10 tips for successfully teaching an ESL program

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) presents a large number of unique challenges and difficulties. Whether you are teaching in a classroom overseas or in one of the many ESL programs right here in the United States, teaching speakers of other languages means that you will be dealing with an array of cultures, learning styles, educational backgrounds and, of course, the challenge of working through a potentially frustrating language barrier.

Despite these challenges (or perhaps partially due to them), demand for ESL teachers is currently at an all-time high. With the English language constantly growing in international importance and an influx of non-native English speakers here at home, qualified teachers are needed to provide a balanced and comprehensive ESL education. Here are 10 tips for successfully teaching an ESL program:

1. Incorporate Groupwork

Learning a foreign language, even if its roots are familiar, is a very daunting task for students of any age. Learning it alone is even more difficult. To make your ESL students feel comfortable practicing their new language, get them to work in pairs or larger groups so that they can help each other. Lessons become fun, and communicating and learning English becomes more natural when students can work through it together and peer-teach.

2. Maximize Oral Communication

Make sure you keep an oral focus in the classroom. While writing and reading are both important, requiring students to speak as often as possible helps ingrain the sound and feel of the language in a student’s mind. It also helps them learn the verbal cues. Developing a comfort with speaking English in front of other people is crucial to overall ESL success. The sooner they learn to start communicating verbally, the easier and more successful your job will be.

3. Use a Diverse Lesson Plan

ESL students will come from an array of cultural and educational backgrounds. As in any classroom, each student will learn differently. Keeping a lesson plan diverse will help you cater your English teaching to individual learners. Mix reading, writing, observing and listening with your oral focus to create a comprehensive lesson plan.

4. Incorporate Cultural Lessons to Personalize

Making the English language relevant and personal helps your students get interested and internalize the lesson plan. Use their personal experiences and backgrounds to teach the language. You can ask them to tell the class what they did the previous weekend, what their family is like, what their home is like — anything that gets them to think of their personal experiences will help them become more passionate about the words and phrases they learn and use. Also ensure that you teach them while making it relevant to their culture. In doing so, you will help your students find the language interesting and enjoyable.

5. Limit Dictionary Use

Try to limit the amount of time students spend consulting a glossary or dictionary. Asking students to memorize words and phrases is fine, but make sure that the majority of class time is spent putting these words and phrases into practice rather than just reciting words from a dictionary. This can become repetitive and boring, and provides little context to make your lesson relevant.

6. Give Homework to Keep English a Focus After Class

Your ESL students will most likely be going back to a household that does not regularly use English in conversation. This acts as an additional challenge for your students to overcome. While no student jumps at the chance to do more homework, giving your students work to practice on when they are away from the classroom is the best way to ensure that they aren’t completely forgetting the English they learned in your class that day.

7. Try Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters can be a fun challenge for your ESL students. Asking your students to pronounce phonetically similar words gets them to stop and think about what they are saying and how they are saying it. It also helps them internalize pronunciation. Besides, tongue twisters are funny and will keep things light!

8. Have Students Read Aloud

Your students should practice reading aloud often. This is a great way to blend auditory, oral and reading skills. It will also help them become more comfortable speaking English in front of their peers.

9. Let Students Make Mistakes

Let your students work through their mistakes. Whether they are speaking, writing or reading English, allowing them to correct themselves will help them get a better grasp on the language. It may be tempting to interject with the correct pronunciation or spelling, but if a student can recognize his or her mistake and correct it, they are truly making progress.

10. Teach by Doing

The best way to teach English as a second language is to model each aspect of your lesson plan before asking students to iterate it. Clearly pronounce words and sentences. Read aloud to the class and ask them to repeat. Tell a story about your weekend to help them with syntax and inflection. By modeling your lesson for your ESL students, you will help them feel comfortable with what you are asking them to do.