practice prefer group courses and

they presume that both group and individual courses are effective, though both have

their pros and cons to consider.

iii) Majority of those who have been teaching from six to eight years have

agreed that both forms of courses can be effective.

iv) Finally, both teachers with the longest teaching practice (12 and 15 years)

share an opinion that neither their preparation, nor their approach to learners differs.

Similarly, they both prefer teaching group courses and they identically believe that

a group course is more effective for learners than an individual one.

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2.1.) Which coursebooks/resource books do you teach in a group course from?

Why?

Regarding group courses, German teachers have been teaching from the same

coursebooks both in group and individual courses, namely Tangram and Themen

Neu and they are satisfied with these coursebooks, because they are monolingual,

authentic, interesting for learners and because they lead learners to communication.

On the one hand, a Spanish teacher has been teaching from coursebooks Fiesta

and Nuevo Ven in both group and individual courses which they supplement with

authentic materials from Spain, because there are no other coursebooks available.

Similarly, a Russian teacher has been teaching from an only coursebook available in

this country - Raduga - which she supplements with her own materials. However,

the teacher is not satisfied with using this book at all.

On the other hand, English teachers have been using several coursebooks in

their lessons. They are using some of them because they have been assigned by the

language school, but the teachers do not value them highly, such as New Progress to

FCE or Angličtina pro jazykové školy. Another coursebook, New Headway, has

been used mainly because learners are used to using it, but one teacher reckons this

coursebook to be both difficult for her learners and too overwhelmed with grammar

and vocabulary. Still other coursebooks, such as Inside Out, Total English, New

English File, Face to Face or Language in Use, are considered by teachers to be

well-arranged, balanced, varied and dynamic, amusing, illustrative and effective for

their learners, with well-compiled grammar and a lot of speaking activities, thus

they like using them.

2.2.) Which coursebooks/resource books do you teach in a one-to-one course

from?Why?

Concerning individual courses, unlike a Russian teacher who has been

teaching from own materials brought from Russia, German teachers have been using

either the same materials as in group courses that have been accommodated to

individual’s needs, or they have been using coursebooks Hueber or Tangram

because these courseboooks are flexible, lively and good for conversation practice,

while EM-Grammatik is being used for its well-explained grammar.

English teachers have been using in their individual courses either the same

materials as in group courses, or Clockwise or Time to Talk due to a lot of

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conversational activities, short units and interesting topics. Others have been

teaching from New FCE Gold because there are pieces of good advice about FCE

exam and because it is a rich source of activities for students. Also magazines and

online articles have been used due to their good resource of reading practice, as well

as a website www.helpforenglish.com [5]. Some teachers have also stressed that they

have been choosing materials for one-to-one courses according to learner’s aims and

needs.

3) Do your group and one-to-one syllabuses differ? If so, please specify in

which ways and why.

In respect of variances in syllabuses for group and individual courses,

a Spanish teacher assumes that the main difference is that the teacher substitutes the

group and that activities are prepared to meet the only student’s needs in a one-to-

one course. A similar opinion is shared by a Russian teacher who states that the

class syllabus is more general in comparison with a one-to-one course and the

difference is also seen in speed. A learner is believed to learn up to twice faster in

a one-to-one course.

All German teachers have agreed that there is a distinct difference in

syllabuses. Some claim that the teacher organizes and observes the learners in

a group course, while they substitute up to 50% of all activities in a one-to-one

courses. Others point out that a one-to-one course is more personal, more intensive,

more suitable for conversation and that there is also more time and space for

learning grammar and vocabulary.

However, English teachers vary noticeably. Four of them think that there is no

difference in syllabuses, while remaining seven believe that there are some

differences. For instance, a one-to-one course is less textbook-oriented, but faster,

and the teacher prepares more materials for each lesson and assigns more

homework. A group course, in contrast, follows a coursebook, is livelier and pair

and group discussions are possible there.

4) Does your approach to students in these two groups differ? If so, in which

ways?

