How to teach english to students

Successful Starts: How to Thrive While Teaching English from 0

Sitting before you is a classroom of unknown faces ready to learn English.

But they’re starting from zero, so where should you begin?

In this post, we’ll cover what you need to know to get started and thrive when teaching absolute beginners.

Contents

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1. Physical Language

Our earliest communication is the non-verbal language our mothers and fathers and siblings understand.

Babies and very young children use gestures and facial expressions to communicate. You can do the same with your beginning students to demonstrate that communication is possible, even when words fail.

How To: Use Gestures Before Words

Imagine you’re in a world where speaking is a privilege earned, and people must otherwise be totally quiet.

Before you “burden” your class with oral commands like “wait,” “quiet down please” and “open your books,” spend a couple of days only using gestures.

You can easily establish gestures to signify basic classroom behaviors:

After those days of silent instructions, begin to use the words when you gesture. Don’t worry about explicitly teaching the vocabulary or even the utterances you use, just make the gesture and say the instructions. Your students will rapidly connect the dots.

Similarly, you can try this next game in the first few classes.

Activity: The mime game

While it may seem counterproductive in a language class, this entire activity should be silent. No words spoken either by the teacher or the students.

This “silent treatment” is like saying “no” to a kid or a husband: It will likely make them want to do just the opposite of that “no,” which is speak out—and that’s exactly what you want them to do!

Now, here’s what to do.

This exercise can be used when introducing any language usage.

To take things a step farther, hand out a situation card to one pair and have the two students mime the interaction in front of the class—the classroom audience will call out their guesses of what’s happening in the silent situation.

For the end of each pair presentation, teach your students the silent applause: Show them your hands up in the air, palms outward and shaking from side to side. Give a round of silent applause when each pair finishes miming!

How To: Combine Body Language with Meaning

Body language is present in all human interactions. Though reading body language is often a case of interpretation based upon the situation and the people in it, everybody uses body language when speaking.

You can use body language to teach many different types of language, for example emotional language like happy, sad, excited, tired, bored, expectant and so on.

Activity: If you’re happy and you know it

Without the song, pull an emotion card. Mime an appropriate movement.

Sing the line involved, for example:

“If you’re angry and you know it stomp your feet!”

Once students have done the action, stop and move on to the next card.

As can be seen in this version, each of the actions accumulates and is repeated before moving on to the next action.

Activity: Show vs. tell

Your students have to get what they want without opening their mouths. If they can’t say it in English, they can’t tell you or their peers what they’re after.

They’re going to have to show it.

Until students can spontaneously use English to get what they want, you can use this charades-type exercise to get them to focus on the motivations behind what they want to say. This will also be a great warm-up for the “what do you want?” activity described below.

Show, but don’t tell!

Pull one student to the front. Have them choose a flashcard, which only they see.

That student mimes an action with the thing that he wants.

Students raise their hands and the mime calls on them one at a time.

If the guess is correct, that student becomes the mime. If not, the mime calls on the next or continues miming.

If no one guesses before time runs out, you mime the item while repeating its name and encouraging all to also mime and repeat.

Keep this activity agile by limiting the time for mime and answer to just a minute or two.

How To: Use Total Physical Response (TPR)

TPR seems to be the latest fashion in language teaching methods. Generally, behind the method is the valid idea that connecting language with related physical movement helps both in understanding and acquiring that language.

With appropriate training, you might be able to base your entire teaching method on TPR.

However, for teachers who have a busy objectives list, you can skim the cream from TPR and combine it with other techniques.

Along those lines, then, here’s a fun variation on the well-known “Simon Says” game:

Activity: Simon doesn’t say

Pull a card from the stack and say “Simon says eat!” Everyone should eat.

Continue until you come to a “silent” card. The next card you won’t say, but rather mime.

Students must shout out the word that represents the action.

An alternative is to put students in a circle and have each one, in turn, act out what Simon Says. When the silent card comes up, rapidly go from student to student until one says the action verb correctly. That student becomes Simon.

2. Mental Language

How To: Process Before Producing

Linguists have studied language learning and acquisition for decades. They’ve drummed up some pretty interesting theories to explain their observations. From a physical Language Acquisition Device buried somewhere deep in the grey matter through a Social-cultural Interaction theory, there are a number of opinions on how we first learn to speak.

One thing all theories share though, is that language begins with thought. One of the most motivating thoughts we share from birth is wanting something. We want a hug, we want our breakfast, we want a special toy, we want to watch TV. “Want,” or motivation, is behind a great deal of the language that we produce.

Take advantage of this basic “want” impulse to produce simple, then ever-increasingly complex language. The following activity lends itself to expansion:

Activity: What do you want auction?

Then, get the activity into motion:

How To: Demonstration and Repetition

Demonstrating language patterns and having students repeat them is one of the keystones of the Audio-Lingual approach. Teachers would pull out a couple of puppets and act out the everyday scene, drill a specific sentence structure, drill the scene, then have students produce the scene.

Today, teachers seem to shy away from drill activity in class, mainly because it has a reputation for being drab and uninteresting. Who wants to play drill sergeant to their English students?

Yet, there are ways that this type of activity can be incorporated in the ESL class without putting your students in a trance. Try this one!

Activity: It’s a plane, it’s big, it’s a big plane

a big plane / a small plane

a beautiful woman / an ugly man

a full glass / an empty glass

Begin with “It’s a” (or “It’s an”!). Run through the entire page, marking the time, 1 – 2 clapping the rhythm:

It’s a plane. It’s a plane. She’s a woman. He’s a man.

Once you’re pretty sure everyone has most of the basic nouns, change to the adjectives:

It’s big. It’s small. She’s beautiful. He’s ugly.

A couple of rounds of adjectives and you’re ready to combine nouns with adjectives:

It’s a plane, it’s big. She’s a woman, she’s beautiful.

Keep the rhythm going, 1 – 2 throughout.

