What questions do you ask your new students to get to know them?
15 answers from our tutors
Best answer
Introduce yourself, ask questions about student interest, what goal they want to reach, what they struggle with, maybe do a level test first, then give feedback. Lesson after the Trial lesson, do a free talk conversation about student hobbies to see how the grammar, pronunciation, and sentence structure are. In this way, you will start to know your student. This is only my opinion.
I would ask them to introduce themselves, share information about where they are from, goals, hobbies, plans for the future, areas of improvement in their skills, etc. Once I find out what their interests are, we can build a conversation, which will allow them to feel comfortable and express themselves more, you get to know not only about the likes and dislikes of the student, but about their personality and you may use that to help them focus on the strengths and enhance weaknesses.
When meeting new students, I start by introducing myself and creating a comfortable atmosphere. I then ask a few questions to understand their interests, goals, and any struggles they face with English. Questions like, "What do you enjoy doing in your free time?" or "Why do you want to learn English?" help me get a clearer picture. Next, I perform a quick level assessment to evaluate their current proficiency. Based on the results, I give immediate feedback, pointing out strengths and areas to improve. After the trial lesson, I like to dive into a free conversation about their hobbies. This allows me to observe their grammar, pronunciation, and sentence structure in a natural context. By doing this, I can tailor lessons to their individual needs and preferences, ensuring they feel supported and motivated as they work toward their goals.
Check your English level for free
Take our quick and free test to find out your current level of English
Start test
I ask them about where they come from, their hobbies and interest. Their occupation or what they study in school. These questions help me know my student, what approach I can use to teach them as well as their English level if they are able to introduce themselves fluently or not
I ask my students about their interests, hobbies, what they like and dislike doing. I try to get acquainted with my students, to understand their goals, what they want to achieve in this way of learning language.
I ask questions that will help students prepare for every day situations in real life. Introducing themselves, making small talk and getting to know about their interests, passions and how they feel about subjects that they are interested in.
I firstly ask them to introduce themselves and I try not to ask questions about their families and private lives. I like asking bizarre questions to get to know them. For example, "If you were a vegetable, what would you be and why?"
I ask them about their background (where they come from, how old are they). After a 1 minute short conversation, I start asking questions such as βWhy are you studying Englishβ and βCan you tell me your ambitionsβ
I often love to ask new students about how they like to use their free time in order to adjust my teaching style to their hobbies. I feel that pairing lessons with areas of interest for students makes the lessons and tutoring sessions interesting and engages the learner more.
In the beginning I'll always ask questions about their interest, what kind of goals they want to reach, what they struggle with the most. I know everybody has its own way for learning, so I'll adapt myself to the person I'm teaching.
Where they are from, Why they would like to learn and improve their English, If any, what are they studying, Where would they be moving to or like to move to. These give me the basic of the foundation on how I will help my student for their specific tailored needs for the English language.
Other student questions
- Hey Guys!!!! Does anyone know if it is possible to learn chinese here?
I was thinking to take a little course
Best answer
Not so genius, but this has worked with my Asian and Latino students: Substitute all "Th-" in words with a "D-", as it is an easier starting point e.g. instead of "The", ask them to say De(almost like a form of pidgin english: de boi VS the boy). Its a matter of throat to tongue, where sounds with "T" and "D" are easier to begin with and then you will gradually progress to the "Th-" sounds as the find confindence and comfort. You could always tell them to pretend they are blowing out candles on a birthday cake; and for the "Th" sound their tongue should gently touch their teeth, like in words like "Thin" or "This". Have them practice the not so elated soft "Th" sound-- its like their tongue is having a short siesta on their teeth! Such a mental jounery and lots of creativity will get you through a lot of pronounciation hurdles.
Best answer
The biggest challenge I faced while learning English was understanding and using different tenses correctly. It took time to get used to the various rules and exceptions.
