Academic Manual

for

One-to-One Teachers

V 03/14

ACADEMIC MANUAL FOR ONE to ONE TEACHERS

'In one-to-one teaching, however specialised, the technical repertoire of the teacher is more important than
the materials repertoire. (Peter Wilberg. One to One. A teachers Handbook)

PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT
This guide is designed to give you a set of tools to maximise the
benefit of your lessons to the student. To summarise the approach,
make your lessons about the student and their interests, try to foster
real (oral) communication and be a good listener- get your student
talking. In this guide youll find ideas and techniques to help you to
succeed in this.
This Guide tells you what you need to cover and the approach you
will need to employ. Although many parts of this document refer to
strategies and actions which are obligations placed on us by the
accreditation authority which licenses us, or by the contracts with our
closed group clients, we are very grateful for your feedback and
comments.
If you have any comments or ideas about how we might improve our
courses in future years we would be very pleased to hear them.
You can contact the Academic Manager at
academicmanager@sul-schools.com

CONTENTS

Page No

PART ONE: HOW A SUL COURSE SHOULD RUN

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.

Training for new staff

Contact list- Whos who?
Degree/ELT/CRB Documentation
Orientation: One to one courses
Your teaching space
SUL Child Safeguarding Policy
Lessons & teaching: the basics
Why do students choose 1:1
Academic aims & outcomes
Academic support
Observations
CPD Continuous Professional Development
Pre-course preparation
Needs Analysis & testing
The Student letter
Ideas for creating a course plan from the student letter
Planning (Individual course plan)
Functional Language & Topics
Before the students arrival
First Teaching Day Procedure
Day 2/3
Student feedback forms
Last Day Procedures

3
3
3
4
4
4
5
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
14
15
17
19
20
20
20
21
21

PART TWO: TEACHING ONE TO ONE

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

Introduction
Issues for the one to one teacher
One to one teaching techniques
Speaking ideas
Pronunciation ideas
Listening ideas
Reading ideas
Preparing for a reading or listening activity (including video)
Writing ideas
Other
Projects
General one to one advice
Advice on rapport
Error correction and feedback
Internet resources for one to one teaching
Personal Harassment & Bullying Policy
Safeguarding Summary Sheet

22
23
24
25
26
27
27
27
28
28
29
30
31
31
32
34
35

PART THREE: APPENDICES

Appendix 1
Appendix 1B
Appendix 2
Appendix 5
Appendix 6
Appendix 7
Appendix8

Needs Analysis Questionnaire

Appendix 9B

Assessing Needs Analysis

Lesson plan (blank)
One to One Course Teacher Final Report
Course planning & record of teaching
Student feedback questionnaire (host family
immersion day 2/3)

Appendix 10
Appendix 11
Appendix 12
Appendix 13

Student feedback questionnaire (host family

immersion end of course)
Student feedback questionnaire (1:1 English &
Culture)
Welcome letter to teacher
Conditions of Immersion Host Family Acceptance
Immersion Teacher Feedback Form
Student Profile (example)

Appendix 14

Letter to Immersion family

Appendix 15

Risk Assessment Form

Needs Analysis Form

Appendix 9

TRAINING FOR NEW STAFF

New staff will usually be inducted by telephone and email although occasionally we may ask you to attend a
training day at one of a number of locations around the country prior to starting work for SUL. More usually
we will provide you with an induction pack and you can discuss this with the Academic Manager who will be
available to you by arrangement. Please email dos@sul-schools.com to arrange this.

CONTACT LIST- Whos who?

Make sure you know all the relevant people who you may be required to liaise with and how you can get help
The Student - You will receive a dossier with details (age, sex, address, parent/guardian details, allergies,
hobbies etc. plus a letter from the student) at leasta week before arrival. You will also receive some
information of what the student is interested in studying if we have this. This gives the teacher/ host family
and student a chance to get to know each other beforehand and to break the ice. We encourage you to
start email and phone contact prior to arrival wherever possible.
SUL Host Family & Home Tuition Manager (Steph Coon)- (stephanie@sul-schools.com) Sends teaching and
contract details from Head Office and you should contact her if you have a problem in this area.
SUL Local Organiser(LO) Selects families and assists with student/family matchings and any problems
with courses and individuals in their area and is the first point of contact for Host Families.
Group Leader (comes with closed groups of 1:1 students) - Offers student support. The Group Leaders
phone each student regularly (every 2-3 days) to check everything is okay. The Group Leader is in regular
contact with the LO and SUL office. If there is any issue at all, the Group Leader discusses this with the LO
and /or SUL office. If necessary the Group Leader and LO may pay the host family a visit. With respect to
teaching, the leader passes on any student feedback regarding the lessons to the teacher and the SUL
office where appropriate.
SUL Academic Manager - Offers academic support and acts to maintain consistency of academic provision
across the organisation. Every teacher is expected to have a developmental observation during the course
of the teaching season (once annually). (Contact the Academic Manager: 01726 814227 or dos@sulschools.com)

DEGREE/ELT/CRB DOCUMENTATION
Under the terms of our accreditation we cannot employ teachers without seeing originals of their documents;
degree certificate (if any), highest EFL qualification and CRB document.
Therefore all staff must send originals of their degree certificate, highest EFL qualification and CRB form to
SULor show the originals (and bring a photocopy of each also) to your Local Organiser as appropriate. The
Local Organiser will sign the copies to affirm that they have seen the original document. The signed
photocopies of the original documents must then be sent to SUL Head Office. If any teacher does not provide
this documentation, the Local Organiser must inform the Academic Manager as soon as they can and
appropriate steps will be taken either to get sight of documentation quickly. Not seeing the original documents
will lead to you being paid at the lower (unqualified) rate of pay.
All teachers working for SUL must hold a current CRB (dated within 2 years of the start of the course).
We cannot pay staff until original documentation has been seen.

Orientation: One to One Courses

Make sure you know everyone else & the role they have The Local Organiser, the family and your student.
Also any client representative or group leader (groups of one to one students often come with a responsible
adult).
Also make sure you know/have decided where your teaching locationis and where any meeting places are (for
pick up/drop off etc). Ensure you are clear on the timings of arrival, departure and of the daily lessons and
make these plain to your student.

Your Teaching space

Ideally youll have a space where you can use an internet connected computer together, most teens will now
live a highly screen based lifestyle. Not only can you design tasks and activities for the student to complete on
the computer but also it potentially gives you a brief break while the student completes a task.
Also in an ideal world you will be able to alter the seating from side by side to 90 degrees to back to back to
walking about (perhaps for a brief role play etc).

SUL Child Safeguarding Policy

Please read the SUL Child Safeguarding Policy (summary) which is available from our website. It is vital for your
own protection as well as the welfare of the child, that you understand and follow the best practice as laid out
in this document. If you have any concerns contact the Homestay & Residential Course Manager on 01726 814227 or
email steph@sul-schools.com

Lessons & Teaching: The Basics

We recommend The Practice of English Language Teaching by Jeremy Harmer as a good generalist book on
the practice of ELT (English Language Teaching). Its easy to read and covers the basics.
Also presently online is Peter Wilbergs book: http://www.scribd.com/doc/48723108/ONE-TO-ONEwhich has
loads of great ideas in it (despite the grammatical error in the title!)
Student problems For problems with your student please talk to the Local Organiser or phone/email Steph
in the SUL officestephanie@sul-schools.com, who will take appropriate action and offer help. For any
academic problems please contact (dos@sul-schools.com).
PLEASE NOTE RAISING STUDENT PROBLEMS AFTER THE STUDENT HAS LEFT MAKES THEM IMPOSSIBLE TO
RESOLVE! PLEASE LET US KNOW WHILE THE STUDENT IS WITH YOU.
Teaching hoursUsual timings are:
3 hours per day

4 hours per day

5 hours per day

Lesson 1

9.00 10.00

9.00 10.00

9.00 10.00

Lesson 2

10.05 11.05

10.05 11.05

10.05 11.05

Lesson 3

11.15 12.15

11.15 12.15

11.15 12.15

1.15 2.15

1.15 2.15

Lesson 4
Lesson 5

2.20 3.20

Location of lessons The lessons need to be conducted in the host family house. It is required that the student
and teacher study alone in a quiet room in a formal setting, this will provide a conducive environment for
learning. It is a great idea to have a place with a laptop with wifi or a desktop computer so that you can work
together using internet resources.
Paperwork: register and class record etc

Needs analysis*: Done on the first day. Follow the guidelines on First Day Procedure below
Course plan & record of teaching*: The course plan needs to be filled in prior to the start of day 2
(see Syllabus planning) NB: should be a guide NOT set in stone! The record of work section should be
filled in on a daily basis and signed by both the teacher and the student. Notes must be kept on
student performance (to use for final report writing).
Student Feedback forms**: filled in by the student after 2 days (not 1 week courses) and at the end
of the course. SUL provides an SAE so the student can post it back to us directly.
Final Progress Report*: (see Last day Procedure below) Please write the student report based on your
course syllabus and mark the students in terms of improvement from day 1. Please add
recommendations for future study.It is important that reports are motivational and developmental.
Please ensure that you are praising where praise is due and advising on further development where
necessary. Criticism is to be depreciated!
Exercise Books Students from many of our closed group clients will come with an exercise book. We
provide SUL exercise books for all other students.Parental expectation is that it will show a record of
learning. Please ensure that the date, the aims of each lesson and other appropriate work are written
in the book and that you look over it and correct as appropriate (every day). All lesson handouts

should be attached to the exercise books as they act as a record of work covered. You can also use it
as a diary, used to record the events of the day, to record local projects and to record new
vocabulary, to jot down new words or phrases.
Immersion Teacher Feedback Form*should be filled in and sent back to SUL after the student has left.
Please try to give positive suggestions for change wherever possible.
Risk assessment Completing a risk assessment on your home will help to protect you against claims
following an accident in your home. We advise all families to complete a risk assessment. If you need
help in completing this, please contact Steph on 01726 814227 or email steph@sul-schools.com.

*Must be returned to Head Office after the course for payment to be made
**Should be returned by student in SAE provided
Homework or project work it is expected that students will need to be set work to do on their own, either as
preparation for a lesson, a follow up on a lesson or as part of a project worked on throughout their stay.
Generally try to keep the lesson time for speaking and discussion (whether free speaking or discussion of
grammar/vocabulary etc) with homework to read or write something in preparation for the next lesson.
Disregard this if the student asks for writing and reading practice but generally your lessons should be spoken
in bias. Always try to link homework tasks to homestay arrangement / non-class environment.
Journals/Scrapbooks Many students on one to ones find great benefit in keeping a daily journal. It allows
them to express themselves more freely, record their stay and to practice English learned. Whether they are
beginners or advanced English learners, the emphasis should be on fluency. Correct grammar, punctuation and
spelling errors once students have gained some confidence. Correct only one or two targeted errors at one
time. A page filled with corrections and suggestions can be demotivating.
Resources We need to offer all of our students a broad ranging course which means you need access to
recorded sound and image. Every course should include listening materials. If necessary you can do this using
yourself as the resource but it is helpful to have audio content to take the focus off the teacher from time to
time. There is plenty of appropriate online content available. It is great if you are able to provide a range of
sources of materials such as audio visual (internet/cd/tv/dvd/radio etc) It is however important to use these
appropriately (It is not intended that students sit in front of hours of TV). It is a resource to be used as part of
your syllabus and will need to be prepared with pre listening tasks/listening tasks/post listening tasks for
example.
Books Please ensure you have a good up to date grammar book for reference; favourites include

English Grammar In Usehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/English-Grammar-Use-AnswersIntermediate/dp/0521532892/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255085173&sr=8-1

Practical English Usagehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-English-Usage-MichaelSwan/dp/0194420981/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255084993&sr=1-2

Although the SUL syllabuses are designed for use with groups they have plenty of activities and topics that are
suitable for a one to one class. You can download them from the website www.sul-schools.com/teachers (you
will need a login please email jemma@sul-schools.com if you dont have one)
Internet A fantastic resource used as part of a considered syllabus allowing students to research any local visits
you are going on together, hobbies and interests as well as for you to download teaching ideas and so forth.
Short YouTube videos on areas of interest can be used with a pre listening/watching task . (Listening &
Speaking: What do you think Ned will say about skateboarding? [show picture of Ned] Or Watching &

Speaking: How many things to eat can you see? Make a list.) Watch again for a straight listening task and then
have an extension task to complete having watched the video.

