http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/esl/
Getting Started: The Basics of Teaching
The following principles apply to almost any kind of teaching. Some of these points may
seem like common sense, yet these are the types of issues professional teachers spend
years learning and perfecting. Many of these ideas are adapted from Teaching By
Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy by H. Douglas Brown and How
To Teach Englishby Jeremy Harmer.
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Make Lessons Interesting
Bored students won't remember much of the lesson. Don't talk for long blocks of
time. Instead, keep students involved and interacting with you and each other in
English. Some may come from cultures where teachers lecture and students listen
quietly. If interaction makes your students nervous, provide plenty of support by
giving clear and very specific directions. Say, "Yuko and Yan, you work together,"
rather than "everyone get into pairs." Vary the types of skills you practice and
activities you use, add games, and bring in real-life objects like a telephone, cook
book, or musical instrument. Vary your own dress or behavior patterns for a day.
Keep in mind, though, that some degree of predictability will be appreciated by
your students, fostering a feeling of safety.
Make Yourself Understandable
Simplify your vocabulary, grammar, and speaking speed to the degree necessary to
be understood, and keep any instructions simple and logical. New ESL teachers
frequently slow down the pace of their speech but forget to modify their
vocabulary and grammar for beginning students. As your students' English ability
increases, so should the complexity and speed of your English. Some of your
interaction at an intermediate level and most of it at an advanced level can use
natural grammar and speed, but make sure you slow down or repeat any highly
important points. Teach your learners how to ask for clarification when they need
it. Try to anticipate unknown vocabulary and be prepared to explain it.
Appropriate language modification gets easier with experience.
Motivate With Rewards
Learners will truly want to learn when they perceive a personal reward. To boost
internal motivation, remind them of the benefits that English can provide, such as
English-speaking friends, better job opportunities, easier shopping, or less stress at
the doctor's office, and then teach language that will bring them closer to those
benefits. Motivation can be boosted externally by praise and encouragement as
well as tangible rewards like prizes, certificates, or check marks on an attendance
chart. Motivation can be hindered by over-correction or teaching a topic that the
learner will not use in daily life.
Provide a Useful Context
Learners will remember material better and take more interest in it if it has
relevant contextual meaning. Arbitrary rote learning (word lists or grammar drills)
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may be useful in solidifying language forms, but unless there's a real-world
application, sooner or later it's likely to be forgotten.
Remember that Native Language Affects English Learning
A learner's native language will provide a basis for figuring out how English works.
Sometimes the native language can affect English production. To illustrate, the
Japanese language does not use articles (a, an, the) so correct article usage is
frequently difficult for Japanese learners. Spanish uses idioms such as "I have
thirst" or "I have sleepiness" so Spanish speakers may forget to use "I am..." with an
adjective instead of a noun. Most teachers, however, have little if any
understanding of their students' native language. While a familiarity with the
native language may shed light on certain errors, it is certainly not essential. In
fact, intermediate and advanced students are often able to tell you whether a
specific error is related to their native language.
Don't Assume All Errors are Bad
Native language interference contributes to a gradual process of learning in which
language is refined over time to become more like natural English. For example, a
learner may progress through phrases such as "no I like peanuts," "I no like
peanuts," and finally, "I don't like peanuts." Teachers must not get discouraged
watching students exchange one error for another; this process is a natural part of
language learning. Selectively choose errors to work on rather than trying to fix
everything at once. Give priority to problems that hinder communication rather
than incorrect but understandable errors. With gentle corrective feedback,
students will keep improving.
Encourage Learners to Think in English
Too often ESL learners will get stuck in a habit of thinking in their native language
and then mentally translating what they want to say or write into English. This is
time consuming and frequently leads to confusion when direct translation isn't
possible. Thinking in English requires learners to use learned words, phrases, and
language structures to express original ideas without focusing too much on
language rules or translation. To illustrate, how would you change the statement
"Linda ate an apple" into a question? Of course, "Did Linda eat an apple?" More than
likely you didn't think about adding the modal 'do' (in the past tense 'did' because
'ate' is past tense) before the subject, changing the irregular verb 'ate' to 'eat' and
raising your vocal intonation at the end of the sentence. While it's unreasonable to
expect beginning ESL learners not to rely on native language translation to some
degree, one way you can minimize it is to explain new vocabulary using simple
English, drawings, or gestures and allow dictionary lookups only as a last resort.
You might also ask them to speak (or write if they are able) for several minutes
without stopping. At some point, mental translation will become cumbersome and
learners should begin developing an ability to use English independently from their
native language.
Build Confidence in Your Students
Learners must believe in their own ability to complete a task. Without selfconfidence, they are unlikely to take risks, and risk-taking is necessary in language
learning. Learners need to feel that it's safe to make mistakes. By trying out new
or less familiar language, they may find that they are indeed capable of more
communication than they thought. Try to reduce feelings of embarrassment when
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mistakes are made, and give far more compliments than criticisms. Make some
tasks easy enough that everyone is guaranteed success.
Account for Different Learning Styles
Some people are hands-on learners, some like to watch, some like to have detailed
explanations. Some people learn better visually, others audibly. Some like to work
in groups, some work better individually. Language teaching should take a variety
of learning styles into account through varied activities.
Know Your Students
Learn how to pronounce students' names (or ask for easier nicknames) and then
remember and use them. Build trust with your students by building relationships
and being approachable. Make sure quiet students are included and more assertive
ones don't dominate the lesson.
Focus On Communication
Interaction requires communication, the transfer of a meaningful idea from one person to
another. Good teachers go beyond the building blocks of English such as vocabulary lists
or grammar drills to develop a learner's oral, written, and even non-verbal
communication skills. Every lesson should prepare your students for real-world interaction
in some way. Think meaningful and usable.
When communication breaks down, native speakers usually try to clarify any potentially
unclear items by asking questions and offering explanations. They ask for repetition or
more information, confirm that the other person has understood what was said, expand
on words or topics, or repeat back a paraphrase of what they just heard to confirm that
they got it right. This is one of the greatest communication skills, but it can be difficult
and ESL learners need to be taught how to do this in English.
Teachers bring communication into their lessons by guiding learners through tasks or
activities which require meaningful communication in a relevant context. Here are some
tips for making your lessons communicative:
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Clarification Skills
Teach your students how to ask for clarification. The following phrases may serve
as a starting point and can be expanded or adapted to an appropriate language
level.
o Do you understand?
o Excuse me? / Could you repeat that?
o Once more. / One more time.
o Please speak more slowly.
o How do you spell that?
o Did you say ______?
o What does ______ mean?
o How do you say ______ in English?
I don't know.
I don't understand.
Pair and Group Work
When students must work with each other or one-on-one with you, they are forced
to communicate. Make sure you have taught them how to ask for clarification
when they don't understand something. If students share the same native
language, limit its use as much as possible. Information gap activities, role plays,
and collaborative problem solving are some communicative activities explained in
more detail in the activities section of this guide.
