7 Qualities of an effective English speaking partner
There are a number of advantages of learning to speak English with an English speaking partner. They can help students in all areas of spoken English giving plenty of encouragement together with discussing various topics covering education, business and economies of the world to name but a few. These partners will help correct common mistakes in those learning to speak English enabling these students to feel more confident and be able to converse with others in fluent English. An English speaking partner should ask in the beginning if the learner has any special interests or if there are specific reasons why they want to improve their English. Here are 7 qualities of an effective English speaking partner:
Flexible
An English speaking partner needs to be flexible and needs to be able to adjust the lesson according to the needs of the student both on a time basis together with the standard of lesson spoken at the beginning of the course of sessions and continue this flexibility during the course of the sessions.
Imagination
An English speaking partner must have imagination to be able to adjust the lessons to keep the learners interested. If a learner is not interested their spoken English will not improve so it is very important for the partner to have imagination and keep the sessions interesting.
Patience
English speaking partners need to be patient and work at the pace of the student with the ability to correct mistakes without the student feeling they are under-achieving or they loose their confidence.
Communication
An English speaking partner must be able to communicate well with all their students of every nationality. This English speaking partner must be able to speak slowly and clearly and to be able to discuss many different topics at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
Go the extra mile
It is very important to be able to motivate English speaking learners to speak fluently. English-speaking partners must give plenty of encouragement and inspiration and ensure that they understand the aims of the students they are talking with together with knowing from the beginning what the students want from these conversations.
Adapting
English speaking partners must be able to adapt their lesson plans to accommodate their students. Sometimes these partners have a lesson plan but during the conversations the topics being discussed can vary and the partners need to be able to adjust very quickly and have extra questions to ask on whatever topic the conversation follows even if it is not part of the original lesson/session plan.
Organization
An English speaking partner needs to come to the session well organized and having decided which topics will be discussed during the forthcoming session. The topic may have been decided during the previous session. The partner must have plenty of questions and/or topics to fill each session.
All English speaking partners will have their strengths and they all share the same goal to help students improve their English speaking. These partners love to teach and help students with their English spoken fluency. These partners are able to relate well to their students together with having the ability to adapt their lessons and to think ‘outside the box’ on occasions during these sessions. These partners will challenge the learners by discussing a variety of topics both easy and difficult. These partners will be able to explain topics in a variety of ways, which makes the students maximize the potential and learn English as quickly as possible. These English speaking partners have much experience of the world and this gives them an advantage in helping learners improve their English. The benefits of an effective English-speaking partner will help the students by encouraging them and will set them up to speak English fluently for years to come.
