Learning English can be difficult at times, and it can also be difficult knowing which kind of course to choose. General English? Exam English? Business English? Private Lessons? Everyone is different, and before choosing your course it can help if you know exactly what you need. But this is not always the case. Among the most popular kind of courses are private lessons.
So, why take private English lessons in London? They are often (a lot) more expensive than group classes, and often much shorter as well. So why do students decide to take them? Well, there are many benefits:
- The teacher can focus on YOUR English, on your strengths, and the areas you need to work on.
- As long as you do a lot of homework, your English may well improve faster than if you study in a group.
- You can negotiate the lesson topics and subjects with the teacher, and study things that YOU find interesting.
- If you need English for a specific job or situation (University Project, Job Interview) it can be very helpful to work ONLY on this.
- You can ask the teacher for as much correction and as many explanations as you want without worrying about the other students in the class.
- You can go at your pace – if it’s too fast, slow down! Too slow? Speed up!
- You can bring your own materials to class and the teacher can prepare tailor-made lessons for you.
- There are often fewer distractions, and private lessons are often very INTENSIVE. However, many students find this to be a great benefit. Hard work brings greater rewards!
However, there is one disadvantage of private lessons, which is you do not have the same chance to practise your English with other students, and there is no group interaction. This is important because much of your English speaking life will be speaking in groups, with different people, even with non-native English speakers.
So, although private lessons can be very useful, it really is a good idea to do both – mix your English course and take group lessons alongside Private Lessons – this means you get the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!
Rich
EC London