As far as teachers’ variations in approach to their learners are concerned, five

teachers assume that their approach to learners does not differ, although the others

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observe certain alterations. For instance, several German teachers admit that though

they always aim at accommodating themselves to individual learners in a group

course, they feel that the individual approach is difficult to reach there. Many other

teachers think that they can respond more specifically to learner’s needs in a one-to-

one course.

On the one hand, an English teacher admits that their approach to students in

a group course is less direct and that she must work harder to ensure that all learners

are participating. However, others appreciate the opportunity of class discussions,

pair work and group activities.

On the other hand, in an individual course, teachers point out that they have

more personal approach to their only learner and that they can focus only on topics

that the individual learner is interested in. Others add that they can easily identify

what is necessary to practise and what is already acquired by the learner. However,

one teacher of English remarks that she sometimes feels a bit schizophrenic because

she substitutes the second person in each pair activity.

5) Do you prepare your group and one-to-one lessons differently? If so, in

which ways and why?

Five teachers do not think that their preparation for both forms of courses

differs. The remaining teachers disagree and pinpoint their differences in

preparation, such as eliminating all team activities for a one-to-one course

beforehand. Another teacher stresses the importance of the level of learners’

English, which is explained by another one who believes that learners at elementary

to intermediate levels need more practice in vocabulary and grammar before

communicating. Still others emphasize more interactive and mingling activities in a

group course, while always the same partner – the teacher – in an individual course.

One teacher prepares her individual lessons according to needs of her learner, while

her group courses are prepared more generally in order to draw everyone’s attention.

In one case, two teachers’ opinions completely contrast. One of them presumes

that they have to think hard about preparation and realization of each activity for

a group course, while they can improvise better with a single piece of paper in an

individual course. Yet another teacher believes the opposite - that a more careful

preparation has to be done for a one-to-one course, because more activities and

language items can be done in this lesson than in a group lesson.

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6) Do you think that group teaching is effective for students? Why/why not?

Do you think that one-to-one teaching is effective for students? Why/why

not?

In terms of effectiveness of both types of courses for learners, only one teacher

is convinced that a group course is more effective for learning a language, because it

simulates real language situations. Other two teachers are persuaded that an

individual course is more effective for learners, because an individual approach to

a learner is stressed and teacher’s time can be fully devoted to the only learner on

condition that the individual learner is active, motivated and also willing to study at

home. The rest of teachers cannot decide. They either think that both types of

courses are equally effective or that both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Contact, cooperation, interaction, complement and comparison with other learners,

learning from each other, exchanging opinions and not seeing the same face all the

time were given as examples in favour of a group course.

On the other hand, suitability for learners with specific needs, absolute

concentration of the learner, full attention of the teacher on the learner, possibility to

tailor-make the course according to the wishes and needs of the learner, and

suitability for beginners in English and for unsociable learners were instanced as

advantages of an individual course.

Possibility of a learner to become lazy as they know the teacher better was

disapproved in an individual course. Similarly, among disadvantages of a group

course, the number of learners that lowers the effectiveness of learning and fewer

demands for concentration and participation were mentioned. Teachers have

unanimously agreed that the ideal, hence effective, number of learners in a group is

two to six.

7) What factors do you think make the teaching effective?

Inquiring about what makes the teaching effective, dynamic, varied and well-

structured lessons (including all four skills) were highlighted eight times; pleasant

and motivating setting and friendly atmosphere in class were mentioned seven

times; approach of the teacher was emphasized six times; six teachers value

motivated teachers and learners highly and finally, a high-quality teacher and

coursebook were listed four times.

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Among other important factors of effective teaching belong continuous

revision of old language items while introducing new, challenging things at the

same time, a prepared, motivating and enthusiastic teacher, number of learners in

class, frequency of the lessons and also mutual trust among students and the teacher.

8) As a teacher, do you prefer teaching in a group course or in a one-to-one

course? Why?

Regarding teachers’ personal preferences to the type of courses, seven teachers

prefer teaching group courses, because the range of activities is broader, the lessons

are more interesting and entertaining, they are easier for the teacher because they

can rest while learners are interacting with each other and because work from

a coursebook prevail.

