I try to make my online lessons exciting, flexible, and personal. When you connect with me I will encourage you to practise at your own pace while using tools such as interactive exercises. I will always try to create the right balance between listening and speaking during my lessons.
A common complaint I hear from students is that they have previously experienced lessons with other online tutors which are too teacher-centred, with them mainly listening and not speaking enough. They also say that other lessons could go the opposite way, where they spoke a lot but didn’t take time to listen carefully and learn from what they heard. In my opinion, the best online English lessons include both skills in a balanced way. Listening and speaking are like two sides of the same coin, they support each other and help you communicate confidently.
Finding a Balance
Now let’s look at how I try to find that balance.
First let’s look at why listening and speaking work together
Listening and speaking are called productive and receptive skills. Speaking is productive, you create language. Listening is receptive, you understand language. When these skills work together, your communication improves and becomes more fluent.
Think about real-life conversations that you have in your native language. You don’t only talk; you also need to listen, understand, and respond. I apply this in my online classroom. Firstly, listening helps you to understand pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. Secondly, it allows you to learn new vocabulary in context. Thirdly it helps you to notice how sentences are structured.
Speaking, on the other hand, helps you practice producing what you’ve heard. It also tests your understanding by using language yourself. Finally it builds your confidence in real-time communication.
For me as an online English tutor the key is to balance both. If you only listen, you might understand others but struggle to express yourself. If you only speak, you might repeat mistakes or miss important patterns of natural speech.
Don't talk too much!
So I will always avoid spending too much time talking. I don’t want you to listen passively. I want you to respond and get enough speaking practice. I want you to overcome your nervousness and shyness. I understand that it can be difficult speaking in front of a camera especially when you make mistakes. I will create a comfortable classroom environment where your mistakes are gently corrected and used to improve your learning. I will also take time to plan your lessons. A 60 minute lesson can pass very quickly. So structure is very important to ensure there is the right balance of speaking and listening in the session
When I teach I often use the ‘PPP’ model or Presentation – Practice – Production.
During the Presentation stage listening is important, it is where you will hear models of correct English. This is followed by the Practice and Production stage where speaking takes over. The key is to move smoothly from listening to speaking. I don’t stay too long in one phase.
Using Listening Tasks
I often incorporate short listening tasks into my lessons. A favorite of mine is to give the student a spoken account of my plans for the next weekend. I will then ask them to repeat key phrases and then discuss what they heard. I will then break down the account in short segments and ask the student to ‘shadow’ what I am saying, in other words speak along with me matching rhythm and pronunciation. This builds natural fluency and helps the student develop speech patterns. I will then move on to asking reflective questions (‘What did I say about this?’) and then opinion or reaction questions (‘What did you think of my plan?’). This moves the lesson from listening to speaking. Finally I give feedback where I will correct pronunciation and grammar. I also include listening advice in this. For example: “You spoke clearly, but when I asked a question, you didn’t respond to the key word. Try listening carefully for question words next time.” I always try to ensure that the feedback I give is both constructive and balanced.
Getting the most from an online english lesson
Many of my students ask me how they can get the most out of each lesson. I welcome this because I believe learners should be as proactive as possible in their own learning journey. Here are some tips I give:
- Prepare for both skills I suggest you warm up before a lesson by listening to something in English that could involve a podcast, short video, or even a song. Then, think about how you could talk about it. This gets your brain ready for both listening and speaking.
- Speak even when unsure I encourage you not to wait to be perfect. My lessons are your safe space to practice. Even short answers or simple phrases help you build confidence. The more you speak, the better your listening becomes, because you start noticing how I respond to your words.
- Use “active listening” While I speak, listen with purpose. Focus on key words, tone, and body language. Take notes or repeat parts silently to yourself. Good listening is just not passive it’s active engagement on your part.
- Ask clarification questions In our lessons if you don’t understand something, don’t just nod. Ask, “Could you say that again, please?”, “What does that word mean?”, “Do you mean… ?”. I really appreciate it when students ask questions. It means the conversation is two way and it improves their listening accuracy.
More activities to improve your english
Here are some more activities I use in my lessons which combine listening and speaking. I often use an exercise where I read a short dialogue to the student. I will then ask them to act out a similar conversation with me using their own ideas. Interview practice is another effective activity. Here I ask questions and the student answers, then we switch roles so the student becomes the questioner. One of my favorites is the information gap task. The student and I have different information (e.g., a schedule or a map) They must ask and answer questions to complete the task. Listening carefully is as important as speaking clearly.
Final Word
So finally I believe that balancing listening and speaking in my lessons is not about giving each exactly 50% of the time. It’s about connection and flow. Both speaking and listening should support each other so the lesson feels like real communication. I always plan my lessons with this balance in mind because I want them to be engaging, realistic, and effective language learning experiences.
