teaching english to beginners
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Some thoughts, top tips and practical ideas for teaching English to beginners.TRANSCRIPT
Teaching BeginnersFree voiced over presentation and ‘Grammar for language
teachers’ course available at elt-training.com
Jo Gakonga
Some thoughts
Starting from zero got nothin’ to lose… Tracey Chapman
..but first words are the hardest to remember
But may have had bad experiences before..
Ls will learn quickly may be very motivated…
It can be very frustrating…
Be empathetic…
They may have a low sense of esteem in language learning
Build their confidence
They may have very different expectations of a class
L2 only?Using L1 for translation and explanation is more efficient
Using L2 only may be motivating…
Literate in Roman script?
Feeling infantalised
..depressing and discouraging.
Don’t talk down to them.
Try to incorporate relevant vocabulary and themes.
You have been going to your class for about 3-4 weeks. Would you prefer to have learnt:
a) a small amount of language thoroughly b) a larger amount of language, not so precisely.
Remember language is organic…
.and the curriculum is cyclical…
Top Tips
Keep your language simple.
‘It all seems like a meaningless torrent.’
Demonstrate rather than explain.
Check meaning with concept questions
Instructions
Explanations
Visuals
Get good at drawing!
short activities and
changes of pace
Beginners get tiredquickly
I add loads of gesturing, face expressions, acting out, smiling, speed-changing, intonation. You, teacher, must enjoy classes.
Add energy!
I add loads of gesturing, face expressions, acting out, smiling, speed-changing, intonation. You, teacher, must enjoy classes.
Gesture/ mime/intonation
What to teach
As a total beginner in a language, what do you think you would like to learn first?
Colours,number etc are tempting because they are finite,
but they’re not that helpful
Give
to the language they will need first..
Greetings
Cover the walls with useful phrases…
How do you say ---?
I don’t understand.
What does --- mean?
Can I --- please?
Personalised language
I’ve got…
Ask them what they want to say in L1
A silent phase?
TPR
otalhysicalesponse
Functional language shopping, in a café
A: Hello, what would you like?B: I’ll have a black coffee, please.A: Anything to eat?B: Do you have any cake?A: Yes, we’ve got some nice chocolate cake.B: Great. I’ll have a piece of that. Thanks
Drilling
May not be very fashionable but really useful at low levels
DrillingChoral drilling
In pairs, in groups, individualMumble drilling
Chanting (to music)
Grammar as chunks of language
Would you like…. ?
Did you ----?
I don’t want…
There’s a…
High frequency High surrender value
Cognates are helpful
Exploit this, but beware of false friends
Flashcards – a vocab box
Recycling
They
on
sentences
cards
can
make
Situational PPP
I want you Fiona!
From: Streamlines Departures By Bernard Hartley & Peter Viney Unit 30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_VdE1INmZ8
Listening
www.elllo.org
http://elllo.org/video/1251/V1270-Sorie-WeekendCity.htm
Picture stories
forreading
and speaking
A country woman goes to the city for the first time. She sees buses, cars and tall buildings.
She goes into a building an looks around. She sees an old, old man standing next to some doors. He presses a button and the doors open.
He goes inside and the lights over the doors change – 1-2-3-4-5 and back again 5-4-3-2-1.
The doors open and a young, handsome man walks out. The country woman said ‘That’s fantastic – tomorrow, I’m going to bring my husband!’.
Practise, practise,
practise….. ……and then revise it all.
Thank you!
Jo Gakonga