Physical Classroom or Online? Online!

Here is a bold statement (and I will actually put it in ‘bold’ font as well). Are you ready? Here goes!

The future of IELTS Preparation is online !

I’ll go a little further, and say that the idea of physically face-to-face teaching now seems VERY old fashioned. Hmmmm. Are you surprised? But times change. Nothing stays the same. Technology gets better everyday. Zoom, Line, Powerpoint, all running at the same time, all goes to your computer screen.

Okay, let’s think about the nature of preparation for IELTS. You, the students, are:

• 1. adults, with the ability to concentrate,
  2. able to use computers (with Zoom, Google Meet, or MS Teams),
  3. interested in your learning, and trying hard to achieve a specific goal.

The online teaching itself is:

1. 1. … actually face-to-face [that is, we can all see each others faces],
   2. … great for very specific feedback [e.g. I put your writing on the screen to help explain my correction, and can draw directly over it, with pen functions and text boxes],
   3. … particularly suited to my style of teaching – that is, with incredibly advanced PowerPoint programs, which can be run on a shared screen.

Regarding that ‘face-to-face’ comment, programs such as Zoom, Google Meet, or MS Teams are very advanced, with many sophisticated features, and it does indeed sometimes seem as if the students and I are all simply sitting together in a room, talking to each other.

However, it is Point 3 which is most significant. Think about it. You can physically sit in my classroom watching MY screen, or you can sit in your own comfortable location, watching YOUR screen – but it’s the SAME content [Powerpoint program] on the screen.

Do not judge online teaching by your previous experience. Can I repeat that? If you have had other ‘online’ teaching experience with other teachers, do not compare them to mine! Have a free observation with me, and you will see the difference.

Finally, online teaching offers all the obvious advantages of:

• 1. no travel, and thus saving you time and money,
  2. greater convenience,
  3. fewer distractions.

So, why would any IELTS student now want a physical classroom? What does a physical classroom actually have that makes it better? I honestly cannot think of anything, provided that you have:

1. 1. a secure internet connection,
   2. a quiet area in which to do the class,
   3. the camera/microphone technology.

I can, however, for 1-1 teaching or small groups, offer a physical classroom, but (provided that you can meet the above 1, 2, 3 conditions) I believe online is now the way to go.

See you in my (online) class.