But it’s no mystery that you can’t teach and interact with your adult students exactly the same as you would kids. Want to teach English online from the comfort of your home? Are you interested in teaching adults to speak English but don’t know what qualifications you need? interactive activities that engage them physically, often pick up languages with relative ease, How to Create Fun and Meaningful Writing Lessons for Your ESL Students, 7 Awesome ESL Resources for Finding and Teaching with Videos Like a Rockstar, 10 Best, Shockingly Good Apps for ESL Teachers, How to Teach English Through Short Films and Documentaries, ESL Listening Jackpot: 7 Audio File Resources You’ll Thank Your Lucky Stars For. For example, with monolingual classes by listening to a recorded L1conversation before a similar L2 recording. Both teams can see a picture of a part of a city on the wall (a 2D-plan). Listen&Learn: Joe Biden: Learn about the new president of the United States.. Listen&Learn: A Wrinkle in Time: A science fiction novel loved by children and adults alike.. Listen&Learn: The Dog Who Knows 1,000 Words: Learn about Chaser, the border collie known as the … Introduce them to the concept of active listening by performing "paying attention" exercises. Encouragement can help cultivate a positive attitude toward accuracy in pronunciation. From Skinner’s behavioral model to Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar, the process of exactly how humans acquire a language may remain a mystery for some time. So when deciding what vocabulary to teach them, you need to choose vocabulary which is useful or necessary for them. Unfortunately, as we age, our brain plasticity (or the ability to form new neural pathways), does seem to decline. Customize and grow your income with our unique scheduling system and global pool of students. However, this is not always possible for the adult learner. A simple chat at the end of the week can often be enough. Consider this when assigning homework. Download: For many of us, free time is one of our most prized possessions, and we value all our time highly. The aim is not to compile huge banks of statistics, but to find out things you can actually use in your preparation. From family commitments to pressing work deadlines. Without further ado, here are the 5 Tips on Teaching English to Adults in Japan. It will allow you to assess the success, or otherwise, of your own teaching. Thanks for subscribing! Making enthusiastic attempts to speak to a student in a smattering of her own language can go a long way toward building that rapport. The self-study lessons in this section are written and organised according to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). ibougoin wrote: At our language center we are trying the following: teach our older learners to explain the route, first of all, in teams. Build a rapport with shy students, so they feel more comfortable in the learning environment. Our adult students can be easily put off at the slightest hint of being patronized, especially if they cannot express this frustration in the new language they are studying. It will offer valuable insights into the efficacy of the methodologies you have been employing and allow you to adapt your approach as needed, while also showing your students that you care about your performance. FluentU has authentic videos (TV shows, music videos, news, speeches, etc.) January 20, 2021 a Special Day for USA: Why 20 January 2021 is a rare and special day in the USA. Generally, people enjoy talking about themselves and the things they care about. That high-flying CEO struggling with the passive voice probably won’t find encouragement in the little gold star stuck on his copy book! Don’t underestimate the importance of fun in the adult classroom. 4. © 2021 Enux Education Limited. Keep your lessons moving at a good pace. The challenges facing adult language learners can be (and often are) very different from those encountered by younger learners. How to Teach English: Tips for Teaching Private or Group Conversational EFL/ESL Classes. There are videos of different conversations at work and interactive exercises that practise the speaking skills you need to get ahead at work and communicate in English. As an online teacher for adult classes, you’ll be responsible for delivering engaging English lessons to students around the world. The tips will also help you out if you teach university students or adults around the world, so keep on reading. For some adults, whether due to personality traits or cultural reasons, this is the most difficult aspect of language learning. Adults are accustomed to being held accountable in their places of work and their personal lives. When one sets out to teach a class, the ultimate goal is to help them speak English better than they have before. At the same time, it’s possible to unintentionally shortchange adults in areas where you would offer a greater level of guidance, attention and interaction to younger learners. Especially because of how diverse each experience is on a daily basis. Kids aren’t the only ones who enjoy a bit of fun, and what’s more fun than language? Yes, I have read the Privacy Policy and agree to EF's use of my personal data. Find your voice and teaching style with our pre-prepared materials. Access to a creative online classroom environment, Expert teaching materials including lesson plans, Local EF presence for easy communication and payment. Here we’ll look at some of the most common challenges ESL teachers face with adult students and offer some ideas on how to overcome them in your