The next-to-the-last step is modifying nouns with adjectives:

It’s a plane, it’s big, it’s a big plane. She’s a woman, she’s beautiful, she’s a beautiful woman.

The last step is returning to simple “It’s a” + noun / “It’s a” + adjective, as a repetitive song.

T: It’s a plane. – Ss: It’s a plane.

T: It’s big. – Ss: It’s big.

T: It’s a plane. – Ss: It’s a plane.

T: It’s small. – Ss: It’s small.

Make up the melody yourself and keep the rhythm, especially on longer words, like “beautiful,” where those three syllables have to fit into the same space as “big.”

How To: Combine Sound with Meaning

Edgar Allen Poe gave us an enchanting lesson in onomatopoeia with his poem “The bells.” The descriptive language he used brings to mind the sounds each bell makes:

While this poem is delightful, it’s hardly appropriate material for a beginning English class. However, you can use onomatopoeia to cement words into your students’ minds through the concept of sound as meaning becoming a word.

Activity: It sounds like….

Using images and sound, introduce your students to a couple of these each day. For example:

Push two toy cars about your table, making motor noises. Have one accelerate, screech to a halt. Then have one crash into the other. There you have three onomatopoeia:

motor (mmmrrrrr); screech (eeeeeee!); crash (kkkshshsh)

Now teach the words associated to those sounds.

3. Spoken Language

Fun and mime games established, it’s time to get students using their minds and their mouths to produce language.

How To: Teach Utterances, Not Vocabulary

A lot of teachers, faced with absolute beginners, think it’s better to teach individual “words” instead of complicating things with so-called “complete sentences.”

Think about it, though, just how often do you speak in single word utterances? How would you react if someone entered a room and simply said “table?” You’d be missing out on what that person meant, most of the communication would be in his or her head.

Teach your beginning students complete utterances, that is, strings of sounds that communicate, rather than lists of words. Being able to count from one to twenty doesn’t mean a student can automatically tell you how many fingers you’re holding up (without always beginning at “one”!)

Try teaching the very basics of classroom utterances through simple song.

Activity: Write your own ESL song

Using basic nursery rhyme tunes, you can build useful English utterance songs that will stick in your students’ heads for years. Let’s start with “Here we go ’round the mulberry bush.” On your part, it’s simply a task of replacing the original lyrics with the phrases you want to teach:

Here we go ’round the mulberry bush

Pull this song out when needed. In my beginners classes, if any student wanted to borrow a pencil but was unable to use the accepted question, I’d stop everything, pull down the guitar and we’d all sing “Can I borrow a pencil please?” a couple of times.

I had another, called “Please and thank you,” that I used whenever manners were forgotten.

Be musical and make up your own songs. Buy yourself a cheap guitar and learn a few chords. Students of all ages will love it.

How To: Enter the “Universe of Discourse”

The Universe of Discourse, or context, is fundamental when using language. It isn’t enough to simply teach vocabulary and grammar. Students will need to know when it is appropriate to use everything.

Among other things, universe of discourse will implicate who is speaking, where they’re speaking, what they’re speaking about. Highlight these aspects of conversation with activities, like this one:

Activity: What do you say when….

Word descriptions of situations can be replaced with simple drawings, since focus should be on what is said in the situation, not the situation itself.

Divide the class in half. Give each member of one half a situation card and an opening line card. Give the other half reply line cards. Have the pairs find one another matching their situations with the appropriate opening/replies, then practice together the short dialogue.

Monitor the practice then have each pair present their short play, while others try to guess the situation they’re in.

4. Shared Language

How To: Encourage Conversation

People use language to communicate thoughts, opinions, efforts to get what we want from the other person.

On the other hand, we also use language to discover what has been going on when we’re not together. Being interested in your students’ activities between classes is not only a linguistic opportunity to practice past tenses. It shows them that you’re interested in them as people. This motivates them to make efforts to share with you.

Activity: What did you do last summer?

Pass out the cards to your students and ask them: “What did you do last summer?”

In the beginning, allow students to charade their summer activity.

Let others call out the noun that represents the action. Gradually have them add the verb, then the pronoun.

How To: Build Relationships

Except for more casual exchanges, like asking a stranger for the time or dealing with a shop assistant, our conversations are with people we either have relationships with or are building relationships with. Mom, dad, boyfriend, workmate. We speak with these people daily.

Build a healthy teacher-student relationship with your students. This is a pretty easy: Show interest in their lives. For example, with younger students, you can ask them the time-worn question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?

Activity: What do you want to be and why?

Review the patterns:

Hand a card to a student and ask your question. Ask the first student, then they ask the person to their left, and so on.

How To: Celebrate Communication Achievements

Finally, reward will come in many different forms and colors. Be consistently positive in all comments you make in class. “Good” and “well done” should effortlessly rush from your mouth.

Students applaud one another when presentations are made. Teach congratulatory language early on, use it often and encourage your students to use it among themselves.

Activity: Group praise session

Arrange your students in a circle. You begin.

“Juan, you’re a very good student.”

Juan continues with the person on his left, perhaps throwing a beanbag to her.

“María, you’re a very good student.”

When the beanbag comes back to you, change the compliment:

“Pedro, you pronounce words very clearly.”

You can help your students out by having compliment flashcards prepared that they can pull from.

How To: Share a Strong Language Learning Philosophy

This one is mostly for us as teachers, though we should share and nurture this type of idea with our students.

My classes, of all levels, began with a simple set of concepts I called the “Four Rs.” These four were: Regularly, Repeat, Review and Reward.

Regularly: Our students need to build good study habits and regularly attend to their English learning and use.

Repeat: Language habits can be learned and remembered through repetition. Habit is so often just the repetition of action, like how we make coffee every morning or how we greet coworkers on arriving at the office.

Keep repetition from becoming a rote, parrot-like behavior. It should be a reflection of how much we actually repeat in real world communication.