On the other hand, only three teachers prefer teaching in individual courses

because they presume that it is more effective for the learners due to its intensity,

communication and full attention of the teacher. Remaining teachers do not mind

a form of courses they are teaching because they are convinced that it always

depends on the learners what the course will be like.

9) Which form of teaching (group vs. one-to-one) is more effective for

students? Why?

To sum the survey up, answers to the question which form of teaching is more

effective for learners, there is no unity of opinions. Only four teachers think that

a group course is more effective, but the same number of teachers supports one–to-

one courses. Four teachers suppose that both forms are equally effective and the

same number of them claim that the effectiveness depends on learners and on what

they want to learn.

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7.2. Evaluation of the questionnaires

After analysing all answers of all questionnaires, I have come to several

conclusions:

1) Regarding the length of teaching practice, teachers with shorter teaching

experience assume that individual courses are more effective for learners than

groups. They also perceive that their approach to learners, together with their

preparation for lessons and planning their syllabuses differ.

However, the longer their teaching practice is, the more the teachers believe

that group courses is a more effective form of learning. Besides, they do not observe

any differences in preparation, syllabuses or their approach to learners in these two

forms of courses.

2) According to teachers’ opinion, effective coursebooks are defined as those

which are written in the target language, which are authentic, have interesting topics

for learners and well-compiled grammar and which stimulate communication.

I share this opinion on qualities of effective coursebooks with the exception

that I do not condemn bilingual coursebooks because they may be convenient for

many learners at least at the start of their learning grammar of a foreign language.

Likewise, I fully agree with teachers’ opinion that a coursebook should be

supplemented with secondary materials which, first, practise the language item,

second, enlarge their vocabulary and, third, are a welcome change in a lesson.

3) Regarding differences in syllabuses of group versus individual courses,

majority of teachers think that there are, or at least should be, some differences in

preparing the syllabus, which supports my hypothesis.

The main difference was seen in the composition of activities. A group

syllabus seems to be more general and fewer activities can be managed during one

lesson. On the other hand, an individual syllabus is thought to be less textbook-

oriented and faster, therefore more materials have to be prepared for one lesson,

which I fully agree with.

However, a narrower range of activities that can be used in an individual course,

excluding group work, class work or mingling activities, has been noticed and

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teacher’s permanent substitution of the second person for a pair work also appears to

be problematic.

4) One third of all teachers from the survey think that their approach to

learners does not differ. The remaining two thirds perceive the main differences in

their approach to learners in these two factors:

i) The number of learners in class counts. With an only learner, teachers can

fully concentrate just on their needs and interests and the teacher can pay full

attention to them the whole lesson. In this way, a more personal approach, even

friendship with the learner can be developed, which is less feasible to reach in

a group course.

I fully share this opinion, because I have the same teaching experience.

I personally believe that I can conform to individual needs more in one-to-one

courses and that my approach to individual learners can be more personal.

ii) Time and energy devoted to the class management varies. The teacher has

to try harder to manage the group course so that every single learner pays attention

and is doing what they are supposed to do. I also support this argument in a chapter

“Class Management”.

5) In terms of preparation for the lessons, one third of all teachers do not

prepare in a different way for these two course forms. It might be worth stressing

that this answer prevails mainly among teachers with a rather longer teaching

practice.

As a result, these opinions of experienced teachers might show that the

preparation does not have to necessarily differ in order to deliver effective

performance in class. However, in my opinion and according to my incomparably

shorter teaching practice, I support a viewpoint of remaining ten teachers who stress

the number and the choice of suitable activities for individual courses that reflect

learner’s needs and interests, yet the possibility of immediate improvisation of the

side of the teacher. Furthermore, teachers stress necessity of timing things in group

courses together with the choice of topics that will draw everybody’s attention,

which I have also dealt with in a chapter “Lesson Plan”.