Why do parents and students choose this one to one teaching

option?
Firstly parents and students see the advantage of the teaching being based on a students individual needs, as
opposed to a class teacher basing lessons on a text book course designed for millions. Secondly the client sees
the advantage of living with a family, both in the expected level of education and culture and the fact that the
student effectively has a great deal more contact time with the family than just the formal teaching time. This
may also be used to re-enforce lesson topics or provide a resource for lessons.
To summarise the approach, make your lessons about the student and their interests, try to foster real (oral)
communication and be a good listener- get your student talking.
Every lesson should have the AIMS clearly stated to the student (and written down).

Academic aims & outcomes: increasing communicative competence and linguistic self-confidence
One of the prerequisites for good teaching and learning is that the AIMS and OUTCOMES of all your lessons
would be explicit to an observer but also are explicit to the student. When you plan your course you need to
ensure that aims and outcomes are clearly shown.
AIM:
OUTCOME:

What you intend to do in the lesson

What you want the student to be able to do by the end of the lesson

AIMS SHOULD INCLUDE:

Increasing the students linguistic self-confidence (so give them tasks they can complete successfully. Also
give lots of praise. Dont over correct.. this tends to be discouraging)
Showing them how to continue to learn in their own time and after the course is over
Trying to integrate the language learnt with experiences and activities in the afternoons/evenings (you
could practice shopping and then ask the student to buy various things for you in town for example).

Academic Support
The Academic Manager will be able to offer you support and advice if you are unsure how to approach the
planning of your lessons. Please email or phone the Academic Manager on academicmanager@sulschools.com 01726 814227
As part of our requirement to maintain consistent academic standards across the organisation, we are able to
offer support for newer teachers or for teachers who are faced with an academic problem. If you need support
from Head Office please ask. We can offer different levels of support from a phone call to suggesting materials
to creating a development plan should the circumstance require it. We will do this in consultation with you.

Observations
We are required by our accrediting body to observe all teaching staff at least once each season. These
observations may be with the Academic Manager or a SUL DELTA qualified DOS . We will always provide
written feedback.
All observation feedback is developmental not judgmental; it has the aim of supporting new teachers or
supporting areas of weakness. The Academic Manger needs to know in what you feel you need support so that
we can create a plan to provide it.
Observations will tend to be an hour long and feedback will be given as soon as possible thereafter (ie. in a
break or at lunch etc)
Usually observations will be carried out by a suitably qualified person from Head Office. The observer will want
to see a copy of your lesson plan and see how it fits into an overall course plan
Critical Issues:

1 AIMS: Are the aims of the lesson explicit?

2 Rapport: Does the teacher have a good rapport with the student
3 Competence: Does the teacher have a good grasp of language forms

Lesson is part of a logically structured course plan

Activities are appropriate to student (interests/ level & ability)
Considers the students learning style(s)
Student centred environment

Emphasises communication skills, fluency and linguistic competence

Uses clear instructional language
Uses lots of contextual clues: body language, visuals, realia (real things), graphic organizers, media
support
Relates content of lessons to the experience of being in UK
Establishes a positive, affective learning environment which fosters self-esteem and motivation and
develops positive relationships with the student.
Checks for student understanding & provides feedback to students and non-threatening error
correction.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

SUL Language Schools is committed to the ongoing training, in-service development and retention of both its
academic and administrative staff alike, both at head office and at its temporary centres around the country.
SUL believes that providing opportunities for staff CPD is vital to guarantee the continued success of the
organization and maintain the highest standards in the services it provides.
For the teaching staff CPD is effected via a combination of an induction including discussions/ workshops on
teaching teens, in-class observations by the academic management team, team teaching and peer observation
where possible, and part funding for the Cambridge CELTA, DELTA and Trinity TESOL Certificate and Licentiate
Diploma in TESOL. We also regularly invite staff to enrol in online seminar series (IATEFL YLTsig EVO sessions)
and pass on regular links and updates via email.

Pre course preparation

You can use the information that SUL sends you (including the students letter to you) as a basis for how the
course plan might look (It might give you ideas about their level, their interests and their reasons for learning
English all of which should give you some pointers as to what you might include in your course.
However do NOT do too much pre-arrival preparation, until you meet the student you will not be certain
how to run the course.

Needs Analysis & Testing

We do not expect you to conduct a formal entry test with our Junior 1 week and two week students. Some
students may arrive pre tested and in this case Steph will send you the test result score and the level of the
student. However all students should have an oral (Question and Answer) Needs Analysis session on the first
day of teaching.

The Needs Analysis

A needs analysis is simply a set of (usually spoken) questions and answers aimed at establishing the learners'
language requirements in the occupational or academic situation they are being prepared for. A good needs
analysis will lead to a successful outcome in that you are then prepared to create a course based on the needs
of the particular student(s) in front of you. Conducting a successful needs analysis will allow you to teach
based on the needs of the student rather than the needs of the teacher! There is a sample questionnaire
attached to this document for you to use or you can create your own. Please note that you are not expected to
stick slavishly to the document but it gives you a starting point.
For a French teenager, for example, there may often be two or more different primary aims;
to get better at English in school in France (Grammar/Structural emphasis)
to communicate more effectively in English for personal reasons holidays, the internet, songs & other
cultural interests. (Functional Language & Communicative competence)
to give a better chance of following a career that requires English
You would be aiming to combine these in your course plan.
A needs analysis will probably include:
Why are they learning English? Why are they here? (their parents/school/themselves etc)
Their interests and abilities (Tennis, computing, watching horror films etc)
How the student uses/will use English (eg: school studies & exams/holidays/future job)
Both what the student can and cant presently achieve in English (eg: their level of English)
What the student would like to achieve on the course & what topics/areas of language the student would
like to study (eg: Speak more fluently, British culture/film & TV/tenses)
How they would like to study (eg: use the internet/do lots of speaking/dont do roleplays)
As part of the needs analysis you can agree terms of reference for the lessons by discussion:
The teacher will
The student will.
This should be done as a student centred, interactive activity, i.e. turn it into a conversation as much as
possible rather than as a linear checklist.

The Course Plan

Your course plan can and should then be created based on the results of your needs analysis.
Lessons The mind map/ranking feedback notes you have collected can be used to discuss a syllabus. This will
allow you to structure the lessons and the days to have enough variety in terms of topic and activity to cater

10

for different skills and systems. Although you create a course plan at this point, you should review it constantly
and be prepared to change it as necessary in the light of the students performance, preference and needs.
You should give the student a copy of your course plan and display it in the area you are using for your lessons.
It should be a negotiated document.
You may decide to put regular slots into your course plan. Examples might include a grammar feedback slot,
recycling previous learning, a skills slot, a brief radio/internet listening each day at a specific time or a brief
video slot for example. You might have a 5 minute journal writing slot, writing up the previous days
activities/excursions. You may decide to have an error feedback session at the same time each day (rather
than simply correcting every error as it appears- a process that can be very demotivating for the student). You
may also divide up the days into a recognisable shape with certain activities or topics appearing at the same
time each day.
Social/activity As well as the more formal lessons, the needs analysis should also inform aspects of the social
and activity programme. This may be the angle you take on the academic links of the trip preparation you do,
how exactly you structure the day/afternoon to ensure the student gets the most possible from all aspects of
the course.
Copies of the completed Course Planning Documents should be sent to Head Office at the end of the course.
Another copy can be posted up in your work space.

Expectations & Learner Training

Embark on learner training from the start of the course, emphasising how they can improve through better
learning strategies and helping to manage their, and your, expectations for the course. This will also help give
them the skills they need to carry on after the course.
Set up expectations:
Show the student how you want them to record new vocabulary & any recording of tasks/new
topics/grammar etc
Explain what homework will be given and how you will go through it in the lesson (eg a task based on a
TV programme or reading a comic/graphic novel for example)
Dont be afraid of explaining the rationale for the programme, course plan etc. as once students realise
where the thinking that lies behind it, especially when it is different from what they are used to, they are
generally far more accepting.
Check their notebooks regularly
Explain how some tasks you do in lessons or for homework could also be done without you as part of
developing their learner autonomy (e.g. vocabulary cards).
Have a regular feedback loop to find out what kind of activities they enjoyed/didnt enjoy, how they feel
about their progress etc. to inform your future lessons
Set up any regular slots such as a brief daily listening using YouTube or whatever.

Functional Language
These notes should be considered in the context of a needs assessment of the student. The first priority is to
facilitate the students functional language needs in the context of the family and the local area that he or she
will be in during their stay:
Greetings/goodbyes: at different times of day; at different levels of formality
The house and home: daily routine; leisure; describing the family; at the table
offering/accepting/refusing; requests; commenting on/complimenting food; offering help; asking
permission

11

 Travelling: asking for directions; travelling locally; if lost what to do; transport/times
Expressing feelings and opinions
Shopping, eating and drinking: polite requests & question forms; ordering; asking about
prices/sizes/opening times; money
Thanking: for gifts; for actions.
Useful classroom language
Making conversation with your host family: starting a conversation; talking about your home/family;
talking about your country; talking about your school/hobbies; complimenting
food/decor/clothes/hair; talking about things going on in the area.
There is obviously far too much above to cover in a first day lesson so you may want to start with a small
selection of essentials and then build in more work to your course plan as appropriate.
This could be done using word order games; matching the phrases to the function and/or situation; giving the
phrase and the students coming up with a suitable context for it; giving the situation and the students coming
up with the most appropriate phrase etc.

Running the course

The course should be student centred and stimulating. Strive to avoid using pre published educational
materials which tend to be dull, irrelevant to the student and often patronising. Try to use authentic materials
on topics of interest to the student wherever possible. These may include: leaflets, posters, signs, brochures,
magazines, newspapers, books, films/tv, music, web sites etc. Get used to keeping notes as you work with your
student so that you can feed them back to them at the end of the activity. These should be rich in both
language and content you can use in your lessons.
What should go into an English language lesson?
The content depends on what the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson. However it is possible to make some
generalisations. Students who are interested in, involved in and enjoy what they are studying tend to make
better progress and learn faster. When thinking about an English lesson it is useful therefore to keep the
following three elements in mind - Engage - Study - Activate
Engage: This means getting the student interested in the lesson. Engaging students is important for the
learning process.
Study: Every lesson needs to have some kind of language focus. The study element of a lesson could be a focus
on any aspect of the language, such as grammar or vocabulary and pronunciation. A study stage could also
cover revision and extension of previously taught material.
Activate: Telling students about the language is not really enough to help them learn it. For students to
develop their use of English they need to have a chance to produce it. In an activate stage the students are
given tasks which require them to use not only the language they are studying that day, but also other
language that they have learnt.
Input output
You need to decide on the balance between input (what you are giving to the student/ or what the student is
finding out from other sources (internet etc) and output when the student is producing language (oral or
written). Often it may be most appropriate to offer input first thing when the student is freshest and most
receptive.
Remember that a major difference between a student studying in their country and studying with you is
that they are in the target culture when they are in the host family house in the UK. For this reason you
should tie what they are doing outside the lessons into your lessons as you will be unifying the experience
for your student and bridge the gap between what is taught in classroom and life in the UK. Why would they
come 500 miles to do a Headway lesson they can as easily do at home? Personalise your teaching- make it
about them!
There are ideas on how you can do this in the section below.

