What happens when you tell someone that you teach Conversational English lessons? What do they say? “That sounds easy, do you even call that work?!” Well, that’s a touch rude.
Nevertheless, we know that there is much more involved than just going in and having a conversation. There are many considerations; we must consider the current English level of the students for one, their motivations for learning, their learning styles… the list goes on. So, how do we teach Conversational English?
This is the primary focus of this article — teaching spoken English to beginner learners who will be learning English for a myriad of reasons. Where do we start? How do we do it? Do we need to teach grammar for the student to hold a conversation or what about spoken English teaching materials?
Well, don’t worry we are here to help guide you through the experience.
What exactly does teaching spoken English mean?
Teaching speaking English entails many different facets of learning but essentially means the classes will be focused on verbal communication. Simply put, learners want to speak, to communicate with others that speak English. And to do that, they need vocabulary, phrases, or everyday expressions.
We are going to highlight ten key English lesson ideas that can be used with both adult and young learners.
A key point to remember is that no two students are the same. What works for one may not work for another. Therefore, we need to adapt or tweak our lesson plan to adapt to the learners — teaching English to kids is quite different from teaching adults.
The first few ideas are going to be based on what you can do before you teach a spoken English class, thus ensuring that every lesson will be a success. Without further ado, here are the spoken English lesson ideas or essential points that you can implement from the get-go.
Tips for teaching spoken English
1. Create a lesson plan
Before you start teaching any new lesson, I cannot stress how important it is to have a clear idea of how you want the lesson to progress. What is the end goal of the lesson? Answering this question will help you prepare and understand what you will need.
In addition, a lesson plan creates structure and helps the students know where they are in the lesson. It gives you a clear objective for each lesson and thus helps you stay on track. It can easily be changed but the basic structure is there to guide you.
The lesson plan can simply state the key points or objectives, target language, and practice. It can also include what is needed throughout the lesson.
Basically, it does not have to be a detailed, complicated outline so long as it makes sense to you, because at the end of the day, you are the one following it. We will be coming back to this point later.
2. Don’t forget the visual aids
Visuals are a must; I could not live without my visual aids.
As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and this is even more true for beginner Learners. You can create your own visual aids or there are many websites where you can find what you need and print them off.
Imagine trying to explain what a “harmonica” is to someone who doesn’t know the words blow, sound, and musical instrument. You cannot verbally explain things to learners who don’t yet have the language knowledge.
Visual aids help teach or clarify your point. Now, imagine you had just shown them a picture of a harmonica. You could then demonstrate those words we mentioned before, and they will have little trouble understanding.
I think you get the point — visual aids are irreplaceable!
3. Prepare questions and model them
Remember that learners may be quite nervous or apprehensive when attending classes, especially if they are in a group. They could be complete beginners, or they may have been exposed to some English, therefore their abilities will vary.
Having easy icebreakers and get-to-know questions will help immensely. A good way to do this is to model the question-and-answer.
And as I have previously mentioned, flashcards or other visual cues can help you with this part, which is why it is important to prepare the questions beforehand. This will get easier as the classes progress.
For example, you can ask the following:
- How are you?
- How old are you? (Be careful when asking adults this question)
- Why are you learning English?
- What do you like to do/eat?
Repetition is the key here, but you will find that after a while, they will know how to answer without you demonstrating. You may also find that the stronger learner will try to use new words, which will allow you to expand on the vocabulary and help them improve their spoken English.
4. Set clear expectations/rules
In the early part of my career, I worked in Europe and got used to how forthcoming learners are there when asked a question.
Then, for a few years, I worked in an Asian country. And for the first year, it took me such a long time to get used to having to set clear expectations at the beginning of the class. It was like pulling teeth.
What am I trying to say here? That clarity may be needed for the learner to understand your expectations for them, and that they need to answer a question in full sentences or tell you if they don’t understand, which gives you that excellent opportunity to teach some classroom language.
Therefore, this is so important and again, can be done by modeling your expectations for learners or once again via visual aids.
It may take a while, especially with the younger learners who may also need classroom behavior set for them. Yet, once established, it makes the lessons pass by more effectively and smoothly.
5. Grade your language according to the level
Have you ever been guilty of slowing down your speech and speaking more loudly when speaking to someone who doesn’t speak your language? Many of us have, but let’s step back and think about how this appears.
It’s annoying, right? Students don’t want you to speak that way either.
Alternatively, in my case when I am speaking with my sisters, we speak so quickly that my poor husband, who is also from an English-speaking country, can’t keep up! So, how will your learners feel in these situations?
What we definitely do not want is for our learners to feel less than capable, because this will de-motivate them pretty quickly. We need to be up-building and a key way to do this is to grade our language.
Grading language is the act of selecting our words in a way that makes it easier for learners to understand.
Conversational English lessons are about having that natural conversation experience, but it doesn’t happen from Day 1. So don’t go off spouting out expressions that you would use with your friends and peers, because they will be lost.
Be wary of the speed at which you are speaking and pay attention to their body language or facial expressions to gauge if you are speaking too quickly, or are using words or expressions they are unfamiliar with.
For example, I was once training a new teacher. This teacher drew a few different words or topics to talk about on the whiteboard, then he said, “Ok guys, please pick one!”. There was no response.
He repeated it, “So, can you pick one?”, then “I need you to pick one.” This went on for a grueling 90 seconds before I finally whispered to them “Choose one.” They immediately knew what to do, because there are words that beginners have learned, and words that are more colloquial. With experience, you will learn which ones are which.
