How to Teach English to Adults: 10 Effective Tips

How do you feel when you have accomplished a difficult task? Happy, ecstatic, or even excited? This is the feeling you will have when teaching English to beginner adults.

At first, it can seem daunting, especially when you think of the preparation. The lesson plans and materials may take longer to prepare and there is such an overwhelming number of resources online that we are not sure which ones to use.

If you’re wondering how to teach English to adults, don’t worry. We are here to help you succeed. With these tips, you, fellow teacher, will have that aforementioned sense of accomplishment.

Why is it more challenging to teach English to adults?

Teaching English to kids is different — and somehow more challenging — compared to teaching adults. We mentioned a few things regarding preparation, which can make teaching English to adults more difficult, but let’s consider a few others.

Adults’ lives are very busy and there could be many things that are occupying their minds. Add to that the stress of having to go to their first English beginner class. We need to be aware of this and do our best to make them feel relaxed as soon as we can by offering a smile and using welcoming body language.

Remember that there are true adult beginners and false ones. True beginners have had no experience with English whatsoever. However, the false ones have had some exposure to it before, maybe in school or at some other point in their lives.

I remember teaching in Japan, where students are required to learn English in school for around 7 years. Despite this, the learners would always say they were level one in English because they had rarely uttered a word during those years of class.

If adult learners feel they are progressing, they will want to attend every class. The key to teaching English to beginner adults is to make the lessons heavily focused on speaking.

So, let’s look at some methods.

Ten tips for teaching English to adults

1. Break the lesson up

Beginner adult learners need to have a very well-structured lesson. A key way to make sure this happens is by using a lesson plan.

It does not need to be overly detailed — a simple approach is best. Simply focus on the vocabulary and expand from there. Highlight the warm-up, vocabulary and/or target language, the practice activities, and then the conclusion.

Bear in mind that the warm-up can be a review of what you did in the previous class, as well as a chance to find out what interests these adult learners have. The conclusion can be the setting of homework, but do not forget to go over it together.

If you planned to do a listening activity with your students, remember to introduce the key vocabulary first to ensure that the learners will understand the exercise. Vocabulary or target language are very important steps to help your beginner students succeed at any activity.

Another good idea is to have a section for expansion. Remember that you are teaching adults, you do not need to deal with any behavioral problems or situations.

For that reason, adult learners may grasp the English teaching point a lot quicker than you expected, or maybe you planned for a full class but only half turned up. This can be very stressful, which is why it is advisable to have an expansion section. 

Also in this section, you can include more resources for the learners to practice or you could focus on expanding the vocabulary by using synonyms or different ways to say the same thing. For example, if you taught mostly casual examples, then why not focus on the formal ones?

2. The importance of open body language

Our body language can express how we are feeling. I mentioned earlier how important it is to make sure that our body language is open. What does this mean?

We need to be receptive and show our students that we are here for them. By maintaining a positive attitude, having good eye contact, open gestures, and a pleasant smile, we can show that we are happy to be there.

The learners will feel more comfortable and soon will be willing to express themselves more during the lessons.

Another way we can use our body language is to mime or act. There may be times when we may need to act out an English word.  Let’s be honest if you are teaching animals and you don’t have one specific picture and you cannot draw, what are you going to do? You have to act or sound out what you are trying to teach!

Honestly, you may feel a bit silly at first, but not only does it help your students understand what you are trying to teach them, but it also makes for a good laugh. And that makes the atmosphere more comfortable and pleasant.

In addition, it will encourage your students to mime too. They will be more willing to try it if they see their teacher do it.

3. Visuals are needed in every lesson

Our body language is good, but the easiest way to explain objects is just to show them the object, hold up a picture, or simply draw it on the board. 

Beginner adult learners will understand far better if you use one of these visuals instead of trying to use a lot of words to describe it.

Preparation is very important. By completing your lesson plans, you will know what the subject is for each lesson and the key vocabulary that will be covered. Then you can prepare the visuals, props, and other things that will be needed. 

Isn’t it so much easier when you can whip out a visual cue to explain a concept more quickly and accurately? 

Another thing to consider is to have a few set phrases on the wall. Now, I know not all places may allow for this but if you can, put some common questions on the wall. Here are a few examples of some questions. Can you repeat that? Can you help me? Can I go to the bathroom, please? You get the point, right?

These questions will help them to speak and remember how to say them correctly. Once you have modeled them and pointed them out a few times, your learners will learn how, when, and what to say.

4. Keep the language simple

It can be so easy to walk into a classroom and start talking in English as if you are speaking to a friend. Or when you are giving instructions or describing something, you end up having word diarrhea.

Imagine the faces of the adult learners you’re teaching. Already, they are demotivated because they do not understand a word you said.

Keeping the language simple is a must when teaching English to beginners. Easy and clear instructions should be given. Make sure to remove any of the fluff that is not needed.

For example, instead of saying, “Alright John, let’s start with you. How are you doing today?“, say something like this, “John, how are you?“

It’s simple and concise and, most importantly, your student will know how to respond correctly.

5. The benefit of repetition

Repetition helps to avoid confusion. When you keep the language simple and use the same words or questions to start the class or give instructions, learners will learn how to respond very fast. 

If at the beginning of every class you always offer a greeting in English, the adult beginner learner will become quite comfortable in replying and can then ask the same question to another learner in the class.