Review: Also an important part of language learning at all levels, but especially so at early, beginning levels. Students will need multiple exposures to new material before it ceases to be new material. Build upon previously studied material and reserve time to review that material before laying on the new.

Reward: Work well done deserves recognition. Always remind your students that they’re advancing through recognized rewards: game play, smiley stickers, an end-of-term party.

The Challenge of Teaching English from 0

In today’s technologically-overrun world, English content is available to anyone with access to a smartphone, tablet or computer. Even so, there are still people who have had little to no contact with English, either in formal class study or in everyday life.

If you add to this zero-level English background the fact that you don’t share your students’ native language, or that there are multiple native languages in the classroom, you’re seemingly in a tight spot.

How are you going to teach language if you can’t communicate with your students?

Well, not all is lost. Comfort yourself knowing that you’re not the first ESL/EFL teacher who has had to face this challenge. That’s where it’s really exciting for you—teaching absolute beginners is a challenge, but it’s one that will certainly enrich your experience as an English teacher.

When Will You Meet Absolute English Beginners?

There are many situations in which you may find yourself teaching absolute beginners:

The Basics of Teaching English from 0

No matter what the demographic in your classroom, there are some basics to keep in mind that will help you to jump-start those students.

Your goal? Get them saying and believing: “I speak English well.”

These basics fall into four main categories: Physical language, mental language, spoken language and finally, shared language.

In each, we’ll see some common denominators between native language and English. We’ll also look at how to take advantage of each of these types of language to get the ball rolling and to build upon for ever-increasing proficiency in English.

A simple exercise or activity is included in each category. You can expand upon each one according to your own objectives and plans for your absolute beginner English class.

It is fundamental that you also introduce heaps of comprehensible input into the classroom. For this, native video content becomes an invaluable resource as your students can match action and body language with spoken English. If you’re wondering how to do this, then get started with a FluentU teacher account today.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.

By adding authentic content into the classroom the students will become more confident with their abilities while also building an English vocabulary base from actual English speakers!

Absolute beginners will come with one language under their belt. Some will come with more.

They all know how to communicate, they simply don’t know how to do so in English.

If you accept the premise that communication is possible despite not knowing English, you will have overcome the biggest hurdle in getting your students jump-started and on their way to learning English.

Revel Arroway taught ESL for 30 years before retiring into teacher training. His blog, Interpretive ESL, offers insights into language teaching, simplifying the classroom, language class activities and general thoughts on ESL teaching.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

How to start teaching English to beginners: step by step

If you’ve never taught English to absolute beginners before, the idea of spending a whole lesson communicating with students who don’t understand a word you’re saying sounds a bit daunting.

Any ESL teacher can tell you that teaching absolute beginners is slightly different from teaching other classes.

Sure, it’s challenging, but it can also be one of the most fun and rewarding levels to teach to.

At this level, every new word your students learn counts, and the best way to teach is to get creative, and even a little silly. Make learning English fun!

That’s why it’s best to prepare yourself. Luckily, there are many TEFL courses out there to help you teach English as a foreign language.

But, either way, here are seven ways to start teaching English to beginners, step by step:

1. Break up lessons and categorize vocabulary.

Think about how hard it is to learn a foreign language. It can be overwhelming at first. Learning English is no easy task.

ESL students need structure. Try creating lesson plans with small activities broken down into manageable chunks to help them absorb and remember everything.

Teach your students English with vocabulary categories. Categorizing vocabulary makes learning new words sticky!

For example, you can group vocabulary in categories like animals, dining, directions or things you find in a supermarket, to name a few.

Let’s say you’re doing a listening activity with a dialogue in a supermarket and questions. Introduce key vocabulary first and ensure that the students understand the questions before you hit play.

As activities are shorter and more structured at beginner levels, you might also find you’ll need more resources. Thankfully there are plenty of free resources for ESL lessons online.

2. Repeat everything

Don’t be afraid to be a broken record. Getting in the habit of repeating things will help your beginner students understand the lesson and retain key phrases and words better.

If you begin every class with a greeting like, “Hello, how are you?”, students will quickly get comfortable with replying to and using this greeting.

Most instructions in the classroom can also boil down to a few surprisingly simple words. Listen, read, write, look, stand up and sit down.

Focusing on repeating the same words in your instructions means students with no experience with the English language will learn those words quickly, and understand better.

You can also extend the concept of repetition to your classroom routine.

Try starting every lesson with a vocabulary revision game (repeating new words from the last lesson) and finish every lesson with writing homework and tidying the classroom.

Even if students don’t understand every word you are saying, over time, they will become familiar with the routine, and understand what they should be doing.

3. Use plenty of props

Imagine how you might describe what a cat is to someone who doesn’t speak English.

The reality is you can say whatever you like, but the simplest thing would be to show them a picture of a cat or draw a cat on the board.

Part of your lesson preparation for teaching English to beginners might be finding pictures or objects that can help you explain concepts quickly and accurately in the classroom.

It’s also a great idea to print some common classroom language to put up on the wall.

“Can I please go to the washroom?” is a long question for a beginner to remember in English. But if they can see the question on the wall, they can try to ask. Or in worst-case scenarios, point at it.

Encouraging your students to use classroom language in English is also a great way to help them to speak in full, correct sentences, using language they have seen modeled by you and other students.

If you don’t want to make your own, Pinterest is an excellent source for classroom posters.

4. Embrace your inner mime

There will also be times where you need to explain what a cat is, but you don’t have a picture to reference or space on the board to draw one.

So, what’s the next most straightforward thing you can do? Let out a couple of meows and act it out.

How into character you get depends on what kind of teacher you are, but making good use of gestures (and not minding looking a little silly in front of your class) will help you get your message across in many situations.

And honestly, you might feel a little ridiculous at first, but once you see how much it helps your students, you’ll find yourself miming along to everything you say.

