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5 TIPS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH TO BEGINNERS

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Lessons4All
5 TIPS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH TO BEGINNERS

Teaching novices can be intimidating, especially if the group is monolingual and you don’t speak their language, or if the group is multilingual and the sole common language is the English you’ve been assigned to teach them. Nonetheless, teaching novices solely in English is not only viable, but it can also be one of the most satisfying levels to teach. Here are seven guidelines for teaching English to beginners that will help you succeed in getting your students on the right track.

1.Make instructions as clear and concise as possible.

When speaking to a group of students, especially those you’ve recently met, it’s easy to fall into the trap of explaining things in the most courteous manner possible. After all, nobody enjoys being unpleasant. “OK, so now what I’d like you all to do, if you don’t mind, is just stand up for a moment and come to the front of the class,” “OK, so now what I’d like you all to do, if you don’t mind,” “OK, so now what I’d like you all to do if you don’t mind,” “OK, so now what I’d like you all to do, if you don’t mind,” “OK, so Oh, and don’t forget to bring your book. Couldn’t we just do it?

2. Allow them to first listen.

Your students will almost certainly want to begin practicing speaking very immediately. However, it takes time for one’s ear to adjust to the sounds of a new language, and not everyone will be enthusiastic; don’t force students to speak before they’ve had plenty of opportunities to listen to you speak it (which doesn’t mean you should just ramble on at the front of the classroom – with beginners, more so than with other levels, you need to think about what you say and grade your language accordingly).

3. Drill, repeat, drill, repeat, drill…

Beginners require a lot of repetition and drilling, especially as they learn their new language’s sounds. It may seem tedious to repeat the same sentences again and over, but it is necessary. Back-drilling, or breaking a sentence down into manageable components and then building it back up, working backward from the conclusion of the sentence to the beginning, is a good way to ensure that your intonation is natural and that you get associated speech elements right while practicing a new sentence.

4. Establish a classroom language from the start.

Language in the classroom – Is it possible for you to talk more slowly? What are our options? I’m not sure what you’re talking about. What exactly does… imply? – How do you say… in English? – is most commonly connected with educating youngsters, but it is also quite useful for adult novices. Even if your classroom is friendly and calm, learning a new language can be intimidating, especially if you feel like you’re not following what’s going on or that you might be called on to speak something you don’t feel ready to express. It’s better to start teaching pupils classroom language early on so that they can get the most out of the session.

5. Stay away from metalanguage.

It’s useless for students to know concepts like a past simple, irregular verb, and adverb of frequency if they can’t use the structures or words they refer to. Show them instead of telling them how to say something. Provide as much context as possible (visual prompts work well). Furthermore, make sure they comprehend by asking questions that test their comprehension rather than asking “Do you understand?” since a) many individuals are hesitant to admit they don’t understand and will pretend that they do, and b) a student may believe they have understood when they haven’t.

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