#10 When private lessons might be the answer - and how to choose your teacher. [tips og tanker]

Introduction to private teaching

Hi på dig . In this episode I would like to talk to you about private teaching . Should you have a private teacher ? Why should you or why shouldn't you , and how do you find the best one for you ?

Why group classes don't work for everyone

In my experience , people come to me because they have been to group classes before and that didn't work for them . It works for a lot of people , especially in the beginning , but in a class you have to share your teacher with maybe 30 other people or maybe , hopefully , less people , which means that you're going to follow a very specific plan and it will be the rhythm of the average student of the class , which means that either it's going to be perfect for you or it

Benefits of private language lessons

might be too complicated , too fast , or it might be too easy and too slow for you . And so if you are one of those extremes , you learn super quickly . You have what we call "språkøre" - " språköra language ear . You're going to be bored , and if you are a slow learner , if language is not really your thing , then maybe you'll get super frustrated

Personal experience with a tutor

and you'll lose your motivation and just lag behind and every lesson you'll feel worse and worse . For those two types of people , private lessons might be a good idea , and even the people in the middle , because when you have a private teacher , you get so much more practice and you get all the questions you have answered when you have them and you get them answered in a way that you would understand .

I know how hard it can be to start taking classes , whether it's private lessons or a real class . I have been procrastinating for a long time , since I'm learning Mandarin now and it's super hard to learn on my own and I haven't gotten the practice . So eventually now I have started taking classes and I'm so , so happy I did that . Having a private tutor makes me much , much , much more motivated . Being able to speak to someone and check how well it's going and getting my answers , getting my questions answered , is just a big motivation . Now I'm spending so much more time on studying and I actually love it now .

So what has been important for me when choosing my private teacher is that I want someone . I wanted someone who

Staying motivated through connection

listens , who asks me what I want and what I need , what my goals are , and follow my tempo , someone who wants to adapt to my needs and who listens when I come with feedback so that if there's anything you know I like , I will tell the person and if there's something that I prefer not doing , then I would also tell this person , and my teacher will accept that , and that's really really great . Another thing that I found important is to find someone that I have a really good connection with , because , let's face it , we're going to spend a lot of time together and if we don't have a good connection , then it's going to be awkward and it's going to be less motivating . You want to have a teacher that you like spending time with , that you enjoy talking to and that makes you feel good , someone who motivates you , who tells you that you're doing good , even though , like we're adults , but still we need someone to tell us that we're doing a good job , especially with something like this like learning a new language . It's such a vulnerable thing to do .

Speaking in a different language is so intimidating . I find it super intimidating to try to speak Mandarin , even though I'm a language teacher , and that I , even though I know I am good at learning languages not as good as I was before , because with age it becomes more complicated , but still I know . I know I can do it but I need someone to to cheer me on , um , and I feel that I have found that . So it's uh , I'm super happy about that and I want to share it with you , and I hope that if you feel , if you feel a lack of motivation , consider it , even even though it doesn't have to be once a week , it can be less than that .

The most important thing is that you have somebody to keep you accountable and that you know will show up for you and answer your questions and test you in a nice way and talk to you so you can use the language , because when you just learn the language and you're not

Final encouragement and goodbye

using it , you're not well , you're not using it for the purpose it's made for . It's made for communicating , and if you don't do that , then it's difficult to stay motivated . So , yeah , if it's a private teacher , motivated . So yeah , if it's a private teacher , whether it's a private teacher or a class you go to or just someone you can talk to in that language I hope you'll find someone , because it will really , really make it a fun . I hope it will really make it a much more fun and motivating experience , trust me . So , that being said , I just want to say lykke till , good luck . Vi hörs you .