Teaching a beginner.

[Soup Chicken]

If I'm posting in the wrong place, please guide me to the appropriate page.

I want to teach a friend of mine English, just enough for him to, say, grasp what his Engineering books are trying to tell him. As some of you might have noticed, I am not very good at it myself. But, he can't afford classes and I really don't want a language to be the thing that stops him from doing what he wants to. So, can someone please guide me as to how I should begin and which topics I need to start with? Also, how should I assess him before beginning to teach him?

 

[Tdol]

Why don't you get him to bring in some of his engineering texts that he has already read and see what his comprehension is like- start asking him about the information and you will soon get an idea of his level and how he is coping and what he needs to learn. I would take photocopies of some texts and chunks of them, then use them in class as a basis for teaching.

 

[doteyescrossts]

Yes, I agree with Tdol. Conduct a needs analysis. What are his goals, preferred learning styles, and so on?

 

[emsr2d2]

Note that there is going to be a big difference between teaching general English to a beginner and getting someone to understand technical jargon of Engineering books.