12

What your course should include:

Lots of genuine communication: discuss real concerns of the student. Depending on your relationship,
its a great opportunity to talk about things which are meaningful for them such as family, stress at
work, their plans and goals. Youll find that students often come out with their best English if what
they are talking about is real to them. Teach the person not the material!
Authentic materials
Real life and relevant English and situations
Flexibility and reflexivity: as the course progresses, the student will have different problems &
directions so go with these rather than sticking rigidly to a course book.
Preparation for real world situations
Learner training and autonomy: record progress together. Go through what has been covered
regularly, keep a diary of areas that were found difficult, promote self-direction - what they would like
to work on etc.
Lessons should link to the social programme wherever possible
modern, relevant and interesting topics
What your course should not include:
A didactic course book syllabus
Long reading and writing tasks in class
Too much (non-productive) teacher talking time
Questions to help with Planning (see full doc online at URL given below)
What are the general communicative objectives of each session?
What are the particular Key Language Items and Language Areas?
Which of these Key Language areas could present difficulties for you?
Which of these Key Language areas might pose particular difficulties for the students?
How will you prioritize the various Key Language areas? (more or less time as appropriate)
Which of the Key Language areas will need some recycling and ongoing revision?
How can various areas of Key Language be combined?
What (if any) are your Phonics/Pronunciation priorities for each session?
How can the Phonics/Pronunciation and Key Language areas be combined?
What learning strategies and classroom management issues will need to be considered?
Qs taken from http://www.englishraven.com/files/SessionPlanningGuide_778933.pdf (see pdf for more details)

Please see Appendix for more Needs Analysis questions

I suggest you fill in the Needs Analysis while talking to the student. This is likely to produce a better result as
the student may misunderstand a form whereas you can tease out the answers by question and answer.
Issues to deal with include the student not having clear expectations (particularly common with young
learners) in which case I would build a course based on their identified language needs using topics and
activities that are of interest to them.
As part of the needs analysis you can agree terms of reference for the lessons by discussion:

The teacher will

The student will.

Many students may be obsessed with upcoming exams and so want to study a rather restricted syllabus based
on their home examination system. Try to broaden this out where you can, students will learn if they are
enjoying themselves, understand what it is you are trying to achieve together and are engaged with your
lesson.

13

The Student letter

The other great source of information for making a course plan is the student letter that you are sent prior to
the arrival of the student. Some student letters are very poor but here is a genuine one which I saw recently.
See notes below:

14

Ideas for creating a course plan from the student letter:

These are just a few ideas that you might use if confronted with the letter above, to put together a course plan
for Guillaume. The list is my fairly brief first response to the letter and is in no way exhaustive!
1.

Discussion of travel
a. His experiences. (possible use comparing Present Perfect & Past tenses)
b. Ranking of things to take in a rucksack (what 10 things would you take- which are most
important, if your hotel room caught fire which 3 would you take etc)
c. Discussion/internet research of best places in the world/places to see before you die (or are
30!)(comparatives & superlatives)
d. Showing you on the internet where hes been and describing what it was like

2.

Discussion of America
a. His experiences
b. Comparing America and UK/ America and France
c. Showing you on the internet where hes been and describing what it was like

3.

Discussion of his last trip to the UK (Wales)

a. His experiences, what he liked/didnt like, how it compared to this trip etc
b. What he knows about Welsh/English culture and customs (could find some good YouTube
clips on this I am sure)

4.

Discussion of English culture and traditions

a. Compare with France
b. Look at how far stereotypes are real
c. Interview people about their tastes/habits with a stereotype questionnaire and then report
back in class

5.

Using music in class

Music is a fantastic way to remember language so if the student likes music thats a great way in
a. Do a listening using songs of bands he likes (you can download almost any lyrics from the
internet and almost all songs are somewhere on YouTube)- Make a gap fill activity or just get
him to write down a verse by listening a few times. Then discuss the meaning.
b. Get him to research (on the internet) and give you a presentation on his favourite band
c. Roleplay an interview with a band member

6.

The Boat that Rocked- (I got the English title by Googling it) I might prepare a few clips of this film to
use as the basis of a listening/discussion. After all he has almost certainly watched it in French... Great
YouTube clips I found include: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJREbs4rm-4 (Charades)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjBNH4OtnO8 (Interview with Bill Nighy)
You could also use the trailer which is online too.

7.

Get him to explain why he likes motor sports (assuming you, like me, dont get it!) Get him to explain
any rules and regulations to you and what talents somebody needs to reach the top.
a. Get him to research and present a biography of a driver (Lewis Hamilton in this case) or of a
circuit
b. Roleplay an interview between a reporter and a driver (or Bernie Ecclestone) each of you
taking turns to be the driver/the reporter

15

8.

Discussion of hobbies
Get him to discuss his hobbies, explain how/where/when he does them, tell you the plot of a film/TV
series/computer game etc
a. Look at an English version of one of his favourite TV/films and create clips to use for listening
or as the basis for a conversation/roleplay etc
b. Get him to review a film/TV programme or computer game and then give you a presentation:
you can use internet review sites such as metacritic or others for this.

9.

Talk about the French exam system and the Baccalaureate in particular. Find out what English
requirement there is for him and how to help him with this. Ideally get him to source some
Baccalaureate English papers for you to look at together

10. Look at some science/computing work (in English) either using English sources such as New Scientist
or online science exam help (such as BBC bitesize here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ Also try online videos such as Richard Feynman
here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSZNsIFID28 (but also lots of other videos out there!)
11. Get him to do pieces of writing for homework, based on what you have done in the lessons and then
have a slot in your lessons for going through his writing and helping him with it. Dont do too much
writing in the lessons themselves.

16

Before the students arrival

SUL will provide you with a dossier with details (age, sex, address, parent/guardian details, allergies, hobbies
etc. plus a letter from the student) at least a week before arrival. You will also receive some information of
what the student is interested in studying if we have this. Please try and get in contact via email prior to the
students arrival.
With some students SUL will ask you to email and make contact. Please ask them to provide details of
themselves & their family, their day to day life, their visits to English speaking countries & other experiences of
speaking English, their work/school, their hobbies, skills and other interests and their plans for the future (see
example letter on p12). This will help with course preparation.
We may ask you to pick up the student from the airport (arrange the transfer). In this case we pay mileage and
a small additional per mile charge.

First Teaching Day Procedure

Needs Analysis (Entry Test)
Please carry out a good Needs Analysis (you may use the one in Appendix 1) to get an overview of your
students needs. This will allow you to rough out the course plan based on the students answers to the Needs
Analysis. If you are unsure about any part of the academic procedure, please contact the Academic Manager at
academicmanager@sul-schools.com or call Head Office.
This will probably take all of your first lesson. You can then have an introductory lesson perhaps using the
students letter to you (perhaps getting them to ask you questions to find out the same information as is
contained within their letter) or other getting to know you tasks.
Having done the needs analysis you need to sketch out a course plan with the student (this should be a
negotiated document and can change as the course progresses).
Set up expectations

Show the student how you want them to record new vocabulary & any recording of tasks/new
topics/grammar etc
Explain what homework will be given and how you will go through it in the lesson (eg a task based on
a TV programme or reading a comic/graphic novel for example)
Set up any regular slots such as a brief daily listening using YouTube or whatever.

Day 2/3

Give the student the day 2/3 feedback form (not 1 week courses) and the SAE. Allow the student
some privacy to fill it in and seal it in the envelope. Send this back to SUL Head Office. This should
NOT be done in lesson time.

17

Student Feedback
On a course of 7 days or more (NOT CAP MONDE courses), you will need to give out a day 2/3 feedback form,
get students to complete this and then look at the results (along with the Group Leaders if any). Please
respond appropriately to feedback and let Head Office know what you have done to address any issues. All
feedback forms should be sent back to Head Office at the end of the course.
You then need to get students to complete an end of stay feedback form and collect and send these back to
SUL Head Office in the boxes at the end of the course. These are usually online documents these days so you
will need to give your student access to a computer and the link.

Last Day Procedures

On the last day you have a number of objectives:

Revision of work covered

Revision class There are lots of ways of reviewing what you have studied including games and
activities. Remember that your primary aim has been communicative competence and linguistic selfconfidence and prepare a revision lesson that reflects this.

Check the exercise bookis up to date and are corrected

Go through the exercise book that the student has been using every day and check that any handouts
have been collected and kept over the course. Any final correction of work in the book can be done at
this stage.

Create a Final Report based on the work you have covered and the student's progress
You can, if you wish, run a formal or semi-formal progress test by devising a series of tasks to test
material covered. This will allow you to give an accurate picture of the students progress on the
Teacher Final Report. The ideal test would be a combination of all the skills you have been working on
(with a speaking task likely to be highly important).
Please ensure that the Final Report includes recommendations for future study as well as
commenting on the students progress and level.

Give the student the end of course feedback form and the SAE. Allow the student some privacy to fill
it in and seal it in the envelope. Send this back to SUL Head Office. This should NOT be done in lesson
time.

Send all paperwork back to SUL Head Office to ensure prompt payment
o Completed Course planning & record of teaching form
o Completed Needs Analysis Questionnaire
o One to One Course Teacher Final Report (this will be sent by SUL to the parents so please
ensure it is thorough, developmental, positiveand legible)
o Immersion Teacher Feedback Form
o The student feedback form in its SAE if required

18

PART 2: Teaching One to One

Excellent thoughts on teaching one to one: http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Teaching%20Oneto-One
Teaching British Culture: http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Teaching%20Teenagers

Introduction
One of the main aims of a successful language course is to stimulate real communication in the classroomonce the student has a genuine desire to communicate (in English) then it can be argued that the conditions
for sustained and successful learning are in place.
In a one to one environment if the teacher is interested in their student and what they have to say then the
opportunities to sustain real communication are in principle easier create than in a group.
With teaching one to one then, the teaching tends to be all about the student, their needs and interests (which
may of course conflict). With teenagers it tends to be about me, that is they are interested if the subject
revolves around them and their interests, history and points of view. So teaching teenagers one to one ought
to be a win-win situation. The issue however is that to be able to access this ego-driven learning space the
teacher needs to have won the trust of the student. And as we know, with teenagers that may be possible but
there are times when it is extremely difficult.

19

ISSUES FOR THE ONE TO ONE TEACHER

1.

It can be extremely tiring teaching (and learning) one to one

a. Devise a strategy to give you both regular, brief times-off from each other (ie a brief
writing/reading/listening task or a preparation for a presentation/other task which allows the
student to work briefly on their own
b. Review both what and how you are teaching with the student on a regular basis and try to vary
topic, skill, approach, activity regularly.

2.