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6) I am very pleased that other more experienced teachers and I have agreed

on the same factors that make the teaching and learning effective. As in my thesis,

the teachers have stressed the same factors in the questionnaires:

- a mode and personality of a teacher

- a personality, needs and motivation of the learner themselves

- appropriate coursebooks and materials

- setting and motivating atmosphere

- a balanced structure of the lesson where all four skills are practiced

- a continuous revision of old language items

- dynamics and variety in the lessons

- a number of learners in class

7) As far as the most important question for teachers to express their

opinions on effectiveness of these two forms of courses is concerned, surprisingly,

unlike my initial hypothesis where I presumed that a one-to-one course is more

effective for learning a language, this opinion is shared with only other two teachers.

This means that my own assumption does not match with opinions of other teachers.

On the other hand, only one teacher fully contradicts my assumption by

asserting that unlike an individual course, a classroom full of learners simulates real

language situations. On this account, I readily agree with the idea that learners can

be stimulated by other learners’ opinions, they can listen to other learners’ English,

they can communicate with different people during one lesson and that they can

cooperate and help each other in a group course. However, I also reckon that an

everyday language situation usually takes place only between two people, such as

a conversation, telephoning or writing somebody an e-mail. Therefore, in my view,

a one-to-one course can also simulate a real language situation.

8) The last, but the most crucial, conclusion from these questionnaires is that

teachers’ opinions in the matter of effective teaching differ, irrespective of their sex,

the language they are teaching or the length of their teaching practice.

There are as many opinions as there are teachers. Every teacher has stressed

a different aspect of effective teaching. First, this can be explained either with

having different opinions on this phenomenon, second, having different teaching

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experience, or third, the layout of the questionnaire. There might not have been

enough space for answering each question into greater details.

On the second thought, due to the complexity of this topic of teaching

effectiveness, a form of an essay for questioning the same teachers might have

brought slightly different, or at least more detailed, answers and opinions on this

matter.

Yet still, to support my choice of means of inquiry, the form of

a questionnaire has one indisputable advantage – it is rather short and not so time-

consuming for the teachers. I am convinced that considerably fewer teachers would

have been willing to spend an hour or two writing a detailed essay on this topic in

their free time.

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8. Testing out the hypothesis

On the one hand, concerning my fundamental question stated in my hypothesis

whether a one-to-one course is more effective than a group course, I have found

based on the results of my questionnaire that those teachers who have been teaching

for roughly the same period of time as I have, that is two to three years, share very

similar opinions with me concerning my hypothesis. Particularly, we can agree on

a more personal approach to learners, easier management of the class, greater

intensity of learning due to managing more work within one lesson and, above all,

utmost accommodation of the teacher to their only learner in a one-to-one course.

From this viewpoint, it can be said that my hypothesis has been proven right.

However, in a broader perspective, the remaining teachers with much longer

teaching practice are of the opinion that, either, these two forms of teaching do not

vary considerably in their effectiveness for learners or they consider the group

course to be more effective due to the following advantages over an individual

course. Namely, a variety of people to work with and cooperation, learning a lot

from each other and a possibility of comparison with others have been stressed in

favour of a group course. In this way, my hypothesis has been proven wrong.

Similarly, scholars do not share the same opinion on the prevalence of

effectiveness in these two courses. While Peter Wilberg seems to support one-to-one

courses fervently, many others, focusing their books on activities for group courses

rather than an individual learner, such as Nolasco or Cross, find learning in a larger

class both enjoyable and successful. Still others do not seem to have a pronounced

opinion on this matter. They rather claim that both forms have their pros and cons,

yet their effectiveness mainly depends on the learner themselves (Edge 10).

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Conclusion

The objective of this thesis was to investigate and find out ways of effective

teaching in group and in one-to-one courses. Having read various reference books

for practicing teachers and having compared my opinion on effectiveness of

teaching in a group and one-to-one courses at a language school with other teachers,

I have come to a conclusion that there is not a single factor that influences whether

a course is effective or not. The decisive components that influence success of

a course are not only an approach of the teacher, their methodology, the choice of

materials and the learning environment, but the learners themselves, mainly their

approach and motivation to learning. The latter two factors seem to be the crucial

ones in terms of positive achievement regardless of the form of the course.