Individual Communication
Some types of communication are not highly interactive. For example, you can
have students give a speech, write a letter or composition, or report group work
results to the class. As long as they are producing original language to convey their
own thoughts, they are practicing communication.
Interactive Teaching
Specific practice activities aren't the only place where communication can occur.
While you are teaching your main lesson, you don't need to do all the talking.
Involve your students by asking them for related vocabulary words, the spelling of
a word they suggest, the past tense of verbs (especially irregular ones), examples
beyond those in the textbook, etc. Draw out what they already know and connect
it to their life experiences. For example, if your text contains the word 'allergy'
and you aren't sure if the students understand it, rather than simply teaching "an
allergy is..." and moving on, ask if anyone knows the meaning and can explain it,
what types of allergies the students can think of, and whether anyone has an
allergy. Ask for the spelling of the plural form, 'allergies.' If your students have a
lot to say, these side-tracks can become time-consuming. You will need to decide
how much time you will allow for this so you can still complete your lesson.
What Communication is Not
Some elements of your lesson will probably not be communicative. For example,
memorization, vocabulary lists, reading, listening tasks, grammar structures, and
pronunciation practice do not require any original language to be produced by the
learner, yet they are all valuable building blocks for communication. As a teacher,
you should be aware of the difference between what is communicative and what is
not and balance the two.
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Language Levels
What do the terms beginner, intermediate, and advanced really mean? Unfortunately the
definitions vary among institutions. The following guide for oral communication ability,
though subjective, may be useful if your program does not have its own definitions of
performance standards:
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True Beginner
o Very limited communication in English
o Uses gestures and 1-3 word utterances
Beginner
Communicates with difficulty and many errors
Very simple, unelaborated answers
Many hesitations
No ability to extend conversation
Uses simple grammar & vocabulary
Low Intermediate
o Communicates understandably with some errors
o Simple answers and little elaboration
o Attempts interactive conversation
o Attempts more complex grammar
High Intermediate
o Communicates fairly well
o Some elaboration, especially on familiar topics
o Can converse with errors and some hesitations
o Uses more complex grammar & vocabulary
Advanced
o Communicates well with occasional errors
o Converses with lots of elaboration and interaction
o Errors don't hinder communication
o Uses advanced grammar & vocabulary
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Your volunteer program may or may not have its own system for assessing student
language levels. If you work with a student one-on-one, knowing the 'level' is not as
critical as knowing the student; you will soon discover strengths and weaknesses and
develop a sense of what your student can or can't handle. However, if you work with
more than one learner, your task will be much easier if they are all near the same
language level. For this reason, many programs test language levels for all new students
for placement purposes. The following is a sample intake test based on the above
performance descriptions. Testing instructions are found on page two. An accompanying
page of drawings has not been included due to copyright.
ESL Evaluation
Introduce yourself first!
Level 1: Beginner
Level 2: Low – Intermediate
few words, many hesitations, no ability
to extend conversation
simple answers, little conversation,
many errors
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What’s your name?
Where are you from?
What time is it?
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How long have you lived in
Colorado?
What did you do yesterday?
Do you have a hobby? >> What is
it?
Pictures:
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Where is the teacher?
Where are the flowers?
What is Jane doing?
(point to picture 4)
How many pictures are there?
Pictures:
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What are Mike and Sue doing?
>> Why?
(point to picture 3)
What’s happening in this
picture?
(point to picture 5)
Where are the people in picture
1?
Level 3: Intermediate – High
Level 4: Advanced
some elaboration, can converse with
errors and some hesitations
lots of elaboration & interaction,
errors don’t hinder communication
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Have you ever taken the TOEFL
test?
>> What was your score?
(paper 525 / computer 197 >> try
L4)
Can you tell me what some of the
differences are between Colorado
and your country?
What’s your favorite season?
>> Why?
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What’s the most memorable
vacation you’ve ever had? >>
Can you tell me more about it?
Can you describe the health care
system in your country? >> What
do you think about it?
What do you want to be doing in
five years? >> Do you think it’s
possible?
If I were to go to your country as
a tourist, what should I see?
Pictures:
Pictures:
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In picture 1, who will not get
wet?
What happened to Sam and what
should he do next?
What did Tom Smith do? >> Why?
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Choose one of these pictures and
tell me a short story about it.
Instructions for testing:
1. Introduce yourself first.
2. If the student appears responsive and able to converse, begin with level 3 questions. If
the student appears confused or very shy, begin with level 2.
3. Speak at a normal pace while testing, slowing down and offering explanations only if
the student is unable to understand. (If this occurs often, try a lower level.)
4. When finished, please circle the appropriate level number on the intake form.
Levels 1 and 2 are pre-conversational, 3 and 4 are conversational
Level 3 questions: Ask a couple of questions of your choice and listen for hesitations,
errors, and vocabulary problems. If you are maintaining a conversation but find yourself
asking for clarification or correcting the student frequently, or if the pace is slow, you
have a level 3 student. If you experience no difficulty, move on to level 4 without asking
all level 3 questions. If you have a lot of trouble maintaining conversation, drop down to
level 2 questions.
Level 4 questions: If the student is able to continue with little difficulty and gives
extended answers and keeps a steady pace with few hesitations, you have a level 4
student. Some errors are expected but they should not hinder communication. If the
student has difficulty, go back to level 3 questions. You may have a level 3 or level 3/4
student.
Note: a high TOEFL score does not mean the student is automatically level 4.
Level 2 questions: Ask a couple of questions and if the student answers quickly and easily,
try level 3 without asking all level 2 questions. If level 3 is too difficult, you may have a
level 2/3 student. If the student does not understand or cannot answer easily, move to
level 1.
Level 1 questions: Whether or not the student can answer any of the questions, you have
a level 1 student if level 2 is too difficult.
Used by permission. This is an ESL intake test used by International Students, Inc. (a
nonprofit organization) at Colorado State University. It assesses oral communication
ability. A separate page of drawings has not been included due to copyright. The
drawings are: 1) Ann and Bill standing in the rain, Sara and Peter walking with an
umbrella; 2) Sam with a paintbrush in his hand and his foot stuck in a paint bucket,
another painter on a ladder behind him; 3) Mike and Sue reading a travel guide; 4) Jane
sitting on a stack of books, reading; 5) Peter Jones handing Sally Jones a pot of flowers;
6) Tom Smith carrying shopping bags filled with painting supplies, a paint store with a
'big sale' sign behind him; 7) Mrs. Adams sitting behind a table with a book and an apple,
pointing to a math equation on a blackboard.
CONVERSATION Consider these tips to become an effective conversation partner.
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Speak at a Natural Pace
Slow down only when absolutely necessary. Your student will probably not
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understand everything, which provides an opportunity for the student to practice
asking for clarification. If you are asked to repeat something, repeat your exact
words. Then you can offer a paraphrase if there is still misunderstanding.
Check Comprehension
Many students will nod as you speak even though they don't understand what
you're saying. They may be hoping that you will eventually say something that
connects the bits and pieces they have managed to absorb, or they may be
signaling that they heard your voice. If your student nods a lot, gets a blank look,
or becomes silent, directly ask whether he or she understands. If not, you may
need to slow down or at least simplify your grammar and vocabulary.
