In most traditional language institutes the work is attributed to maintaining teaching
quality. This quality has been achieved by standardization a “perfect” teaching-and-testing system. I think it is is good and necessary, but unfortunately this system does not acknowledge the human aspects as much as it should.
I used to teach university students who had to remember vocabulary and properly
follow grammar models. There was an expectation that the more precisely the students followed the curriculum, the better they would learn. Most of them successfully passed my exams, but not all of them could communicate well in English.
Besides the unique acting style, people have very different interests and motives for
learning. There is a big difference when someone wants to speak a foreign
language because the husband or wife is a foreigner, or when someone who is a
lawyer needs it to communicate with foreign colleagues.
My area of specialization is innovation and organization management. However, some of my most motivated clients have been those whose hobby is learning languages. On the other hand, my worst experiences have always been with the students who were only studying for a certificate, or with those who just knew that it is necessary nowadays to speak other languages.
The best work results come from teamwork, but only motivated learners are ready to cooperate. They are connected with their personal aim - be it communicating with their foreign co-workers or finding new business partners abroad.
We, teachers, must also connect our work with practical areas of life, because one
person is never good for everything in the wide spectrum of teaching. For example, I can perfectly connect with professionals of business and technology. I would not teach legal English, though, because it is not my area of competence. However, I can always recommend my colleges who are very good at it, because I work in a good team.
This example illustrates that cooperation does not only take place between student and teacher, but also between colleges. For instance, we - the Oxinity team - are regularly gathering to share our ideas. We are creating our own materials and designing new learning tools, among other things.
It is indispensable not to forget the human connection. We can compare it with tailor`s work. Imagine we want to have a nice jacket made. Tailor can only help us when we explain what kind of jacket we need and why (formal coat for office or casual wear for weekends). On the other hand, imagine that we are confused because we are not sure what style or color we want. Imagine if the tailor says: “This is what I can do, and you have to say what you want. Decide now, you are wasting my time!” The taylor can pefectly know how to make good jackets, but it does not automatically make us happy. First, he must help us describe what kind of jacket is best for us, and then implement the work accordingly.
We are truly happy with the taylor if we feel: