There are lots of different contexts for teaching a language, and of course, different

students will have different needs, interests and motivations. On the one hand, this is
exciting because being a teacher never gets boring! On the other hand, it's important that
you know which types of students you enjoy working with and which you are best at
teaching.

What kind students and language courses are there?

Consider the information below about different types of students and courses.
Use this as a chance to think deeply about the unique needs, choices, and motivations of
your potential students.

Description Needs An example

of the student lesson activity
Language for Role-play a dinner
everyday life situation of talking to
your girlfriend's
father with your
tutor. Practise
expressions for
showing interest.
Jack wants to learn Spanish to be able to talk to his
Argentinian girlfriend's family

Exam strategies, Do an exam

practice multiple-choice
materials, time gap-fill task, but
management cover the options.
skills Try to guess the
Sofia wants to pass a language exam to be able to word that is missing.
go to university Then, uncover the
options and do the
task.
 Industry-specific Role-play a
vocabulary, negotiation meeting
formal with one of your
communication vendors with your
skills tutor.
Tasnim is learning Japanese for better
communication and understanding in her
company's expansion to Japan.

Basic vocabulary, Listen to the

engaging learning instructions and
materials, draw a friendly
foundational monster. Then give
language skills your instructions to
your tutor to draw
5-year-old Mia is picking up Spanish at her bilingual one.
kindergarten

Specialized Role-play a situation

vocabulary and with your tutor. Your
functional tutor is a patient who
language is complaining about
strong pain. Gather
information from
Dr. Martinez is learning Chinese with a medical them to make a
focus for his upcoming job in an Chinese hospital. diagnosis.

Advanced writing Order the jumbled

skills, vocabulary up paragraphs of this
enhancement, article. Then, collect
understanding of expressions the
different writing author uses to make
John, a journalist, is learning Arabic to enhance his styles the text coherent.
writing and provide accurate Middle Eastern
coverage.

Age-appropriate Do a little project

content, researching a French
language for tradition and present
school and social your findings to your
situations, tutor.
Emily is learning French in high school to expand her motivational
cultural knowledge and improve her college elements
prospects.

Basic Role-play a situation

conversational with your tutor of
skills, language ordering foor in an
for social Italian restaurant.
interactions, fun
and engaging
Retired Linda is learning Italian for fun, aiming to
learning materials
chit-chat and make friends during her visits to Italy.
Reflect:

Which of these students can you relate to the most and why?
Which course type do you think would be most rewarding to teach? Why?
How might the students' needs influence your teaching style or approach?

What do students already know?

Students don't come to lessons as 'empty vessels' they already know a lot. For the best
learning to happen, they need to activate their so called 'schemata' (background
knowledge) and build on it:

- 🗣️ First language (L1 structure)

(e.g. A native Spanish speaker may find Italian vocabularies and grammar more
intuitively understandable due to similarities between the two languages.)

- 📚 Study habits
(e.g. A student used to self-studying can leverage their familiar strategies, like
effective note-taking, for mastering a new language.)

- 💬 Communication skills
(e.g. A student with public speaking experience might express opinions or
arguments more confidently in a new language.)

- 🌍 Knowledge of other languages

(e.g. An English and French speaker could spot similar structures or vocabularies
when learning Spanish, easing the process.)

- 🌐 General knowledge about the world

- 💡 Problem-solving skills

Reflect:

Can you recall an example from your own learning where your previous
knowledge helped you learn something new easier?
 Unless your student is a complete beginner in the language you teach, they already have a
level of language. To map this, we use the Common European Framework of Refence for
Languages (CEFR). Here you can see the language levels, with the Preply sub-levels added:

Reflect:

Why do you think it's important to know the student's proficiency level?

If you were to evaluate yourself in a new language you are learning, which CEFR
level do you think you are currently at and why?