The teacher has to quickly establish a rapport with their student and sometimes this is problematicwhere in a class a single student would not necessarily cause the teacher any significant problem
a. Conduct a thorough needs analysis to find out both what the student wants to learn and how the
student wants to learn. Use the first lesson(s) to get to know the student and establish common
ground. Sell yourself to the student. Perhaps the most important aspect from the students point of
view is that their teacher has a genuine interest in them.
b. Make sure that the quality of your welcome on the first meeting is high. Most people make
judgements very fast and these judgements are hard to shift.

3.

Shy, quiet or boring students can be hard to get to know

a. It is important to find out about their lives, their interests, their experiences so that you can build a
course.

4.

The student may want their course to be based on an area of expertise or interest that the teacher simply
doesnt have
a. While this used to be a major issue for 1 to 1 teachers, the internet has made access to varied
materials much easier.

5.

You cant use certain techniques such as pairwork/group work in a one to one situation
a. Certain forms of pairwork are possible with the teacher acting as the other member of the pair, and
you can also inject movement into the one to one class (by doing an activity back to back, or by
standing up to do a greetings role play for example)

20

ONE TO ONE TEACHING TECHNIQUES

Using the student as the resource
This tends to be very motivating for students but often quite hard to access before you have gained their trust
and established common ground. However, its great advantage is that you have less preparation time too. One
way of achieving this is to ask the student to talk about an aspect of their life or interests/history etc and by
using Q+A get the student to talk. While they are talking you can make notes on their performance
(errors/vocabulary deficits/grammatical deficits etc) and then at the end of this first phase you can go through
the issues that arose and help the student with the errors they made. Make sure you get them to practice
using the correct forms at this point. Finally you get the student to do the same or a similar task again and you
monitor to what extend the student has improved. Essentially this is a test teach test approach which has
the benefit of allowing the student to see their improvement immediately.
There are a variety of simple, and material-light and preparation-light, activities you can use, some examples
of which are:
a)

Ask the students to talk about an aspect of their life or interests/history etc and by using Q+A get the
student to talk. While they are talking you can make notes on their performance (errors/vocabulary
deficits/grammatical deficits etc) and then at the end of this first phase you can go through the issues
that arose and help the students with the errors they made. Make sure you get them to practice using
the correct forms at this point. Finally you get the student to do the same or a similar task again and
you monitor to what extend the student has improved. Essentially this is a test teach test
approach which has the benefit of allowing the student to see their improvement immediately.
b) Use personal photographs. These may be of friends, family, days/evenings out, holidays. They provide
personal stimulation for discussion that is real and meaningful for the students and, with
smartphones in their pockets, are available in an instant.
c) Photos on phones can also be taken of parts of the local area, trips etc. as part of the course for a
simple link into the lesson.
d) Trawl through your phone text messages and pull out some common informal phrases to teach the
students that they will probably never see in a course book (simple examples might include: I
reckon, Were off (to the cinema later) if you fancy it?). Then have students look through their
messages and pull out similarly common phrases they use with friends/family in their own language.
With your/their peers help they then translate them into natural English.
e) Have students bring in something they have read recently that is of personal interest to them (i.e. not
something they were told to read by a teacher), whatever form it may take, and have them tell each
other about what it is, what its about, why they like it etc. Help with language.
f) Ask students to note down words/phrases they see/hear/read while living in the UK and bring into
the classroom to discuss and share.
g) Write up 5 or 6 key words for a story of something interesting/funny that happened to you. Students
work together to guess the story before you tell them to see how close they are. Students then do the
same with each other.
h) Start the day/week with students telling each other about the previous day/evening/week and what
they liked/didnt like. Also about what they are looking forward to in the coming day. Make sure you
encourage them to extend their points, for example, I watched a football match could carry on into
who it was, the competition, their reaction to the result, way the game was played etc. also producing
rich teaching opportunity.
i) Have students draw a mood graph a line graph which shows how they have felt over the last few
days going up and down.

21

*from Thornbury, S. & Meddings, L.(2009) Teaching Unplugged: Dogme in English Language
Teaching, DELTA Publishing

j) Ask students to write down 4 or 5 memorable dates on slips of paper. You can then use these to make a
board game or simply mix them up and they take it turns to turn over and talk.
k) Ask students to empty the contents of their bags/pockets out and use the items to talk about their
lives/interests, for example, a key ring may have been a gift, a loyalty card for their favourite coffee shop, their
driving licence all simple but with great potential for stories, sharing and discussion.
k) Ask students to keep daily diary (with things they would be happy to share) which can be brought out and
discussed. This could also be done as a visual diary using smartphone camera.

* Be revealing!
Sometimes learners can feel that they are constantly being asked to tell things about themselves, reveal their
secrets etc. Make sure the learners get frequent chances to turn the tables and ask you questions. Be honest
and let them find out some of your "secrets" too.

TPR- Total physical response

This might include games such as Simon says or drama based activities such as listening to the audio of a film
while acting out the dialogue. Try to add movement of some sort even if just getting up to do a brief roleplay
greeting or other dialogue into every lesson.

Learner training
You need to have a plan for how the student will record new vocabulary (in a specific book? In context- ST
writes down the sentence that contains the vocabulary word?
In terms of vocabulary I think you should take the view that you will deliberately input a thematic vocabulary
group each day (perhaps around 12 new words).
Have the student keep a diary and build a reference book of language/vocabulary covered in the course. The
student can add sentences in context to vocabulary and you can use the growing reference as the basis for
little pop quizzes or tests.
Help students to take notes in English, to use a dictionary and to record their learning in a clear appropriate
manner which builds into a personalised reference diary.

Recycling Activities
Try to have a daily recycling slot in your course plan so that you can review previous work covered including
vocabulary, grammar and any skills work. This is great for allowing the student to see that they are learning
and it provides a relief from constant input!

22

Try to come up with new contexts or activities to practice the previously learned vocabulary, grammar and
skills.

SPEAKING IDEAS
With speaking tasks (which are very important for the majority of our students and should comprise a large
percentage of most 1 to 1 courses) you need to decide whether tasks are accuracy based or fluency based.
My preference is for most of the speaking tasks to be fluency based. This means you are trying to get the
student to speak without worrying about making mistakes. In this situation if you correct the student you will
merely impede fluency. So you should take notes for feedback at the end of the activity except when the error
stops you understanding what the student is saying.
If doing an accuracy activity, for example you are trying to get the student to complete a specific dialogue (say
a greeting: Hi, How are you? Im fine, how are you? Good, thankyou.) you are probably going to drill (listen and
repeat) a dialogue like this and so you will be concentrating on accuracy. Here you should correct error
whether pronunciation or grammar/vocabulary. Ideally accuracy activities should be shorter than fluency
activities and often come before a fluency activity.
Speaking tasks might include:

Focused chats- on a specific topic Q+As

o You can focus on the student but also the student can then interview the teacher
Interviews- somewhat more formal than the above and perhaps with a specific topic based or other
aim in mind
o Remember that if you have other English speakers in the house you can use them as subjects
for an interview with your student
Prepared talks and presentations
o More formal still and require more preparation with the student. Are best done on a topic of
interest to the student
Unprepared talks
o Along the lines of the Radio 4 game Just a minute where the student has to talk for a
specified amount of time on a topic from a list of topics.
Choose an article
o Student chooses an article from a newspaper or magazine and decides to discuss it with the
teacher
Statistic based discussion
o Give the student some statistics to start a conversation
Picture based discussion
o Lots of ideas from this including student having picture which shows half the scene and has
to ask you questions to discover the whole picture
o The 10 differences picture where students have to describe their picture to find the
differences with your picture
o Provocative images to start a discussion
o Groups of images which the student has to find a connection between them
o Groups of pictures, student has to rank them- to win a competition or in order of
danger/expense/fun etc giving reasons.
Role plays

23

News
o

These tend to work well one to one but can be artificial. But putting the student in a specific
context and asking them to negotiate with you to solve the issue is a standard teaching
practice whether in groups or one to one.
Listen to a current affairs/news piece and then have a discussion about the issues raised

Note you will almost always need to ensure that the student has sufficient vocabulary prior to starting the
speaking activity. Think about what sort of vocabulary the student will need and brainstorm together.
Remember that brainstorming vocabulary is not the same as learning vocabulary. Once you have got the
student to brainstorm everything they know, you need to add more.

Also tongue twisters and poems/reading out loud (but these tend to be accuracy so work on the
students pronunciation etc.
Story telling (can also be a daily section of writing)
Quizzes and game show formats (such as Blockbusters for example) Remember you can always get
the student to create questions for you using the internet as a preparation activity.
Board games and other games. Teach each other a card game for example.

PRONUNCIATION IDEAS
It is often easier to do pronunciation practice in a one to one environment where there is less likelihood of the
student getting embarrassed. Pronunciation practice might be one of your brief daily slots. If you decide to do
this with reading aloud, really focus on the sounds and the way that when you read it, the words slide
together. Work intensively on short passages rather than rattling through longer ones.

Rhymes and chants

Poetry and reading out loud

LISTENING IDEAS
I like doing a regular daily short listening slot either of a part of a song or a recording of the 1 minute news (see
BBC) etc. I spend 15 minutes on it every day.

Other ideas:

Teacher talk
Telling stories
Songs
o You can download the lyrics of almost every song from the internet. Find out what they like
and use this group/singer if possible
Radio broadcasts (recorded via internet)
TV on demand (internet)
Video (sometimes with picture off)
Podcasts and talking books (downloadable- many free)

24

READING IDEAS
Generally dont do a great deal of reading in class time but try to encourage students to read outside lesson
time (homework/project work). Use a variety of texts, poetry and prose, newspapers and magazines, internet,
graphic novels, comics and books. Remember that free voluntary reading (ie reading you want to do and gain
enjoyment from) is almost certainly the fastest route to high level proficiency in a language. Encourage your
student to read for pleasure and report back to you in the lesson. A few ideas to set up for the next lesson
from some homework reading might be:

Read and put pictures in order

o This works really well with graphic novels/comics
Read and then draw/explain (speak) what you have read
Read and predict what comes next

Professor Stephen Krashen in his recent online seminar (available here:

http://yltsigevo2012.wordpress.com/stephen-krashen/) says that the secret to fluency in a second language is
voluntary free reading (ie reading for pleasure). If you can find appropriate materials to inspire your student to
start to read (outside lesson time) in English you will be making a big impact on the students language
learning.

Preparing for a reading or listening activity (including video)

You need to consider each activity as having 3 stages. A pre task, the task itself and finally the post task.
1. PRE TASK
Before playing your listening or presenting your reading passage try to set the students mind thinking about
the topic. There are an infinite number of ways to do this but Ill suggest a few.

Simply ask what the student already knows about the topic
Give the student 6-12 keywords from the task (and check them for meaning) in jumbled order and ask
the student to speculate on the topic/headline etc
Show the student a picture or a series of jumbled pictures and get them to speculate
Give student a headline and get them to speculate
Give students a jumbled headline and get them to speculate
Give students the first and last sentences and get them to speculate
On a video show the clip (which should usually be shorter than 3 minutes) with the sound down and
get the student to speculate on the dialogue
On a video hide the screen with a blanket and get the student to speculate /act out the scene
Give the student clues about the task

Im sure you can come up with loads more.

