Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I teach one-on-one English classes to students of different ages and abilities.

Every student wants to work on their pronunciation, vocabulary and speaking. You may need to do a little digging to find out how to go about planning her lessons.

Start by asking her what her language goals are. Why does she want to improve her English? There’s a big difference between students who are studying to pass an exam and those who simply want to keep their conversation skills up.

Set a time line for your classes. Try a three month study period and set some goals for that time. Then re-evaluate once you’ve reached your time marker.

If your student is an adult, she should tell you what she expects from her lessons with you.

There are loads of ESL sites with ideas for lesson plans. The grand-daddy of them all is http://www.eslcafe.com
You could also try http://www.bogglesworldesl.com

Good luck!

I’m an aviation English teacher right now, which means I teach basic aviation vocabulary and basic flight theory. I’m not very strong in general ESL. Plus, I only have one book – Keep Talking by Friederike Klippel, which is great for activities, but has no lesson plans. On top of all of this, I’m really rather shy.

Any advice? Should I just have conversations with some vocabulary or more formal lessons? I think she is quite good with grammar. Any insight you can offer would be a huge help. I’ve just been reading your blog a bit and I can tell you must be a good teacher – your writing is very eloquent. Thanks!

First off, all the kids in these pictures were basic beginners when I first started teaching them. They had no previous exposure to English prior to my classroom.

Basic beginners or ‘zero beginners’ are always a challenge to teach, because you have to find other ways to get through to your students without relying on the use of English. I use a lot of energy and move around a lot when I’m in these types of situations. I rely on my body language and noises to express my pleasure or displeasure with my students.

Games and activities have to be age and level appropriate. I don’t use any games that require a lot of explanation unless I have someone in the class to translate for me. At this level, games should be super simple and easy to play.

If your students are basic beginners, the golden rule is repeat, repeat, repeat. There are loads of different ways you can go about doing this to make it fun and interesting. Choral and chain drills (also known as mechanical drills) are a standard technique.

I always use repetitive songs and chants to present questions and answers. I made the tunes up. They’re stupid and silly and really really easy and they work like a charm. You can chant them and add funny little actions. No rules are required. Just a quick and easy demonstration from you is all that is needed.

I use the same songs in every class and usually see some progress within a week or two. Sometimes I see an immediate improvement. Plus, I’ve noticed that students tend to retain information when it’s presented as a catchy little tune. I love hearing my students singing a song I’ve just taught them when they walk out the door at the end of class.

Which tips in particular are you concerned about being able to incorporate into your classroom? Perhaps I can give you some suggestions. There are ways to adapt all these tips and still use them in your classroom.

This is a very helpful guide. It also provides insight into your philosophy of teaching which encourages fun and the arts. Happy Days!