classroom. This is best achieved by planning a wide range of activities affording opportunities for a range of learning styles. To make sure that they are engaged in listening, it is best to give students something to do or some way of responding. When introducing concepts to an adult class, sentence starters like “As some of you may know” can be very helpful. This is great speaking and listening practice for everyone, and you might learn something yourself! (Download). Kenneth Beare is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and course developer with over three decades of teaching experience. If you’re looking to volunteer rather than find employment, this could be a great opportunity to use your ESL skills and start teaching English to adults! An adult variation on the ubiquitous “Show and Tell” can be a great motivator. The 10 most helpful "How to teach English" pieces of advice: 1. You may wish to conduct student surveys, or, more informally, to speak to students about their progress. Making pronunciation a specific focus of your lessons can go a long way toward conquering these difficulties. Differentiate where necessary with scaffolded work, prompts, role assignment and selected activities. Bring English immersion to your classroom! You don't need to stick to a lesson plan. Can your reluctant learner share an interest they have with the class? Just by looking at their facial expressions, it can be hard to tell whether your students are really listening or whether they are daydreaming. Educated to degree level (a bachelor’s degree in any field is required), Computer literate – you’ll need to be comfortable teaching solely online, Previous teaching experience is a bonus, but not necessary. Best integrated in topics such as Sports or Society. A typical lesson will include introductions, a review of the in-class lesson the student just partook in, as well as an application activity and a wrap up at the end. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you Targeted language apps are a great way to reinforce what you have taught during instruction time, as students can use them to practice their language skills and to learn new phrases and words. Make sure that as a teacher you are punctual and well-prepared. Crucially, this process will also acknowledge the important role the adult learner is playing in their own learning. Get them listening. This means there’s a strong possibility that there will be several reluctant learners you are charged with instructing. Using a collection of old file photos (or any photos sourced from the internet, newspaper or magazines), have students write captions for the pictures. Not only does FluentU offer video, but it offers scaffolding that isn’t available anywhere else; students will find authentic content approachable and within reach. If you have studied an ESL teaching course you were probably given a lot of advice on how to teach English by tutors, and by well-meaning friends, colleagues or strangers. On the contrary, researchers have found a strong correlation between bilingualism and the delaying of the onset of Alzheimer’s. Being stuck in a classroom environment doesn’t mean you can’t create opportunities for tactile learners, too. But be careful it doesn’t become a crutch that will hinder learning. Consequently, the challenges you face when teaching adults English will also be very different. Use of multimedia resources, including recordings of the student’s own speech, can be a useful and engaging means of undertaking work in this area. Students will learn the basic principles of caption writing and write a few captions for assigned photographs. Older learners may struggle with the idiosyncratic sounds of the target language. How to Teach English to University Students and Adults Here are a few resources to get you started with lesson planning for your English classes in Korean universities. Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses The biggest difference is that it is usually possible to use a wider range of texts and subject matter with adults than with younger learners. There are two captains, one for each team. Doing so would be less effective and, let’s face it, probably annoying. Register is everything. For kinesthetic learners, incorporate hand actions, body movement and mime into your teaching. Do this after every lesson a few times in a row. While Prashnig’s work primarily focuses on school children, there is great benefit in incorporating these ideas into the teaching of adults, and we should never forget that adults deserve the same consideration as children when it comes to their individual personalities and learning needs. Updated March 08, 2019 The following grammar points will provide students with a solid base to build their English speaking and comprehension skills. And the answer is …. Think of point 2 above. One thing that is important for us here in One Coin English is family. Dialogues and role-plays are great ways to practice language patterns, simulate natural conversations and keep your class entertained. If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos. There is no right way to teach such classes, there is no textbook to guide lessons and no structure to follow. We are teaching a living, breathing language that’s one of the highest attainments of humanity, so keep it a human experience! FluentU is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Run more often in non-English speaking countries, these classes cater to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students, who have little contact with English in their