I have had great personal satisfaction while working with my clients. They have given me more than I could ever give them. First of all, they give me their trust. Without their trust, I cannot help them. Language is a very intimate process--and learning to use a language even more so--it can be either humiliating or incredibly liberating.
When I work with a client one-to-one, I listen to their stories, frustrations, and triumphs. As I get to know them, I learn to understand what they are trying to say. It is at this time, that we build the bond of trust. It is at this time, some lose the fear of speaking in English, the fear of making mistakes. They lose the anxiety of having to answer immediately as in a normal conversation.
I wait until they find the right word--I don't pre-empt them. There's no rush. Our session is a safe space for them. This is a vital part of the process as their minds search for the right word that they learned a long time ago in school but normally don't have the luxury of time to find it in normal conversation. We make that time. Time stands still in the conversation. We go on pause until they come up with what they are trying to say. I sit there quietly. As those words travel from their warehouse of their English vocabulary and finally end up in their mouth, on their lips, and as they breath out these words, these words become their possessions that can be used more easily at a later time.
If they can't find the word, we use what they have. Then they explain to me what they are trying to say until I understand the business concept. Sometimes I realize what they are saying is not expressing their great ideas properly. Together, we try to find the right turn of phrase that a native-English businessperson will easily grasp. Once we are both satisfied with the right phrase in English, we analyze it, modify it for other situations. We will take notes on what we discussed.
After the session, I record the phrases with different grammatical constructions. I will email these audio files to my clients in order that they may review what they learned during our sessions. They can listen to this audio lesson on their phones, in the car, or on their mp3 player while they are jogging. They have the luxury of replaying that moment in conversation until they have total control and will be prepared to express their thoughts clearly and accurately in future business situations.