What Is Language Coaching?

During my TESL studies in pre-pandemic days, one of our exercises was to practice teaching using Teams. I clearly remember thinking to myself, “Why would anyone ever choose to teach this way?” Less than a month later, we all found out. 

While most people agree that teaching a large class on-line can be extremely challenging, it turns out that one-to-one coaching on-line works well, and even has some advantages compared to in-person tutoring. With the widespread adoption of computer video calling, on-line coaching has increasingly become an option for both students and teachers of English.

But what is coaching? When we think of coaching, we generally think of people mentoring and guiding athletes. Athletic coaches typically develop practice schedules and activities, and offer advice designed to improve aspects of their athletes’ performance. English coaching is not much different, only the game isn’t tennis or pole-vaulting, it’s English fluency.

Students may choose on-line language coaching because they need to improve their English, but they aren’t able to make the commitment to a full, in-class program. Students may prefer the one-on-one experience of on-line coaching from home. Employers may even pay the cost of coaching and give their employees time during the workday to study English.

So how does English coaching work? First of all, coaching is conversational. It assumes the student has a basic English competency – so CLB 4 at minimum. Are all coaching candidates CLB 4 or higher? Not at all. Many show up with much less than basic competency. Some enroll thinking that showing up for coaching once a week is a substitute for learning grammar and acquiring vocabulary. It’s not. Coaching sometimes has to take a back seat to teaching, which means getting a textbook, learning grammar and vocabulary, and doing exercises and homework to get up to speed.

But once basic competency has been achieved, coaching provides a safe place to explore the language. Many students complain of anxiety when speaking English—a problem that is much easier to address in a coaching situation than in the classroom. Coaching is often focussed on addressing fossilization, bringing attention to bad habits. Some students with CLB 5 and higher complain of not being understood when they speak, so coaching can provide the space to deal intensively with pronunciation difficulties.

Over the next year, I will be writing about my experiences in English Coaching. I’ll talk about what I’ve learned as a coach—what works, and what doesn’t. My hope is that this will be helpful to those currently coaching or considering it as an option. It’s also very possible that my reflections on coaching may also be useful for those teaching in classrooms: The format may be different, but the goal is the same.