English Beginner

[schoolteacher]

Hi, I'm new here and would like to ask anyone who has had some experience teaching English to beginners. I am a primary school teacher and have decided to do some extra work teaching English to adult beginners. However, I'm not sure where to start. I already have my first student that I have met for the first time.

His native language is Arabic and after assessing him,there were some minor problems throughout my introduction lesson.1. He does not wait for me to finish a word and then pronunciation is incorrect. 2. Although he has some ability, he is finding it difficult with his self esteem as his friends have been making fun of him when he is incorrect. 3. He says in the past he does not practice English.

My problem is structuring the lesson and also where do I start? Do I start with the alphabet and numbers? As I have taught primary education and in high school this is a difficult avenue for me but I'm keen to teach English to Adults. Hope you can help.:lol:

 

[phrasemix]

Hi schoolteacher,
I have a few years of experience teaching adults at different levels of English in this kind of one-on-one setting. Without knowing much about the situation, I would strongly discourage going to the alphabet and other really low-level basics. Not that he might not need it, but I think that there's a pride aspect that will get in the way.

What I always try to do is to respond to the interests of the person I'm teaching. If he's learning English for travel purposes, try to introduce some travel phrases. If he's into cooking, go through all the vegetables and cooking implements. Lessons grouped around a functional purpose (buying something, describing your family, introducing yourself) are a lot more engaging than ones organized all around some category of vocabulary or some grammar point.

In these one-on-one lessons, I usually build up vocabulary and grammar plans after the fact. I'll listen to what the student is trying to say, and then give him 3 or 4 other options for things to say in that situation. I'll write them down. After the lesson, I'll type in the notes, re-organize them, expand on them a bit, and e-mail them to the student. That then becomes the basis for review at the beginning of the next lesson.

I think this kind of approach is very effective, and it's also something that my students really appreciate from a "customer service" perspective.