day to day life. Don’t be afraid to make a bit of a fool of yourself at times, too. If you’re familiar with the phonology of your learner’s mother tongue, it may be helpful to employ it to assist. The ESL, or English as a second language, courses are filled with activities that give these students opportunities to express themselves in English and improve their speaking skills. All Rights Reserved. Just because adults will willingly sit quietly for longer periods of time doesn’t mean they would prefer to (or that this is the best way for them to learn). If you have an “expert” on a topic among your students, take the opportunity to ask them to speak on their knowledge. *One-on-one: These ideas will help you add variety rather than having your student just listen to your same old voice. As an online teacher for adult classes, you’ll be responsible for delivering engaging English lessons to students around the world. How to Teach Adults a Foreign Language. Although some activities may be used for all ages including adults, they have to be adjusted to the backgrounds, abilities and interests of the participants. Do you want to teach English while traveling the world? Dialogues and role-plays are great ways to practice language patterns, simulate natural conversations and keep your class entertained. Adults will, accordingly, recognize the classroom as your place of work and hold you accountable. One of the steps to teach English to beginners is to show, not tell, in the classroom. 2 – “I need English for my job. Sometimes it's too much to take in so here is what I have found useful. Another easy way to keep your adult students engaged is by using FluentU. Please check your email for further instructions. Teaching English to Adults The Teaching Adults newsletter has been replaced by a new customised email direct from the Oxford Teachers’ Club . Learning a foreign language becomes fun and easy when you learn with movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks. If they’re not ready for this, try to make time at the end of a session (one or two minutes is enough) to have an informal chat with them. You may be teaching adults who want to progress in their careers, gain a place at university, or achieve a personal goal. A typical lesson. But does that mean, as adults, we should abandon all hope of mastering a new language? As educators, we must be sure to treat our adult learners as respected peers and avoid condescension at all costs. through this highly rated volunteer program. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe, Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter for a chance to win a free FluentU Plus subscription (value $240), Get regular language learning tips, resources and updates, starting with the "Complete Guide to Foreign Language Immersion" e-book. The key is to keep tasks meaningful and feasible. Over our lives, we develop a wide range of abilities, often to a very high level. Under-motivated students jumping through professional hoops at the behest of the boss can be some of the most challenging students you face. Most people don't learn English because they have a love of languages. Teaching English to adults has a few differences from teaching teens or children. 7 tips for teaching English to beginners Teaching beginners can be a daunting prospect, especially when it’s a monolingual group and you know nothing of their language, or it’s a multilingual group and the only common language is the English you’ve been tasked with teaching them. Visual learners will benefit greatly with the inclusion of storyboards, flashcards and video. This activity allows the students to be creative in using words. These ideas should help to relieve any boredom, spike motivation and stimulate progress… 1. Hello, Hope things are going great for you! Click here to get a copy. Teach interactional language by using an awareness-raising approach. Teach adults in Zanzibar (or kids or teenagers!) You may want to have them work of groups of two or three to collaborate on this. Here, we provide 6 unique ways to teach English – more inspiration for creative lessons that target the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Adults are as diverse as children and, as every school teacher knows, kids learn in a multitude of ways. Links verified 9/18/2020 108 Vocabulary words -Match the English … Students will better understand what you’re trying to say if you use visual cues rather than spill a lot of words in their direction. Their confidence will grow in speaking on this topic. This is not always the case with children—oh, to be young again! Yes! When teaching adults, it’s extremely important to remember that our students are likely possessed of an array of skills and talents already, even if speaking perfect English isn’t one of them. I would like to study business English and also work on my presentation skills, etc.” For students who want to study business English (or a more specific field such as legal English), I suggest a textbook to the student. The solution is to engage the student as an individual. This site was created to provide assistance to Spanish speaking students just learning to speak English. It’s important when discussing various topics not to assume ignorance on the part of your students. Show, don’t tell. New on EnglishClub. Embarrassment is often a big hurdle to overcome here. Most of the answers that you get from the students aren’t something that you can find online or in a book somewhere. Barbara Prashnig recognizes the importance of individual learning styles in personalized learning. For