This is the method that should be used when teaching any English point. Keep using the same words for them to become familiar with them. In this case, repeating certain words and phrases is beneficial to all. Practice makes perfect!

Also read: How to Teach English Vocabulary: 13 Effective Ways

6. Check for understanding

Never assume that beginner adult learners have understood the instructions, or the lesson as a whole completely. Even after giving simple instructions and examples and acting your heart out, you may still be met with some blank facial expressions.

Even if we ask, “Do you understand?” we may be met with a lot of yeses but in reality, they are too shy or embarrassed to say otherwise.

Constant checking for understanding is necessary. Once you have administered the task or activity, ask some comprehension questions to check that they have understood. Depending on the activity, yes and no questions will be easier for them to respond to.

7. Let’s touch on grammar

Let’s remember that we are teaching English to adult beginners. We are not going to delve too deeply into grammar explanations. These kinds of explanations can be found in textbooks, on websites, and various other places in their own language.

However, what we do expect is for them to learn vocabulary and learn how to use the words accurately. 

I have found that when teaching new words, it’s good to encourage them to write the translation next to it if necessary. If it is a noun, they can write down the plural form and verb that goes with it.

Finally, make sure they also include an example sentence and/or the question form.

An example is:

• Pet – pets
• to have a pet
• I have a pet/I have a dog
• Do you have pets?

It is extremely effective. Learners can ask each other the question and respond accordingly. As long as you have pre-taught animal vocabulary, that is!

Also read: How to Teach English Grammar: 16 Helpful Tips

8. Reading and writing activities

We do not expect English adult beginners to read and write essays or creative stories. No, not by a long shot! But how about writing down some example sentences to practice in the warm-up in the next lesson?

We can also encourage them to read outside the classroom to increase their vocabulary exposure. 

Both activities can focus on their interests and will bring to light what they enjoy doing in their free time. It can motivate them to continue studying and participate more during the lessons.

9. Drilling and lots of practice

At first, learners will be extremely nervous to speak, and some may be shy as well, so we need to provide them with everything they need to overcome these feelings and help them succeed.

When teaching beginner adults English, you have to give them lots of examples using the target language, ask questions to check understanding, and then practice, practice, and practice some more.

Let’s look at ways we can practice:

Drilling

Drilling is a teaching method used to get the learners to practice the language structure several times after it has been modeled.

You can use choral repetition and encourage the whole class to repeat after you and then have them practice it with other learners in the class. This will focus on pronunciation and intonation.

There are many different types of drilling, i.e., question/response, prompts with sentence patterns, etc., but the key point is to make sure you as the teacher model the language and pronunciation first before you have the class repeat and practice with others.

Skits

Skits are less controlled than drilling. They are short exchanges, where you can still correct the learner if needed. They can act out a simple situation based on the target language.

Skits help the learners become a bit more comfortable talking in English. Just make sure to teach the students the question form, as these tend to be the most difficult. Otherwise, the conversations will be very one-sided.

Role-play

Role-playing lets the learner have more freedom. They can choose a situation that is more relevant to them while still utilizing the target language.

The teacher monitors the class but does not intervene to correct so that you can see how they handle a real situation. However, the teacher needs to take note of any corrections to review after.

Remember to allow the learners to partner up with different partners, giving them a lot of opportunities to speak. They will then become more accustomed to a variety of accents speaking in English and at different speeds.

Another point to mention is that speaking and listening go hand in hand. If you have an English listening activity, you can easily adapt it into a focused speaking one too.

This will keep the adult learners engaged if they have something to listen out for or have to respond to a question asked during the activity.

This spoken English article has many more effective methods for teaching spoken English to beginners.

10. Positive reinforcement and feedback

Consider how you typically feel when you say something incorrectly in front of people. Perhaps embarrassed or disappointed? Maybe you wish never to see those people again.

Imagine if you embarrass one of your students in front of the class because they answered something wrong. They may never want to study English again, and the other learners may not want to answer your questions for fear that they will receive the same negative reaction.

It is important to keep in mind that your students are intelligent and capable people in their own language.

As beginners, there will be many times that errors will be made, so make sure you create a happy, friendly environment by praising and offering positive encouragement and feedback.

Always remember to commend the learner, even if a mistake is made. Correct the mistake by repeating the sentence or word, then no one will feel any shame or disappointment.

After an activity, corrections should be addressed, but you should consider including the whole class and not just the learner who made it.

A method that works very well during the feedback session is to write the mistakes that were made on the board and encourage everyone to correct them.

This allows them to work collectively and to come up with different ideas until they have reached the correct one. Highlighting errors or mistakes leads to learning and can be fun. 

Never forget to praise them all when doing any activities or tasks, and always encourage them to keep trying, no matter how small the achievement is.

The more they are encouraged and motivated, the more they will want to continue learning English for the foreseeable future. So, keep giving that positive reinforcement and feedback!

Final thoughts

Make sure your students are always involved and engaged in every activity to maximize their enjoyment. Participation goes hand in hand with student talking time. Therefore, fun interactive classes mean happy learners!

Beginner adult learners do not usually fail because they are incapable of learning English. No, they more often fail because they lose motivation. By following the above tips, they will continue improving and won’t skip a class!