I’ve had a few good, bad and ugly experiences with private tutoring platforms like Italki, Preply, Verbling.
They really can feel like the Wild West of language learning.
They promise fluency, but learner goals are at the mercy of a number of variables, most notably: how dedicated and skilled your teacher is.
To make the most of one-to-one online classes, you need to:
- Find a teacher you click with, within your budget
- Hope they bring structure and planning to your sessions
- Stay motivated enough to keep attending classes
- Commit to independent study between lessons
- Track your own progress over time
One massive draw of the uberfication of language learning is cheap classes. Sometimes this pays off – for example if you find a talented teacher who’s new to the platform and still charging modest rates. If you do, tip: book a block of lessons before their price goes up.
But if you’re unlucky, or not sure how to sort the wheat from the chaff, you may end up with an unprepared or uninvested teacher, who insists: “Let’s just talk!”.
Before you know it, your lessons are nothing more than casual chit-chat, pleasant and relaxed – until weeks go by and you realise you’re not improving, and you don’t know why.
The solution? Bring the structure yourself.
Just like a workout plan is useful for someone new to the gym, a learning plan will help new learners hold a teacher to account, as well as to track your learning.
I’ve created three learning plans for A1, A2 and B1, for learners looking to take one 60-minute class a week. Each includes suggested grammar, vocabulary and review points.
You can show it to your teacher as a syllabus, or use it to guide your own expectations. It’s not a checklist to rush through, instead it’s a roadmap to help you build a solid foundation, with enough flexibility to adapt to your needs and interests.
A1: building the basics
A1 is full of quick wins and steep learning curves, often bringing satisfying breakthroughs that keep motivation high. But it’s easy to linger too long on the basics. The key at this stage is to keep moving while building a solid foundation. This plan breaks A1 into three manageable phases over 36 weeks, balancing progress with plenty of review:
A2: putting it into practice
A2 is all about expanding your comfort zone – talking about the past and future, expressing preferences, and handling simple challenges. Many learners plateau here, so this plan keeps things moving with structure and variety. I’ve split A2 into three stages, with built-in review points to help you keep building momentum:
B1: crossing over to independent use
At B1 level, the “aha!” moments that came regularly at A1 and A2 become less frequent. Progress can feel slower, and the B1 plateau looms large, where your conversations may feel repetitive and rehearsed.
The goal at B1 is to break through the ceiling of survival communication and develop more flexible, independent language use. In my view, it takes more to push past B1 than A1 and A2, and as such I’ve divided this learning plan into four sections:
Final thoughts
Newer or inexperienced teachers should be open to this kind of structure if they don’t have anything planned for you themselves. It’s also a useful reference for you to keep track of your own progress.
You might find that some teachers turn their noses up to such learning plans. That’s fine. Experienced teachers have their own methods and have spent years honing their craft, meaning that going by someone else’s plan just doesn’t cut it for some.
What this will do though, is open up a conversation whereby you can ask to see their roadmap for your learning. They should be able to produce one if they’re the real deal.
Download the three learning plans as one PDF here:
Like this post? Please like and share it!
Leave a comment