5 Creative Ideas for Boosting Results and Adding Fun in Your Online Language Lessons
Language tutors are a favourite resource in any successful learner’s arsenal. But it’s not always easy to stay excited about your language lessons, and to turn up regularly…If there’s no creativity in online lessons, no one gets to have the results or the fun that they should have.
No problem! Check out the following 5 ideas for lessons in any language, and you’ll be on to a winner!
One-to-one language lessons are a favourite resource in any successful learner’s arsenal, and most smart learners have long discovered that they can easily meet tutors online (check out italki if you haven't tried it yet).
But for many learners and tutors, it’s not always easy to stay excited about lessons...
…if all you ever do is talk about last week, language lessons quickly get boring
…if you don’t feel like you’re spending your money on a good tutor, you might give up
And teachers, beware: If there’s no creativity in online lessons, no one gets to have the results or the fun that they should have.
Be sure to check out my blog post on 13 essential online language teaching tools that will help elevate your lessons and make them more fun and engaging!
So what can you do to make sure you’re on to a winner?
In today’s blog post, we will talk about 5 online language lesson ideas that you can use no matter if you’re a learner or a teacher. As long as you are hanging out with someone to practice your target language, these ideas will really kick you into gear.
Ready? Then let’s discover how to improve your language lessons right now.
1) Create a Study Plan Together
If you are in the market and looking for a new tutor right now, chances are you’ll want to know what you’re getting for your money. And if you’re a tutor taking on a new student, you’re keen to reassure them that they’ve made an awesome choice.
You simply get together and talk about where you want to be and what your language goals are for the next weeks and months (Create Vision and Path Goals from the Language Habit System® ), and it’s the tutor’s job to help break down these goals and outline which resources you will be using.
Lesson planning takes 30-60 minutes, and I definitely recommend doing this activity together as a solid start to your student-tutor partnership.
2) Boost Your Listening Skills on Togethertube
One of the biggest risks of relying on a single person to be your regular language practice partner is over-reliance on their accent and voice. You may find that weekly conversations get easier, but it takes a multitude of voices for you to understand language at native speed.
I recommend watching online videos together using Togethertube. You can easily control the player, stop the video and discuss what’s going to happen next.
I was super excited about this tip because I had no idea Togethertube existed, and especially because it plays Dailymotion videos…and Dailymotion is the home of Deutsch Plus, my favourite cheesy 90s German learner soap.
3) Let the Student Correct the Language Tutor
You’re probably used to being corrected all the time by your tutor, so how cool would it be to turn that around? The next online language lesson idea is for teachers to finally allow learners to correct them! The tutor prepares a text containing mistakes like wrong words, grammar errors, or a punctuation mistake. The student’s job is finding and correcting each mistake.
I’ve used this idea in my own lessons. It works with groups and individuals, and the challenge always helps to create a productive and focused lesson. After all, who can resist showing off their knowledge?
If you want more fun ways to engage students, check out my blog post on language learning games that you can easily incorporate into your lessons.
4) Tired of Talking About Your Day in Language Lessons?
Nothing can kill a good language lesson quicker than running out of things to talk about. You’re likely working with a tutor to improve your speaking skill, and if you’re nervous about starting to talk the following tip is guaranteed to help you loosen up.
Select a range of pictures that inspire conversation (you can find great pictures on Unsplash or Pixabay). You can ask your tutor to select them with you, or to surprise you with something really weird. It’s the student’s job to describe what’s happening, what might be shown in the photo, and what the people in the picture might be saying.
Take it to the next level with AI
In AI Language Club, we have created a library of easy ideas for spicing up your studies with AI tools. One of our most popular ideas is creating an image with AI. You can do this in tools like ChatGPT, Dall-E, and Copilot, and in a language lesson it’s fun to come up with multilingual descriptions and ideas.
5) Write a TripAdvisor Review
Everyone loves creating reviews, and especially getting to share their travel experiences, so this is perfect. In Lindsay’s book, she gives 3 great scenarios and ideas that tutors can use to write those ideas with you right now. For example, why not go all out and describe your dream trip, somewhere you’ve always wanted to stay, and write about the hotel from heaven?
This activity is awesome because it encourages writing, but it’s so easy to combine it with reading real trip reviews online and even watching hotel promo clips. I love this so much, and I know my students are into travel and have a lot to share…can’t wait to read their holiday experiences!
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Teach Languages Online?
To explore my full guide to becoming a language tutor working from anywhere, check out this course: Live Lessons Strategies for Online Teachers and Tutors for practical tips and resources.
When it comes to online language teaching, setting yourself up for success starts with a few key principles:
Understand Your Audience: Identify who your students are and what their goals are. Tailoring your lessons to their needs will make your teaching more effective.
Set Clear Objectives: Define what you want your students to achieve by the end of each lesson. Clear goals help keep both you and your students focused.
Choose the Right Platform: There are many platforms available for online teaching, such as Zoom, Google Meet, or specialized language teaching platforms like Languatalk and italki. Choose one that suits your teaching style and technical needs.
Can You Teach Yourself a Language Online?
To successfully teach yourself a language online, start by setting clear goals and defining what you want to achieve with realistic milestones. Another crucial part of learning a language by yourself is expanding your vocabulary. You can incorporate effective techniques for memorizing and using new words to boost your fluency by checking our blog post on the best vocabulary learning techniques.
Consistency is key, so aim to practice regularly even if it’s just for a few minutes each day!
Need Support On Your Language Learning Journey?
Don’t miss out on the Fluent Language newsletter! Sign up today and get weekly language learning advice from me.
New Podcast! The Full Online Learning Guide with Breanne Dyck
Welcome to episode 10, a little milestone for the Creative Language Learning Podcast! Thank you guys so much for tuning in, sharing the podcast and responding to it so often.
Do you have any dream guests you'd like to hear from? Special topics, questions or discussions? Leave them in the comments below.
This time, I am talking to an expert in the area of course design and online education. Breanne Dyck knows how to make people learn, she's got lots of information about neuroscience and learnt quite a few languages herself.
“It’s not abstract motivation that keeps us going. It’s all about checking in along the way.”
In this Interview you'll be finding out about
- Why languages are the daddy of self-teaching
- The big mistake all self-learners tend to make
- Where the MOOC concept comes from
- What you should consider before you start even looking for an online course
- The difference between a MOOC, an online course and Duolingo
How to avoid wasting money on unsuitable courses
- What motivation is really about
Click here to Listen on Stitcher and Here to Listen in itunes
Article of the Week
What is a foreign language worth?
Tips of the Week
Out of the following fabulous three tips, Breanne chose number 1 as her Tip of the Week! Keep immersing yourself in the target language through Facebook and practice switching from and to the target language without translating everything in your head.
1) Language Immersion by Facebook on Language Surfer
2) Beat the Leaderboard on Memrise like Leszek Trybala
3) Translate to Beat the Plateau, a tip from Dr Rebecca Braun at the Guardian Live Q&A
Tips and Links from this Podcast
Breanne is holding three major webinars, the Elevate series from 3-6 December 2014. If you're curious about making your own online course, this is THE place to be.
Google, in case you have not heard of it
Rozuku, an easy course creation website
Udemy, an online course marketplace with reviews and thousands of courses
French Grammar for Beginners, my awesome online French course for grammar reference and simple explanations
Lynda.com, online course marketplace
Breanne Dyck's Blog at MNIB, about the science of learning and teaching online
Reddit, where you can find communities about anything and any language
Struggling with listening? Discover realistic tips, challenge prompts, and the best tools for improving your listening skills as a self-guided language learner