2. TASK

25

Now your student has activated their vocabulary around the topic you are about to read/listen to you can
continue with your task. This would usually consist of an GLOBAL task first- ie ask a general question/set of
questions to check overall understanding (or students draw a picture or paraphrase etc). NEXT you would set
a more INTENSIVE task such as specific meanings of parts of the text/listening as well as vocabulary or
grammar work (looking at vocabulary or grammar in the piece and discussing this).
3. POST TASK
You need some sort of review period to summarise together what you have done. The student might talk
about how the piece relates to their life or interests or another film/book etc.
Please note that with listening (including your teacher talking time which is for the student a listening
comprehension!) you need to break tasks down into shorter sections. 10 minutes of a video is often far too
long and could be done as 10 one minute listening over a ten day course with the whole film watched together
(outside lesson time!) at the end of the stay.
Writing can also be a part of every day. For example you might encourage the student to keep a diary. But look
at the sort of writing the student is likely to have to do in English. Is it going to be emails? Texting? Instant
messaging? Or are they going to go to an English speaking university and write essays in English?
Ideally these days writing should be done mostly on a keyboard except for notes and lists (and of course the
English for Academic Purposes).
Try to create a record of their stay with you that is more than just a written diary. Can they make a scrap book
or a blog to show their parents?

Writing
Beware doing too much writing in your valuable one to one lesson time.
Remember that modern students very rarely write. They type onscreen and with keyboards, they text but
rarely do many of them write!

Notebook recording new words/new grammar etc

Storytelling (can be a short slot on a daily basis)
Diary writing& project (could be using an online blogging platform-theyre easy!)

Remember also you can get students to illustrate stories and describe illustrations for example

Other
I use dictations with 1 to 1s. Particularly when tied to a piece of naturalistic listening work (such as a film or
radio news etc). I aim to dictate keeping the natural rhythms (elisions, weak forms, linking of words etc) So the
text may read:
What are you going to do today with your dad? Are you going to go fishing?
And dictated:

26

Whatyuh / gunadootoday / withyuhdad / FULLSTOP / Areyuhgunago / fishing?

PROJECTS
Base projects around any visits you may be doing try to find visits that fit the students interests and
temperament
Use the internet for research. If you can (and it is really easy these days) start a blog or scrapbook online with
them so that their parents can see what theyve been up to too.
Use questionnaires and interviews on local people . One classic idea is the stereotype interview. Get the
student to ask people about the extent they are stereotypical. Do you eat lots of beef? Do you eat lots of tea?
How much etc) The student devises the interview and then practices on you before interviewing real
people.
Note you can use Skype to talk to other English speakers who are not physically present.

27

General One to One advice

Find out about the student's areas of interest & show a layperson's interest in it. Be on the lookout for
material related to this area.
Let the student provide some material for the lesson. Invite them to bring in letters & emails they want
correcting, an article they want to read, a website they like to visit in English etc... Let the student take
the reins in the lessons now & then.
Take a 'process approach' to the course plan& timetable. React to what comes up in lessons by planning
it into the next few lessons. As the course progresses, the student will have different problems &
directions so go with these rather than sticking rigidly to a coursebook.
Use a test-teach-test approach to new language; test the student through a roleplay/discussion >> teach
the student what s/he needs >> test again with the same or similar roleplay/discussion. This shows that
the language you are looking at is relevant to the students needs.
Record progress together. Go through what has been covered regularly, keep a diary of areas that were
found difficult, promote self-direction - what the student would like to work on etc.. Explain why this is
important & explain other areas of methodology - why you are doing different activities, procedures etc.
As with any class, awareness is half the process won.
Use the class for real rehearsals; simulate real life situations - roleplays, meetings etc. which the student
can encounter later in the day.
Use different mediums if possible. You can have a lesson in the office one day, in a different situation the
next, over the telephone another day & then on the internet on another. Vary the material you use as
well. Variety is the spice of life.
Give the student psychological space - see the Tip 'Space' at:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips57.htm
Take breaks. You can stop anytime with a one-to-one. Explain you will stop an activity, a stage in the
lesson if you feel a break is needed. Encourage the student to say if she would like a break as well. This
helps the overall effectiveness of a lesson.
Use project work. Have a part of each day working towards a specific project of interest to your student.
Use different seating positions to suit the different activities you carry out. Instead of sitting at either
sides of a table, sit next to each other, sit away from each other when the student is working on
something alone.
Check out the book 'One to One: A Teacher's Handbook' by Peter Wilberg (LTP)
Amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0906717612/developingteache
One-to-one teaching is very interesting & rewarding & a little planning & thought can go a long way to
providing a successful course. From http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips142.htm (accessed
9/10/09)

28

Advice on rapport
In raw terms if you set out to earn the friendship and respect of the students then they will in turn like and
respect you. You want the students to want to please you.
1.

Be a mentor not a friend and earn the students trust by being firm, fair and consistent.
Be consistent in establishing the rules from day one and in applying them. Refuse to go on teaching
until your rules are applied. If you are inconsistent, if you shout at the studentor punish a them
unexpectedly or be sarcastic or embarrass them, they will know that they cannot trust you.

2.

Show your student that you care about them.

Find opportunities to talk to your student informally outside of class time. Find out about them and
make them feel special. In class, make eye contact and smile at them. If you have a student you don't
like put yourself in their shoes and do whatever it takes to replace your negative feelings with feelings
of compassion.

3.

Praise and encourage good behaviour.

Increase your students self-esteem through praise and encouragement.

4.

Make your teaching style interesting and varied

By using a wide variety of activities& techniques you will by default dabble in auditory, visual,
kinaesthetic and tactile skills. The other advantage of games (which can be played with 2 of you!) is
that they engage and motivate the student. It's obvious; if a student is enjoying the learning process
then he or she is FAR more likely to pay attention!

Error Correction and Feedback

How to correct your student? Think about whether what you are doing is an accuracy activity (ie you want the
student to get the sentence perfectly right: drilling for example: Im going to the cinema) or a fluency activity
when you want to encourage the student to just talk and a lot of on the spot correction would hinder their
flow. In a fluency activity, make notes and correct at the end.

On-the-spot correction techniques: These are used for dealing with errors as they occur.
Using fingers: For example, to highlight an incorrect form or to indicate a word order mistake.
Gestures: For example, using hand gestures to indicate the use of the wrong tense.
Mouthing: This is useful with pronunciation errors. The teacher mouths the correct pronunciation without
making a sound. For example, when an individual sound is mispronounced or when the word stress is wrong.
Of course it can also be used to correct other spoken errors.
Reformulation: For example:

Student: I went in Scotland

Teacher: Oh really, you went to Scotland, did you?

Delayed Correction techniques: For example, after a communication activity.

Noting down errors: Either on an individual basis i.e. focusing on each student's mistakes or for the class as a

29

whole. 'Hot cards', as Bartram and Walton call individual notes, can be used to focus on recurring mistakes.
The student then has a written suggestion of what to work on.

Internet resources for one to one teaching

Presently Peter Wilbergs book on teaching one to one is available on the internet here. It has loads of great
suggestions but may not be up forever. http://www.scribd.com/doc/48723108/ONE-TO-ONE
http://www.youtube.com/schools YouTube without the comments from users (which can be rude/unsuitable)
http://www.onestopenglish.com/business/teaching-approaches/teaching-one-to-one/Lesson plans and
teaching tips
http://www.scribd.com/doc/80752360/10-Great-Tools-for-Language-TeachersGreat electronic tools to use
with computers/smart phones
http://www.eslcafe.com/idea/index.cgi?Private:TeachingOne to one lesson ideas
http://www.onestopenglish.com/business/teaching-approaches/teaching-one-to-one/Some 1 to 1 ideas here
http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/templates/index.html Templates for board games to play with
your 1 to 1 student
http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/grammar/index.htmlGames for grammar many which will work
with a one to one
http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/vocabulary/index.htmlOnline listening games (you need to sign
up but its free)
http://www.mes-english.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3464A nice one to one game
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/tendays/intro.shtmlBasis of an intermediate 1
to 1 course (adult)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/Huge resource of materials for teaching much of which is
suitable for 1 to 1
http://www.scribd.com/doc/82961025/10-Tools-to-help-English-Students-to-beAutonomous?goback=.gde_122431_member_97734869A collection of great links many of which are suitable
for one to one teachers helping their students become more self-motivated to learn and including things to do
with listening/songs etc
http://educationaltech-med.blogspot.com/2012/03/comprehensive-guide-to-google-free.htmlTeach students
how to use Google and associated services with this guide
http://www.linkedin.com/osview/canvas?_ch_page_id=2&_ch_panel_id=3&_ch_app_id=10570680&_applicati
onId=1200&appParams={%22from%22%3A%22profile_view%22%2C%22view%22%3A%22canvas%22%2C%22
page%22%3A%22slideview%22%2C%22slideshow_id%22%3A%2211968297%22}&_ownerId=9748267&compl
eteUrlHash=fd0h Graham Stanleys webtools for teachers (you may need to be logged in to LinkedIn and then
paste the link into your browser)

30

http://www.everydaylanguagelearner.com/2012/05/02/language-learning-tipretell/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheEverydayLanguageLear
ner+%28The+Everyday+Language+Learner%29&goback=.gde_3460329_member_112020611 Nice retelling
lesson idea for one to ones.
http://www.everydaylanguagelearner.com/2012/01/30/language-learning-tip-use-music-learn-foreignlanguage/ A passionate rationale for using music with learners (all ideas appropriate for one to ones)
http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/26/100-resources-for-teaching-without-textbooks/A huge
teaching resource for all sorts of teachers
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/teaching-one-oneAdvice and suggestions from British Council
http://www.onestopenglish.com/business/teaching-approaches/teaching-one-to-one/Tips on teaching one to
one)
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/questions/teaching-one-oneLots of great advice in this online
discussion
http://www.englishlanguage.org.nz/tutors/resources/index.html Ideas for one to one lessons
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/&http://www.englishcurrent.com/Up to the minute news stories
(somewhat class based activities but much that will work 1 to 1
http://eslcarissa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/reading.html some great links for inspiring reading

SUL Syllabuses
Although these are designed for groups there is a lot of relevant material and ideas contained within them.
Available after login (please email Jemma jemma@sul-schools.com for a login) from www.sulschools.com/teachers
BBC listening resources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/

----------------------------------------------------------------

Sources used in the preparation of this document:

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/category/teaching/tefl/business-esp/needs-analysis/
5 Planning Qs taken from http://www.englishraven.com/files/SessionPlanningGuide_778933.pdf
Teaching English One to One by Priscilla Osborne Pavillion Publishing 2005

31

NEEDS ANALYSIS FORM

(Appendix 1)

Do this as a speaking activity as far as is possible

PERSONAL INFORMATION
FIRST NAME

SURNAME

NATIONALITY

AGE

LEARNING HISTORY
How long have you been learning English?
Why are you learning English?

How do you think English will help you in the future?

Do you enjoy learning languages? Why/Why not?

LEARNING STYLES
What do you enjoy doing in lessons?

What do you NOT enjoy doing?

LANGUAGE SKILLS
Which skills are most important to you? (1= not important/5=very important)
Speaking

Listening

Writing

Reading

Grammar

Pronunciation

Vocabulary

English for travel &

survival
English for social
situations
Other (please state
what in notes)

NOTES

TOPICS
What are your main interests and hobbies?

What other topics are you interested in?

What are your favourite subjects at school?

32

(Please rank your hobbies/interests/topics/subjects in order from 1-10)

PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS
Why are you studying English?

Fun

(Future) study abroad

Internet/TV/Gaming

Music

School/University

Social life/entertainment

Parents & family

(Future) work

What do you hope to achieve on this course?

