Learning a language on a course or with private tutor?

[falcon001]

I learned English with a private tutor and I think that it helped a lot. I know more than the people who went on courses. The advantage of studying with a tutor is that he is forcing you to focus, while at a lecture it is very easy to lose your focus. What do you think is a better way to learn a language?

[LC143]

Private tutorial guarantees a complete 1:1 ratio, which is proven to work on most studies. Learning a language interactively also increases your chances of becoming fluent with much better pronunciation and at a swifter pace.

[Lasonax]

There is no "absolutely best way" of learning a new language. What works for you may not work for someone else.

Personally I think that, for people who has no problems focusing/learning: self study is the way to go.

Having a teacher is useful, but for people who can focus and study on their own, it's a waste of time and money to spend your time on a teacher or course.

Courses may be limiting in that you'll constantly have to adapt to the rest of the class, instead of focusing on what you can learn on your own. With a private teacher, this will of course be avoided. But as I said, self-learning is probably better if you can focus on your own.

[FosterTXT]

I personally prefer learning a new language at my own pace. Although I will admit that a tutor would probably help a lot. I still would prefer to learn by myself though as I won't feel rushed and I also won't have to spend any money.

[dylr88]

A private tutor could probably help me understand and learn easier but it all depends,  I had a private tutor before, not language learning related, but still struggled a bit to understand,  I only understood the topic I was learning through my own pace and researching, the tutor helped me a bit through keeping me motivated and testing me.

Some people might find tutoring helpful while others like myself rather learn by our selves.  Courses are similar too in my opinion, although I personally would go on a course where I can practice with others if I had to choose between the two.

[Rosa]

It is very different with each person. I would rather learn language with a group than being tutored all by myself. That way I get to interact with others and share,especially on the things that I have difficulty grasping. I think learning all comes down to ones zeal to accomplish.

[burtpovski]

Well, it all depends on you. I feel that in a course, you can make new friends and such at the same time. But with a private tutor, your learning is more concentrated towards you. If it's a one on one tutor, that is with just you and your tutor, then I feel that your learning is much more easy. The tutor only has to worry about you, so you can ask as many questions as you'd like!

Personally, I'd rather have a private tutor if I want to be focused on learning the language. But I'd take a course with other people if I want to make new friends.

[mickey4533]

Definitely a private tutor as it provides you with much more practice than you would get in a class. In the end, practice is all that counts. You can spend as much time studying grammar rules etc but nothing provides you with a better grasp of the language than practice.

[Baburra]

I think a private tutor is a great way to learn if you can afford it. Surely, it will help with motivation and also you'd at least get personal guidance on pronunciations and you'd be able to practice it in real form through communication and conversation.

[Determined2014]

I learned English with a private tutor and I think that it helped a lot. I know more than the people who went on courses. The advantage of studying with a tutor is that he is forcing you to focus, while at a lecture it is very easy to lose your focus. What do you think is a better way to learn a language?

Between learning a new language on a course or with a private tutor, I would rather have a private tutor , to me it is more efficient to learn this way , that way you get all the attention.

[Kate]

If it were a possibility, I'd definitely choose a private tutor. 

I'm thinking that while a course may teach a language perfectly well, it's so much more meaningful to have someone there telling you if you're getting it right... if all the sounds are the way they should be, etc.  A video course would let you know how it's supposed to sound, but there would be no feedback about how you're imitating it.

And if you meant a written course, I wouldn't choose that because again, no feedback.

[sidney]

I think that hiring a tutor is definitely more effective because you have someone to teach and correct you on your mistakes when you make one as compared to just learning via self-study where no one corrects you if you've made a mistake. So I definitely think that the added expense is worth it.

[Dora M]

I have done both, and have no particular preference. Although, in groups, I like there to be no more than 10 people in a classroom, so everyone gets a lot of chances to ask questions. I feel that in big classrooms with 20 or more students, a lot of important things can easily get overlooked. Also, some people are just too shy to speak up in public and it has a negative effect on their studies.

[Firelily99]

I have tried it both ways and I am not sure of the difference.  The main thing for me is to get immersed in the language and be able to speak it as much as possible.

[Trellum]

Pffff!  I'd very much rather learn with the help of a tutor, specially because the language I'm trying to learn requires a lot feedback... I need to be told how to pronounce certain words and be corrected all the time. I learn English in my own, but this is a totally different thing!  Having a tutor would be super useful.

I'd definitely go for that if I had the cash, sadly I don't so I need to settle for a course.  I'm sure many people would pick having a private tutor over learning a new language on their own with a simple course.

[Trellum]

I think that hiring a tutor is definitely more effective because you have someone to teach and correct you on your mistakes when you make one as compared to just learning via self-study where no one corrects you if you've made a mistake. So I definitely think that the added expense is worth it.

I totally agree with you!  A tutor beats a self-learning course, specially when you are in a hurry to learn a new language, specially if it's a difficult language.  I'd love having a private tutor who could teach me colloquial Hebrew.  That would be awesome

Sadly I don't have cash for that or for anything that expensive right now, hehehe!  Learning a new language is hard, doing it alone is even harder. A private tutor is definitely the choice of people who can afford that.

[Cap2jitsu]

A private tutor is a lot more effective than in a class. They can go with you one by one on your own pace to learn the language, opposed to a class where the teacher is trying to speed through topics quickly and cannot stay at one area for too long.

For example, language classes in high school were always fairly ineffective since the teacher would just push on with the curriculum if only one student had a problem, and that one student would fall behind. This would not happen with a private tutor.

[tuparientemateo]

I think a private tutor would be the best, especially if that person is either a native speaker or has experience living in a native place speaking the language.

You can have concepts explained to you a lot better, and also have your pronunciation and grammar be a lot better while you learn your language and practice.

However, videos, software, and books are also nice supplementary sources and never hurt to read/watch.

[PashaR]

I think in most cases a private tutor is the best way to go. When learning a new language it is important to study grammar, vocabulary, etc., but it is equally important to speak the language at every opportunity. A class with multiple students, or a self-study course, will not afford you the same opportunities to do this as  will a one-on-one teaching environment. Also, language books, exercises, etc., are geared toward formal, "proper" speech. Conversational speech is very different. Conversational pronunciation, too, often differs from "proper" pronunciation. You can study and study and study and then try to have a conversation with a native speaker, and you won't have a clue what he's saying.

A private tutor can give personal help with pronunciation, grammar, and conversational speech. And you will have much more speaking practice. There is no substitute for such one-on-one help and attention.

[sweetjelatin]

Learning a language with a tutor helps you focus more and he/she can guide you more effectively. Plus you can really focus more on topics you have difficulty and resolve it correctly.