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How to Answer "What Materials Do You Recommend?"

Frances Chan
(Updated )
How to Answer "What Materials Do You Recommend?"

"What materials do you recommend?" is one of the first questions new students ask. Today, we'll show you how to answer this question so you make a good first impression!

1. Be Informative

Imagine you're at a restaurant and you ask the server, "What do you recommend?" Which of these responses seems most professional?

  1. Everything!
  2. It depends. What do you like?
  3. Well, X has been pretty popular recently. Y is a seasonal specialty, so you might want to try that while it lasts. And Z is my personal favorite. I love its really tangy taste.

You probably answered C. When you ask for recommendations, you're trying to learn more about what's on the menu. The same goes for our students. So it's a good idea to be informative when we answer this question. Here are some tips and sample responses.

  1. Remind students that we have a lot of materials and list out a few.
  2. Share some materials your students like.
  3. Share your personal favorite and why you like it.

Well, we have a wide range of materials for different purposes, like business, test prep, health, and grammar. Our most popular material is Daily News - my students absolutely love reading and discussing the latest news! You'll also learn new things from Daily News every time.

Out of all our materials, my students like Daily News and Conversation the most. My personal favorite is the IELTS materials, since they teach a lot of useful expressions and also help you improve your pronunciation. So they're very useful even if you're not preparing for any tests!

Well, over 40% of all lessons here use Daily News articles, so they're definitely the most popular! Personally, I like Describing Pictures. It allows me and my students to be creative, because we don't just describe the pictures. We also come up with stories together.

Besides giving students an idea of what materials are out there, responses like these will also show that you are a knowledgeable, experienced tutor. Students will know they're in good hands from the start of the lesson!

2. Ask Students About Their Goals & Interests

After briefly introducing students to the materials, ask them about their goals and interests and recommend some materials based on their answers. For example, here are some common goals students have and some materials you can recommend:

Make sure to ask students about their hobbies and interests too. For example, if they like traveling, suggest the Travel & Culture category. If they're crazy about fitness, you can recommend our Health & Lifestyle course and our Health category in Daily News.

Speaking of which, let's not forget Daily News has nine categories, ranging from Culture & Entertainment and Science & Technology to Asia & Pacific and Middle East & Africa.

Just keep in mind these recommendations apply more to intermediate and advanced learners. Beginners will need to start with basic materials like Conversation and Grammar.

3. Show Them How to Find More Materials

Many students who ask for lesson recommendations would also appreciate tips for finding materials. For example, you may want to show them how to use the level slider so they can find materials suitable for their English abilities.

You can also show students how to use the Daily News search bar to find articles that interest them: e.g. cooking, hiking, knitting, and more.

You may also want to point out that there are more article recommendations at the bottom of each Daily News lesson.

👋 That’s It For Now!

We hope you found these tips helpful. If you want more help answering students' questions, check out these blog posts:

Happy Tutoring!