Is there anything youd like to do/study on this
course?

NOTES

33

Personal Harassment and Bullying Policy

We believe that the dignity of all students and staff must be respected. Staff and students should be
courteous and considerate towards everyone and the school environment should be welcoming to
all. All those working or studying here have a responsibility to establish and maintain an
environment free from bullying and harassment. All forms of harassment or bullying are therefore
unacceptable. Every student and member of staff is considered to be responsible for his/her own
behaviour and for the impact which it has on others.
Personal harassment or bullying is any kind of unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited act which makes
the recipient feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, unsafe or frightened.
examples include:

Comments about physical appearance

Behaviour which excludes, disadvantages or isolates someone
Being looked at or touched or subjected to any unwanted sexual behaviour
Sexual images being displayed
Racist literature, language or behaviour
Offensive or abusive graffiti
Suggestive or offensive remarks (which may be in a language other than the victims own)
including email, internet messaging, text messages or websites
Aggressive or demeaning language or behaviour
Public chastisement*
Jokes about gender, colour, ethnicity, sexuality or disability
* This does not affect the rights and responsibilities of staff to challenge and modify inappropriate
student behaviour. However, this must be done in a manner which respects the learner and does
not cause public embarrassment or humiliation.
If you experience any type of harassment or bullying or see this happening to another student you
should immediately:

Speak to your teacher

OR
Speak to the Local Organiser
OR
Speak to the Course Director
When you report instances they will be kept confidential and you can be confident that these will be
dealt with promptly and effectively.
If you remain unsatisfied with the response you get please contact hostfamily@sul-schools.com or in
an emergency call 01726 818676.
34

SAFEGUARDING SUMMARY SHEET

It is incumbent all SUL Language Schools staff to understand that they are in a position of trust and to
be aware of this and to act accordingly at all times.
Steph Coon is responsible for child safeguarding issues. She can be reached either on 01726 814227 or
Stephanie@sul-schools.com or the emergency number 01726 818676 (24 hours).

Code of Good Practice for Staff

If a child has a complaint including an allegation of bullying or any other form of harassment or intimidation, you
or the designated person (eg group leader/Course Director/DOS/Local Organiser etc) should meet with the child,
record their complaint, and report it immediately to the Steph Coon at SUL Head Office.

You SHOULD:

Be aware of the procedures for reporting concerns or incidents, and should familiarise themselves with the
contact details of the designated persons.
Report to a designated person any concerns relating to the welfare of a child in their care, be it concerns
about actions/behaviours of another staff member or volunteer or concerns based on any conversation with
the child; particularly where the child makes an allegation.
Respect childrens rights to privacy and encourage children and adults to feel comfortable enough to report
attitudes or behaviour they do not like.
Act with discretion with regards to their personal relationships. They should ensure their personal
relationships do not affect their leadership role within the organisation. All pre-existing relationships
between staff and/or participants of any SUL course must be declared.
Make others aware If you are the subject of inappropriate affection or attention from a child.
Exercise caution when discussing sensitive issues with children or vulnerable adults
Exercise caution in initiating any physical contact with a young person or vulnerable adults
Operate within the guidance offered by this Code
Challenge all unacceptable behaviour and report all allegations or suspicions of abuse

You SHOULD NOT:

Start an investigation or question anyone after an allegation or concern has been raised. This is the job of
the authorities. You should just record the facts and report these to a designated person.
Spend excessive amounts of time alone with children, away from others. Meetings with individual children
should be avoided or take place within sight of others. If privacy is needed, the door should remain open
and other staff or volunteers should be aware of the meeting (immersion family situations excepted).
Make unnecessary physical contact with children. However, there may be occasions when physical contact is
unavoidable, such as providing comfort at times of distress, or physical support in contact sports or similar.
Take children alone in a car, however short the journey. Where this is unavoidable, it should be with full
knowledge and consent of the parents (or guardians) and the person in charge of the SUL head office
(immersion family situations excepted).
Meet children outside of organised activities (immersion family situations excepted).
Show favouritism to any one child, nor should they issue or threaten any form of physical punishment.
Staff should never (even in fun)
o Initiate or engage in sexually provocative conversations or activity.
o Allow the use of inappropriate language to go unchallenged.
o Do things of a personal nature for children that they can do themselves.
o Allow any allegations made by a child go without being reported and addressed, or either trivialise or
exaggerate child abuse issues.
o Make promises to keep any disclosure confidential from relevant authorities.
o Allow or engage in inappropriate touching of any form
POLICY: http://www.sul-schools.com/sites/default/files/files/SUL-Safeguarding%20Children%20Policy2014.pdf

35

APPENDIX 1B NEEDS ANALYSIS Additional questions as required

This is a selection of questions about the student and their past/present and future use of English. You may
choose to focus on specific areas of interest to the student and ask further supplementary questions. If the
student is low level you will want to choose just a few simple questions. You can, if you feel it appropriate, turn
the activity into pairwork by getting the student to ask you questions at the same time (and noting down the
answers).
Evaluate the varying use of grammatical structures / vocabulary / idioms /pronunciation / intonation then
recommend a level in conjunction with the results from the PLACEMENT TEST. Use a range of these questions
try to keep it like an informal chat, rather than a Q&A.
You do NOT have to ask every question! Bold questions are HIGH importance
PART ONE: General Information
You might want to throw in a random question just to break the ice, in your Needs Analysis (eg. Whats your
favourite film or wheres your favourite place? etc)
1. Whats your full name?
2. How old are you?
3. When is your birthday?
4. What class are you in at school?
5. How many years have you been learning English?
6. What music do you like?
7. What is your favourite film?
8. What computer games do you like?
9. What do you use a computer for?
10. How would you describe your level of English?
11. What are your hobbies?
12. Describe your family
13. What job would you like to do in the future?
14. Where did you go on holiday last year?
15. What is your favourite food?
16. What sports do you like?
17. When do you usually go to bed?
18. What book are you reading just now?
19. Whats your favourite/least favourite subject at school?
20. Describe your best friend.
21. Do you like animals?
22. If you were a famous person, who would you be?

36

23. Tell me five words which best describe you.

24. Do you have any brothers or sisters?
25. What is your earliest memory?
26. Tell me about your favourite book.
27. What would you do if you won the lottery?
28. Describe a person who you admire most?
29. What do you think of England?
PART TWO: Why use English?
1. What do you use English for now?
Fun
(Future)Study abroad
School
Social life/entertainment
Parents
(Future) work

PC/internet/tv/games/music etc
Other

2. What skills do you use now? (1-10, 1 being not much, and 10 being a lot)
Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking
3. What will/might you use English for in the future?
4. Do you use English outside school? (what for?)
5. What are the 5 top uses of English for you?
6. Do you think English will help you to find a job? (How/what job?)
7. What you would like to learn on this course?
PART THREE What to study?
1. Rate your skills in the following (1-10, 1 being poor, and 10 being excellent)
Reading:
Writing:
Listening:
Speaking:
Pronunciation:
Grammar:
2. Which of the following would you like to improve:
Reading:
Writing:
Listening:
Speaking:
Pronunciation:
Grammar:
3. What is your main goal in studying English?
4. What can you do in English now?
5. What do you find difficult in English?

37

6. What kinds of things would you prefer to talk about in the conversation class?
PART FOUR: Study Skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

What do you feel about learning English?

What would make learning English easier?
What skills are most important for your study?
What has been positive/ negative about your English study to date? What would help you do better?
What do you like about and do not like about your school classes in English?
Other comments:

38

Appendix 2 Assessing your needs analysis:

ASSESSMENT: Level 1. Beginner

Barely understand what is said to him/her; teacher resorts to direct questions; monosyllable responses;
questions may be misunderstood or not understood at all. It is important that the teacher feels that this is due
to a lack of understanding rather than being due to stress or the teachers vagueness in asking the questions.
ASSESSMENT: Level 2. Elementary
Understands a limited number of everyday expressions; able to use simple phrases and greetings but has a
shortage of vocabulary. Received understanding much greater than the ability to speak sentences. Feeling of
frustration over inability to express him/herself rather than because of the lack of understanding.
ASSESSMENT: Level 3. Lower Intermediate
Is at ease with simple questions and short responses; begins to create own more elaborate sentences with a
little help-using future and past tenses and drawing on generalisations from previously learned rule of
grammar/inventions of his/her own. Communicates successfully despite grammatical errors.
ASSESSMENT: Level 4. Intermediate
Despite errors in sentence construction contributes to flow of conversation. You feel that the student can
represent him/her self in the foreign language and you get a fair idea of who and what they are. Can initiate
developments in the conversation, change directions and subjects.
ASSESSMENT: Level 5. Upper Intermediate
Is able to exchange opinions and discuss topics. Can use the foreign language in a variety of different contexts.
Still occasional mistakes, makes errors and hesitations but general communication is not impeded.
ASSESSMENT: Level 6. Advanced
Is able to participate fully in conversations and only makes occasional mistakes.

Now use the information above to create a course plan (outline) to enable you to work with the student over
the period that they are with you. This should not be set in stone but change according to need as the course
progresses.

39

APPENDIX 5 LESSON PLAN 1to1 (continue on 2nd sheet as necessary)TEACHER:

Date

Name of student

Aims & Objectives

1 To

What I as a teacher
am going to achieve?
(ie to introduce
and practice
polite requests)

Learning Outcomes

1 Student will

What the students are

going to achieve?
(ie to be able to ask host
family for a drink/food/
use of telephone)

Time*

Topic

Activity

Lesson No

Resources

Assessment

* Time = length of each activity in lesson. Topic = whats the topic (ie warmer/presenting X/discussing Y ). Activity = what they are actually going to do?
Resources= what you need to take with you (blutak/A4 sheets etc). Assessment= how will you assess learning has taken place? (Teacher Q&As/Task
completion/Peer correction etc).

40

1 to 1 Lesson Plan (continued)

Date

Time*

Name of student

Topic

Activity

Lesson No

Resources

Assessment

41

Appendix 6 One to One Course Teacher Final Report

Copy for student
Course

Copy for students parents

One to one

Dates of course from

Copy for SUL office

Duration

DATE:

weeks

To
STUDENT DETAILS

First name

Surname

Level of English on entry

Language covered on course

Progress of student

Recommendation for future

study

Name of teacher
Signature of teacher

Date

Signature of student

Date

If you have any questions about the feedback report please contact the Academic Manager, on dos@sulschools.com. Thank you.

42

Appendix 7 COURSE PLANNING & RECORD OF TEACHING

Name of Student

Total Hours taught

Name of Teacher

Before After each lesson the tutor needs to record the aims/outcomes of the lesson (usually one hour long) Both the student and the
tutor need to sign that this is a true reflection of what took place.

Please write in the day/lesson no. below

DAY LESSON
Planned

Date

Start time

End Time

Actual &
Comments

Signed Teacher
DAY LESSON
Planned

Signed Student
Date

Start time

End Time

Actual &
Comments

Signed Teacher
DAY LESSON
Planned

Signed Student
Date

Start time

End Time

Actual &
Comments

Signed Teacher
Signed Student
Please use multiple forms. Thank you. Now please return this document to Stephanie at the address below or by email to
stephanie@sul-schools.com .

Appendix 7 COURSE PLANNING & RECORD OF TEACHING (cont.)

Name of Student

Total Hours taught

Name of Teacher

Before After each lesson the tutor needs to record the aims/outcomes of the lesson (usually one hour long) Both the student and the
tutor need to sign that this is a true reflection of what took place.

