Private or group English lessons?
Are you finding it hard to choose between private and group classes? Both have their benefits and drawbacks.
We asked our senior trainers David Creber and Sue Knowles which is the best method to improve your English.
At The Language House, we strongly believe that individual, face-to-face lessons are the most effective way to learn a language - especially if you care about cost, time, and results.
Cost
A group course is cheaper per hour. But if you measure value in terms of learning gained per minute, the picture changes radically.
In group classes, much of your time goes to listening to others, waiting, or covering material you may already know. Individual lessons, on the other hand, are focused entirely on you - your level, your goals, your pace.
You’ll typically speak five or six times more in an individual class than in a small group
There’s also the question of continuity. If you miss a group lesson, the class goes on without you - and you’ve paid for a session. With an individual lesson, you simply reschedule, and every minute counts toward your own progress.
Time
Speaking time is where one-to-one lessons really shine. You’ll typically speak five or six times more in an individual class than in a small group - and in a larger class, you might barely speak at all. You also listen more actively in a one-to-one setting, since your attention is forced to stay on the teacher. There is no option to drift off while others are talking.
Students receiving one-to-one tutoring perform, on average, about twice as fast in achieving the same learning goals.
You’ll save time, too, by focusing only on what’s relevant to you - no detours through topics or grammar points you’ve already mastered. Every second of class time pushes your learning forward.
Researchers call this the “Bloom’s 2-Sigma effect”: students receiving one-to-one tutoring perform, on average, two standard deviations better than those in a traditional class - roughly twice as fast in achieving the same learning goals.
Results
Ultimately, what you want is progress - and individual lessons deliver it more efficiently.
In one study published in the Journal of Second Language Education, learners who received individual feedback significantly outperformed those who got group feedback on measures of accuracy and communication. Having personalised correction, tailored to your exact needs, makes a tangible difference.
There’s another benefit, often overlooked: rapport. When you work consistently with a teacher who understands your strengths and challenges, your brain learns more effectively. The relationship itself becomes part of the learning mechanism.
And fluency? A 2023 study in the Journal of Psycholinguistics found that while group lessons improved accuracy, they didn’t significantly boost fluency - largely because learners had fewer opportunities for spontaneous speaking. In an individual lesson, every conversation is yours.
In short: if you value speed, focus, and real progress, individual lessons are your best investment. Group courses can be fun, social, and motivating. But if you're hungry for fast results, then individual lessons are the best choice for you.