Elaborate Topics
Stay on one topic as long as you can. This helps a student learn to carry a
conversation rather than just answering a series of unrelated questions. Encourage
the student to ask you questions about the topic, too.
Bring Objects to Stimulate Conversation
This is great for shy students. Try family or vacation photos, cookbooks with
pictures, board games, library books about your student's country or other topics
with lots of pictures, and short, current newspaper or magazine articles.
Avoid Correcting Homework
Students may bring their ESL homework and ask you to check the answers. Not only
does this take away time from developing conversation skills, it can potentially
force you into the role of a teacher explaining why an answer is right or wrong. If
you are willing to provide this service to your student, try to do it before or after
your allotted conversation partner time.
Minimize Error Correction
Constant correction slows down conversation and hinders the development of
fluency. Correct only those errors that block communication.
Vary the Scenery
Unless you must meet at a fixed location, occasionally vary your meeting place.
Try a park, library, home, coffee shop, nature walk, etc.
Keep a Journal
Write down what you talked about or did so you can use it again or refine it for
future use
Recognize Stages of Cultural Adjustment
Stages of initial happiness but confusion, hostile attitudes from continued
frustration and confusion, humor and tolerance as new cultural rules are
understood more, and feeling at home with an understanding of cultural
expectations are all common during cultural adjustment, and students may skip or
repeat some of these stages. Try to be aware of cultural adjustment issues and
help your student understand and adapt to American culture.
Refer Problems to Qualified Program Personnel
As you develop trust, you may find your student confiding in you about serious
problems (medical, legal, landlord, family, etc.) which you may not be qualified to
handle. If you aren't trained as a counselor, resist the urge to be one. Express
compassion, but refer the student to a program leader or assist with getting help
from an appropriate professional office or public service.
Here are some conversation questions to help you get started. Most of them are suitable
for low intermediate and above. You can adapt the complexity of the questions to your
student's level.
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Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom
Many categorized lists of questions to facilitate conversation.
Conversation Groups
You may be a leader of a conversation group or perhaps a classroom assistant assigned to
a few students for a classroom activity. Again, your role is more of a facilitator than a
teacher. The main goal is conversational English practice.
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Encourage Friendship
Help the group members get to know each other and become friends through pair
interviews, icebreaker games, or even social activities. Students will speak more
freely when they feel a connection to other group members.
Include Everyone
If you have a very talkative student who tends to dominate the conversation, find
ways to limit speaking time and ask others for their opinions. If you have a shy or
silent student, make sure to specifically include him or her. Be careful, though.
The silence may be due to lower language ability, so begin by asking easy yes/no
or either/or questions rather than open-ended opinion questions. It may also be
helpful to sit right next to more talkative students and across from quieter ones if
you are in a circle.
Monitor Native Language Use
Discourage native language use as much as possible. Students may ask each other
what an English vocabulary word means because they don't want to interrupt the
conversation to ask in English. Explain that it is polite and acceptable to say,
"Excuse me, what does ______ mean?" Students may also ask each other how to say
a native language word in English. This is less problematic because the student's
goal is to use English. If your group has mixed languages, splitting up samelanguage friends will discourage native language use, but they may also speak less
English if they are seated between classmates with whom they are less
comfortable. You will need to tune in to each student's personality when deciding
whether or not to separate same-language speakers.
Clarify Expectations
Recognize that some students may come from cultures where education is very
formal and classes don't include discussion groups. They may be uncomfortable
with the casual American style and need help to adjust. Explain your expectations
about your seating arrangement, starting on time or chatting first, who can speak
and when, and in what circumstances students may speak their native language
English Skills
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When we think of English skills, the 'four skills' of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing readily come to mind. Of course other skills such as pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary, and spelling all play a role in effective English
communication. The amount of attention you give to each skill area will depend
both the level of your learners as well as their situational needs. Generally
beginners, especially those who are nonliterate, benefit most from listening and
speaking instruction with relatively little work on reading and writing. As fluency
increases, the amount of reading and writing in your lessons may also increase.
With advanced learners, up to half of your lesson time can be spent on written
skills, although your learners may wish to keep their focus weighted toward oral
communication if that is a greater need.
Teaching Listening
Listening skills are vital for your learners. Of the 'four skills,' listening is by far the most
frequently used. Listening and speaking are often taught together, but beginners,
especially non-literate ones, should be given more listening than speaking practice. It's
important to speak as close to natural speed as possible, although with beginners some
slowing is usually necessary. Without reducing your speaking speed, you can make your
language easier to comprehend by simplifying your vocabulary, using shorter sentences,
and increasing the number and length of pauses in your speech.
There are many types of listening activities. Those that don't require learners to produce
language in response are easier than those that do. Learners can be asked to physically
respond to a command (for example, "please open the door"), select an appropriate
picture or object, circle the correct letter or word on a worksheet, draw a route on a
map, or fill in a chart as they listen. It's more difficult to repeat back what was heard,
translate into the native language, take notes, make an outline, or answer comprehension
questions. To add more challenge, learners can continue a story text, solve a problem,
perform a similar task with a classmate after listening to a model (for example, order a
cake from a bakery), or participate in real-time conversation.
Good listening lessons go beyond the listening task itself with related activities before
and after the listening. Here is the basic structure:
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Before Listening
Prepare your learners by introducing the topic and finding out what they already
know about it. A good way to do this is to have a brainstorming session and some
discussion questions related to the topic. Then provide any necessary background
information and new vocabulary they will need for the listening activity.
During Listening
Be specific about what students need to listen for. They can listen for selective
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details or general content, or for an emotional tone such as happy, surprised, or
angry. If they are not marking answers or otherwise responding while listening, tell
them ahead of time what will be required afterward.
After Listening
Finish with an activity to extend the topic and help students remember new
vocabulary. This could be a discussion group, craft project, writing task, game,
etc.
The following ideas will help make your listening activities successful.
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Noise
Reduce distractions and noise during the listening segment. You may need to close
doors or windows or ask children in the room to be quiet for a few minutes.
Equipment
If you are using a cassette player, make sure it produces acceptable sound quality.
A counter on the machine will aid tremendously in cueing up tapes. Bring extra
batteries or an extension cord with you.
Repetition
Read or play the text a total of 2-3 times. Tell students in advance you will repeat
it. This will reduce their anxiety about not catching it all the first time. You can
also ask them to listen for different information each time through.
Content
Unless your text is merely a list of items, talk about the content as well as specific
language used. The material should be interesting and appropriate for your class
level in topic, speed, and vocabulary. You may need to explain reductions (like
'gonna' for 'going to') and fillers (like 'um' or 'uh-huh').
Recording Your Own Tape
Write appropriate text (or use something from your textbook) and have another
English speaker read it onto tape. Copy the recording three times so you don't
need to rewind. The reader should not simply read three times, because students
want to hear exact repetition of the pronunciation, intonation, and pace, not just
the words.
