Do I need to create a syllabus for each of my learners?

Creating and sharing a personalized short-term syllabus for each learner is highly recommended. Our experience in online tutoring has shown that learners are more likely to return to the same coach and rebook when there is a comprehensible plan to achieve the learner’s goals. This plan will include different approaches and elements for each learner. The short-term syllabus should include a rough outline of topics and activities. 

Before your first lesson with a student who does not have an existing syllabus, plan a sample lesson to show the learner what they can expect from you as a coach. We also advise that you include some getting-to-know-you questions and questions about the learner’s goals. Save a few minutes at the end of class to get feedback from your learner about the content of the first lesson and for you to give some tips and general corrections. During the lesson, you should make some notes about possible lesson (grammar and vocabulary or tasks) topics that would be helpful for the learner. Then after the first class, you will prepare a proposed syllabus (6-10 lessons) to share with the learner via private message who will then post it to their profile wall if accepted. If the learner accepts your proposal, you can support them to accomplish those goals. In the event that you cannot accommodate all the lesson times the learner wants or if there is some other conflict, another coach would be able to step in and continue the planned syllabus. When the learner reaches the penultimate lesson, arrangements should be made to extend the syllabus by adding more topics and tasks. 

If the learner expressly states that they wish to attempt a more free-form learning approach consisting of general conversation or reading together, then we encourage coaches to accommodate the learner’s request.