You can also get students involved too!

Asking students to act things out can be a great way to check vocabulary comprehension, get them involved in playing games or even let them communicate how they are feeling.

5. Check for understanding

Even after you’ve given great instructions, shown a picture, and done an Oscar-worthy mime, you’ll still sometimes end up with a class of clueless faces looking back at you.

When teaching basic English to beginners, it can be hard to gauge how much students understand. And often, through no fault of their own, they may completely misunderstand what you’re asking them.

To help everyone stay on track, you’ll need to check students’ understanding all the time. To do this, ask concept check questions.

For example, imagine you want students to do a speaking activity where they ask ten questions to different students and write their answers down. You could ask if they understand, but chances are they may just yes even though they don’t.

Instead, try asking specific yes/no questions related to the activity. You could ask:

Asking these questions to the whole class at once will give you instant feedback on what students understand (or not) and will also reassure students that they have the right idea of what they should be doing.

6. Get into group activities

Sometimes it can be hard to get students in beginner classes to form a bond, especially if they are all from different countries and don’t share a common language.

Singing songs and chants is a great way to build group activities into a beginner class while improving fluency and focusing on repetition.

The British Council Kids website has tons of simple songs that classes can sing together, as well as games and videos.

Or, you could also try watching simple shows as a group. This is easier with younger learners, who watch kids shows. But it’s also a great option for adults. Try Peppa Pig!

Watching shows in English gives students something to enjoy together, and you’ll probably notice your students using common phrases.

And don’t forget to play games together. Simple games like Pictionary, bingo or Scattergories can all help build a friendly, supportive atmosphere in your class.

7. Give plenty of encouragement

For learners at this level, everything is new and they are bound to make mistakes when they speak and write in English.

They know this as much as you do and might need more praise and encouragement to keep going.

Making mistakes should be embraced because mistakes lead to learning.

Steps that seem small, like being able to say a full sentence, or pronounce a new word, are huge achievements for your learners and should be treated as such.

So give plenty of praise and encouragement!

Remember, you’re a beginner too!

Of all the different tips for teaching in ESL classrooms, when it comes to starting teaching English to beginners, the most important is to meet them at their level.

If you want to help your beginners out, remember to:

If you need a little more help, doing a TEFL certification course will give you a deeper understanding and arm you with the skills you need to teach English to any age group and any level.

In any case, it will take time for your students – and you – to get to grips with what they are learning. So don’t rush! Take things step by step.

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How to Teach English as a Second Language

Diana Lăpușneanu in Language Tips

How to teach English as a second language? Stick around if you want to know more about catching your students’ interest and attention.

Teaching English as a second language is probably one of the best things you can do if you love the English language. You’ll not only get to share your love of the language, but you’ll also help those who could fulfill their life goals if they learn English. Here are 10 tips that will completely transform your teaching experience.

How to become an ESL teacher

I was 17 years old when I discovered I wanted to be a teacher. I honestly owe this one to my brother who was 5 at that time. His teacher had this tradition of inviting parents to the classroom on Fridays to read stories. That particular Friday it was my mother’s turn, but she asked me to go instead. And I was simply overwhelmed. Those little kids were more eager to discover new things than Spanish conquistadors ever have been to discover new lands. That was my “Eureka!” moment. The next thing I did was research what I needed to do in order to become an ESL teacher. Depending on the requirements of the country and the institution in which you intend to teach, you may need to complete a pedagogic module and earn an English certification.

But how to teach English as a second language? Will I ever be capable enough to do that?

If you are having the same dilemma I had back then, the answer is “Yes, you can be and you will be.” and I’m saying this today: 3 amazing years since I officially am an English teacher. But we all know that becoming a teacher isn’t the hardest part. Actually, teaching feels like walking on a burning wire sometimes. In a heavily technologized visual era you yourself have to be a student in order to teach others. Times change. People change with them. And my point is that you can’t teach English as a second language (this being my personal example) in a traditional way in a world that shakes hands with artificial intelligence and has drinks at the bar with the entertainment industry. You have to find new ways of catching your students’ attention.

And I did. Honestly, it’s not entirely my merit because my tactics are mostly inspired by my experience as a student. What I did was make a list of all the strategies that worked for me and my colleagues. Next, I adapted this list to today’s trends, applied it in my classroom, and conquered two new lands called “interest” and “attention”. If you want to conquer the same lands in your classroom, stick around with me. I summed up my strategies in a list that I like to call “The Decalogue of the Modern Teacher”.

1. Teaching English as a second language using videos

I have a lot of friends that learned the basic English vocabulary by watching English cartoons. You might have some too. And I’m actually pretty sure that this is not a government secret: people (regardless of their age) learn faster and better when adding something they really enjoy doing to the learning process.

Although this is a great teaching tactic, don’t let yourself be carried away. The first thing you want to do is research. The method won’t work if your students don’t like the movie or the cartoons that you have chosen. The secret is to stay anchored in modernity.

Pro tips:

2. Teaching English to foreign students: listen to music

Teaching English to foreign students becomes a piece of cake when you use music. I know it’s not math, but I still consider it a universal language. As I mentioned before, my brother is 12 years younger than me. That means he hasn’t had a lot of contact with what we call today “old music”. Still, the only English lesson he mentions from the 4th grade is one that implied analyzing John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

I know what you think and no, I don’t advise you to choose a Nicki Minaj song. Put “quality” and “modernity” in a balance before making your choice. Good luck!

3. Teaching English to adults: organize debates

Teaching English to adults is tougher than teaching English to kids (if you ask me). But if Frodo managed to destroy the ring, you can teach adults some English too.

Just joking. They are a bit stubborn, but there are ways to win them over as well. A well-chosen debate topic can cultivate their stubbornness into something useful such as learning a new language.

Pro tip: Adults are bigger children. That means that you can also watch movies and TEDx Talks and review them together.

