Modern Languages- The Value Of One To One Tuition

From my experience as a teacher and tutor, pupils who have been taught at school in large classes of maybe twenty eight or more are often frightened at the sound of their own voices when asked to speak in a foreign language. This often applies to the more intellectual pupils of quiet, shy disposition, anxious to do well, but who are nervous about speaking French in front of their peers. They are self-conscious and although they are capable of answering the teacher's questions posed in the target language, they are apt to "dry up" or mumble in front of the class. This is where One to One tuition is valuable. With the tutor's help, along with the use of a tape recorder, pupils actually become accustomed to hearing themselves speak in a foreign language. They know when they are pronouncing words wrongly, as they have instant feedback, and so can correct themselves. We learn from our mistakes. When students are certain they are saying it right, they are able to gain in confidence. Speaking in the target language is only one quarter of what you have to do to gain your GCSE grade. I have not mentioned the writing, reading and listening. If you can speak correctly, however, the rest will follow more easily. Going back to the class situation, teachers rely heavily on group or pair work when practising speaking tasks, but it is worth mentioning that in a one hour lesson, it is almost impossible to listen to every single child. 60 minutes ?30 children = 2 minutes per child of the teacher's time. That is not including time for entering the room and packing equipment away, writing homework down. That would probably amount to less than 4 minutes per week of the teacher's attention. Put in those terms, it is little wonder that the British have a poor reputation for speaking languages.