Different types of classes (preview)

Different types of classes

Aside from having different types of young learners, there are also several different types of classes that you might come across. Your teaching approach, techniques, and activities will vary quite a bit depending on which type of class you are teaching.

Different types of classes that you might teach:

Below we list four of the most common class types you’ll find. You can click on, or mouse-over each box to see more information.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten classes focus on the youngest students, usually between the ages of three and four. In such classes, teachers will need to focus heavily on learning through games.

These students have no formal education experience, so the concept of school will be quite unusual for them. Trying to both introduce a formal education environment (such as a teacher that teaches and students that are there to study), along with a whole new language would be too much to handle.

Schools

Standard school classes are likely to be the most familiar for most new teachers. These can be at either public schools or private/international schools.

While there can be some differences between public and private schools, they both share the common factor that students will be regularly attending these lessons as part of their overall mandatory education. There is likely to be a well-developed curriculum, and the students are more likely to have formed strong friendship groups as they spend a lot of time together.

Language classes

Extra-curricular language classes are often referred to as “cram schools” in English. These are private language lessons that are held outside of ordinary school times.

Parents will often send their children to these classes in order to help them improve and give them an advantage when it comes to sitting exams. Students in these lessons might be less confident as they’ll likely not have formed such strong friendship groups due to the relatively limited time they spend in these lessons each week.

Online lessons

Studying English through the Internet has fast become a popular method that many parents are switching to instead of attending cram schools.

While they might not be as effective as face-to-face lessons, they are certainly more convenient, and they allow students from any region of the world to connect with talented teachers. In these lessons, teachers will need to balance education and entertainment in order to keep students coming back to their classes.

Each type of class is unique, and we’ll cover examples in more detail throughout the course.