Teaching Ideas

Teaching Beginners

Roger Barnard
Tama Art University

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

Teaching Beginner Students
I have met many language teachers who prefer to teach advanced rather than low-level learners. Understandable, I suppose, in that higher-level learners can often deal with more demanding topics in greater depth. But if you are genuinely interested in how people learn a language, and how the language teacher can best facilitate that process, there are special rewards in teaching beginners.

For one thing, lower-level learners are often more enthusiastic than their more able counterparts. And it's quite possible that they will be encountering your prized classroom tricks for the first time and gasp appreciatively at each one. They can also make noticeable progress in a relatively short time, unlike many learners who have reached the seemingly endless 'intermediate plateau'.

False Beginners
In Japan, an EFL teacher is unlikely to meet a zero beginner outside of junior high school; during my many years of teaching English here, I have taught only one true beginner, a businessman who had had no English education whatsoever owing to World War II. Over a period of about five years, he made slow but sure progress, but I suspect that I learnt more from his lessons than he did, especially in relation to systematic presentation, practice, and review of material.

Probably the majority of your low-level English classes will be for 'false beginners', learners who have studied English before, but have little or no communicative ability. All of the points I make below can help to make a class at any level more effective, but they are especially important when teaching low-level learners. I apologize if some of them seem too obvious to mention, but I hope they will provide some food for thought.

Planning and Preparation

Plan your course
Have some idea of how much material you are going to cover. Give your students an overview of the course and how much material you expect them to cover. On the other hand, don't make your plan too rigid; you should be able to make changes as you find out more about your students and their needs. If you going to give tests, warn your students beforehand.

Plan your lessons
Whether your class lasts 40, 60 or 90 minutes, think in terms of a starting activity (warm-up), main activity (probably divided into a number of separate tasks), and a final activity. But again, always be ready to modify your plan.

Check your textbook material carefully before a class
A teacher who is unfamiliar with the course materials does not inspire confidence. What needs to be pre-taught before the students refer to the textbook? It could be vocabulary, cultural information, a grammar point, or a pronunciation feature.

Try it out
If you are going to do an activity that is new to you, are you sure you know how to do it? If possible, try it out before you use it in class.

Sequence activities and tasks carefully
Generally speaking, it's safer to start with controlled activities and lead into guided and free activities.

Know the text
If your textbook has a teacher's edition, read it. It may suggest extra activities, point out possible pitfalls, present alternative presentation techniques, and include notes on pronunciation and cultural points. It may also provide photocopiables.

Setting Up Activities

Allow plenty of time to set up activities in class
If your students have not done a particular type of activity before (e.g. an information gap pair work activity) give them time to study the material and ask questions. Then explain the procedure briefly and demonstrate with a more able student. When the students have started, move around the classroom and see how they are getting on. Help out if necessary.

Be Consistent
Try to keep the task instructions and procedures you use consistent throughout the course; eventually, the students will know exactly what to do with minimum instructions.

Pace and Depth

Don't cover material too quickly
One of the most common mistakes an inexperienced teacher makes is to skim through material without giving the students time to digest it. At lower levels it's important to provide a lot of practice with limited language, while maintaining interest and motivation. A well-designed information gap activity is a good way of achieving this.

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

<<Back Number | Top | Recent Issue>>