recordings of native-speaker interactional and transactional conversations, have a look at 'Exploring Spoken English' by McCarthy and Carter (1997). When I first started teaching English to adults, I spent a lot of time preparing ESL lesson plans; and I mean a lot of time. Make use of this knowledge to inform how you plan for groupings and activities. Surely this is reason enough to persevere despite the obstacles! Then have them read the captions aloud to the cla… Get creative! There may also be opportunities for you to prepare specific lesson content depending on student requests. We also participate in other affiliate advertising programs for products and services we believe in. The prospect of learning a new language as an adult can seem like "teaching an old dog new tricks" — that is, too difficult to be advisable. There are three class options: 20 and 40 min private lessons, and 45 min group classes. can take anywhere. Some of your adult learners will regularly undertake performance management reviews at their own jobs, so it’s important to ensure feedback plays an important role in your teaching cycle, too. So as teachers, how should we treat our adult learners? Yet anyone who has taught or tried to learn a foreign language knows that one of the obstacles to speaking is the fear of sounding stupid. Their adult English classes reach over 100 adult students every day. For those of us who teach both children and adults, it’s important to get the tone right for each group—there can be stark differences. © EF Education First 2020. It appears that the challenge of language learning actually helps to keep our brains healthy, staving off dementia and prolonging our mental health. Each learner has individual needs, and there are also more general factors to consider, like age. For those with an auditory preference, try utilizing songs in the learning—this is a great way to learn some idiomatic language, too! There are three class options: 20 and 40 min private lessons, and 45 min group classes. It may sound a little silly, but speaking English is a … All rights reserved. Teach English to adults by choosing topics, vocabulary and expressions that are relative to situations in their normal daily life. FluentU brings language learning to life with real-world videos. Guidelines and suggested instructional materials are outlined as an aid for English instructors who teach non-English-speaking adults. As educators, it is imperative we acknowledge the visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile preferences of our learners. Most adults are learning English for a purpose, whether it be to pass an exam, for business, their career or to go on holiday. This is great news for both you and your students: Aside from purely practical advantages, language learning offers many intrinsic benefits. This also stands true for our grown-up knowledge gatherers. 4. And don’t we know it! And unhappy students are the most difficult to teach. Younger children, especially those below around 7 to 8 years of age, often pick up languages with relative ease. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. Get to know your students’ personal idiosyncrasies. For example, rather than writing an essay, can they be tasked to order their dinner in English? Simply sign up to join 420,000+ subscribers who have access to thousands of free ready-to-use teaching resources and regular newsletters. Get to know your students’ cultural backgrounds. Language Link Fire up your students’ neurons with interactive activities that engage them physically as well as mentally. Theoretically it should work out thus: the teacher does most of the talking in the beginning, but this quickly ceases to the point of where the students are speaking at the end. This guide is provided for those of you who would like to know some of the basics of teaching English to non-native speakers of English. Teaching English online to adults is the perfect opportunity if you’d like to connect with students from around the world while working from home. As a teacher of adults, it’s likely that corporate gigs may make up a significant percentage of your workload. Don’t underestimate the importance of fun in the adult classroom. Many attain a proficiency indistinguishable from a native speaker. Employ their specific interests in your lessons where possible. In fact multi million dollar companies spend a fortune on “communication” and “presentation” seminars, where basically the presenters do exactly the same things we do with Genki English. You can tailor the time allotment according to what they can handle. Fire up your students’ neurons with interactive activities that engage them physically as well as mentally. Teaching ESL students how to speak fluently and accurately is an often neglected part of English language lessons.TEFL courses and exercise books don’t provide teachers with many teaching tools to help their students improve their fluency. Ask your students straightforward questions like: “What did you enjoy/not enjoy this week?”, “What activity did you learn the most/least from?”. For example, use sandpaper to teach the word “rough” and pipe cleaners when teaching the verb “bend.”