First lesson with a new student: a full plan

The skeleton: a 45–60-minute first lesson

• Welcome and small talk (5 min). Your name, how to address you, one thing about you. Keep your English slow and smile more than feels natural.
• Getting to know them (10 min). Interests, why English, past experience with it. With a beginner, use pictures and choices rather than open questions.
• Gentle level check (10–15 min). A conversation that climbs step by step, plus a short reading or a picture to describe. It should feel like a chat, not an exam.
• A mini-lesson with a quick win (15 min). Teach one small, useful thing just above their level, and make sure they can use it before the end.
• Agreeing the plan (5–10 min). Goals in their words, how often you'll meet, homework, how they prefer to be corrected.
• A clear goodbye. Name what they did today: "Today you told me about your family in English."

Questions worth asking

Ask about goals in concrete terms. "I want to improve my English" is not a goal you can plan from; "I want to understand my colleagues on calls" or "I need B1 for university next June" is. With children, the goal is usually the parent's — ask the parent, then find the child's own reason to enjoy it.

• What do you need English for, and by when?
• What have you tried before? What did you like, what did you hate?
• What's hardest for you: speaking, listening, reading or writing?
• How do you want me to correct you — during speaking, or after?
• How much time do you really have between lessons?

Kids: play first, test never

A child cannot tell you their goals, and a formal test in lesson one can make them freeze. Build the level check into games: show picture cards and see which words they know, give simple commands ("Touch your nose", "Show me something red"), ask "How old are you?" and "What's your favourite animal?" Keep activities to a few minutes each and let the child move. Bring one thing they'll want to come back for — a puppet, a sticker chart, a game you promise to finish next time.

Save five minutes at the end for the parent: what you saw, what you'll work on, and one tiny thing to do at home.

Teens: respect and choice

Teenagers often arrive because a parent decided, and many are afraid of looking stupid. Talk to them, not about them. Ask what they watch, play and listen to, and use it in the first activity. Offer choices — "Do you want to start with a song or a quiz?" — and avoid putting them on the spot with a long solo speaking task before trust exists. If a parent is present, give the teen the first word about their own goals.

Adults: goals, time and dignity

Adults usually know why they are there and want to see a plan. Many carry bad memories of school English. Spend real time on the needs analysis, show that the lesson content comes from what they told you, and use their real life — their job, their trip, their emails — in the mini-lesson. Be honest about how long things take, and agree how they'd like to be corrected; some want every error flagged, others need to build confidence first.

Online vs in person

• Online: send the link and a one-line "what to have ready" message the day before. Start with a 30-second sound and camera check.
• Online: keep to two or three tools you know well; switching tabs in lesson one eats minutes and confidence.
• In person: think about seating. Side by side or at a corner of the table feels less like an interview than face to face.
• In person: have paper, cards and a pen ready; real objects make the level check easier for beginners and children.

After the lesson

Write notes the same day while you still remember: estimated level per skill, goals in their words, interests, errors you heard, what worked. Send a short follow-up — the plan for the next few lessons and the homework. That message is often what turns a trial lesson into a regular student.