Video
You can play a video clip with the sound off and ask students to make predictions
about what dialog is taking place. Then play it again with sound and discuss why
they were right or wrong in their predictions. You can also play the sound without
the video first, and show the video after students have guessed what is going on.
Homework
Give students a listening task to do between classes. Encourage them to listen to
public announcements in airports, bus stations, supermarkets, etc. and try to write
down what they heard. Tell them the telephone number of a cinema and ask them
to write down the playing times of a specific movie. Give them a tape recording of
yourself with questions, dictation, or a worksheet to complete.
Look for listening activities in the Activities and Lesson Materials sections of this guide. If
your learners can use a computer with internet access and headphones or speakers, you
may direct them toward the following listening practice sites. You could also assign
specific activities from these sites as homework. Teach new vocabulary ahead of time if
necessary.
Teaching Speaking
Speaking English is the main goal of many adult learners. Their personalities play a large
role in determining how quickly and how correctly they will accomplish this goal. Those
who are risk-takers unafraid of making mistakes will generally be more talkative, but with
many errors that could become hard-to-break habits. Conservative, shy students may take
a long time to speak confidently, but when they do, their English often contains fewer
errors and they will be proud of their English ability. It's a matter of quantity vs. quality,
and neither approach is wrong. However, if the aim of speaking is communication and
that does not require perfect English, then it makes sense to encourage quantity in your
classroom. Break the silence and get students communicating with whatever English they
can use, correct or not, and selectively address errors that block communication.
Speaking lessons often tie in pronunciation and grammar (discussed elsewhere in this
guide), which are necessary for effective oral communication. Or a grammar or reading
lesson may incorporate a speaking activity. Either way, your students will need some
preparation before the speaking task. This includes introducing the topic and providing a
model of the speech they are to produce. A model may not apply to discussion-type
activities, in which case students will need clear and specific instructions about the task
to be accomplished. Then the students will practice with the actual speaking activity.
These activities may include imitating (repeating), answering verbal cues, interactive
conversation, or an oral presentation. Most speaking activities inherently practice
listening skills as well, such as when one student is given a simple drawing and sits behind
another student, facing away. The first must give instructions to the second to reproduce
the drawing. The second student asks questions to clarify unclear instructions, and
neither can look at each other's page during the activity. Information gaps are also
commonly used for speaking practice, as are surveys, discussions, and role-plays.
Speaking activities abound; see the Activities and Further Resources sections of this guide
for ideas.
Here are some ideas to keep in mind as you plan your speaking activities.
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Content
As much as possible, the content should be practical and usable in real-life
situations. Avoid too much new vocabulary or grammar, and focus on speaking with
the language the students have.
Correcting Errors
You need to provide appropriate feedback and correction, but don't interrupt the
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flow of communication. Take notes while pairs or groups are talking and address
problems to the class after the activity without embarrassing the student who
made the error. You can write the error on the board and ask who can correct it.
Quantity vs. Quality
Address both interactive fluency and accuracy, striving foremost for
communication. Get to know each learner's personality and encourage the quieter
ones to take more risks.
Conversation Strategies
Encourage strategies like asking for clarification, paraphrasing, gestures, and
initiating ('hey,' 'so,' 'by the way').
Teacher Intervention
If a speaking activity loses steam, you may need to jump into a role-play, ask more
discussion questions, clarify your instructions, or stop an activity that is too
difficult or boring.
Teaching Reading
We encounter a great variety of written language day to day -- articles, stories, poems,
announcements, letters, labels, signs, bills, recipes, schedules, questionnaires, cartoons,
the list is endless. Literate adults easily recognize the distinctions of various types of
texts. This guide will not cover instruction for learners with little or no literacy in their
native language; you will need to work intensively with them at the most basic level of
letter recognition and phonics.
Finding authentic reading material may not be difficult, but finding materials appropriate
for the level of your learners can be a challenge. Especially with beginners, you may need
to significantly modify texts to simplify grammar and vocabulary. When choosing texts,
consider what background knowledge may be necessary for full comprehension. Will
students need to "read between the lines" for implied information? Are there cultural
nuances you may need to explain? Does the text have any meaningful connection to the
lives of your learners? Consider letting your students bring in their choice of texts they
would like to study. This could be a telephone bill, letter, job memo, want ads, or the
back of a cereal box. Motivation will be higher if you use materials of personal interest to
your learners.
Your lesson should begin with a pre-reading activity to introduce the topic and make sure
students have enough vocabulary, grammar, and background information to understand
the text. Be careful not to introduce a lot of new vocabulary or grammar because you
want your students to be able to respond to the content of the text and not expend too
much effort analyzing the language. If you don't want to explain all of the potentially new
material ahead of time, you can allow your learners to discuss the text with a partner and
let them try to figure it out together with the help of a dictionary. After the reading
activity, check comprehension and engage the learners with the text, soliciting their
opinions and further ideas orally or with a writing task.
Consider the following when designing your reading lessons.
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Purpose
Your students need to understand ahead of time why they are reading the material
you have chosen.
Reading Strategies
When we read, our minds do more than recognize words on the page. For faster
and better comprehension, choose activities before and during your reading task
that practice the following strategies.
o Prediction: This is perhaps the most important strategy. Give your students
hints by asking them questions about the cover, pictures, headlines, or
format of the text to help them predict what they will find when they read
it.
o Guessing From Context: Guide your students to look at contextual
information outside or within the text. Outside context includes the source
of the text, its format, and how old it is; inside context refers to topical
information and the language used (vocabulary, grammar, tone, etc.) as
well as illustrations. If students have trouble understanding a particular
word or sentence, encourage them to look at the context to try to figure it
out. Advanced students may also be able to guess cultural references and
implied meanings by considering context.
o Skimming: This will improve comprehension speed and is useful at the
intermediate level and above. The idea of skimming is to look over the
entire text quickly to get the basic idea. For example, you can give your
students 30 seconds to skim the text and tell you the main topic, purpose,
or idea. Then they will have a framework to understand the reading when
they work through it more carefully.
o Scanning: This is another speed strategy to use with intermediate level and
above. Students must look through a text quickly, searching for specific
information. This is often easier with non-continuous texts such as recipes,
forms, or bills (look for an ingredient amount, account number, date of
service, etc.) but scanning can also be used with continuous texts like
newspaper articles, letters, or stories. Ask your students for a very specific
piece of information and give them just enough time to find it without
allowing so much time that they will simply read through the entire text.
Silent Reading vs. Reading Aloud
Reading aloud and reading silently are really two separate skills. Reading aloud
may be useful for reporting information or improving pronunciation, but a reading
lesson should focus on silent reading. When students read silently, they can vary
their pace and concentrate on understanding more difficult portions of the text.
They will generally think more deeply about the content and have greater
comprehension when reading silently. Try extended silent reading (a few pages
instead of a few paragraphs, or a short chapter or book for advanced students) and
you may be surprised at how much your learners can absorb when they study the
text uninterrupted at their own pace. When introducing extended texts, work with
materials at or slightly below your students' level; a long text filled with new
vocabulary or complex grammar is too cumbersome to understand globally and the
students will get caught up in language details rather than comprehending the text
as a whole.