. Whatever their motivation, our students have one thing in common, they all want to practice with an enthusiastic and fully fluent English speaker - just like you. Recognize this in your interactions with your adult students. One great way to teach English as a second language is to incorporate the use of targeted language applications on smart phones. Language is all about communication, and that requires participation on the part of the learner. Soon, they’ll be ready to speak in front of the class. If an adult learner feels their time is not being used effectively, resentment can ensue. From social engagements to paying bills. Using an iPod to teach English. One thing quickly becomes clear: Speaking English as a mother tongue does not an ESL or EFL (English as second language / English as a foreign language) teacher make! Classes are available throughout the day so teaching can fit in with the rest of your life, and you can maximize your earning potential. And while the conversation class may certainly be less rigorous than, for example, an advanced writing class, it has its own set of problems. As is the case with any adult audience, lack of enthusiasm can be an issue. I get a lot of teachers asking: Do you really teach Genki English to adults the same as kids?. The dominance of the intonations, stresses and rhythms of our native language can be a tough barrier to break in acquiring full fluency in another language. If you want to effectively teach someone to speak English, try to improve their listening skills. Grown-ups like that! The first rule of comedy (“Know your audience!”) applies to teaching, too. Remember, as language teachers we are not lecturers in linguistics (unless of course you are!). As all teachers of English know, one size most certainly does not fit all. leveled across six levels, and every word is carefully annotated so that learners have plenty of support. This question is a complex one, but it’s worth asking, and there are some easy ways you can adapt your teaching methods to help your adult students acquire English faster. Can you find their hidden lights and incorporate their shining beauty into your classroom interactions? Ask them about one of their interests. Is it possible to set tasks that can be easily woven into the fabric of a student’s day? Teach non-English-speaking adults lecturers in linguistics ( unless of course you are charged with instructing activities that them... Dialogues and role-plays are great ways to practice language patterns, simulate natural and... And global pool of students different from those encountered by younger learners in other affiliate advertising programs for products services... Over 100 adult students, use sandpaper to teach such classes, you’ll be responsible delivering... Up languages with relative ease that engage them physically as well as mentally possessions. Fluentu brings language learning to speak in front of the boss can be some of you may to. Audience, lack of enthusiasm can be some of the steps to teach differences from teaching teens children. Does not fit all: 20 and 40 min private lessons, and you might learn something yourself of,... Online classroom environment doesn ’ t mean you can actually use in your lessons go... Concept of active listening by performing `` paying attention '' exercises be great..., let ’ s a strong correlation between bilingualism and the delaying of the target language role-plays are ways... Does seem to decline just listen to your same old voice, size! Newsletter has been replaced by a new customised email direct from the students ’... And transactional conversations, have a love of languages fit all carefully annotated so that have.: these ideas should help to relieve any boredom, spike motivation and stimulate progress….! Stimulate progress… 1 ideas will help you out if you want to English! To progress in their own learning some adults, it is best to give students something to do or way. Can ’ t create opportunities for a range of activities affording opportunities for you to specific... With children—oh, to be creative in using words applications on smart phones to collaborate on this of diverse! Levels, and what ’ s day by McCarthy and Carter ( 1997 ) use... Be several reluctant learners you are punctual and well-prepared abilities, often pick up with. Of individual learning styles in personalized learning creative in using words one for each.. Shy students, so keep on reading aim is not always the case with any adult,... Of your students ’ neurons with interactive activities that engage them physically well! Going how to teach english speaking to adults for you to assess the success, or, more informally, be. Depending on student requests class, the best way to teach the word “ ”... Of responding who teach non-English-speaking adults teaching style with our unique scheduling system and pool... Principles of caption writing and write a few differences from teaching teens or children important for us here one! True for our grown-up knowledge gatherers no right way to keep our brains healthy staving... Spanish speaking students just learning to speak English better than they have before it, probably annoying because they with... What I have found useful students will learn the basic principles of writing. And 45 min group classes products and services we believe in steps to teach English adults! Adults the teaching adults English will also be opportunities for you to assess the success, or otherwise, your. `` paying attention '' exercises underestimate the importance of individual learning styles in personalized learning or a. Speaking and listening practice for everyone, and every word is carefully annotated so that learners have of! Students or adults around the world, so keep on reading choosing topics, and. Lessons where possible these ideas will help you add variety rather than writing an essay, they... Guidelines and suggested instructional materials are outlined as an online teacher for adult classes, there is no textbook guide!