Please write in the day/lesson no. below

DAY LESSON
Planned

Date

Start time

End Time

Actual &
Comments

Signed Teacher
DAY LESSON
Planned

Signed Student
Date

Start time

End Time

Actual &
Comments

Signed Teacher
DAY LESSON
Planned

Signed Student
Date

Start time

End Time

Actual &
Comments

Signed Teacher
Signed Student
Please use multiple forms. Thank you. Now please return this document to Stephanie at the address below or by email to
stephanie@sul-schools.com .

Appendix 8 - STUDENT FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE (HOST FAMILY 1to1 DAY 2/3)

Your first name

Your surname

Location of stay

THE HOST FAMILY: -please circle your answersGOOD

- OK -

BAD

Comments:

BAD

Comments:

Welcome & arrival

Food
Bedroom & Bathroom
Activities with family
How much they talk to me
GENERAL COMMENTS

ENGLISH LESSONS: -please circle your answersGOOD

- OK -

Content of lessons*
How the lessons are taught
Too much

Too little

Speaking practice
Listening practice
Writing practice
Reading practice
Pronunciation practice
GOOD

- OK -

BAD

Comments:

Is the room suitable?

My progress in English?
GENERAL COMMENTS

NOTE: *Content of lessons:

How lessons are taught:

are you learning the language you want to learn?

is your teacher teaching you in an interesting way?

HOST FAMILY/TEACHER USE ONLY:

Host Family/Teacher actions:

Please give to LO/send to SUL HO by evening of the 2nd day of teaching

Appendix 9 STUDENT FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE (HF IMMERSION 1to1: END OF STAY)

Your first name

Your surname

Your age

Todays date

Location of stay
GOOD

- OK -

BAD

-please circle your answers-

Your opinion of location

Comments:

THE HOST FAMILY: -please circle your answersYour host familys name
GOOD

- OK -

BAD

Comments:

Welcome & arrival

Food
Bedroom & Bathroom
Activities with family
How much they talk to me
How much I like the family
GENERAL COMMENTS

ENGLISH LESSONS: -please circle your answersYour teacher(s) names

2
GOOD

- OK -

BAD

Lessons
Teacher1
Was the room suitable?
My progress in English?
GENERAL COMMENTS

OTHER:
I want to come back

-please circle your answers-

YES

NO

Comments

YES

NO

Comments

Why/why not?
I would recommend SUL to a friend
Why/why not?

Thank you!

Comments:

Appendix 9B STUDENT FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE (1:1 English & Culture)

Your first name

Your surname

Location of stay
GOOD - OK -

BAD -please circle your answers-

Your opinion of location

TRANSFERS:

Comments:

please circle
answers
GOOD - OK -

Comments:
BAD

Comments:

Welcome & arrival

Departure
Comments

ACCOMMODATION:

please circle
answers
GOOD - OK -

Comments:
BAD

Comments:

Welcome & arrival

Food
Bedroom/bathroom
Friendliness of staff (or family if
in a host family)
Cleanliness
Comments

Teacher/Guide: please circle your answers Comments:

Your teacher(s) names

2
GOOD - OK -

BAD

Comments:

Knowledge of area
Guiding ability
Friendliness
GENERAL COMMENTS

PROGRAMME: GOOD - OK -

BAD

Organisation
Transport
Driver
Trips/Destinations
The best activity/trip was
The worst activity/trip was

Comments:

GENERAL COMMENTS

ENGLISH LESSONS: -please circle your answersGOOD - OK - BAD

Comments:

Too much

Too little

Content of lessons*
How the lessons are taught*

Speaking practice
Listening practice
Writing practice
Reading practice
Pronunciation practice
GOOD

- OK -

BAD

Comments:

Is the teaching room suitable?

My progress in English?
GENERAL COMMENTS

NOTE: *Content of lessons:

How lessons are taught:

are you learning the language you want to learn?

is your teacher teaching you in an interesting way?

OTHER COMMENTS:

Comments

Would you recommend a friend to come here?

YES

NO

Would you recommend SUL?

YES

NO

Would you come back here?

YES

NO

Why / Why not?

Thank you for your feedback!

Appendix 10 Welcome letter to teacher

Thank you for agreeing to teach one of our EFL students. I enclose the documentation you will need
for this one to one teaching.
IMMERSION TEACHER: LIST OF ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS
1. The basic profile of student
2. Teaching Contract 2 copies, please sign and return one copy to the SUL office

FOR USE WITH YOUR STUDENT

1. Needs Analysis Questionnaire (for print out)
2. Lesson plan (blank)
3. One to One Course Teacher Final Report(2 copies please complete both copies, one copy for
the student to take home, the second copy to SUL office- can be sent digitally)
4. Course planning & record of teaching (copy to be sent to SUL HO after the course)
5. Student feedback questionnaire (host family immersion day 2/3)(NOT 1 week courses)
6. Student feedback questionnaire (host family immersion end of course)
7. SUL Syllabuses (note these are designed for classes but have many ideas that are adaptable
for 1 to 1 teaching) Elementary, Pre Intermediate, Intermediate & Upper Intermediate
full Syllabuses can be found on our website, please follow the link below.

If you would like electronic versions of the above documents for filling in with a computer they are
available on the website. Go to www.sul-schools.com/teachers after login (for a login email
jemma@sul-schools.com).
PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with the terms of the Teaching Contract, you must return theCourse
Planning document & Record of Teaching (5) and the Final Report (6) to us as soon as possible at the
end of your students stay to ensure prompt payment.
Please contact me if you have any problems or questions or if I may be of any further assistance.
Kind regards

Stephanie Coon
Residential and Host Family Manager

Appendix 11 CONDITIONS OF IMMERSION HOST FAMILY ACCEPTANCE

The following are conditions which must be agreed before accepting to host an immersion student from SUL Language Schools
Ltd (SUL).I/We agree:

SUPERVISION
1. To ensure that our student will have the company of an adult all day, every day. This cannot be a child of the family even
when they are over 18 years of age without express permission from your Centre Director. It must be the mother/father of
the host family unless the student is attending an organised activity under the supervision of an appropriate adult and the
Centre Director has been informed in advance. Being a host family requires an adult to be with the student 24 hours per
day.

HOSTING YOUR STUDENT

2.

3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

8.

To inform the Centre Director of any change in family details(from our SUL application form) prior to the arrival of the
student. This is particularly important with regard to:
a. whether we will have children at home during the stay of our student
b. whether we have animals (eg a new pet) and
c. whether there is a change in partner/job/living arrangements.
To collect our student from the arrival point and warmly welcome them to our home, treating them as part of our family
and including them in our everyday family life. To transport our student to the departure point at the end of the stay with a
packed lunch.
To do our best to communicate clearly and to treat our student as a guest, helping them to integrate as far as is possible
into our way of life.
To provide three meals a day, to include a packed lunch on departure. To ensure wherever possible that evening meals are
eaten with the family. If this proves impossible to ensure that I/we are present when the student has their evening meal.
To provide a separate bedroom (unless permission to share with our son/daughter of same age has been given by SUL) and
not to ask our student to do any domestic housework, other than to make their own bed and to keep their own room tidy.
To accept NO OTHER FRENCH-SPEAKING STUDENT (or au-pair) at the same time as our student (unless requested by SUL)
and to host no more than TWO OTHER students of another nationality. In this case we will let SUL know in advance. If
running a Bed and Breakfast/Guest House from the premises in which we host our student, we will have separate family
accommodation for the student.
To do any laundry that our student may have on a regular basis (at least once weekly).

DAMAGE AND COMPENSATION

9. To provide suitable protection for mattresses to guard against accidents, as SUL (and the SUL client) cannot be held
responsible for the replacement of mattresses damaged in this way.
10. Not to lend our student any money or personal items of value as SUL (and the client) cannot be held responsible for any
subsequent loss.
11. We undertake to inform our household contents insurers that a student will be staying in our home, to ensure that we have
adequate cover. SULs clients, the providers of many of our students, will pay for accidental damage caused by students in
our home provided the following conditions are met:
a. The Centre Director is informed while the student is still at the family house and an inspection is arranged with the
Group Leader as soon as possible.
b. The damage must be reported to the SUL office immediately.
c. A damage report form is filled in and signed by the Group Leader
12. In cases where damage is discovered after the student has departed it can be very difficult to obtain compensation.
Therefore it is essential that you perform a thorough damage check before the student departs.
13. Using our telephone company, we agree to block all international calls from being made unless we are prepared to bill our
student accordingly or take the risk that the phone may be used without our knowledge. SUL cannot be held responsible
for bills that are submitted more than one month after the departure of the student (eg in the case of quarterly bills).

MANAGEMENT OF RISK
14. To inform the student of any risks within the house that may cause injury or distress. (SUL has provided a risk assessment
form for you should you wish to complete this. This is only provided so that you have the ability to show your insurance
company that you have done everything possible to minimise the potential for danger.)

15. To familiarise our student with the working of our bathroom and toilet, also other areas of the house and any technical
equipment in our home, in order to minimise the risk of any accidents and to ensure our home is fitted with at least one
functioning smoke alarm.
16. To ensure that the student is aware of escape routes in the home in case of fire.
17. To ensure you can provide a gas safe certificate if you have gas in your house (Please ask SUL for information on this).

ACTIVITIES AND EXCURSIONS

18. We agree to provide a minimum of two afternoon activities outside the home and one full day excursion accompanied by
family members per week. We will try and ensure that our student is involved in an activity outside of the house on most
days, such as swimming, tennis, walking, local visit etc.
19. To be responsible for our student in the evenings (unless they are permitted to go out- please check first). Not to leave our
student alone in the house and to organise family activities, including outings as required by this agreement.
20. To check with SUL Centre Director if our student requests to go out in the afternoon/eveningon their own and only allow
this if permission is received.

STUDENT WELFARE
21. We will regularly check that the student is happy and report any problems immediately to SUL Centre Director /SUL office.
We will give the student a SUL feedback form to complete after lunch on the second full day (or second teaching day if
applicable). We will sign the form and send it back to SUL by no later than the next day. We will take appropriate action in
respect of any negative feedback.
22. We will give the student a SUL feedback form at the end of the students stay and return the form which the student has
placed in a sealed envelope (provided) to the Centre Director at departure.
23. To report any illness or injury to the Centre Director/SUL office and the Group leader and to take our student to our own GP
or the casualty department of our local hospital, if necessary.
24. To act in loco parentis for our student, but understand that the parents of our student and their Group Leader
(representing SULs client), remain legally responsible for the actions and safety of our student.
25. To undertake to report any unacceptable student behaviour to the SUL Centre Director, who will deal with the matter
promptly.
26. We will not encourage our student to break the law or any rules set by SUL or the client, which forbid the student to drink
alcohol, take drugs, drive a motor vehicle, be a passenger on a motorbike or take part in any dangerous pursuit not
authorised by the Group Leader.
27. We will ensure that the student obeys their parental decision on curfew. We agree to report to the Centre Director any
violation of these rules by our student.

SUL VISITS
28. To welcome the Group Leader or representative of SUL into your home should a visit be organised by SUL at any point
during the students stay.