4. How to teach English in a fun way: create

Creation is catharsis. Give your students time and some keywords and you will be amazed.

5. Use fun language learning apps to break the routine

Language learning apps are our best friends. They are the best assistants that you can ever have! No kidding.

It’s true that technology made us more choosey. In modern times, tradition bores us. But technology is also the one that electrifies our world and enhances our experiences. Mondly, for example, is a language learning app that takes language learning to another level using augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and chatbot technologies.

It sounds futuristic. I know. But that’s exactly the reason why your students will love learning English as a second language using this app. Give it a try and enjoy the experience together.

6. How to teach English abroad: organize intercultural nights

Love goes through the stomach. You knew that already. What you didn’t know is that language learning works the same.

The first sentence that my gourmand friend learned when we went to Turkey was “I am hungry.” in a perfect Turkish. Is that surprising? I don’t think so.

Food makes us happy. Good food makes us eager to learn more (food) words in a new language. Why shouldn’t we, as teachers, use this info in our own best interest? You can organize intercultural nights and discuss a lot of interesting things about the USA and UK’s cultures, but my guess is that traditional food will still be the star of the night.

7. English as a second language for kids: celebrate English holidays

Kids from all over the world simply love Halloween. For them, it makes no difference that this is an American holiday. And trust me: your students are no different. As long as they have fun, it doesn’t matter what holiday you are celebrating.

The thing with Halloween is that they get to be superheroes for a day. You too. Finally checking “become Batman for a day” off of your bucket list, eh? How awesome is that?

On a more serious note, I can assure you this is really efficient. One kid in my class was so excited about this task that he handcrafted magic wands for all his colleagues and made a really convincing essay on “why Neville Longbottom is the real hero of Harry Potter”.

8. Read and analyze fiction stories together

This is another great strategy that I learned from one of my teachers. But as I mentioned earlier, you have to be 100% sure that you made the right choice. Harry Potter, as you may have already realized, works like magic in this situation.

Start with enough to catch their interest and attention. Then encourage them to come up with alternate endings and new characters. The possibilities are endless and the learning process will happen without them even realizing it. The only thing that may stand in your way is the teaching methodology. Adapt that to your students’ best interest and you should be ok.

Bonus tip: Good teachers may be different from a student’s point of view. Look for inspiration everywhere around you. Even in cinematography! Start with Damien Chazelle’s masterpiece – Whiplash – and observe how a teacher should not behave. Seriously. That guy was the king of all awful teachers.

9. Attend educational shows to get inspired

One of the most inspiring educational shows that you can ever go to is The Bett Show. Hundreds of companies from all over the world gather at Bett every year to discuss how education can change the future using the latest technologies.

My guess is that this kind of event can inspire you to be a better teacher to your young students. Every day, technology becomes a bigger part of their worlds and we, as teachers, should keep up with the pace. Until super smartphones or super-smart robots will eventually replace us, we are still a crucial part of the global learning process. Although I find it hard to believe that scientists will ever be able to create a software so developed that it replicates the energy, dedication, and enthusiasm of a good teacher.

10. TESOL, ESL, and TEFL Certifications

As any good teacher would, you care about your students. Their great results and knowledge are the sum of your actions as a great teacher. Furthermore, depending on their age, your role as a teacher is similar to that of a parent. In other words, you will always be their teacher. Even when they will become adults, their life will still be influenced by your actions. No pressure!

That is why you should advise them to get their English certification before graduating high school. Not only this will be a good exercise, but it will also help them in their careers. English as a second language in your CV isn’t just a plus anymore. It has become a must. Cross this one off their lists before life does it for them. Good luck!

Are your students looking for fun ways to learn English as a second language? Here’s a cool recommendation!

Teach on Your Terms: How to Successfully Teach English from Home

It’s 6 a.m., your alarm clock is blaring and all you want is to hide under the covers and go back to sleep.

But if you keep hitting snooze, you’ll be late for class.

Which is a significant problem when you’re the teacher.

Yeah, a room full of students is counting on you to be there. So you get up, get ready and go.

Super-teacher on the move once again.

But you can’t help but wonder if there’s a way for you to use your educational superpowers on your own schedule. Preferably not before noon.

Teaching English from home is a great option that allows you to share knowledge, make the world a bit more grammatically correct and do so from the comfort of your bed. Or couch. Or special chair. (I’ll leave that choice up to you.)

Plus, you’ll be the one in charge of your schedule, lessons and how many students and hours you choose to teach. A pedagogical CEO of sorts. (What a school might call a principal, but you’re in charge, so pedagogical CEO it is. Or maybe super-educator. That has a nice ring to it…)

Sound good? Here are some tips to successfully navigate the world of teaching from home.

Super-hero cape not included.

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How Do I Get Started Teaching from Home?

To get started, there are a few basic logistics for you to figure out:

Set aside a chunk of time that allows for some flexibility depending on students’ schedules. And remember that you’ll use some non-teaching time for planning lessons, marketing yourself and communicating with potential students, so think about when you’d like to do that, too.

It can be very easy for family members or Netflix accounts to interrupt our best intentions to get work done. Setting aside a work-only space (preferably with a lock on the door) is a good way to help yourself work from home.

What Types of Home-based Teaching Are There?

Teaching from home can be done in many different ways, some of which are:

Some schools hire teachers to write lessons that’ll be taught by others, some schools need curriculum writers and others need educational content or tests written. This is an indirect way to teach without interacting with students and can almost always be done online.

It’s best to have native-level skills when teaching conversation. You can also throw in a few new idioms, discuss current events or try different conversational scenarios to keep the lessons interesting.

For any student-centered teaching, don’t forget to focus some attention on homework. Ultimately, only so much can be accomplished in one lesson. Hopefully you’ll have clarified some areas of confusion and practiced some new skills with students. But for them to continue improving, they have work to do for next time.

