How to teach english to beginners?

HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH TO BEGINNERS

Uzoqova Maxbuba Saydulloyevna

English teacher at school # 3 Navoi city Phone number: 90 732 68 28

Annotation. The idea of teaching English to beginners (who have little or no knowledge of English) can strike fear in the hearts of new TEFL teachers, especially if they don’t know the students’ language. Teachers may wonder if it’s possible to teach this level or where to even start. We’ll give you practical advice on how to teach English to beginners and tools you can use in your classroom to get them excited about developing their English skills. 

Key words : TEFL teachers, EFL student, CEFR, interview, Total Physical Response, beginners

What is the definition of a beginner ESL student?

First things first – let’s start with an overview of student levels. English students are typically classified (by a placement test or interview) as either beginner-level, intermediate-level, or advanced-level learners. Some schools have levels between these, too, such as high beginners. There are also several popular, more in-depth classification systems, such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which assigns students to six different categories. However, using the general three terms (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) is a worldwide practice. The following is a breakdown of the principal characteristics of each level.

Beginner. A beginner English student is focused on learning essential vocabulary, such as family names, household objects, basic adjectives, and place names. Beginners are also becoming familiar with subject pronouns, frequently used verbs, and modal expressions. They may study some grammar and syntax, but these lessons will mostly focus on basic concepts, such as asking questions or constructing simple sentences. It’s worth noting that most students are not total beginners, as they have had some exposure to English, whether through movies and music or basic school lessons during younger years. These students are known as “false beginners” because they don’t have enough skills to be considered intermediate but still have some basic English knowledge. Intermediate. An intermediate learner has mastered the basics, can communicate most ideas in a basic way and is moving on to learn more difficult verb tenses and grammatical structures. These students usually show more rapid progress and may seek to expand their vocabulary in order to vary the language they use. Advanced. Advanced English students able to easily communicate and are fine-tuning their language skills and striving to sound more and more like native English speakers. They learn more autonomously and may be interested in working with authentic English resources, such as journal publications, magazine articles, and podcasts. Is it difficult to teach ESL to beginners? TEFL certification courses prepare you to teach English language learners of all levels; however, teaching beginners can be more difficult for the obvious reason that they won’t understand most of what you say in English. This can make giving instructions for activities more difficult and using immersion teaching (teaching completely in English) more of a challenge. Sometimes, immersion teaching will be the preferred method of the school or institute where you work, and other times it will be necessary due to teaching a class of students with various L1s (first languages). However, these difficulties can be overcome, and there are plenty of effective ways to approach teaching beginners. Where is it common to teach total beginners English?

Total beginners are taught all over the world, and these students are a diverse group of people. You can find opportunities to teach immigrant adult beginners in your native English-speaking home country, or you can travel abroad and teach a range of ages.

While adult total beginners can be found in most countries, Asian countries like China and South Korea put a strong emphasis on children learning English, so most situations involving teaching beginners are with young learners. There are tons of job opportunities to teach these young learners in Asia if you’re looking to go abroad!

Do new TEFL teachers usually teach English to beginners?

Most often, new teachers will not teach many classes of total beginners because the local, bilingual teachers at a language school or K-12 setting tend to teach lower-level students until they’re ready for 100% English immersion. However, that isn’t always the case, and many ESL teachers are required to teach a range of levels, so you may find yourself with a class of total beginners as part of your daily teaching schedule.

Is it possible to teach beginner ESL students without knowing their language?

You can certainly teach beginners without knowing the local language! In fact, most TEFL teachers don’t know the language where they teach. Sometimes knowing the language won’t even benefit you if you have a class full of people from all over the world. Other times, your employer may want you to abstain from using the students’ native language even if you know it, to provide an immersive English experience. Immersion teaching is a method that has become more widely accepted in recent years, and there are plenty of benefits for students to learn this way.

What are some tips for teaching English to beginners?

These are some examples of the types of techniques you’ll learn in BridgeTEFL courses to prepare you to teach beginners and other students.

Use Total Physical Response (TPR). Total physical response (TPR) is a fantastic way to teach English to both adult and young beginners. TPR is a method that prescribes using your body and facial expressions to relay meaning. TPR is so successful because no matter where in the world you are, everyone can understand certain gestures and expressions. For example, when using TPR to teach “cat,” you might hold your fingers up to your cheeks to imitate whiskers, or when teaching the word “hop,” you could demonstrate the action. Show plenty of pictures. Another great way to get beginners to understand you is to incorporate images into your lessons. Pictures are a nice way to relay meaning without confusing students, and they work well for learners of all ages. Plus, students may benefit from associating the images with the English words, which can aid memorization. Incorporate props. All beginners will benefit from incorporating props into your teaching. It helps convey meaning and reinforces your lesson material. You can use either props or realia (real-life objects) to teach vocabulary, form the basis of an activity or game, or test comprehension.

It’s understandable that you may feel intimidated if you don’t know how to teach English to beginners! However, keep in mind that most new TEFL teachers will have few classes with students at this level. If you do, approaching the class with patience, confidence, and some tried-and-true activities for teaching beginner students will help both you and your students succeed.

Literature:

1. https://bridge.edu/

2.teachaway.com