When you are teaching English as a foreign or second language, often referred to as EFL and ESL, you may come across situations where you need to give private classes to one client or student. One-on-one classes have the benefit of being able to concentrate on the student's particular needs but lack the energy and dynamic of a traditional group class. The key to teaching an effective one-on-one English speaking class is developing a strong lesson plan. When writing one-on-one lesson plans, consideration of time is one of your biggest factors.

Analyze the amount of time you have. This is slightly more difficult for a one-to-one class because you don't have an entire group answering questions and participating in discussions, which means you may have a lot more time to fill. Factor that an exercise or activity will take approximately half as much time with one person as it would with a group. Schedule your activities and exercises in increments of 10 to 15 minutes to keep your student interested.

Include a warm-up or icebreaker. Have a small discussion topic, quick review exercise, brief news article or something prepared to get your class going the moment your student arrives. Icebreakers are short and should not be longer than five minutes; allow between five and 10 minutes for warm-ups. Icebreakers and warm-ups are designed to get your student in English speaking mode for the rest of the class.

Focus on specific grammar points that relate to each other. Write your lesson plan progressively, with the most difficult or new material towards the end, with the largest increment of time. You can allow up to 20 minutes for the "main" activity of your lesson plan or when you teach an entirely new grammar point.

Factor in discussion time. Doing grammar exercises, role-plays and reading activities is essential when teaching English as a second language one-on-one, but getting students to talk is what really helps speaking improvement. Choose several possible discussion topics and prepare questions in case your student stalls or runs out of things to say.

Alternate between grammar, speaking and listening activities. When teaching a one-to-one class, it is important to keep your student engaged and interested throughout the entire lesson. Alternating material helps prevent students from getting bored and keeps your lesson going at a steady pace. Include role-plays with other activities to make your lesson even more varied.