ESOL: Introduction to Absolute Beginners Frances Marnie introduces a series of ESOL lesson plans aimed at beginner-level students with little or no previous experience of English. This article extract provides some general advice on how to prepare for a first lesson with beginners. The Absolute Beginners series can be used as a lead-in to a starter coursebook. Download the lesson plans from: www.onestopenglish.com/esol/absolute-beginners
10 tips for teaching absolute beginners 1. Find out the names of the students and clarify what is considered to be their first and last name. This shouldn’t be too difficult as usually a family member or friend will have registered them for the course. 2. Ascertain if the students are at all familiar with the Roman script.
4. Find out as much as possible about the students’ background and needs. This information can be used to adapt the lessons, if necessary. For example, if a student works in a restaurant, then basic food-related vocabulary items should be introduced at an early stage. Similarly, if a student stays at home looking after children, then vocabulary related to family life will be important. 5. Adapt the lesson to each student’s pace. 6. If the student is literate in their mother tongue, suggest that they invest in a bilingual dictionary and that they bring it to every class. 7.
Keep your language simple and to a minimum. Use gesture as a means of communication. (Check that a nod means yes in the student’s culture!)
8. Remember that a smile is understood by everyone. Smiling will help create a positive atmosphere. 9. Introduce and practise basic functional language as the occasion arises. Students will probably want to express Sorry, I don’t understand – thank you – please, etc at various points throughout the series. Give them the appropriate phrase when they need it. Display it on the wall for future reference and use every natural occurrence for further practice. 10. Encourage the students to adopt the LOOK – SAY – COVER – WRITE – CHECK method when learning new vocabulary (see below).
The LOOK – SAY – COVER – WRITE – CHECK (LSCW) method The LSCW method works because the student has to be ’active’ and say the word, write it, check it, correct it and do it again. The student writes the word they want to learn on a piece of paper – making sure it’s the correct spelling!
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The student should then LOOK at the word carefully, noting the letters and shape of the word in as much detail as possible.
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Next the student has to SAY the word. Encourage them to break it down into syllables (e.g. Mon – day) and to notice any silent letters.
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The next step is to COVER the word.
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Without looking at the word, the student now attempts to WRITE it.
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Finally the student should CHECK the word carefully, making sure each letter is in the right place, and correct any errors.
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The student is now in a position to correct any mistakes. Remind them that mistakes are an important part of the learning process. Therefore, they shouldn’t worry and simply learn from them!
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Repeat as often as necessary until the spelling has been learnt.
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013
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This extract has been taken from Introduction to Absolute Beginners. To view the original article in full, visit: www.onestopenglish.com/15-years.
3. Try to find out which students have absolutely no English and which ones are already familiar with Hello and What’s your name?
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