Speaker 1: One of the things I remember about meeting new students and having a new student to teach for the first time is a huge amount of fear and anxiety actually about meeting someone for the first time who you have to teach. Did you ever feel that as well?

Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely felt it, you know, and that's completely normal. And I remember when I did my initial teacher training course there was somebody, one of my colleagues, one of my fellow trainees, was very nervous as well, of course. And in her first lesson, because she was so nervous and she was thinking about so many different things, she actually taught quite a decent lesson, but she forgot to smile. So she didn't smile. It was a 45 minute lesson. She's focusing on the lesson. Absolutely. She was nice to the students, she praised them, but she didn't smile once. And the students were clearly a bit more nervous and there's a slightly kind of icy atmosphere in the room. And then our trainer reminded her to smile before the next lesson and she did and it was transformative. It completely changed the atmosphere in the room. And she felt a lot better as well.

Speaker 1: Because when you smile, it changes your whole physiology. I remember hearing exercises that people give sometimes about changing your mood and it starts with just give a massive smile. So what are some ways that we can feel at ease when we're meeting a new student for

Speaker 2: the first time? They're not just the student, they're a human being and remember they're human and interact with them just as we're interacting now as we would with people, you know, restaurant or wherever. And a big part of that is listening to the student and responding genuinely to them. I think what can happen sometimes when, you know, your role as a teacher is to listen to the language they're producing and how accurate it is. But, you know, listen to the content of what they're telling you as well. And that will really build that relationship.

Speaker 1: This is something you learn naturally over time as you become more experienced as a teacher. You understand that bond and that rapport that you build with the human being sitting opposite you is absolutely crucial. But it's something that newer trainees often forget because they've prepared a lesson, they've got stuff, they've got a time limit, there's stuff they want to teach and they do forget things like that.

Speaker 2: And that's why having a kind of get to know you lesson, you know, those kind of activities to begin with, will really help to build that relationship before you get too much into the teaching. I think adapting to the needs of your student is so important as well. And particularly when you're teaching one to one, you know, you can tailor what you do to that student. And how does that help the bond with the student? They see that you care, you know, and they see that you're flexible as well. And, you know, you're able to select or design materials which will really help them.

Speaker 1: I guess if you imagine you're a student and you're learning with a teacher who is just, and you can tell they're just going through a lesson plan, you know, point by point and not actually...

Speaker 2: You almost feel like you don't need to be there.

Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like, is this the teacher's show or the student's? Yeah, is it a video?

Speaker 2: Yeah, who's the star here? So that's really important in the planning, but also in the lesson itself. Even if you've planned a lesson which is really appropriate for your student, be prepared to adapt in the lesson as well. I often say, teach the student, not the plan. Teach the student, not the plan. So maybe you've got, you know, 10 minutes for this activity, but your student is really struggling with it. Don't just rush through it so you can move on to the next activity. You know, be prepared to adapt there.

Speaker 1: And I guess also, also build into your lesson plan time for discussion and these things. I remember making the mistake when I planned my first lessons, and everyone does, is you over plan. So you've got, if you teach a 45 minute lesson, you've got, you know, just a full 45 minutes of activities, but actually you forget that things come up. Conversation comes up during the lesson. One of the things, I have actually a very specific formula that I use when I'm meeting a new student, and I generally do this in the context of a trial lesson when someone's booked a lesson and they want to see you're the right teacher for them. And it works every time, and it's a two part formula, and it's get to know you plus corrections. Get to know you plus corrections. So what that looks like is, let's say that you're teaching a 30 minute trial lesson. I will literally spend the first 15 minutes, the first half of that lesson, getting to know them, asking questions, and that forms a bond with the student. It also means that you relieve all the pressure from yourself, because you just get to know them as a person. Ask about their family, their hobbies, where they're from. Get them to ask you questions as well. So you can literally say to them, would you like to ask me any questions? And they will, they'll really enjoy that. They want to know about you as well. They want to do that, yeah. And then, so you're just getting to know them for the first 15 minutes. And then while you're doing that, this is important, you're writing down little mistakes that they make, or things that they don't say very naturally. And then in the second half of the lesson, you just write up on the screen some, those errors that they've made. And, you know, so you might write up, say five sentences that they said, and you say to them, here are, as I was listening to you, I wrote down a few things that you said. Here they are. Have a look at them. Tell me if anything doesn't seem quite right. If you would say anything a bit better. And then the student will start to spot their own mistakes. You can help correct them. And then they come away from that lesson, not only having really got to know you as a person, but also having learned something. And that makes for it. So it's a full, it's a bulletproof formula for any lesson. And they can see that you were paying attention as well. You can see that you're paying attention. And more than likely then, they'll want to keep learning with you.