Since learners’ personality vary and so do their needs, the techniques that the

teacher uses in each class for each learner are unpredictable beforehand. Therefore,

the secret of effective teaching appears to be in teacher’s ability of ultimate

accommodation and flexibility to every situation and to wants of learners.

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Appendices

Appendix 1 – Filled in questionnaires on learner’s needs and motivation (From my own teaching practice)

Appendix 2 – An example of record cards (From: Soars, Liz and John. New Headway Elementary. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006.) Appendix 3 – Diagnostic tests of level of English (From: Quintana, Jenny. New English File Elementary and Pre-Intermediate Test Booklets. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004 and 2005, respectively.) Appendix 4 - Examples of needs analysis from company courses (From my own

teaching practice) Appendix 5 – An example of an essay on Why I want to learn English (From my

own teaching practice)

Appendix 6 – Gardner’s model of eight intelligences (From: <http://online.sfsu.edu/ ~foreman /itec800/ finalprojects/raeannecarman/mi. html> (8.4.2008)

Appendix 7 – Test on learning styles and an activity Find someone who

(From: 5th International Conference for teachers of English. Brno, 15.3.2008.) Appendix 8 – How the teacher can help learners with different learning styles (From: 5th International Conference for teachers of English. Brno, 15.3.2008.) Appendix 9 – A revision exercise for different learning styles (From my own teaching practice) Appendix 10 – A peer-assessment of my teaching (From my own teaching practice) Appendix 11 – A list of useful websites for practising English (From: Sperling, Dave. The Internet Guide: For English Language Teachers. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1997.) Appendix 12 – An outline of available coursebooks according to CEF (From: Compiled according to coursebooks available in JŠ MKM) Appendix 13 – A list of biographical talks (From: Wilberg, Peter. One to One.

A Teacher’s Handbook. London: Commercial Colour Press, 1987.) Appendix 14 - An outline of Penguin and Macmillan readers (From: <http://www.penguinreaders.com/pdf/downloads/pr/Genre-guide.pdf>

(7.4.2008), <http://www.macmillanenglish.com/ReadersLevel.aspx ?id=37338 &producttypeid= 28250> (7.4.2008).

Appendix 15 - An example of Hot Potatoes exercises (From my own teaching practice)

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Appendix 16 – Examples of warm-ups and cool-downs (From: Drama warm up and cool down games. <http://www.teachit.co.uk/attachments/games.pdf> 16.4.2008)

Appendix 17 – An example of drill and of a short dialogue (From: McKay, Heather, and Abigail Tom. Teaching Adult Second Language Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999 and Frank, Ch., et al. Challenge to Think: Teacher’s Edition. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1982.) Appendix 18 – A guided activity Writing menus (From: New Timesavers for English

Teachers. London: Mary Glasgow Magazine, 1998.)

Appendix 19 – A creative activity Gridwork Grids (From: Greenwood, Jean. Activity Box. Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1997.) Appendix 20 – An example of a fixed timetable in a group course (From my own

teaching practice) Appendix 21 - A mingling activity Find your partner (From: Wyatt, Rawdon. First Certificate Games and Activities. Harlow: Penguin English, 2002.) Appendix 22 – A problem-solving activity Lend a hand (From: Zaorob, Maria L., and E. Chin. Games for Grammar Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001.) Appendix 23 – An outline of good sources of English jokes and an example of traditional English jokes. (From: Woolard, George. Popular Jokes in English. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1991.) Appendix 24 – My lesson plan of a group course (From my own teaching practice) Appendix 25 - My lesson plan of a one-to-one course (From my own teaching

practice) Appendix 26 – An example of an open dialogue. (From: Hall, Diane, and Mark Foley. Now You’re Talking. Edinburgh: Nelson, 1988.)

Appendix 27 – An interview Habits Questionnaire (From: Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Grammar Games and Activities for Teachers. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1995.) Appendix 28 – An example of a telephone call Answering an advertisement (From: Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Grammar Games and Activities for Teachers.