Come up with a few activities for students to do in between lessons, such as making notecards to memorize content, writing sentences to practice grammar, reading and answering comprehension questions or speaking to improve pronunciation.

What Are Some Possible Obstacles to Look Out For?

Every job has its struggles, even teaching from home. Here are a few to look out for:

Try out all technology ahead of your lesson to make sure there are no problems. Consider using wired internet rather than wireless for a more stable connection. Make sure you have a quality microphone or webcam for teaching on Skype.

For example, you might not have the textbook that your student uses, which can make it hard to get on the same page. Pun intended. But you also have many online resources to draw from. After explaining a topic to students, you can direct them to a website with examples of that topic so that you can both look at the same content even though you’re in a different location. Thanks, internet.

How to Find Students and Teach English from Home Like a Boss

You’ve got your computer all set up, a lesson planned and you’re eager to start teaching. What’s missing? Oh, yeah. Students! A vital part of every lesson. Here’s how and where to find them:

Wyzant

The cool thing about Wyzant, compared to other tutoring platforms, is that you have the opportunity to teach virtually or locally. If you prefer in-person teaching, that makes Wyzant a great option, but it’s also useful just as a matter of diversifying your searches for students.

Wyzant has grown more and more competitive in the last couple of years as progressively experienced tutors come on board. While that does mean you’ll be competing with lots of other skilled tutors—especially locally—it also means that you can charge higher rates than on other sites.

One thing to keep in mind is that Wyzant charges teachers a 40 percent commission on all their earnings during initial classes, although this does go down to 10 to 25 percent as you continue teaching and establishing your skills. And while it’s important for you to maintain a current and attention-grabbing profile, Wyzant takes care of marketing and putting potential students in front of you.

Indeed

This is a generalized job website, but there are many opportunities for English educators to find.

To search for online teaching jobs, simply type “online teacher” or “teach from home” into the “job title” box and leave the “location” box empty. You can then sort the results by date or relevance and further narrow down your search by salary, job type, company and experience level.

You can try searching specifically for English or ESL teaching jobs, but many online teaching jobs are already English-related and you could eliminate English jobs from language or online schools if you make your search too narrow.

This website will give you the most results (one of my searches came up with more than 20,000 jobs), but that also means it can take a while to sort through them all and find the ones that are best for you.

FlexJobs

This is a job board website focused on freelance, part-time and telecommute opportunities. It has a specific online teaching section.

Chegg Tutors

This is an educational website that directly connects students with tutors. To become an English tutor, you must make an account and apply. You’ll also need to provide proof of your education (like a copy of your diploma, transcripts, etc.).

HigherEdJobs

This is a website for jobs in higher education. It’s free to use and has listings specifically for remote jobs. From the remote listings, you can search for English educator jobs or simply scroll through the listings.

They offer some different opportunities besides traditional online tutoring, such as online university teaching positions and curriculum writing positions. Many of these job opportunities prefer a master’s degree, but there are some options for educators with a bachelor’s. You can optionally create an account to upload your resume and apply to jobs through their website. This is a good site to find higher-paying remote jobs.

Local Tutoring

Teaching from home doesn’t have to be done virtually. You can run your own tutoring business out of your home where local students come to you.

To get started, go to schools in your community and tell them you’re a tutor who’s looking to help students learn English. Leave your contact information, resume and references with the school. It helps if you’ve attended the school, taught at the school or know people from the school, so that they’re familiar with you and feel comfortable recommending you to students.

You can also contact schools that you’ve been involved with in the past even if you don’t live nearby. These can be a good starting place to find tutoring students for Skype lessons. As your business grows, you can continue contacting more schools and even branch out to schools all over the world since your tutoring can be done online.

Once you’ve found students, it’s time to get teaching! And you don’t even have to leave the couch…

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How to Teach English, One Skill at a Time

Whether you’re a veteran educator or you’re just getting started, a little help can go a long way.

Sometimes you totally run out of ideas for lesson plans—sometimes your brain is overloaded with fantastic possibilities.

People working in our profession quickly find out that teaching English is so much more than paperwork and drilling grammar.

ESL can be as rewarding for the teacher as it is for the students.

As an ESL teacher, you have the unique opportunity to share your language and culture with students who are eager and enthusiastic about learning.

They’ll soak up all you have to say, mimic your accent, note the idioms native speakers use daily and more just by listening to you speak.

That’s why ESL is a playground for those who enjoy sharing their knowledge with others. ESL teachers with the right know-how can deftly combine language and culture, giving their students the context-based English skills they need to move forward in life, whether they’re traveling, studying abroad, eyeing that promotion or searching for that international job posting to advance their career.

ESL can be a fruitful endeavor for teachers as well, as many teachers use this profession as a chance to travel the world, experience new cultures and share their own.

It isn’t as easy as it looks, that’s for sure, but with a little time and practice you can become the ESL teacher students are psyched to be in class with!

Here, we’re going to help you master the basics of teaching and lesson planning. If you’ve already got that down pat, then stay tuned anyway—the skills lessons we’ve included are bound to give you some great new ideas!

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How to Teach English: A Walkthrough for Planning, Preparation and Practice

Unlike conventional teaching, these skill-oriented ESL classes are more in-depth and allow you to really connect with your students.

You’ll develop a working relationship with your students, offering a more intricate learning experience as you share your language and culture with them. ESL teaching is in many ways about building a relationship and in order to do so, you must know your students’ ESL goals, age, English level, interests and background.

The most important aspect of ESL teaching is keeping your ESL material relevant to your students. If they can relate to what you are presenting in your lesson, than they will remain interested in what you ultimately share with them. Relevant lesson plans are essential in ESL and you can only develop an exceptional, relevant lesson if you take the time to get to know your students. Building friendships and an atmosphere of confidence in your classroom will make all that follows that much easier.

