This article, in the form of an interview, provides answers to the questions of anyone who wants to learn a foreign language. Among other things, it compares one-to-one lessons with group courses, and discusses the optimal length of the course.
Aliona: Gabriel, at Quartier francophone, you offer 30-minute individual lessons, and many students think this is too short. Why this choice ?
Gabriel: This duration is optimal for the work we offer with beginners (A0-A2), who make up most of the requests we receive. However, it’s important to remember that that each request is discussed discussion to determine the most suitable format according to the level, needs and objectives of the person contacting us..
For intermediate or advanced levels (B1-C2), this time can be doubled or even tripled.
On the subject of lesson length, let’s recall what cognitive science recommends in terms of learning:
– information is better retained and skills are more fully developed when they are called upon regularly. Better 3 lessons of 30 minutes spread over the week than a single 90-minute session.
– attention span diminishes beyond a threshold that varies from study to study, but is around 40 minutes.
– online work depletes cognitive resources much faster.
This applies all the more to beginners. They are either unable to express themselves in a foreign language, or do so with difficulty and awkwardness. In our courses, even a complete novice communicates directly in the foreign language with his teacher and any other participants. Interacting under these conditions represents a considerable expenditure of energy. Our learners are therefore put through their paces intensively, and their feedback on this point confirms the merits of a short format.
For those who can already express themselves, 30 minutes is also an ideal amount of time to immerse themselves in the language and discuss a given topic without the course losing momentum. Frequent sessions using a method that actively engages learners on topics that interest them produce amazing results!
When is a longer individual course recommended?
Once the learner has reached a certain level of oral proficiency, working more closely with the written word opens up new perspectives. More time can then be devoted to developing a rich and diversified lexicon, to studying more formal aspects linked to the nature of the texts, to the choice of certain verbal modes or tenses, to the nuances of meaning between words and observation of their linguistic surroundings, to different registers, to cultural implicits, to improving reading skills, to planning a monologue, to drafting a text…
For this type of work, a 60 or 90-minute format should be used .
What’s more, our approach eliminates the threat of lecturing. This classic trap inevitably leads untrained teachers, or those trained in traditional approaches, to adopt the posture of a know-it-all delivering teaching content. The learner is then stuck listening to explanations that could be found free on the Internet.
In our courses, nothing is decontextualized. The more abstract notions are always based on communication situations we have experienced in class. And these are increasingly elaborate, both orally and in writing. Giving a central place to communication enables us to maintain a high level of learner motivation over the long term.
We mustn’t lose sight of the fact that the primary objective of people who contact the schools is to be able to interact with foreign speakers, both orally and in writing. Not to become linguists who know the rules of a language without being able to apply them in conversation!
Is it better to study alone or with others?
There’s still a preconceived notion that foreign languages are a subject like any other, to be learned like math, history or geography. Consequently, having a teacher all to yourself would be an ideal situation, in which the learner would receive more information and be the focus of all attention. While one-to-one tuition may indeed enable faster progress in some areas, group tuition presents more opportunities for interaction and re-use.
Indeed, since repeated manipulation of linguistic structures is an imperative for memorization, the group course format provides better practice ground. In a one-to-one class, by the time the teacher has obtained the answer to the question “Are you married?“, he’s already exhausted his possibilities. With a group, he can formulate the question as many times as there are participants, and the learner will be exposed to the same question several times at once, and will hear a whole range of answers that he or she can re-exploit.
Interactivity is the great advantage of group classes. Messages circulate between teacher and students, in pairs, in small groups, with a guest… Each offers his or her own uniquely formulated vision of the world, and if the session is well run, these situations create moments of pleasure, with the added benefit of greater progress.
A brief summary?
Ultimately, a lot depends on the teacher. With a good teacher, more can be gained from a one-to-one course than from a group course led by a bad one. Because even with motivated learners, a lack of effective training, experience or know-how on the teacher’s side is likely to lead to a disaster scenario, whatever the course format.
If you’re on a tight budget, group classes are the way to go.
If your schedule is already full, individual classes are the way to go. Individual classes are more flexible, and if they don’t exceed 30 minutes, you can fit in several classes during the week.
I hope this interview highlights that the formulas we offer are not arbitrary, but are all designed with maximum pedagogical effectiveness in mind. We know the teaching strategies to apply certain key principles of cognitive science, and we know how to adapt course content and format to the level and needs of the learners. But if after all this explanation you still don’t know what to choose, give us a call!
Interview by Aliona Maravieva, Quartier francophone contributor.
