First things first

  • Thank your student for the feedback

    Give thanks to your student for taking the time to give you their feedback on the lessons. This could be a simple "Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions about our lessons".

  • Acknowledge their point of view

    Take the time to think about what they have said and why they might have said it. If you are not clear about what they mean, ask some questions to clarify.

  • Positive feedback

    Let your student know that you appreciate their comments and that feedback helps you know that the lessons are meeting their expectations.

  • Not so positive feedback

    Don't take negative feedback personally, it can be used as an opportunity to open a conversation, understand your student's viewpoint, and consider any areas to make changes.

  • What next?

    Check out our suggestions and courses below to help improve feedback in these areas.

πŸ“š Lesson preparation

  • Use the NOTES section in the Preply Classroom to record the lesson objectives, content and homework of each class..

  • Refer to the lesson objectives in the NOTES section at the start of the class to outline the lesson content.

  • Review the lesson objectives in the NOTES section at the end of class to go over what was covered and, if necessary, what you will return to in the next lesson.

πŸ“š Develop your lesson planning techniques with...

How to plan a lesson

Spend a lot of time planning your lessons? Often prepare too much or too little content? In this short course, we’ll show you tried and tested lesson-planning techniques. You’ll learn how to choose the perfect focus and structure future lessons!
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πŸ“‘ Relevant materials

  • Ask your student for their opinion of the materials you use and, if in the case of negative feedback, why they feel the materials aren't relevant to their learning goals or interests.

  • Consider the balance and variety of the materials you use and how they relate to your students' goals. E.g. balancing different skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) and the materials (written for language learners, authentic materials, videos, songs, etc.)

  • Search for materials by topic/language area/language level in the Preply Library (English and Spanish tutors) to find relevant and current materials.

  • Ask the Preply Tutors Facebook community for recommendations for resources suitable for your student(s) and language.

πŸ“„ Courses related to relevant materials...

Using authentic materials for teaching

Authentic materials help to bring lessons into the real world. How can you make the most of them with your students? We’ll give you our favorite tips for working with songs, videos, articles and other sources of authentic language. Watch now!
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πŸ“„ Courses related to relevant materials...

8 steps to an awesome lesson

Here's the course you've been waiting for! Follow in the footsteps of our top tutors and learn how to become the best tutor you can be on Preply. 20 minutes! That's all it takes. Ready, steady, Go! Bonus: An edited example of a trial lesson.
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πŸ—£οΈ Enough speaking time

  • Use the SPEAKING TRACKER in the Preply Classroom to help encourage your student to speak more.

  • Allow wait time for responses with shorter speaking activities and give your students time to prepare what they would like to say before a longer speaking activity.

  • Provide your students with examples of expressions and phases to scaffold and extend their speaking.

πŸ—£οΈ Courses related to speaking...

Zero-preparation speaking activities

Check out these course to learn get zero-preparation ideas for engaging and relevant speaking lessons! Regardless of the language and levels you teach, you will definitely find something useful here.
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πŸͺœ Difficulty Level

  • Talk with your student to find out if they are finding the lessons too easy or too difficult.

  • If your student has not already completed the level test, ask them to complete this. Preply has level tests in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. There are level tests in other languages available free online also.

  • If your student is finding the lessons too difficult, consider the concept checking questions (CCQs) you are asking during class. At the end of the class ask for feedback level and plan regular review activities into your classes. See 'How to teach beginners' course below.

  • If your student is finding the lessons too easy, consider how you can upgrade their language and reformulate their utterances. See β€˜Challenging advanced learners’ course below.

πŸͺœ Develop your skills with higher level students...

Challenging advanced students

How do you challenge those students who are so advanced, they rarely make mistakes? Watch this 30 minute webinar to pick up a bag of tips, tricks and techniques to show your advanced students real progress lesson after lesson!
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πŸͺœ Learn how to support lower level students...

How to teach beginners

Teaching beginners requires different strategies and techniques from teaching other levels where you can build on previous learning. In this session, we share techniques and teaching ideas to prepare and deliver effective lessons to beginners!
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✨ Lesson atmosphere

  • Talk to your student to see if there is anything in particular that they are referring to that could be adapted or improved.

  • Take feedback as information that can help you improve and grow as a teacher.

  • Sometimes it happens that you don't 'click' with a student. If this is the case, don't take it personally, tell the student you are sorry it didn't work out and ask them if they would like help finding a new tutor.

Grow your language teaching techniques with this in-depth course!

How to teach a language

Whether you've just started teaching or are an experienced online teacher, enrol now to connect with like-minded Preply tutors and to get expert guidance on language teaching techniques and best practices.
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