Teaching Writing
Good writing conveys a meaningful message and uses English well, but the message is
more important than correct presentation. If you can understand the message or even
part of it, your student has succeeded in communicating on paper and should be
praised for that. For many adult ESL learners, writing skills will not be used much
outside your class. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't be challenged to write, but
you should consider their needs and balance your class time appropriately. Many
adults who do not need to write will enjoy it for the purpose of sharing their thoughts
and personal stories, and they appreciate a format where they can revise their work
into better English than if they shared the same information orally.
Two writing strategies you may want to use in your lessons are free writing and
revised writing. Free writing directs students to simply get their ideas onto paper
without worrying much about grammar, spelling, or other English mechanics. In fact,
the teacher can choose not to even look at free writing pieces. To practice free
writing, give students 5 minutes in class to write about a certain topic, or ask them to
write weekly in a journal. You can try a dialog journal where students write a journal
entry and then give the journal to a partner or the teacher, who writes another entry
in response. The journals may be exchanged during class, but journal writing usually
is done at home. The main characteristic of free writing is that few (if any) errors are
corrected by the teacher, which relieves students of the pressure to perform and
allows them to express themselves more freely.
Revised writing, also called extended or process writing, is a more formal activity in
which students must write a first draft, then revise and edit it to a final polished
version, and often the finished product is shared publicly. You may need several class
sessions to accomplish this. Begin with a pre-writing task such as free writing,
brainstorming, listing, discussion of a topic, making a timeline, or making an outline.
Pairs or small groups often work well for pre-writing tasks. Then give the students
clear instructions and ample time to write the assignment. In a class, you can
circulate from person to person asking, "Do you have any questions?" Many students
will ask a question when approached but otherwise would not have raised a hand to
call your attention. Make yourself available during the writing activity; don't sit at a
desk working on your next lesson plan. Once a rough draft is completed, the students
can hand in their papers for written comment, discuss them with you face to face, or
share them with a partner, all for the purpose of receiving constructive feedback.
Make sure ideas and content are addressed first; correcting the English should be
secondary. Finally, ask students to rewrite the piece. They should use the feedback
they received to revise and edit it into a piece they feel good about. Such finished
pieces are often shared with the class or posted publicly, and depending on the
assignment, you may even choose to 'publish' everyone's writing into a class booklet.
Tactful correction of student writing is essential. Written correction is potentially
damaging to confidence because it's very visible and permanent on the page. Always
make positive comments and respond to the content, not just the language. Focus on
helping the student clarify the meaning of the writing. Especially at lower levels,
choose selectively what to correct and what to ignore. Spelling should be a low
priority as long as words are recognizable. To reduce ink on the page, don't correct all
errors or rewrite sentences for the student. Make a mark where the error is and let
the student figure out what's wrong and how to fix it. At higher levels you can tell
students ahead of time exactly what kinds of errors (verbs, punctuation, spelling,
word choice) you will correct and ignore other errors. If possible, in addition to any
written feedback you provide, try to respond orally to your student's writing, making
comments on the introduction, overall clarity, organization, and any unnecessary
information.
Consider the following ideas for your writing lessons.
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Types of Tasks
Here are some ideas for the types of writing you can ask your students to do.
o Copying text word for word
o Writing what you dictate
o Imitating a model
o Filling in blanks in sentences or paragraphs
o Taking a paragraph and transforming certain language, for example changing all
verbs and time references to past tense
o Summarizing a story text, video, or listening clip (you can guide with questions or
keywords)
o Making lists of items, ideas, reasons, etc. (words or sentences depending on level)
o Writing what your students want to learn in English and why
o Writing letters (complaint, friend, advice) - give blank post cards or note cards or
stationery to add interest; you can also use this to teach how to address an
envelope
o Organizing information, for example making a grid of survey results or writing
directions to a location using a map
o Reacting to a text, object, picture, etc. - can be a word or whole written piece
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Format
Clarify the format. For an essay, you may specify that you want an introduction, main
ideas, support, and a conclusion. For a poem, story, list, etc., the format will vary
accordingly, but make sure your students know what you expect.
Model
Provide a model of the type of writing you want your students to do, especially for
beginners.
Editing
Consider giving students a checklist of points to look for when editing their own work.
Include such things as clear topic sentences, introduction and conclusion, verb tenses,
spelling, capitalization, etc.
Correction
Minimize the threatening appearance of correction. Instead of a red pen, use green or blue
or even pencil, as long as it's different from what the student used. Explain to the students
that you will use certain symbols such as VT for verb tense or WO for word order, and be
very clear whether a mark (check mark, X, star, circle) means correct or incorrect as this
varies among cultures.
Teaching Grammar
Grammar is often named as a subject difficult to teach. Its technical language and
complex rules can be intimidating. Teaching a good grammar lesson is one thing, but
what if you're in the middle of a reading or speaking activity and a student has a grammar
question? Some students may have studied grammar in their home countries and be
surprised that you don't understand, "Does passive voice always need the past participle?"
But even if your student's question is simple and jargon-free, explaining grammar is a skill
you will need to acquire through practice. If you don't know how to explain it on the spot,
write down the specific sentence or structure in question and tell the student you will
find out. There are several resources below that can help you understand and explain
various grammar issues.
Consider the following as you integrate grammar into your lessons.
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Acknowledge your role.
As a volunteer, you aren't expected to be a grammar expert. You may have
difficulty explaining the 'why' behind grammar points, but you can recognize 'right'
and 'wrong' wording and your students will still benefit from your English
sensibility.
Find good lesson plans.
It's difficult to make a good grammar lesson from scratch, so any searching you do
for appropriate grammar lessons in textbooks or on the Internet will be time well
spent. See the Lesson Materials section of this guide for possible resources.
Use meaningful texts.
The sentences you use to teach and practice grammar shouldn't be random. Choose
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material that is relevant. For example, if your learners are preparing for
citizenship or need workplace English, use these contexts to create appropriate
examples. If possible, bring in real-life, authentic texts to illustrate your points.
Teach basic grammar words.
Although you need not be fluent in grammar jargon, it's a good idea to teach at
least some vocabulary (noun, verb, past tense, etc.) to assist you in your
explanations. Intermediate and advanced students may be familiar with many such
words already. As a practice activity, you can choose 2-3 parts of speech, specify
different symbols for each (underline, circle, box), and have students mark their
occurrences in a sentence or paragraph.
How To Plan A Lesson
Whether you use published ESL resources or plan your lesson from scratch, you will need a
basic structure. With some experience, you may only need to jot down a quick list of
topics and activities and then gather your materials together, but especially for new
teachers, it's usually helpful to write a complete lesson plan. Consider the following
framework.
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Goals/Purpose
Decide which communication skills you wish to develop. Will you focus on reading?
writing? listening? speaking/pronunciation? a combination of these? In what
context? Consider a useful application for the language you will practice, things
such as taking phone messages, using the post office, or interviewing for a job.
