Step By Step Guide To Teach Language Online In 2022

February 12 2021
Vaishak

Want to know how to teach language online? You have come to the right place.

According to a study, the value of language and casual learning in the online education market in India in 2021 is 29 million USD. Language is an art and learning it is not a breezy journey. It needs a specialized tutor and a sophisticated course. Let us understand its importance with a short story about one of our clients.

A Short Story

Jason was an online linguistic tutor who specialized in teaching regional as well as foreign languages. Before he became a tutor, he was a marketing professional and had to travel quite often. While traveling to unknown places he faced a serious problem – communication. He couldn’t communicate with the clients fluently. To improve his situation, he started learning several languages and soon mastered them.

At one point in his career, a spark hit him – he thought of using his language skills to solve the pain points of many people like him. He left his job and started teaching languages to students in his area.

Unfortunately, teaching a language is way different than learning it and he learned this the hard way; He struggled to retain his students and his revenue took a major hit. That’s when he realized, to teach a language, you need more than just language skills; you need a powerful platform to help in your teaching journey.

Luckily, Learnyst came to his rescue. It not only helped him create sophisticated courses but also helped him to assess the students effortlessly.

This story about Jason is an eye-opener for many people out there who are struggling to teach languages. If you are an online tutor and have a rich knowledge of languages, then you have come to the right place.

In this post, we are going to discuss everything about how to teach language online.

Why should anyone learn a language?

Articulating a second language other than our mother tongue has a vital role to play in our lives. Some of us might even have the urge to master a language (predominantly foreign) while in our school or college days. Learning a language apart from our native language has many benefits besides communication purposes. Here are they –

Learning a language builds self-confidence

Did you know interacting with a native speaker is the best method to learn a language? Though it might seem difficult initially, this is the proven method to improve vocabulary and fluency. This ultimately develops a sense of self-confidence to be able to survive in any land.

Boost your job prospects

Being a master in a second language helps you to stand out among the crowd, thereby increasing your career prospects to grow well. You might receive a reward in your existing job or get an employment opportunity in a foreign land.

Interconnection with other cultures

If you are fluent in a second language, then you might be able to connect with the cultures of that place. To learn a language is to learn the history, traditions, and ideologies of the people who speak the language.

Here is an interesting benefit – Did you know that being bilingual reduces the chances of Alzheimer’s and dementia?

How to teach language online?

Teaching a language is easy when you have the proper resources on hand and sound knowledge about the language. Surprisingly, there is no specific level of qualification required for a language e-tutor. The only prerequisite is fluency in the language. The more you know the language, the more you know about its usage and culture. This will help you to impart great skills to the students.

But before becoming a language tutor, you will have to master 4 key skills which are –

Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking

These skills will be very useful irrespective of the student level you are tutoring.

Analyze the learner capability

Not all language learners will be of the same type. People learn languages for various reasons. Based on their necessity, categorize the level of the language to be taught.

A-class learners – these are students who study language as a certified course and need exam level preparation.
Business learners – these are learners who learn a language to enhance their career opportunities. They need an advanced level of teaching, especially in the speaking department.
Recreational learners – these are learners who learn the language as a hobby or a pleasure activity and do not have a specific motive or a target.

Facilitating communicative competence

The next skill required for an online instructor is to facilitate communication between the learners. Do this by asking the students to socialize. Interaction between learners is crucial in communicative language learning. You can achieve this in an online course through task design.

Apart from the above-mentioned tips, an online tutor should also possess technical skills to use the online teaching software and creativity to make the class more interactive.

Want to know how to become an online teacher. Here is a quick read on it.

Online Language teaching methodologies

Listed below are some of the popular language teaching methodologies –

Grammar-translation

This is one of the oldest methods in language teaching. In this teacher-centered approach, the tutor explains the grammatical forms of the taught language in the native dialect for better understanding by the students followed by some grammar exercises. Though this method focuses on grammar, it restricts communication in the taught language.

Direct teaching method

This approach is exactly the opposite of the grammar-translation method. In this, you cannot use native language in the class. Both the instructor and the students should use the target language as the medium of instruction. This will motivate the students to speak only in the target language. Though the students find this approach difficult during the initial times, this is the proven method by which the student can learn to communicate in the new language quickly.

Communicative learning

This approach is the most widely accepted approach to language learning. It emphasizes the learner’s capability to have a communication standard in the target language. As mentioned earlier, task design and problem-solving are two key criteria on which the communicative approach operates. Students are given simple tasks such as writing a short sentence, analyzing a situation, and communicating it in the target language, enacting situations, and listening/reporting tasks.

These are some approaches to teaching a language through online media. You can also have your own innovative method of teaching to ensure that the language is better grasped by the student.

An insight into Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

This is the latest pedagogy in e-learning related to language teaching. CALL is an interactive medium that incorporates computer technology for the effective teaching of languages. Through this technology, the teacher can attract the attention of the students by making the classes interesting. This is done through games and tasks. The teacher can make use of the CALL scheme in their online classes thereby making the learning process an easy task.

Start Teaching Language Online

Learnyst Support

Now that you have seen how to teach language online, it is time to know more about Learnyst LMS. Learnyst LMS is an e-learning platform that falls under the category of CALL. You can use the technology platform to your advantage by making online language classes and viewing student performance. The platform also has facilities to conduct drills, gamification to increase student participation, and technologies to make teaching an unforgettable experience. Most importantly, it supports multiple languages.

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