Teaching English has become a popular way for native speakers to see the world and earn a living at the same time, but it’s not exactly easy! If you’ve never taught before, you might not be sure how to start. When you’re trying to teach English to non-native speakers, watch your idioms, slow down your speech patterns and use basic vocabulary that’s easy to understand to help your students become successful. Lastly, don’t forget about classroom management! Even if you’re teaching adults, it’s important that you have adequate classroom management skills so that your class isn’t running the show.
Watch The Idioms When You’re Trying To Teach English
When you’re a teacher, it’s vital that you watch what you say carefully. Saying things like ‘It’s time to hit the books,’ or ‘This homework should be a piece of cake’ will likely be met with some serious confusion. Do you really want your class to slap their textbooks or bring you a piece of cake the next day? If not, it’s important to watch these types of phrases and idioms. They’ll just confuse beginning students so you should wait until your class is more advanced before you introduce these phrases.
Slow Down When You Speak
If you’ve ever heard someone else speak another language, you know that it can seem confusing, especially if they’re speaking rapidly. To help your students understand when you’re trying to teach English, slow your speech way down. Use pauses in between sentences so that they can process and understand what you’re saying. While it’s unlikely that your students will understand every word if you speak slowly, they’ll be more likely to figure out your general idea and they’ll be able to fill in the blanks.
Use Basic Vocabulary
Additionally, make sure that you’re using words that are basic and uncomplicated — now is not the time to show off your extensive vocabulary. Additionally, you can help your students’ vocabulary by labeling things in your classroom, such as the chairs, desks, door, and anything else that’s inside your classroom. Once your students have a basic understanding of vocabulary, then you can move on to expanding their vocabulary with synonyms.
If you’re trying to teach English to adults, you will likely need to teach some specialized vocabulary. For instance, business people may need to understand certain business or industry-related terms. For this reason, it’s vital that you understand who your students are so you can tailor your lessons to their needs and requirements.
Classroom Management Is Also Important
Don’t forget about classroom management techniques, they can be especially important with adults. You may have a class full of students who are eager to learn, or you could have one joker who tries to run the show. There’s no one perfect classroom management technique that will work for every situation so it’s important to have a variety of techniques at your disposal. If you can, talk to other people who teach English overseas to get ideas and tips that you can implement in your own class.
If you’re getting ready to teach English to non-native speakers, use these tips to help your students become successful in their new language.