These types of specific skills are sometimes referred to as "competencies."
Seemingly non-interactive themes like gardening or holidays are fair game, as long
as you integrate communicative activities.
Beginning
It's often a good idea to begin with some kind of warm-up activity to help the
learners focus on English and block out the distractions of daily life. This doesn't
necessarily need to be connected thematically to the rest of the lesson, but it's
nice if it is. Warm-ups usually take 5-15 minutes and practice material the learners
already know. Avoid new material in a warm-up because the goal of a warm-up is
to diffuse inhibitions and help students transition into English thinking and
speaking. A game-like atmosphere can help capture student interest, or you may
choose a quick review of the last lesson or homework. When reviewing, ask
learners what they remember and then fill in missing pieces rather than simply
summarizing the last lesson for them.
Middle
Most of your meeting time will probably be spent focused on one or two themes.
Present new material and give learners a chance to practice it thoroughly. You
may want to include pair or group work, silent reading/writing, games, or
conversational discussion. Your lessons will be more interesting if you use real-life
materials to support the text. For example, if the lesson theme is telling time,
bring in a large clock with adjustable hands to demonstrate with. Show a video of
a job interview, bring in a rental application, play a recorded clip from the radio,
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share photos of your family. Try to incorporate something outside of the textbook
or printed lesson every time you meet.
End
Especially if the lesson content has been challenging, end by reviewing what what
was covered as well as what the learners already know. By finishing with
something familiar, learners will leave with the impression that English isn't too
difficult after all.
You can use the following reproducible worksheet to design a thoughtful and complete
lesson plan. You may choose to omit a section or add activities based on the time you
have. Use the "Time" column on the worksheet for estimating the amount of time you
wish to spend on each section. If you find during your lesson that your estimate was
incorrect, you can adjust by adding or cutting another activity. New teachers frequently
over-estimate the time needed for an activity, so it's wise to have some backup ideas to
fill in leftover time. Write any handouts or real-life objects you will need in the
"Notes/Materials" column.
Lesson Preparation
The first step of preparation is to plan your lesson. Once you have decided what to teach
and how to teach it, look at your lesson and think about ways to expand it, and make
note of what else needs to be done before your class. What can you bring to add interest?
What will you photocopy and how many copies will you need? If you copy double-sided
and have an odd number of pages, is there something fun like a cartoon or tongue twister
you can put on the last blank side?
In addition to preparing a specific lesson every day or week, it's helpful to build yourself a
collection of potential ESL resources to draw on as needed. Think about upcoming
holidays or future themes in your textbook. Create an organized storage system from the
beginning or you may find your growing collection of pictures, handouts, and games
becoming unmanageable. Label all important personal items with your name. Here are
some ideas for lesson preparation:
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Gather Basic Teaching Items
These will make planning and teaching easier.
o Good textbook or lesson (perhaps from the Internet)
o Small white board with pens, if you don't have access to a classroom board
o Blank paper (a student may ask for some)
o Regular or picture dictionary
o List of extra activities to fill leftover time (see the Activities section of this
guide)
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Collect Useful Materials
Be sure to protect your materials because they may be handled many times. Slip
paper materials into page protectors or magnetic photo album pages, glue them
onto card stock, or laminate them.
o Cut out magazine pictures
o Select photographs of a vacation, family members, etc.
o Collect travel brochures and public service pamphlets
o Save interesting newspaper or magazine articles
o Save cartoons or humorous drawings
o Borrow library books with pictures, such as children's stories or travel guides
o Collect blank note cards or postcards for students to write on
o Consider board or card games
o Bring children's building blocks or legos
o Bring objects like clothing, fruits, a clock, canned food, etc.
o Find relevant handouts on the internet (see the Lesson Materials section of
this guide)
Make Your Own ESL Materials
Creativity helps, but you don't need to be a creative genius to make useful
materials to accompany your lessons.
o Write simple quizzes
o Write dialogs and role plays
o Write tongue twisters to focus on a problem sound
o Create crossword puzzles using vocabulary words
o Make alphabet or vocabulary flash cards
o Create games, drawings, posters, etc.
o Use a craft with your lesson, such as cutting snow flakes or decorating
Easter eggs
Use Available Technology
If you have access to a TV and VCR, cassette/CD player, overhead projector, or
even a computer, use them to bring variety to your lessons. Always be prepared
with a non-technical backup activity should your equipment unexpectedly fail.
o Videotape TV commercials or news clips, or borrow a library video
o Copy outlines, diagrams, cartoons, etc. onto overhead transparencies
o Tape record a few minutes of radio talk
o Choose a popular song to play and make a worksheet of the song lyrics with
missing word blanks; if you use a cassette, record the song 2-3 times for
easy playback
o Play background (instrumental) music while students work on an activity
o Find a website your students can use for ESL activities (see the Further
Resourcessection of this guide)
Lesson Planning Tips
Lesson planning will help you teach with confidence. The longer your class session, the
more important it is to have a good lesson plan. Here are some tips to consider.
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Plan Alternative Activities
Always have one or two alternative activities in case the material you've selected
doesn't take all the time you thought it would. How will you fill an extra 10
minutes? 20 minutes?
Build on Previous Material
Try to continuously practice material that you've covered recently. It's often
possible to teach the same theme several sessions in a row which can help ingrain
vocabulary and concepts.
Balance the Challenge of Content and Activity Type
If your content is challenging, choose activities that are relatively easy to do like
fill-in-the-blank exercises or guided discussion questions. If your content is fairly
simple, try more challenging activities like role plays or problem-solving.
Create Your Own Materials
Build your own library of materials to support your lessons. You can find several
ideas in the Lesson Preparation section of this guide. Be creative. If you invest
some time into developing and collecting materials, you'll cut down on your
preparation time when you are actually planning lessons.
Center Lessons Around the Student
Keep the focus on the learners and minimize the time you spend talking as a
teacher. In other words, make the lesson as interactive as possible. Focus on
communication.
Assess Needs
Periodically take time to think through your particular learners' needs. Think about
cultural factors as well as language deficiencies. This can help you prioritize what
you choose to study. Are any of your students dealing with culture shock? What
kind of language skills might help alleviate it? Try asking the students themselves
what they would like to learn.
Keep a Log
After each class, write a brief log of what you did. Include notes about what
worked or didn't with ideas for improvement. Write down specific page numbers
you covered in a textbook. You could also keep your lesson plans collected
together, making sure to write notes on them about the success of various
activities and whether you modified the lesson during class.
Warm-up Ideas
Warm-ups help your learners put aside their daily distractions and focus on English. If
they haven't used English all day, they may take a little while to shift into it. Warm-ups
also encourage whole-group participation which can build a sense of community within
the group. For new groups, see the list of ice breakers further down.
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Brainstorm (any level, individual or group)
Give a topic and ask learners to think of anything related to it. Write the responses
for all to see, or ask a volunteer to do the writing. You can use this to elicit
vocabulary related to your lesson.
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Question of the Day (intermediate-advanced, individual or group)
Ask 1-2 simple questions and give learners 5 minutes to write their answers.
