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Angela Luisa Mauro

New member
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Italy
Dear teachers,
I am new in teaching today I have just found my first pupil but I have no idea where to begin. He is an adult and has never learnt English therefore I will have to start from scratch, he has asked me to explain the alphabet sounds etc as he has no idea about the language but I have no idea how and what to teach him as he has no bases.
Please can anybody advise me what is the best in teaching him to give him a good foundation.
Thankyou
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
If you have no idea of how or what to teach him, why did you take him on?

It would be better for you and your learners if your first clients were approximately at the same level as those you taught on your teaching practice lessons during your training.
 
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Kathvit

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Sep 15, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Belgium
Do you share an L1 with your student? Ask him what he wants to learn.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
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Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Get a beginner coursebook and use it if you haven't been trained.
 

teachforgood

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Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Great Britain
If he has never learnt English before, start at the very beginning. Like how he suggested, with the way alphabets sound. Go to YouTube and you will find plenty of rhymes to help you with this. Remember that a lot of language learning comes from students associating what they are learning to a language they already know. So first step for you would be to understand his background/
 

KatrinaB88

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Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Ireland
Current Location
Ireland
Hi

You don't give much information about your student. The langauage background of your student is important to know before you begin and also whether he has studied other foreign languages before. What are his expectations, what is his language goal? I'd suggest simply getting a beginner course book and going from there, supplementing that with lots of listening practice, using TV, pictures, papers etc. If you can take the class outside, into coffee shops, parks and so on, for some real life language experience. Trial and error at the beginning.

katrina
 

LeoAlberto

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Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Cuba
Current Location
Cuba
I think you should start by getting a full profile on your student learning motivations. It might help you decide what to teach first, then move on to take a closer look at his/her previous experiences with learning. If he has had a solid education then it might be easier to teach him/her because he may have found learning strategies. But to make things easier, go for the basics: the alphabet, numbers, and the traditional but always helpful ´Hi, my name´s...´
 

HoopsAustralia

New member
Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Can someone suggest course books that I could purchase?
I am a new teacher and feel I have been taught so much, but still feel I do not know enough.
 
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Joined
Nov 18, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Italy
Can someone suggest course books that I could purchase?
I am a new teacher and feel I have been taught so much, but still feel I do not know enough.

You can base your course around a good grammar book, like Matin Parrott's Grammar for English Language Teachers, but also you could make them read interesting texts from newspapers and magazines, that way you can show your students the direct application of the rules in there and also make the lesson more interesting and tolerable:) All the best!
 
Joined
Nov 18, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Italy
Dear teachers,
I am new in teaching today I have just found my first pupil but I have no idea where to begin. He is an adult and has never learnt English therefore I will have to start from scratch, he has asked me to explain the alphabet sounds etc as he has no idea about the language but I have no idea how and what to teach him as he has no bases.
Please can anybody advise me what is the best in teaching him to give him a good foundation.
Thankyou


Why don't you start with just the basic rules of phonetics and each lesson give him some words to learn and practice. Build his vocabulary a bit: main verbs, nouns we use on the daily basis, etc. When he's got enough material inside his mind, start introducing the structure of sentences, that way he can build simple sentences like "I like ice cream", start from there. I mainly teach kids who come with no knowledge of English language whatsoever and I admit it sometimes feels like you're in front of a ton of bricks and you are asked to build a house from that. The key is to give the student enough material to build his knowledge with, i.e. words, word structures. Don't be distressed by the fact that you move slowly in the beginning. Hope this helps!
 
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