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1995.) Appendix 29 – An example of writing a letter (From: Hancock, Mark, and Annie McDonald. Pen Pictures 3. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000.)

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Appendix 30 – A role play Things we were going to do (From: Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Grammar Games and Activities for Teachers. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1995.) Appendix 31 – An example of an ice-breaker Birthday line-up (From: Greenwood, Jean. Activity Box. Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1997. Appendix 32 – An activity Unique me and a personal profile form Getting to know

you (From: Zaorob, Maria L., and E. Chin. Games for Grammar Practice.

Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001 and Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Grammar Games

and Activities for Teachers. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1995.) Appendix 33 – An example of a needs analysis and of a personal questionnaire (From: Wilberg, Peter. One to One. A Teacher’s Handbook. London: Commercial Colour Press, 1987 and Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Grammar Games

and Activities for Teachers. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1995.) Appendix 34 – My lesson plan of a group course (From my own teaching practice) Appendix 35 – An example of a needs analysis for a one-to-one course (From: Wilberg, Peter. One to One. A Teacher’s Handbook. London: Commercial Colour Press, 1987.) Appendix 36 – An example of a formatted page (From: Wilberg, Peter. One to One.

A Teacher’s Handbook. London: Commercial Colour Press, 1987.) Appendix 37 – My lesson plan of a one-to-one course (From my own teaching practice) Appendix 38 – Useful Language Bookmark from a coursebook First Choice (From:

Stevens, John, and Angela Llyod. First Choice učebnice. Plzeň: FRAUS, 2007.)

Appendix 39 – Flashcards of common adjectives. (From: http://mes-english.com) Appendix 40 – A blank grid for 10 useful expressions from each lesson. (From my

own teaching practice) Appendix 41- Ten good ways of recycling vocabulary. (From: “Ten Good

Games for Recycling Vocabulary.” The Internet TESL Journal. Mark Koprowski. <http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Koprowski-RecylingVocabulary.html> (12.11.2007)

Appendix 42 – An example of practicing question/answer or address/ response (From: Wilberg, Peter. One to One. A Teacher’s Handbook.

London: Commercial Colour Press, 1987.) Appendix 43 – Patterns of irregular verbs (From my own teaching practice)

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Appendix 44 – Time lines (From: Mgr. Marek Vít and Petr Hudík. “Help for English” 2007. <http://www.helpforenglish.cz> and Swan, Michael. Basic English Usage. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1984.)

Appendix 45 – An example of skimming reading On foot to the North Pole.

(From: Cross, David. Large Classes in Action. New York: Prentice Hall, 1995.) Appendix 46 – An example of scanning reading Anyone for coffee? (From: Cross, David. Large Classes in Action. New York: Prentice Hall, 1995.)

Appendix 47 – An example of reading the same text in different manners. (From: Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Fun Class Activities: Book 1. Harlow: Penguin Books, 2000.)

Appendix 48 – An example of a TPR Pelmanism. (From my own teaching practice) Appendix 49 – An activity Making appointments for learners’ input. (From: Cross, David. Large Classes in Action. New York: Prentice Hall, 1995.) Appendix 50 – An example of controlled writing (From: Byrne, Donn. Just Write!

London: Macmillan, 1988.)

Appendix 51 – An example of a filling-in-blanks exercise (From: Predy, Ingrid, and Brigitte Seidl. Zajímavá témata 4 – Anglicky každý den o trochu lépe.

Dubicko: INFOA, 2005.) Appendix 52 – An example of a fluency activity What’s in a blot? (From: Frank, Christine, et al. Challenge to the think. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1982.)

Appendix 53 – Examples of learners’ self-assessment (From my own teaching practice.)

Appendix 54 – An example of teacher’s assessment from their learners. (From my own teaching practice.)