Again, when you use one that they don’t know, model or use visual cues to help them. Once they understand then you can add other ways to say the same thing.
6. Know the learner’s motivation
How essential is it to establish the reason the learner is studying English?
I remember a range of reasons being given to me when I asked my students why they were learning English. It ranged from needing to advance their career to wanting to speak the same language as their partner, or simply because their parents wanted them to learn it.
It is imperative that we find out WHY because then we understand their motivation and can then figure out what will motivate them to continue learning.
As mentioned earlier, we can encourage them to choose which topics appeal to them more. We can do this by using visual aids to help them understand.
Another tip I picked up was to tell them what they would be doing in the next class. It really motivates them to come if the topics are relatable.
7. Make fun lessons
Do you remember your language lessons when you were in school? How were they? Does the word “fun” come to mind? Not in my case.
We sat and either listened to the teacher speaking on and on or we did comprehension exercises. My French reading is far better than my speaking and in fact, I can hardly speak – how sad that is!
So, what am I getting at? Lessons should be enjoyable! Learners are there to speak, to gain confidence in speaking, and to learn how to say things in the language that they are choosing to learn. Therefore, let’s give them a fun lesson.
Here are some ways to do that:
Be enthusiastic. Smile!
Show them that you are excited to be there too and that you want them to achieve their goal of speaking in English.
It is so simple, but I can honestly say that not everyone is a happy camper! A smile goes a long way – it makes the learner feel more comfortable and helps create a more relaxing environment. Try it and see!
Praise them
It is often said that we need to praise children when they achieve something. Well, try it with adults and you get the same result. All learners want to know if they have done something correctly, so praise them when they do and they will remain happy and will try that much harder to continue doing well.
Interact
The topic is set for the class and the vocabulary and examples have been taught. Now, what do we do? We practice, practice, practice! This is what the learners are there to do – to speak.
Be wary of your talk time, as you may want to explain things too much. It’s better to have them speak, and for that reason, you should put them into pairs to practice the language.
Then change the pairs which will give them a chance to practice with different accents or paces, it will give them more confidence.
Play games
Again, games are not just for kids. You can play interactive games with all learners. Adults actually do surprise you when they are playing – it can be quite funny and competitive for them.
It is also when you will hear your learner produce more language – some of which might not be appropriate as I know from experience that they love trash-talking!
8. Make it useful and adaptable
Like with everything, we need to make sure that what we are teaching is useful to the learner and that they can adapt it easily to fit into what they need the language for. This contributes to motivation and class attendance.
For example: What do you like to…? / What don’t you like to…?
This question is great because you can add any action verb but obviously not the verb to be. The learner can easily respond with: I like to… / I don’t like to…
It is easy and adaptable due to being able to change the verb to suit the topic you are talking about.
Let’s think of some more like: I can/ I can’t. I have, I want – you get it now!
Again, with actions or visual cues they can not only form useful sentences in English but can adapt them as well. You can use sentence transformation activities to practice forms.
9. Write out words
As I mentioned earlier, there are different types of learners. There are kinetic learners, who learn by moving around. Some aural learners can simply learn new words by hearing them.
But these two make up a small number of learners. The majority of us are visual learners, so there will be many times when you see that the student is struggling or confused, this may then require you to write out words or expressions on the board or chat box for more clarity.
10. Mind your content and enforce repetition
Do you remember the first point we mentioned in this article? Yep – that’s right! The lesson plan!
You can include these in the content for each lesson:
Warm-up questions
Here is a good time to practice the previous lesson’s vocabulary and target language. Have the learners remembered what they learned? If they have, great, but if not, this is a good opportunity to see what they need to work on again.
Pre-teach vocabulary
This step is very important for the learner to be able to speak English. They need more words or phrases to complete a conversation. By teaching them the basic vocabulary and phrases you are helping them to expand what they already know.
Drill your target language
Do not skip this step! The learner is equipped with the words or phrases but how do they use them? This is where drilling comes in.
Help the student to be able to use the language correctly now that they have learned it. We learn through repetition, and drilling is how students learn. This doesn’t mean you have to do it like a “drill sergeant”, pun intended. Ask lots of questions in a conversational manner, not like a robot.
Practice
Drilling is done in a more controlled environment. But the practice part should be done in pair work or small groups.
Some learners may actually prefer this because it is more realistic. The teacher should monitor the practice sessions and be there in case of doubts or when correction is needed.
Conclusion of the lesson
For this point, I like to highlight the success of the lesson. Focus on what they are now able to do. Praise them!
However, if some still have doubts, you can explain that they will have a chance to practice again in the next lesson (during the warm-up) so they do not need to worry. Also, here is where you can entice the learners to come to the next lesson by choosing a topic for the next class.
Final thoughts
So, there we have it — ten tips on how to teach spoken English to beginners!
Bear in mind that you need to find the teaching style that suits you and the learner. Ultimately, if you want to be a good teacher, you need to be able to adapt and adapt well to all types of learners. This can also come from experience so don’t stress, it takes time.
This review from a VIPKid teacher is also helpful if you would like to know more about teaching young learners.
I remember in my first few lessons teaching English, I felt out of my depth. But I had a great smile on my face, I always encouraged my learners to speak, and most importantly I asked the students what they needed and adapted my lesson to their feedback.
I thought my lessons were terrible, but the learners requested me again. Why? Because they felt that I understood what they needed and they spoke a lot in my class. It may not have been perfect or accurate but they were happy to speak.
Help your learners to feel that they have accomplished something by having fun interactive classes. This way, they’ll keep coming back for more and will improve faster!
This is so wonderful and insightful