Another key aspect in ESL teaching is deciding what to teach and why. There are multiple English levels within ESL and preparing material to meet the required needs of each level is essential. If you have a group of eager beginner level students gazing up at you from their desks expecting to develop new vocabulary they can use in everyday situations, than that is what you should deliver. This goes back to knowing your students and keeping their ESL goals in mind when developing your awesome lesson plans.

Key Components of Teaching English, from Beginner to Advanced Levels

You can see that there are various components to each ESL level, so keeping your lessons relevant to your students and their individual needs is essential for building confidence, keeping them interested and allowing them to be successful when learning new ESL material.

Important ESL Skills to Focus On

English skills are the essential areas you’ll focus on when building your lesson plan and will often dictate the aims and objectives you set for each lesson. All of the components listed above are more specific details, and they all fall somewhere within these broader skill sets.

Reading, Discussion, Writing and Pronunciation are four majorly excellent ESL skills to focus on. They’re the four skills that we’ll focus on here today.

You can build on all four skills in the same lesson or dedicate an entire lesson to just one skill. Picking skills to work on is important, as it defines your aims and objectives.

1. Reading skills are extremely important. Students that have the confidence and ability to read and comprehend reading material can begin to build a different English perspective. Articles and short stories are a great example of reading exercises, pairing reading with practice and production questions that will spark discussion with classmates.

2. Discussion skills develop better conversation. Your students begin processing information in English when listening and speaking. They will be required to respond in English to what they hear. For video clips, you can have your students discuss the summary of what they had seen and heard. In a dialogue exercise, students can practice the art of conversation with a partner or in a collaborative group exercise.

3. Writing skills are often overlooked in ESL, yet these skills are just as important as any other ESL skill around. Writing enables students to leap into description, putting their grammar and new vocabulary into practice. Your students can utilize writing in various ways, conveying their thoughts in English to the class, at home or even in their profession.

4. Pronunciation skills allow your students to develop the sounds in their speech to be understood when speaking English abroad or during a business presentation. If your students lack the essential concepts within pronunciation, than they run the risk of being misunderstood and it may diminish the confidence they have built in your classroom after months of ESL study.

Choosing material for your lesson plan will ultimately revolve around an ESL skill your students will need to progress in their learning and allow them to build more confidence in the way they use English. Remembering relevancy and your students’ English goals will ensure that your lesson will be informative and exciting.

Putting Your Lesson Together with PPP

Once you know the goals, interests and English level of your students, you can than move into the preparation stage of ESL teaching. Putting your lesson together is just as important as presenting your material to your class. Some teachers out there think they can just wing it, putting together a basic outline with little information.

Don’t let that be the case for you. It’s essential to put together a well-developed lesson plan you can easily follow throughout your lesson, giving you more confidence as a teacher with a plan of action your students will more than appreciate.

The first part of an exceptional lesson plan is the “Aims and Objectives” of the proposed lesson. This is the method of delivering new information to your students. AT first glance it seems like it’s just for your own personal use, but it’s really important to not keep this well-thought-out information to yourself.

Let your students in on what you’ve planned for them.

The core behind any amazing lesson is structure. Utilizing Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) to structure your lesson is a wonderful way to get all your ducks in a row and ready to teach.

For ESL teaching methodology, there are a few different lesson plan structures floating out there, yet PPP seems to stand out among the ESL format choices as the best.

An Intro to Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP)

1. Presentation is the first stage in your ESL teaching method. This is the time when you’ll actually stand in front of your students and deliver the new material you prepared. This is an important part of your lesson, because this is when you really need to get your students’ attention and ensure that they’re responsive to the new material before moving onto the next stage. Do they understand everything? Does something need some further explanation? Are we all on the same page? Once the answer to the last question is “yes,” it’s time to move on to the next step.

2. Practice is the second stage of the PPP lesson plan format. This is the stage in which your students slowly begin to leave the nest, so to speak. You’ll loosen the reins a bit and allow them to begin practicing the new material they learned in the presentation stage. You can employ pair and group activities at this stage, but it’s essential to maintain control of the work they’re doing in some fashion.

3. Production is the final stage in PPP and it’s usually the most fun for your students. In this stage, students strike out on their own. You’ll give your students exercises they can do on their own, in a group or with a partner while you float around the class answering questions that may arise. Production allows your students to develop an understanding of the new material in their own unique way.

4 ESL Skills Lessons for Teaching English

1. The English Reading Lesson

Teaching reading skills is about so much more than just reading. It’s a wonderful way to reinforce your students’ skills in listening, writing and speaking as well.

A straightforward “let’s read this passage” style of lesson can be fun, but it’s your job as a teacher to make your reading lessons more exciting than just reading text and answering questions. Reading lessons should encompass a non-testing type of atmosphere. Getting students involved in activities surrounding reading is beneficial and can lead into learning a few ESL sub-skills along the way.

There are a lot of great ESL reading lessons out there for ESL teachers to utilize and choosing the right one may appear challenging. The essential component in all skills lessons is to keep your students in mind first. You should ask yourself, “Would my students enjoy this material and lesson?”

Sample Reading Skill Lesson

Choose an engaging topic which relates to your students. If your students are young adults, put yourself in the young adult mindset. For this exercise, we’ll utilize the “Smithsonian Tween Tribune,” an online publication dedicated to sharing news with K-12 English speaking students. In this article, there’s a short article describing a scenario in which a stuffed animal tiger was thought to be real in a residential neighborhood. Utilizing this article can help structure your lesson plan from the get-go.

1. In your presentation, put together a few pictures showing tigers, ask questions pertaining to tigers and where they may reside naturally and develop a few vocabulary words you will pull from the article.

2. Time for practice! This exercise can have a worksheet with the article on it as well. Let your students read the article silently to themselves. You can create some communication in your exercise by pairing students up and having each student take a turn reading the article to their partner. This can develop a few great ESL sub-skills.

3. After reading and listening, have your students work through the comprehension questions as an extended practice exercise with their partner. You’ll then review the answers as a class, keeping control and answering questions along the way.