Randomly choose a few people to share their answers with the group.
Yesterday (intermediate, group)
Have a learner stand in front of the group and make one statement about
yesterday, such as "Yesterday I went shopping." Then let everyone else ask
questions to learn more information, such as "Who did you go with?" "What did you
buy?" "What time did you go?" etc. Try this with 1-2 different learners each day.
Describe the Picture (any level, group)
Show a picture and have learners take turns saying one descriptive thing about it.
Beginners can make simple observations like "three cats" while advanced students
can make up a story to go with the picture. They aren't allowed to repeat what
someone else said, so they need to pay attention when each person
speaks. Variation for individual: take turns with the teacher.
Criss-Cross (beginner-intermediate, large group)
Learners must be seated in organized rows at least 4x4. Have the front row of
learners stand. Ask simple questions like "What day/time is it?" Learners raise their
hands (or blurt out answers) and the first person to answer correctly may sit down.
The last standing learner's line (front-to-back) must stand and the game continues
until 3-4 rows/lines have played. You can use diagonal rows if the same person
gets stuck standing each time. To end, ask a really simple question (e.g. "What's
your name?") directly to the last student standing. Variation for small group: the
whole group stands and may sit one by one as they raise their hands and answer
questions.
Show & Tell (any level, individual or group)
A learner brings an item from home and talks about it in front of the group. Give
learners enough advance notice to prepare and remind them again before their
turn. Have a back up plan in case the learner forgets to bring an item. Beginners
may only be able to share the name of an item and where they got it. Be sure to
give beginners specific instructions about what information you want them to tell.
Sing a Song (intermediate-advanced, group)
If you're musically inclined, or even if you're not, songs can be a lively way to get
everyone involved.
Mystery Object (advanced, group)
Bring an item that is so unusual that the learners are not likely to recognize what
it is. Spend some time eliciting basic descriptions of the item and guesses about
what it is and how it's used. If possible, pass the item around. This is an activity in
observation and inference, so don't answer questions. Just write down descriptions
and guesses until someone figures it out or you reveal the mystery.
Ice Breakers
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Name Bingo (beginner, large group)
Hand out a blank grid with enough squares for the number of people in your class.
The grid should have the same number of squares across and down. Give the
students a few minutes to circulate through the class and get everyone's name
written on a square. Depending on the number of blank squares left over, you can
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have them write their own name on a square, or your name, or give them one 'free'
square. When everyone is seated again, have each person give a short selfintroduction. You can draw names randomly or go in seating order. With each
introduction, that student's name square may be marked on everyone's grid, as in
Bingo. Give a prize to the first 2-3 students to cross off a row.
Name Crossword (any level, group)
Write your name across or down on the board being sure not to crowd the letters.
Students take turns coming to the board, saying their name, and writing it across
or down, overlapping one letter that is already on the board. It's usually best if you
allow students to volunteer to come up rather than calling on them in case a letter
in their name isn't on the board yet, although the last few students may need
encouragement if they're shy.
Similarities (beginner-intermediate, group)
Give each person one or more colored shapes cut from construction paper. They
need to find another person with a similar color, shape, or number of shapes and
form pairs. Then they interview each other to find 1-2 similarities they have, such
as working on a farm or having two children or being from Asia. They can share
their findings with the class if there is time.
Pair Interviews (intermediate-advanced, group)
Pairs interview each other, using specified questions for intermediates and open
format for advanced students. Then they take turns introducing their partner to
the whole class. Be sensitive to privacy when asking for personal information.
Snowball Fight (any literate level, group)
Give learners a piece of white paper and ask them to write down their name,
country of origin, and some trivial fact of your choice (such as a favorite fruit).
Have everyone wad the pages into 'snowballs' and toss them around for a few
minutes. On your signal, everyone should unwrap a snowball, find the person who
wrote it, and ask 1-2 more trivial facts. Write the questions on the board so the
students can refer to them. Remember that each learner will need to ask one
person the questions and be asked questions by a third person, so leave enough
time. Variation for small groups: learners can take turns introducing the person
they interviewed.
Mystery Identities (any literate level, group)
Write the names of famous people or places (or use animals or fruits for a
simplified version) onto 3x5 cards. Attach a card to each learner's back. Give them
time to mingle and ask each other questions to try to figure out their tagged
identities. This is usually limited to yes/no questions, although beginners might be
allowed to ask any question they can. Be at least 90% sure that the learners have
heard of the items on the cards and especially the ones you place on their own
backs.
ESL Games
Some of these can be used as warm-ups. Most of them can be linked to any lesson theme
or grammatical form you're working on. These games usually require at least a small
group to play, but you may be able to adapt some of them for one-on-one settings.
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Find Someone Who... (literate beginner-intermediate, group)
Create a list of characteristics such as "likes chocolate," "has two children," or "can
swim." There should be 10-15 items, and you can relate them to your lesson if you
wish. Then let the learners mingle and get signatures of other learners who fit the
descriptions. Make sure they are using appropriate question forms ("likes X"
becomes "Do you like X?") and aren't just pointing to the items on the page. This
can be made into a Bingo activity by putting the items on a grid.
Pictionary (any level, group)
Divide into 2-3 teams and give each a supply of paper if you aren't using a
whiteboard. It's best if each team can sit around a table or have their own
whiteboard space. Tell one member from each team what item to draw, and on
your signal they may begin. The first team to guess wins a point. Play a fixed
number of rounds and the team with the highest score wins. Notice that in this
version, all teams are working independently at the same time to guess the same
word, but you could take turns with each team. You can also give stickers or
wrapped candy to the person or team guessing correctly if you don't want to make
it competitive with points.
Scavenger Hunt (any literate level, group)
Divide into teams and hand out a list of items to be collected (a penny, a stick of
gum, a signature, a pine cone, a shoelace, be creative). Define the searching
range (classroom, house, campus, neighborhood, building). The first team to
return with all the items wins a prize.
Twenty Questions (intermediate-advanced, individual or group)
Select an object in your mind and let the learners ask up to twenty questions to
guess what it is. Trade places with the winner and let that learner select an object
for the next round.
Storyline (intermediate-advanced, group)
Divide into groups of 4-6 people. Give everyone a sheet of paper and ask them to
write the first sentence of a story at the top of the page. It may begin "Once upon
a time..." if they like. Then they pass the page along to the next person in the
group. That person reads the first sentence and adds one more to it to continue
the story. Then that person folds the top of the page backwards so only his or her
own single sentence is visible and passes the page to the next person. That person
writes one more sentence, folds the paper back to hide the previous sentence, and
passes it along again. When the pages have passed through the entire group one or
two rounds, everyone unfolds the pages and reads the stories. They are often
hilarious, and this game usually generates contagious laughter.
Telephone (any level, group)
Divide the group into two teams and have them stand in single file lines. Whisper a
somewhat complex sentence (according to their level) into the ear of the first
person in each line. Make sure no one else hears. Give the same sentence to each
line. Then each person must whisper it into the ear of the next person until the
end of the line. The last person must either say the sentence or write it on a
whiteboard. The team whose final sentence most resembles the original one wins.
