Have you ever taught someone any foreign language? Is English a second language for you? Teaching English as a second language is very challenging even for experienced and skilled teachers too. You can confront people who can’t say even a single word of that language and want to learn. At that moment, you have to prepare yourself for a challenging task because it is not less than teaching a newborn baby.
You need to work hard and have patience while communicating with them and your task is to teach them the way you talk with them. You have to go and check out the background of every single student because you must be aware of how will they learn better so that you can be able to teach them.
Helping a student learn a foreign language as a second language is very challenging but rewarding too. I am an English teacher and I know how much it needs effort and hard work. Because you have to teach students a different language, therefore, they have no idea how to start it from. Teaching English as a second language sometimes seems like walking on the hot burning fire.
In this modern era everyone wants to get to a higher position therefore, we have to bring new tips and changes to make sure our students perceive better. The trick is that we should not teach students as a teacher but as a student because we will be able to feel the students better. To help some English teachers right there I have brought 10 tips on how to teach English as a Second Language.Â
How to Teach English as a Second Language
1. Prepare and plan before teaching
Every experienced teacher knows the importance of planning and preparing himself/herself before going to teach the students. Try to make plans for your students before starting the lessons because you have no idea that what will your students ask from you or will they understand what you teach or not. Therefore, preparing before teaching is better than directly starting the lesson.
The first expression is the last impression therefore, it will really show how will you introduce a new language to your students. It can whether make your students interested in learning it or make them bored. Preparing and planning give you the chance to know whether your students are satisfied with your work or it needs improvements. Don’t teach them without preparing the lesson because you can even make your plan flop. Just bring different quizzes for the lessons you teach them so that they should find out the answers by themselves.
2. Use simple and clear words
Teaching English is not an easy task at all. Being a teacher, I have experienced the difficulties students go through while they decide to learn English. Therefore, this is the most essential tip for teachers to follow when teaching English as a second language. Of course, by using difficult words you actually make your speech way tougher and complicated for them to understand. That is why you should use simple and easy words in order to make them understand your speech easily.
When teaching your students a foreign language then try to use simpler words to describe your words. Use simple vocabulary and words until the time your students don’t understand the basics. Always remember to start with simple and easy methods to make your students perceive easily.
3. Be supportive and appreciative
Students need appreciation and motivation while trying to learn something. And learning a foreign language is not an easy task. Therefore, make sure to let them make mistakes and don’t get afraid of you. Most students commit a lot of errors while learning a new language therefore, support them and make them feel free by making mistakes. And don’t forget to remind them that they have to correct their mistakes.
Don’t disappoint your students because of not answering a question. Give them a while to find the answer and find out new methods of answering the questions. Never hesitate while teaching your students. Always be passionate and teach the lesson until the time they don’t understand. By your motivation and appreciation, they might learn a foreign language easily.
4. Use different methods for teaching
As every teacher has her/his way of teaching. But yet sometimes a teacher needs improvements for teaching better. If you are a beginner then you have to follow some seniors techniques so that you can improve your teaching skills. Different techniques include playing games with students, quizzes, talk shows, discussions, presentations, and projects.
From these all whatever technique you select, you have to follow the instructions too. Some teachers take a break in between their teaching. So it also works for younger students who don’t understand easily. You can teach them for twenty minutes and then can take a break for a while then again you can start over. So there are different ways to teach English better.
5. Use Technology
In this modern era, teachers learn by teaching also. Now it has not remained the time when teachers used to teach the students with chalk and blackboards. They were only writing on the blackboard and didn’t know what to say and how to start the lesson. But in today’s digital age, the use of technology has become a vital need of our generation. Even the teachers need this source so that they can be able to make their students perceive the lessons quickly.
We know that today’s students mostly depend on technology therefore, using the technology for teaching the lessons is the best way. Because students study more on their phones rather than books. They will focus more on their studies because the mobile phone is their best friend. So that’s why technology plays an important role in the development of the students. They can use the technology for the learning process.
6. Recommend your students books to read
This is another great way to help you make your students learn a foreign language fast. I remember when I was a student my teacher was always recommending different books to read. English is my second language therefore, I had to read books in order to improve my English. So this tip 100% works because the students may find some new vocabulary for their use by reading books. Reading books always works best when you want to learn a new language. Books are our best friends therefore, we can learn from them a lot more than we think.
7. Recommend your students movies to watch
My teacher always recommended us to watch English movies or even cartoons in order to learn English quickly. We know that most students are interested in watching movies and cartoons so if your students are one of them then this tip is for you. They might learn better and quicker with the help of watching English movies. So if they are interested in watching movies then why they should not do what they like the most. In this method, they can learn that language too. You should recommend movies or cartoons that are interesting and simple words and phrases are used in it. So that they can understand well. So sometimes watching movies and cartoons also work.
8. Make the lessons interesting
It is very boring to study a foreign language for hours and hours without taking a break. Don’t you get bored studying a lengthy lesson? Of course, every student wants to enjoy studying but how is it possible. Make sure to keep your students’ attention inside the classroom. For doing that you need to double your hard work and break the lessons into smaller sections.
And as well as you have to take a break after each section you complete so that your students don’t lose their interest in learning. You can play games that they are interested in or you can bring quizzes for them to concentrate on finding out the answers to the questions too. In this way, they can learn better and as well as they will not be bored.
9. Assign them homework
Do you know why were you always assigned homework by your teachers? What is the importance of doing homework? Actually, students are assigned homework so that they should focus more on their studies while writing their homework down. By doing homework teachers can easily find the errors students commit. And then students can improve their mistakes with the help of doing homework.
When I was a student, I had a lot of homework to do because our teacher always assigned us for letting us know what mistakes do we make and how to improve them. So now, we can come to this conclusion that teachers must assign homework to their students so that they should focus more on their studies.
10. Set some rules for your students
Rules are always important for teaching something because without the rules and regulations everyone can do whatever they want. So, therefore, in order to teach your students better-set rules for them. When I was a student, I had to follow several rules in order to learn English quickly. One of those rules was not making any absentees. When a student is making a lot of absentees then he/she will not learn thoroughly any structure the whole semester. Therefore, we had to follow them so that we didn’t miss any of the lessons that our teacher teach us. Teachers must set certain rules and regulations for their students so that they should learn a foreign language quickly and easily.
Once every teacher was a student so similarly one day every student will be a teacher therefore, they must follow some tips that will help them teach English as a second language better. So what are you waiting for? Come and have a look at them. What do you think about the article? What else have I missed to mention in the article? Please feel free to share your feedback in the comments section below. You can share your points of view on this topic.Â