4. Finally, cut them loose for production, letting them develop a writing piece or presentation about how they would react in a similar situation. This reinforces a few ESL sub-skills as well.

2. The English Discussion Lesson

Discussion lessons are essential in any ESL classroom.

Discussion and conversation is most likely the reason why your students are studying English in the first place. They want to build their ESL skills and develop serious English confidence in order to strike out in the world on their own.

They want to discover new perspectives and discuss their thoughts and emotions with others in English.

Giving your students the ability to hold a conversation is extremely important and they’ll hold you in the highest regard for teaching them this critical, multifaceted skill. Not to mention, ESL students tend to enjoy discussion lessons more than any other kind of lesson.

Sample Discussion Skill Lesson

This ESL discussion lesson will allow your students to voice their opinions on a specific subject: Being a celebrity. This topic can be used for almost all ages and most people have fantasized what it would be like to be famous at some point in their life. It is a fun, interactive discussion activity that allows students to work on their English expression while also building vocabulary.

1. Discuss fame in your presentation. You could show a few celebrity photos and discuss movies or TV shows students may know or recognize. It’s also a great idea to implement a few local celebrities your students may acknowledge and interest them as well. For example, if you’re teaching in Colombia, bringing up Shakira might generate some interest.

2. Hand out the worksheet and pair up your students. Let them work through the vocabulary practice exercise together, promoting collaboration and warm-up discussion.

3. Review the vocabulary together and answer any questions that may pop-up. Keep this review session an open discussion, allowing any student to get involved by questioning or answering other students’ questions. This is an extension of the practice stage.

4. After review, have your students fill in answers to questions related to becoming a celebrity. Think of some fun questions about what they’d do with their wealth and celebrity status. This production is the period when they can focus on their writing quietly before you set them loose to ask and answer the questions from their partners. It’s also a great idea to add in a few more follow-up questions to the worksheet to keep the conversation flowing naturally.

Though this topic is sure to keep them talking, walk around the room and ensure all pairs are discussing the topic. Be wary of lingering moments of silence, frustrated partners and partners who keep reverting back to their native language.

3. The English Writing Skill Lesson

As previously noted, English writing skills often fall through the cracks in ESL teaching. In writing, there isn’t much discussion and focus always tends to float towards more interactive lesson plans.

This doesn’t need to be the case. You can easily construct a great ESL writing lesson with a little thought and creativity. Think carefully about what’s genuinely interesting and relevant to your students when developing a writing lesson plan, because no one likes to write about what they aren’t interested in.

Allowing your students to practice their writing skills gives them the ability to communicate more efficiently over personal or business email. It allows them to write letters to loved ones. It allows them to ask questions and chime in on online discussions. It even better enables them to explore social media, allowing them to Tweet, update Facebook statuses and ask questions on Yahoo Answers.

All in all, writing is a pretty great thing, and they’ll see the immediate value.

Sample Writing Skill Lesson

This ESL writing lesson promotes discussion and writing through a fun and interesting interview.

1. In the presentation stage of your lesson plan, ask your students a few interview questions to get them warmed up. A fun one is, “What adjective would you use to describe your day?” This will get them thinking in the right direction.

2. After some interview review, pass out this worksheet of great interview questions and have your students pick 1 or 2 questions from each category. Next, pair them up.

3. During this practice session, each student will ask and answer the interview questions they and their partner picked. It is a great plan to let them pick their questions first, before knowing who their partner may be, adding a bit more mystery to the discussion.

4. Cut your students loose in the practice stage and let them ask each other the questions they chose. Student A will ask Student B and then they reverse roles.

5. In the production stage of this exercise, each student will write a short summary of their partner utilizing the answers they received in the interview.

6. Once the writing summary is complete, you can have them share it in groups, present it to the class in a presentation or hand in for teacher review, whichever you feel is the best option.

4. The English Pronunciation Skill Lesson

English pronunciation skills are essential for your students to master during their language education. Though pronunciation is often difficult for some ESL students, you must continue to work with them to ensure they’re using the correct pronunciation when they speak.

Nothing’s more frustrating to a student that travels abroad than realizing not a soul understands the English they so patiently learned.

Plus, pronunciation ends up being quite important for reading. If they can’t sound out words right while reading a text, they may not connect them to what they’ve already learned. Not knowing pronunciation makes absorbing new language more difficult than it has to be.

Teaching pronunciation can be fun and enjoyable for your students when a little thought and consideration goes towards building confidence.

Sample Pronunciation Skill Lesson

This ESL teacher resource for pronunciation practice covers the various pronunciation sounds ESL students will find challenging during their ESL learning journey. You can utilize this resource to build quality pronunciation lessons of your own with a little creativity.

1. During preparation, pick an area of pronunciation your students have difficulty with. Normally, pronunciation is region-specific. For example, if you’re teaching in Japan, you may have several students finding it difficult to pronounce words with “L” or “R” in them.

2. Using the pronunciation resource, turn to page 17, “R and L sounds,” and utilize these example words in your presentation and practice exercises.

3. Once your students are nice and warmed up, challenge them further using some “R” and “L” tongue twisters. This is a great resource to create your own material from. Have them practice this on their own.

4. Go around the room and have each student go through the tongue twister you’ve picked. You could even divide the class into two groups and have them challenge one another using team based points for correctly sounding off each tongue twister.

5. For the production stage, have students come up with their own English tongue twisters!

As you can see, once you’ve got that PPP structure to back you up during lesson planning, teaching English isn’t so hard. Just be sure to prepare, and give your students plenty of time for practice and production.

You’ve got this—and so do your awesome students!

Stephen Seifert is a writer, editor, professor of English and adventurer. With over 7 years of teaching experience to students worldwide, he enjoys the many aspects of culture and traditions different from his own. Stephen continues his search for writing inspiration, boldly enjoying life to the fullest.

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