Appendix 55 - A blank anonymous questionnaire for teachers Appendix 56 - Filled in questionnaires by teachers

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Biography

Primary sources: Cross, David. Large Classes in Action. New York: Prentice Hall, 1995. Cunningsworth, Alan. Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials. Oxford: Heinemann, 1984. Doff, Adrian. Teach English: A Training Course for Teachers. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1978. Edge, Julian. Essentials of English Language Teaching. London: Longman, 1993. Geddes, Marion. “A teacher training workshop on individualization.” 76-83. In: Geddes, Marion, and Gill Sturtridge. Individualization. Oxford: Modern

English Publications, 1990. Gower, Roger, et al. Teaching Practice Handbook. Oxford: Heinemann, 1995. Hughes, Gareth. “Classroom Techniques for one-to-one teaching” 64-70. In: Geddes, Marion, and Gill Sturtridge. Individualization. Oxford: Modern English Publications, 1990. Lancaster, Otis T. Effective Teaching and Learning. New York: Gordon and Breach, 1974. Lewis, Michael, and Jimmie Hill. Practical Techniques for Language Teaching. Boston: Thomson, 2002. Murphey, Tim. Teaching One to One. New York: Longman, 1991. Nolasco, Rob, and Lois Arthur. Large Classes. London: Macmillan, 1988. Oxford Bookworms Leaflet. Oxford University Press, 2008. Sturtridge, Gill. “Individualized learning.” 8-14. In: Geddes, Marion, and Gill Sturtridge. Individualization. Oxford: Modern English Publications, 1990. Wilberg, Peter. One to One. A Teacher’s Handbook. London: Commercial Colour Press, 1987.

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Secondary sources: Byrne, Donn. Just Write! London: Macmillan, 1988.

Frank, Christine, et al. Challenge to the think. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1982.

Greenwood, Jean. Activity Box. Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1997.

Hall, Diane, and Mark Foley. Now You’re Talking. Edinburgh: Nelson, 1988.

Hancock, Mark, and Annie McDonald. Pen Pictures 3. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000.

McKay, Heather, and Abigail Tom. Teaching Adult Second Language Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999. New Timesavers for English Teachers. London: Mary Glasgow Magazine, 1998.

Predy, Ingrid, and Brigitte Seidl. Zajímavá témata 4 – Anglicky každý den o trochu

lépe. Dubicko: INFOA, 2005. Sperling, Dave. The Internet Guide: For English Language Teachers. New Jersey:

Prentice Hall Regents, 1997.

Stevens, John, and Angela Llyod. First Choice učebnice. Plzeň: FRAUS, 2007.

Swan, Michael. Basic English Usage. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1984.

Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Fun Class Activities: Book 1. Harlow: Penguin Books, 2000.

Watcyn-Jones, Peter. Grammar Games and Activities for Teachers.

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1995. Woolard, George. Popular Jokes in English. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1991.

Wyatt, Rawdon. First Certificate Games and Activities. Harlow: Penguin English, 2002. Zaorob, Maria L., and E. Chin. Games for Grammar Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001.

[1] Internal materials of JŠ MKM, Česká 11, Brno

A quarterly:

Bress, Paul. “Listening Skills: What are they and how do you teach them?” Modern English Teacher 15.1 (2006): 42-4.

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Internet sources:

[2] “Multiple Intelligences.” <http://online.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/ raeannecarman/mi.html> (26.3.2008) [3] Brian H McKinstry, et al. “Leniency and halo effects in marking undergraduate short research projects.” BMC Medical Education <http://www.biomedcentral.com/ 1472-6920/4/28> (30.3.2008) [4] Lonez, Jan. Ed. “The young hyperactive child: Answers to Questions About

Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment.” Journal of Children in Contemporary Society 19.1/2: 1987.

< http://books.google.com/books?id=pnGQnFSpO_gC&printsec=frontcover &hl=cs&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0> (30.3.2008)

[5] Mgr. Marek Vít and Petr Hudík. “Help for English” 2007. <http://www.helpforenglish.cz> (16.12.2007)

[6] “Ten Good Games for Recycling Vocabulary.” The Internet TESL Journal. Mark Koprowski. <http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Koprowski-RecylingVocabulary. html> (12.11.2007)