Online vs Physical Classes for English Creative Writing - Which is Better?

Throughout the ongoing pandemic, parents, students, and educators have been forced to adapt to online learning seemingly overnight. With the advent of digitalized education and the rise of online English creative writing tuition, parents and students inevitably face the question: for English creative writing, are online or physical classes better?

Online classes are good for students who:	Physical classes are good for students who:
Love technology	Love pair and group activities
Are more comfortable typing in the chat to interact and ask questions	Enjoy interacting with classmates and teachers in-person
Have a tight schedule	Require more side-by-side guidance when writing

Whom Are Online Classes Good For?

Online classes are a joy for students who love technology. Having grown up with phones, tablets, computers, and the Internet, our students are digital natives. Students who feel empowered by technology, are equipped with digital skills, and are able to cope with technical issues often have a whale of a time in online classes. In the virtual English tuition classes at Write Edge, our tech-savvy students love Kahoot, a game-based learning platform. We use it to create quizzes that increase understanding and retention of the vocabulary and writing techniques taught during the lesson.

After classes moved online, many students commented that they feel more comfortable typing in the Zoom group chat to interact with each other and ask questions. It may seem counterintuitive that a shared group chat could be actively conducive to learning instead of a distraction. However, the beauty of the chat is that it allows anyone to contribute to the discussion or ask a question at any point in time, without interrupting the teacher or drawing unwanted attention to the student. If students are uncomfortable with typing in the chat publicly, they can also choose to privately message the teacher to clarify any doubts. Behind a screen and with their keyboard at their fingertips, many students have become more confident in seeking help and contributing to discussions through the Zoom group chat.

Online tuition is also ideal for students with tight schedules who need more flexibility. Traveling time is eliminated by allowing students to study from the comfort of their own homes. As part of Write Edge’s online English tuition program, alongside online Zoom classes, we offer access to our very own e-learning portal, and we learn. Students can access our high-quality content and structured materials to revise with their preferred device, location, and time of their choosing. By revising at their own pace, a student’s ability to retain and recall information is dramatically increased.

Whom Are Physical Classes Good For?

Physical classes are the most beneficial for students who love pair and group activities and enjoy interacting with their classmates and teachers face-to-face. Research has proven that learning is primarily a social activity, and the person who expends the energy to do the work is the person doing the learning. Instead of the teacher doing all the talking, physical classes allow students to become readers, writers, speakers, listeners, and thinkers in the classroom through active discussion with their peers. At Write Edge, we are firm believers in our small class size 6 as students not only get to learn in a classroom setting that fosters sharing and teamwork but also get to interact with the teacher closely during the writing process.

Students who are less confident and require more side-by-side guidance when writing will also find physical classes more effective. Our Primary Creative Writing lessons at Write Edge follow a “PPP Model” – presentation, practice, and production. First, the teacher presents and demonstrates how to write a model composition. Next, students practice with the guidance of the teacher, and finally, they produce a piece of writing independently. In the practice stage, we guide students in applying the useful writing techniques they have just learned with detailed marking in class as well as verbal feedback. For budding writers, the immediate feedback that physical classes allow for not only makes them more confident as they learn to correct their errors on the spot but also increases their retention rate and enables better understanding.

The Verdict: Online Or Physical?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as both modes of education work differently for each student. The rise of digitalized education means that both students who thrive in online classrooms and students who thrive in physical classrooms now have a myriad of choices before them. We encourage parents to discuss enrollment intuition with their children and consider their feedback and preferences in making their decision. We hope that this article has helped to shed some light on the right type of tuition for your child!