#749 Getting the Best from Online Lessons (with Transcript)

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13_FTArCu98SOXOw3oGTjV0XdHVqvIMGhTlNmtDKWYvc/edit?usp=sharing Extract: Today. I want to explore with you the difference between face-to-face classroom lessons and e-learning lessons on the internet. I've done both and there's a very real difference. And if you're someone who hasn't had an online lesson before or you're just not sure how they work, we're going to be looking at that today. In a traditional English class, what you're getting is really well documented in advance. Not only by the course details but  also because that way of educating people has been around for centuries. The idea of the teacher with students and imparting information has been the way of educating people all over the world for thousands upon thousands of years. That means that it's set in stone as we say in English, it's something which is very difficult to change. Newer countries in the world like America slowly are beginning to embrace change. They got these old systems from us and they realised that you know, they could be amended, adapted and that we could move on from them and that probably part of the reason why we now have e-learning because America Uh, once the internet came, I think has really led the way in developing platforms, like, Zoom Skype. Uh, individual lesson platforms which now are part of our everyday lives. A teacher can become like a mentor. Where they hold you accountable. And that's where the next thing comes in that I want to tell you about and this is something kind of new that's appearing on the horizon, and that is English Coaches. Now, you've heard of lifestyle coaches. People who get you up in the morning. Get you meeting your targets. It's very much a fashionable thing. Um, these days we also have English coaches. Now, there's no clear distinction between who is a teacher and who is a coach, but, you’ll know them, if you find them. Because coaches will be more interested in your long-term goals. They'll be asking you what you're trying to meet… with the English, you're learning why exactly, you are learning that particular thing, why exactly, you're reading that particular book. Where exactly you're trying to get to… English coaching is something that really is huge and it's something that I'll be moving into more and more. Because in the past, of course, up until fairly recently, we've only had Teachers. Teachers, people who give you grammar because you pay the money, the teacher in the classroom, but it's evolving now, And what's coming is some kind of life coach specialising in languages.  And that probably is going to be the future for a lot of teachers and I think we're beginning to see that now in one-to-one lessons. More and more teachers, especially older ones are beginning to realise that this isn't just all about grammar. This is about you. This is about the person who's on the system sitting in front of you, who somewhere is a real live person and how can you help that person reach their goals. How can you Empower them how can you give them what they want in a way that moves them on to the next level.  That's that's really what's coming out of all of this. And already I'm seeing English coaches appearing on the internet, but don't misunderstand me because it seems to me that there's also another type of English coach In the same way, as there's a football coach. So there are those as well. But I think the English coaches I'm talking about are more like mentors. They are people who really care about where you are going.