PAYMENT AND TERMS

29. To accept payment by cheque/BACS for hosting our student at the end of the first week of hosting.
30. That in the event, for any reason, our student shall leave before the end of the agreed period, we shall, if so required by
SUL, refund to SUL any money that we have already been paid in respect of the day(s) after the student has left, less 20%,
which we shall accept as compensation. We understand that compensation will NOT be paid if this contract (Conditions of
Host Family Acceptance) is in any way broken by us, the host family.
31. If SUL judges that, in the interest of the child, we have to change the host family allocation at any time before the students
arrival, SUL will not be held responsible for indemnifying the host family.
32. Without prejudice to any other rights, I agree that SUL may need to alter the dates and payments given to meet student
needs and that SUL may also terminate this agreement if it is in the interest of the student to do so.
33. If you wish to make any complaint about SUL Language Schools Ltd, please in the first instance take your complaint up with
our Host Family and Immersion Manager. If you remain unsatisfied with your response you may then write to The Directors
at SUL Head Office address. Finally you may contact ABLS (The accrediting body for SUL) whose address you will find on
their website.

Appendix 12 IMMERSION TEACHER FEEDBACK FORM

I hope that you have found hosting your student an enjoyable experience. I would appreciate your feedback which you can
give me by completing the questionnaire below and emailing it back to me. By keeping this record, we can try to ensure that
if issues arise we can learn lessons from them to improve the experience for everyone. Also it is always great to hear positive
feedback! However, if you should have any problems during the stay, please contact Steph immediately on 01726 814227 or
stephanie@sul-schools.com.
HOST FAMILY DETAILS (YOUR DETAILS)
First name

Surname

Phone number

Email
STUDENT DETAILS

Student 1 first name

Surname

Student 2 first name

Surname

Dates of students stay

FEEDBACK ON YOUR STUDENT(S)
GOOD

- OK -

BAD

-please bold/circle your answers-

Politeness

Comments:

Attempt to fit in with family

Comments:

General behaviour

Comments:

Timekeeping

Comments:
FEEDBACK ON YOUR EXPERIENCE(S)

Group Leader (if any)?

Comments:

How was the overall

experience of hosting?

Comments:

In order for us to improve the delivery of courses as well as to help us support our staff better we are interested in your
feedback. All feedback is given serious consideration. Please try to propose solutions to issues you identify. Thank you.
Please Grade your answers from 1 = Excellent 2 = Good 3 = Satisfactory 4 = Poor 5 = Very Poor 0 = Don't know/not relevant
Overall, my experience of working with SUL was...
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

How were your pre course contacts with SUL Head Office?
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

How were your pre course contacts with your Local Organiser?
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

How was the pre-course information? Did it help you to understand what was required of you?
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

To what extent did you feel supported as a teacher?

1 2 3 4 5 0

Comments:

How appropriate were the provided resources to your needs?

Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

To what extent was the observation (if any) a positive experience?

Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

Please rate the Group Leader (if any) in terms of how the course & student benefited from their
presence.
Comments:

1 2 3 4 5 0

I am / am not interested in working for SUL in the future (please delete as applicable)
Why/why not:

YES/NO

I would like to receive the SUL newsletter with details of jobs/other information (please delete as applicable)

Other: please put any further comments below:

Please email this directly back to me at stephanie@sul-schools.com

Thank you for your time, your views will be noted and, wherever possible, acted upon.

Appendix 13: Student profile

Appendix 14 Letter to Immersion family

Dear
Thank you for your enquiry regarding becoming a host family for one of our French students who come to stay
full time with local families, rather than be part of a group - SUL call this scheme "Home Stay" or Immersion. The
aim is for the students to improve their use and understanding of spoken English and to experience the British
way of life. It is open to those who are at least 11 years old with a working knowledge of English. The majority of
our Immersion students come through a French organisation, Cap Monde. However, we do also have students
from other countries.
Each host family has to provide a separate bedroom, three meals a day and the company of an adult. The aim is
to make your student feel part of your family as soon as possible and to integrate them into your daily way of life.
The emphasis is on the quality of personal relationships and through this to encourage your student to make
much better progress in English than if they had been in a group with many other French children. This isolation
from other French speakers is the key to greater progress in English and understanding a different way of life. It is
for this reason that we do not expect families to plan any contact with other French students during their stay. It
is expected that you show your student something of the local area and arrange (& pay) for local low cost
activities that your student would enjoy on a regular basis, e.g. tennis or swimming. Only if a student asks to do
an expensive specialist activity, should they be expected to pay for it themselves.
Our dates and prices for 2012 are as follows:
Months

Date

Teaching Option

Daily Hosting Rate

February

19/02-26/02

10 hours per
session

Payment for all

courses is 30 per
night.

April

15/04-22/04

10 hours

June

16/06-29/06

20 hours

July/August

08/07-21/07

20 hours per
session

22/07-4/08

14.00 per hour for

teaching where
applicable

05/08-18/08
19/08-01/09
October

TBC

10 hours

From June there will be an activity bonus of 15.00 per week in addition to the hosting and teaching rates (if
teaching is applicable).
We do our best to ensure that the gender, age and interests of the students are matched with the preferences of
both the families and students concerned. Our host families are shown details of the proposed student before
any final decision is made.
The students from the French Organisation will arrive with one of our main groups and the French Group Leader
is given the responsibility for the welfare of each student. This person can be contacted by the student if any
assistance is required. Our families are looked after either by ourselves or by the Local Organiser who will

normally make the initial visit to you. Students have to be collected from the nearest major town on arrival and
are brought back there for departure.
If you are interested in becoming a host family please would you complete and return the enclosed Application
Form. In order to help select your student, I would also like a letter giving more details of your family with one or
two photographs. Please return all this to me at the above address and I will arrange a visit.
Should you wish to host an adult leader accompanying our groups please state this on your application form.
Again we would ask you to provide a separate bedroom and full board. The leader would also need to have
access to your landline in order to stay in contact with the group. Our leaders use special phone cards for this
purpose so your phone bill will not be affected. The rate paid is 23.50 per night.
Home Tuition: If you are qualified to teach English, we will do our best to match you with students who require
English lessons. Please let us know if you are available to teach by writing it clearly on the application form. The
rate of pay is 14.00 per hour. All our Home Tuition Teachers receive teaching material and support from our
Academic Manager.
CRB: If you have been CRB checked recently please submit a copy of your CRB disclosure with your application. If
you dont hold a valid CRB disclosure, please state this clearly on your application form. We will ask you to apply
for a CRB check once we have received your application form and met you face-to-face in your home.
If you have any questions or queries, please dont hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to your reply.
Kind regards

Stephanie Coon
Residential and Host Family Manager

Appendix 15 RISK ASSESSMENT FORM

Centre Location
Activity/Situation
Leader

Date of last assessment

Date of new assessment

Qualifications

How to use this form:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Identify potential hazards, e.g. walking on roads, sunburn, getting lost, travelling by ferry.
Identify those at risk e.g. pupils, students, leaders and other adults
Identify potential outcome and its likelihood and give numerical value. Multiply your two values to arrive at your risk rating.
Where the risk is medium or high, either identify below the action required to reduce the risk or do not proceed with the
activity.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Hazards Identified (Note: Any serious and imminent

danger will need procedure, etc.)
Getting Lost
Tripping / falling over
Stranger danger

L
OA
PS
I
PV

1-5
6-12
12+

Person/s
at Risk
Student
Student/teacher
Student

Potential
Outcome
2
5

Likelihood/
Probability
2
2
1

Risk
Rating
2
4
5

Risk
L/M/H
L
L
L

Persons at Risk
Leader
Other Adults
Pupils/Students
Instructor
Public/Visitors

Potential Outcome
Minor injury
Injury needs medical attention
Injury off work/school
Serious injury/long term sickness
Fatality

Numerical Value
1
2
3
4
5

Risk Rating
Low
Medium
High

Likelihood/Probability
Unlikely
Low possibility
Possible
Probable

Numerical Value
1
2
3
4

Risk Assessment Action Plan:

To be completed in the event of the initial assessment resultingin medium/high risk.
Activity/Situation/Hazard
Action Required
Stranger danger
High level supervision at all times. Student never to be left
unattended. Student warned of risk.

Assessment and Action plan prepared by:

Date:

Target Date
First day of
course

I3b

*Give to all Host Families

SUL Complaints Policy and Procedure

for Host Families

SUL Language Schools has a formal complaints procedure:

Where appropriate, concerns and complaints should be resolved at source,

promptly and informally on site. Please speak to your Local Organiser.

If this is not possible or you remain unsatisfied, a formal complaint can be

made either in person or via telephone or email to the SUL Homestay &
Residential Course Manager:

Tel: 01726 814227

hostfamily@sul-schools.com

- - -

Host families may also contact our accreditation organisation ABLS, in writing
at:

www.abls.co.uk

I3c

*Display in ALL Classrooms

SUL Complaints Policy and Procedure for Students

Please try to get help in this order if possible:

Speak to your Group Leader or Welfare Group Leader

Speak to the SUL Local Organiser or Course Director
Speak to your Agency Representative
Speak to SUL Head Office: 01726 814 227 or 01726 818 676
(24 hours- diverts to duty mobile)
Speak to ABLS: Accreditation Body for Language Services
Tel: +44 (0)1493 393471 http://www.ablsaccreditation.co.uk/contact.asp
SPEAK TO CHILDLINE 0800 11 11
(if you are in physical or psychological danger)
1) The first person to contact if you are concerned about anything is the group leader allocated to you.
Your group leader should be able to resolve most problems for you.
2) If your group leader is unable to help or you feel unable to talk to them, or if you are an
independent student you should contact any other member of the SUL course team who looks after
your course, including the SUL Course Director, whose name and contact details will be given to you
at the start of the course.
3) Those students who come through an agency in their own country will have a group leader
travelling with them. This agency will also provide a contact name and telephone number for their
students and leader. The agency will be able to contact the SUL office about any concerns of their
students.
4) Again if the Course Director is unable to help or you do not feel able to talk to them, you must
contact the SUL office directly. There will be a SUL staff member with special responsibility for your
course that you will be able to contact. Their name and contact details will also be given to you at
the start of the course.
5) In the UK there is a free phone number for a child helpline which any child can call if they feel that
they are in physical or psychological danger: 0800 1111

STUDENT DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

We expect all students to deal with members of staff and other students politely and with respect.
We also expect students to follow the law of the land and instructions given to them by our staff at
all times. Students behaviour should not cause offence or distress to others in the school based on
racial, sexual or religious differences. It is also unacceptable to use abusive behaviour, such as
harassment, bullying, actual or threatened violence and damage to personal property. In serious
cases we may expel a student from the school immediately. If a students behaviour in school is not
acceptable, we will take the following steps:

We will give the student a verbal warning (we will speak to you about the problem).
We will give the student a written warning (parents, agents and colleagues may be informed).
We will give the student a final written warning.
We will expel the student from school (refunds will not be given in this case).

In serious cases we may expel the student from the school immediately.

STUDENT ABSENCES: HOST FAMILY HOUSES

If a student is absent from a lesson, activity or from their host family home:
Please ensure that you report any absences to your Local Organiser as soon as practically possible. If
you cannot get hold of your Local Organiser please call the SUL emergency line 01726 818676 (24
hours). Also let any Group Leader know as soon as you can.
PROCEDURE
a.
b.
c.
b.
c.

Ensure any other children are present and supervised.

Ask other members of the group when he / she was last seen.
Contact the students Group Leader (if any) and your Local Organiser as soon as you can.
An adult should go and look for the child.
Telephone SUL Head Office emergency number 01726 818676 if the child cannot quickly be
found.
d. If the student is not found within a short period of time (use your judgment) the police must
be informed (In this case a report will have to be written).
e. Inform all parties as soon as the child is found.