ELT365 · Day 264 — Lesson Plans for One-to-One Teaching
Idea
One-to-one lessons strip away the safety net of pair and group work. Every interaction sits directly between teacher and learner — making planning for variety and pacing essential.
Example
In a 60-minute one-to-one, plan at least one stage where the learner works independently so they are not always performing for the teacher.
Try
Plan a 45-minute one-to-one lesson with four distinct stages. Include at least one independent task.
From my training materials
My training file contains various worksheets that demonstrate different skills, some of which connect to my one-to-one planning only through shared vocabulary. For instance, my reading worksheet focused on a personal email from a student named Louise about her plans. It included multiple-choice items asking why she started working in a cafe. While this specific activity was designed for a larger group, the skill of reading personal genres to extract decision-making content is highly relevant when I plan independent tasks for one-to-one lessons.
I also have a lexis worksheet on phrasal verbs for plans. It includes sentences like, “I was going to travel round the world… but our plans fell through.” These items are excellent for personalization. In a one-to-one setting, I can use these prompts to ask my learner about their own past intentions and current plans. Even if the original document was not written for a one-to-one context, the shared theme of “plans” and the focus on individual experience make it a useful resource for creating varied, personal interaction that breaks the monologue dynamic between teacher and student.
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