In case of a tie, the fastest team wins. Try giving an easy sentence to start with to
build confidence before moving onto a difficult one. If the game is too hard in the
first round, learners will decide it's no fun.
Miscellaneous Activities
These activities generally require more preparation than warm-ups and games, but they
will also take more class time and can be used to practice whatever material you're
teaching. As always, be creative and adapt them to your needs.
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Pre-Written Dialogs (any literate level, pairs)
Many textbooks include sample dialogs, or you may write your own. They can be
useful to break the ice with shy learners, but they are not truly communicative
because no original language is produced. Use them to practice self-confidence or
to illustrate a grammatical pattern. Make them more communicative by selectively
choosing words or phrases which can be blanked out and requiring students to
substitute their own ideas in the blanks. Beginners may need a list of options to
choose from. Having learners memorize the dialogs can help them gain the
confidence to try role plays.
Role Plays (intermediate-advanced, pairs)
Role plays are far more communicative than pre-written dialogs, but they are
often challenging for beginners or shy students because they must come up with
their own language to fit a particular situation. They may be too difficult for
beginners or shy learners. In its most difficult form, groups of 2-3 learners are
given a scenario and asked to act it out on the spot. To make a role-play less
intimidating, learners may be allowed 5-10 minutes to think it through first. You
may allow them to write down their scripts, which is often necessary at lower
levels. Writing also gives learners a chance to ask questions about the language
before they use it in front of their peers.
Information Gap (any level, pairs)
Each learner has limited information which the other needs. They must ask each
other questions to get the information. To be more communicative, the answers
should have some degree of ambiguity that needs to be cleared up with more
questions. For example, both learners receive a drawing of a group of people. Each
has the names of half of the people labeled on the picture, and the rest of the
names in a list. They describe their pictures and ask questions to match names
with the unknown people. "Is Sally holding a coffee cup?" may need to be followed
by "Is she tall or short?" if there are two women holding coffee cups. Information
gaps can be done with street maps, telling time, daily schedule, job interview,
spelling, etc. Look for those that encourage interactive questioning rather than
mere reporting of easy information. Make sure the students don't show each other
their worksheets to give away the answers.
Sequencing (any level, pair or group)
In sequencing activities, students must put jumbled pieces of information into a
logical order. Unlike jigsaw activities, all students in the group are allowed to see
all the pieces of information. They work together to understand each piece and
decide where it fits among the rest. Examples include months of the year, strip
stories where a story is cut into separate sentences or paragraphs (use pictures for
non-literate students), or instructions (recipe, craft, etc.) cut up by lines. It's fine
to have more information pieces than group members.
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Q & A Matching (literate beginner-intermediate, large group)
You need to have an even number of participants, so you may need to join in
yourself. Get enough 3x5 cards so that you have one per person. On half of the
cards write questions, and on the other half write appropriate responses. Use
language your learners know and avoid new vocabulary. Examples could be, "What
month is it? / It's July." or "Where did you go yesterday? / I went to City Park." Mix
up the cards and hand one to each student. Let everyone stand up and mingle. The
students with questions should read their questions aloud and those with answers
should read their responses. Make sure they don't show each other their cards.
When students think they have a matching pair, they can sit down. The activity
will go faster if the question cards are a different color than the answer cards.
Watch out for questions that could use more than one of your answers, or answers
that could be given for more than one of your questions. This will result in an odd
pair left over if students don't match your original question and answer correctly.
For multilevel groups, make some questions/answers harder and give these to the
higher level students. At the end, have all pairs read their questions and answers
to check them.
Fill-In-The-Blank (any literate level, individual or group)
Prepare a worksheet containing a text or song lyrics with key words blanked out.
For beginners you can blank out alphabet letters and not whole words, choosing
distinct sounds rather than silent letters. Then read the text or play the song and
let the learners fill in the blanks. You may need to repeat it 2-3 times. Then go
through the text (have learners take turns reading their answers) to check it. Ask
learners to spell the difficult words. You can focus this activity by choosing a
certain type of word to blank out (such as articles or "be" verbs) or just choose
random words. Be aware, though, that if you choose a lot of long words close to
each other the learners may have trouble keeping up with listening as they write.
This is also called a cloze exercise.
Problem-Solving (intermediate-advanced, group)
This works best with small groups. Present a problem (a scenario, possibly) and
give groups some time to discuss the best approaches or solutions and come to
agreement on a course of action. The problem should require a decision with pros
and cons and necessitate creative collaborative effort. It can be something like
deciding upon seven items to take along for a week in the wilderness, or choosing
between living in a 5-bedroom house in the city or a 1-bedroom cottage by a
mountain stream. Press learners to explain why they chose their answers.
Reading: Oral vs. Silent (any literate level, individual)
The skills used in oral reading are different from those used when reading silently.
Use oral reading sparingly to work on verbal presentation (pronunciation,
intonation) and be sure to allow time for silent reading. It's best to set a time limit
so the learners know just how much time they have, and you can flex it if your
estimate is off. When they read silently, learners will be able to absorb meaning
and look at English usage much more fully than when they read aloud. They will
also be able to tackle longer passages.
Freewriting (any literate level, individual)
Give learners 5 minutes to just write their thoughts. You may guide them by
providing a question or topic (beginners will probably need guidance), or give them
complete freedom. Make sure they just write without worrying about errors. The
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idea is to get thoughts onto paper with whatever English is available. This can be a
warm-up for a more formal writing assignment or just a jump start for thinking in
English.
Short Composition (any literate level, individual)
Unlike freewriting, learners need to edit their work. You should provide a topic or
visual stimulus (full page magazine pictures work well) and circulate among the
students as they write. By allowing time to write during the lesson (as opposed to
homework) you give them a chance to ask you questions and refine their work. You
can also have learners pair up to read each other's work and make suggestions. At
the end, ask learners to volunteer to read their compositions to the group, but be
careful about requiring everyone to share. You can customize your topic to
practice specific English forms. For example, ask past/future questions to work on
verb forms, or practice prepositions by showing a picture of a room and asking
learners to describe the locations of all the objects they can identify. You may also
ask advanced learners to summarize and respond to a brief reading passage.
Flash Cards (any level, individual or group)
Flash cards can be used for simple vocabulary drills, numbers, or memory games.
Avoid using cards that translate a native language word into English. Rather,
choose or make cards that use pictures or symbols to prompt English answers. Of
course this isn't an issue if you're using numbers. Try including mathematical
equations, too, or time-telling clocks.
Dictation (any literate level, individual or group)
Say a sentence at natural speed and ask learners to write down what you said.
You'll probably need to repeat several times. Don't slow down your speed unless it's
absolutely necessary. Then ask a learner to read the sentence to check it. Finally,
write it for all to see (or ask an advanced student to write it) and then say it again
a few times at natural speed. For a twist, ask a learner to dictate a sentence for
the rest of the group. Learners will be thrilled if their teacher (you) can correctly
understand what