How to Politely Suggest an Easier Lesson Material

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Sometimes students choose a lesson material or conversation topic that is too difficult for them. This might be because:

They are new to our service and unfamiliar with our materials.
They stumbled upon an interesting-looking lesson and forgot to check the level.
They overestimate their abilities due to previous experiences living abroad.

Whatever their reasons, students sometimes bite off more than they can chew. And for reasons such as politeness or embarrassment, they may not feel like they can switch to something else halfway through the lesson.

However, if the lesson continues like this, a few things may happen:

You teach a lesson that goes over the student's head, which can be frustrating and exhausting for you.
As a result of their struggles, the student may form a less-than-ideal opinion of your teaching skills — even if it has nothing to do with you!
A new student may feel intimidated by the lesson and lose interest in learning English.

So it's in everyone's interests to suggest a more level-appropriate lesson material. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Some students may get the wrong impression or lose confidence if they're told directly that a lesson is too difficult for them.

Today, we'll go over five ways to politely suggest easier learning materials.

1. Ask them why they chose the material

If you notice the student struggling with the material, you can ask them why they chose it or what skills they want to work on.

Depending on the student's response, you can quickly find a similar lesson that would be more appropriate for their level.

Tutor

Can I ask why you chose this lesson material today?

Student

I want to get better at talking about technology for my job, but I think it's a bit difficult.

Tutor

Yeah, unfortunately, lessons on technology usually use big vocabulary. Here's another lesson about technology that has easier words. Would you like to try this one instead?

2. Say that another lesson will help them to improve more

Another way to direct a student towards an easier lesson is to say that it will help them improve more than the current lesson.

For example, let's say that a Beginner has chosen a Business lesson (level 6 or above). Here's what you could say:

Tutor

May I ask what English skills you want to improve through this lesson?

Student

I want to improve my business English and practice talking about my work.

Tutor

I see! Well, I can understand why you chose this lesson. But I actually think this Conversation lesson called "What Do You Do?" would help you improve more. Would you like to try it instead?

3. Say that the material is difficult for students in general

One common mistake tutors make is to directly say "This material (or topic) is too difficult for you."

If the student lacks confidence, this could hurt their confidence even more.
If the student is overconfident, saying this may even backfire, making them want to continue with the difficult material just to prove themselves.

You can avoid this by saying that the material is difficult in general — without specifying that it is too difficult for this particular student.

Tutor

A lot of my students have trouble with this material. Would you like to try something less difficult?

Tutor

This grammar lesson is tricky even for advanced students! It might be more effective to try something easier and come back to this later.

If you have had frustrating experiences learning English or some other language in the past, it can be helpful to talk about the problems you had so there is less focus on the student's abilities.

Tutor

This lesson is quite difficult. It reminds me of when I first started learning English - I wanted to get good quickly so I chose difficult lessons, and I kept getting frustrated with my progress. But I had more fun once I started with something easier and leveled up little by little. Would you like to try that instead?

4. Say that the material is not fun

Another thing you can try is to blame the material or the topic. Maybe it's not fun or interesting. At any rate, it's not your student's fault that the lesson is not going as well as it should.

Tutor

This material is not very fun, is it? Would you like to try something more interesting?

Tutor

Are you enjoying this topic? If not, we could try discussing another, related topic?

5. Give the student a choice

Whatever you do, make sure you give the student a choice. You'll notice the samples above all try to influence the student's decision but leave the choice to them.

And if they choose an option that you don't want, it's better not to push the issue. Hopefully, this is a one-time thing — and even if it's not, the student will realize they need to try easier materials sooner or later.

In the meantime, at least you gave them a choice. Happy tutoring!