The way we learn is personal, and we need someone that understand it. I don’t use my method in a rigid way, it is adaptable indeed to different students. For this reason, I offer a first free lesson in order to get to know each other, and establish an effective plan!
The evolution of my method
How my classes were before
II you would like to know more about my life before becoming a teacher, check the page “About my life“. I started giving classes as a side hustle, like many other people do to earn some extra money.
My first lessons were, of course, informal. I didn’t start with a syllabus or anything like that. Therefore, my rates were very low because I didn’t believe I offered just as much as the competitors. While I had watched a lot of videos where people taught their language, the true inspiration was still missing.
However, my students were happy: they kept coming back, and the system I was applying is something worth noticing. Since my very first lesson, I used Google Docs in a way one of my students well has explained:
“[…] he can efficiently type notes of what is being discussed during the lesson in a very clear and organized way. “
I therefore managed to keep the classes engaging for the students. It was not like ” me” and “them”, it was “us”. The shared Google Docs revealed to be extremely helpful for those who wanted to revise the lesson. That also helped students follow what I was saying both in a visual and auditory way.
After the first 3 months, I added something new to my lessons: I began giving texts to write as homework even if it scared me that the classes would to be too demanding. The results were rather surprising: I noticed a tangible improvement in my students, and they gained so much confidence.
How my classes are now and how my method evolved
Do you know Olly Richardson and his Storylearning Method? I came across his work because of Russian, and I found the story “Безумные Пельмени” (crazy dumplings) amazing to read. I COULD ACTUALLY READ IT despite my level being only A1/A2. Wow!
This guy really inspired me, and I started building my classes around texts. Not only I was asking my students to write down something, I began doing it myself for every lessons. A story in particular will show how much the students can benefit from this approach.
A French person came to me after enrolling for a College in Italy, and they wanted to learn Italian. They couldn’t speak it, excepts for some words or numbers. Nonetheless, I gave them a text since the very first lesson.
The vocabulary and the structures choice were adjusted according to their level and their native language (e.g I used a lot of “apprendere” instead of “imparare” because it is similar to the French verb “apprendre”). They also needed to be pushed a little in order to overcome their fears.
This full immersion with the language from day one worked. The materials included input that was comprehensible, and some that was not, a system inspired to me by a book from Stephen Krashen, Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning (1981.) The idea is that the best input you can receive, when learning a language, is made both by things we understand, and things you don’t.
The main language of the classes?
In my classes I try to use Italian as the main language: this is at the core of my method. When the student doesn’t get something, I rephrase with easier vocabulary, periphrasis, or I give more examples with context. If I switch to the native language of the student, it’s because it:
- helps the student follow what I am saying;
- helps me answer hard grammar questions like “why di is missing in the sentence é un piacere parlare con te?”.
So, I am not totally against using other languages during classes: there has to be a valid reason for it.