Why Should You Learn A Foreign Language With A Tutor?

July 4, 2019 Off By Christina

The Best Second Language Courses For You Are Foreign Language Classes With A Tutor

If you’re looking to learn a language, there are tons of options out there on the web – from pick-up-and-play apps to group classes and language exchange groups on social networking sites. While many of these are useful to language learning, nothing is as having a one-on-one tutor online.

A language tutor is a professional that takes you under their wing and understands your learning style. They will understand your goals and coach you towards learning the those aspects of the language which are most relevant to you. They will teach you the language, provide tips on how to enhance your learning and track your progress. That way your online language course is tailored to your needs and can be tweaked and adjusted so you’ll never feel out of place as you might in a group class.

So, let’s dive into the main benefits of going with a tutor to learn a language.

One-On-One Language Classes Are Tailored To You

Let’s start by getting down to the nitty-gritty of learning a foreign language. Everybody has their own learning style – in fact there are four basic learning styles. Some take in information more easily from visuals, others by speaking or thinking things over logically. Teachers are trained to mix all of these together when teaching in groups so everybody’s style is accounted for. Of course, what that also means is that roughly 85% of what they teach is not presented in a way that suits your preferred learning style. Now, let’s imagine your teacher could examine your learning style and tailor the lessons to how they would suit you best without having to factor in other class members. There is no doubt this would maximise your progress. And this is exactly what a private foreign language tutor does.

Even better, they customise the syllabus to help you meet your goals. Maybe you need to brush up on formal language for writing emails at work. Or it might be that you want to work on specific language skills for travelling. Some people need academic language skills (academic writing or presentation) to study abroad. Or may be you want to learn a language of your fiancee and to say “I love You” in their mother tongue.

Whatever your motivation for learning a second language, your tutor will base the course on it and adapt it based on your progress. This way, you get closer to mastering the language quicker.

You Get More Interaction With Your Individual Second Language Tutor

Ask any multi-lingual person how to learn a second language and they’ll tell you have to use it. Reading and writing exercises are important but speaking and listening are the most effective ways to learn a second language. In standard language classes teachers have to make sure speaking time is spread evenly among the group. Naturally, this limits the speaking time each individual is given and will stunt your progress.

Life isn’t lived in a classroom, it’s lived out in the real world with real conversations.

When you escape the classroom walls and spread your language learning wings, you set off on a journey to learning a language in a more organic way. Your tutor will get to know you personally and will be able to engage you in conversations about what you have been doing and the things you enjoy most in life. Talking about your hobbies and passions will make learning a new language more enjoyable as well as expanding your breadth of knowledge. In group lessons, there simply isn’t time for the tutor to go off on tangents.

With a tutor, you’ll speak more and practise real conversations in their authentic context. You might say you can get this by simply speaking to a friend who is already fluent in the language. While this isn’t a shabby idea, there’s one vital difference – correction. People are normally too polite to correct you. And even if they do correct you, unless they are trained in teaching the foreign language, explaining things to you in a way that you understand why you made mistakes can be tricky. Correction is something a tutor will do often, but in a way that nurtures your confidence. Moreover, this will guide you to communicating clearly and effectively.

You Get Better Pronunciation Practice With Your Foreign Language Tutor

Messing up the pronunciation of ‘sheet’ or ‘beach’ can get you in hot water. With greater interaction comes greater opportunity to rub these issues out – something that would be impossible to do by yourself.

There’s nothing wrong with holding on to your native accent, but pronunciation becomes an issue if it inhibits what you’re trying to say. The example above is a classic in English – let’s look at some from other languages. In Italian, if you don’t pronounce both Ns in ‘penne’ (the type of pasta), you might say ‘pene’ instead (which means penis). Spanish learners should watch out to pronounce ñ when wishing people a happy new year (Feliz año nuevo). If not, they might end up saying ‘Feliz ano nuevo’ which means Happy New Anus.

These can be embarrassing mistakes to make on your holiday or in a business meeting. And for many people they can be equally, if not more, embarrassing to make in front of fellow students. But the truth is that making mistakes is part of learning a language. When you get things wrong and have someone explain why, you are more likely to retain crucial information about how the language works. Those small nuances, while embarrassing in some situations, simply make your pronunciation better in others.

Spanish language classes online. Private second language classes with language tutors at Lonet.Academy

A private tutor will help you stamp out any pronunciation mishaps, even the embarrassing ones. They also know how to better explain and drill the pronunciation patterns, because they have studied the techniques and methods of language teaching! It is not enough just to be a native speaker in order to teach your native language!

It Feels Less Intimidating

Learning a new language can be intimidating – especially if you’re a beginner. The more people you speak in front of, the scarier it can be. When there’s only one person, it’s easier to feel at ease. Plus, you’ll build a relationship with the tutor, so you’ll be happy to practise freely. And while you might feel slightly afraid about making a fool of yourself in front of your classmates, an experienced language tutor has seen and heard pretty much every gaffe going. So, any mistake you make, you can be pretty sure it’s not new to your tutor.

Plus, all the additional speaking you do will enhance your language skills so you won’t need to feel like you’ve been put on the spot when you visit the country and use your newly learnt language for real.

There is one more interesting fact about most of tutors who teach one-on-one online. Not only do they have good teaching skills, but also diverse and fabulous personalities.

Get to know a lot of valuable ideas and news from your tutor that are not included in any text book.

You dive into the waters of a foreign culture and learn more about life and language in whichever country’s language you are learning. You might find out about local customs, idioms or dialects unique to a part of the country you plan to visit. Get inspired and encouraged by your tutor to explore new topics and locations you hadn’t previously considered.

In short, when you learn a foreign language with an online tutor rather than traditional language classes, you explore more about the language. You get a feel for it in its authentic setting. You gain a deeper insight into how it is used by native speakers. And you get it all so much faster than you ever could using an app, book or group lesson.

How On-Line Language Tutors Can Make It Cost Effective

Lessons with on-line foreign language tutors start from as little as 3-5 euros per session. But the affordability is not a reflection of lesser quality teaching.

On the contrary, such affordable pricing is based on the following factors and benefits our tutors enjoy:

they don’t have to pay to rent a classroom.They use free technology and deliver lessons on-line from anywhere.
second language on-line teachers enjoy the benefit of not having expenses for transport, parking, etc (lessons take place online, there is no need to travel!)
digital tools they use provide them with greater flexibility due to user-friendly cancellation policies.
on-line language tutors use digital, environmental friendly resources and electronically transferable materials (they do not use paper, copies, and so forth).