So you are going to be teaching ESL to adults? Well, they are different from teaching hyper kindergarteners or high schoolers trying to pass an English exam. Most adults want to apply their learned materials in a real-life situation. Like all things, you will improve with experience, but I’m going to tell you few tips on how you can satisfy them and make you look like a halfway decent ESL instructor right away.
5 Simple Tips for Teaching ESL
1. Look the part:
No more cartoon t-shirts and jeans you wore to your kindergarten class. Teaching ESL to adults will require you to look like a professional and wear a formal suit or semi-formal attire when teaching adults. At the very least you want to match what your students are wearing. If the class is held in the company meeting room during work hours where everyone is wearing a suit and a tie, you need to do so as well.
3. Always have a lesson objective:
You need to always have a lesson objective or a class goal and let the students know what it is before beginning the class. You can write it on the board and tell your students very clearly, “Class, our objective for the class today is…….”.
3. Professionalism over entertainment:
If your students think they are learning from you, they will respect you. If your students think you are funny and nice, they will like you as a person. If you can do both, you will be a great teacher. However, focus on being a respected teacher first. When it comes to teaching ESL to adults, you don’t need to act like a clown or tell inappropriate jokes to be an effective teacher. You just need to act like a professional, teach them something or make them think you are teaching them something. Most adult students take the class voluntarily, unlike the grade-schoolers who are forced to take English classes. They want to learn.
4. Error corrections and feedback:
Teaching ESL to adults requires you to give them error corrections and feedback. I would recommend giving error correction and feedback at the end of the class. This is a good opportunity for you to teach your students something new. Whether you teach them a new grammar rule or teach them more natural expressions, students will remember the end of the class more than any other part of the class. If you wow them or give them an “aha” moment, they will think the class was productive.
5. Teaching ESL requires consistency:
Everyone has a different teaching style and different students have different needs, so it’s important you make your lesson plans accordingly. However, you need to be consistent with your class structure and your teaching style. You can’t be super serious one day and be a clown the following day. If you start your class with a review, do a review before class for every class. Being consistent in how you teach will make you look more prepared and professional.
If you keep those five tips in mind and put it to use, teaching ESL to adults should be a breeze. You will pass as a respectable and competent ESL instructor. You will be able to figure out the details and strategies for becoming a more effective instructor with experience. However, looking the part, having a lesson plan, being a professional, giving feedback, and being consistent will get you started and get you to keep your teaching position so you can get the experience you need to become an awesome ESL instructor.
