If …
- someone cannot read my handwriting…
- learners talk amongst themselves and deviate from the topic…
- I have to adapt my lesson plan to the needs that occur spontaneously throughout the lesson, despite the effort I made to prepare paper cutouts for the students…
… then I am teaching face-to-face.
💻 Do you remember when the first language courses shifted online via Skype? You would never have imagined that becoming the norm. Before the pandemic, I always taught in person – anything else was not an option. Even the word “face-to-face teaching” did not exist or at least was not commonly used.
Now we know: It’s true that language training can be done differently, thanks to the plethora of new digital tools (Zoom, Padlet just to name a few) and a change to the course structure.
2023. I teach almost exclusively online.
Except on Thursdays, 1.5 hours in person! 👩 🏫
It all started with a group that I also taught online. It was a relatively large group, and new participants joined later. The suggestion came from my learners: Let’s meet in the office together. It was not surprising at all that many students liked the idea.
For me, Thursday is the highlight of the week. 😍
Suddenly, I can “stand in front of the group” again and share the room with my students, use worksheets, and play games together. Since switching back to in-house, I have noticed that my teaching is not so linear. We can cover students’ needs that arise spontaneously, even if it means deviating from the lesson plan. When I divide students into groups, I hear something from every angle and can react in a natural manner, without appearing abruptly in the breakout room.
In-person education – a luxury?
There is no question that e-learning has many advantages, which is why the demand is so huge. Students can participate in classes from all over the world. However, the abundance of offers online can also lead to price dumping and the option of face-to-face classes becoming increasingly expensive. Teachers are not willing to accept the same rate as their online classes and neither should they, they have to consider their travel expenses and the extra time it takes to travel to their course.
In his book “Das neue Lernen heißt Verstehen,” Henning Beck writes:
“Perhaps education will split in the future […] into that which is cheap and available everywhere, like a ‘fast food’-like E-education to go, and a deeper, more expensive analog education […]”
❓❓❓ What do you think, is online education here to stay? Will face-to-face classes no longer be affordable in the future?
