Conquer your first class: 5 tips for new ESL teachers

 1. Yes, you need to know how to explain grammar. 

Okay, obviously. However, most TEFL certification programs are condensed and don't have in-depth grammatical instruction built in to their syllabi. For my fellow native English speakers, many of us were not actually taught grammar in school--one's first language is learned through immersion, right? In that case, you'll have start from zero and learn how the English language is constructed, what each piece is named, and how it is manipulated. Your students will expect (and deserve) adequate responses when they ask questions like, What's the difference between "well" and "good"? and What's a phrasal verb? Furthermore, your response to a why question should never be because it sounds right or that's just the way it is. If you don't know how to respond to a question, though, don't panic. It happens to all of us at some point. Be honest, and tell the student you'll have an answer for the next class (and actually follow through on that promise!). TLDR: Before you jump into the classroom, it's a good idea to learn English grammar for yourself if that's something you've never spent time on.

2. Create plenty of examples.

Unless you've taught a grammatical concept dozens of time, don't expect to wing the lesson on your first try and magically enlighten your student. Each time you teach a grammar concept for the first time, create several examples that make sense to you and will be relevant to your student. I find that, instead of explaining the rules of a particular concept without some kind of visual aid, teaching off of examples helps students grasp the concept more quickly and keeps me from getting tongue tied and confusing myself. I write down several sentences that model the grammatical concept I want to teach. Before I launch into anything resembling a lecture, the first thing I do is show the examples and ask students if they understand the sentence's meaning, when this type of sentence would be used, and whether they can deduce the correct structure by noticing patterns within the model sentences.

3. Overprepare.

As a new teacher, you might feel overwhelmed with the amount of time that you spend preparing for your classes. That's perfectly normal, trust me. I'm here to tell you that once you have an arsenal of effective lesson plans, you'll gradually cut down on the amount of time spent planning. For your first couple of classes, though, it's a good idea to overprepare. Have more activities and exercises planned than you think you will need. The thing is, each student is so different. I could spend a solid half hour chatting easily with some students, while for others getting more than a one-sentence response out of them feels like pulling teeth. You'll need a couple classes with each student before you can accurately gauge how much material you can get through in a session. And, it's always a good idea to have a couple of go-to activities in the back of your pocket ready to pull out if you find yourself needing to fill extra time. One of my favorites is presenting students with a couple of controversial statements about current hot topics (for example, social media is more harmful than beneficial) to (respectfully) discuss or debate. My students also love playing Scattergories, which is a good time filler for classes with 2 or more students.

4. Make things personal.

Maybe you're not a charismatic extrovert who can work a room (neither am I), but I encourage to put some effort into making a personal connection with your students. Why? You'll be able to tailor future classes to their needs/interests and keep them engaged and committed to the learning process. Avoid diving right into the lesson and spend a few minutes at the beginning of class (especially in the first one) building that relationship. Questions like how was your weekend? get redundant--especially as most of us have spent the last year in quarantine (I tried a new spaghetti recipe and cleaned my bathroom...wbu?). Instead, start the class with some questions that are probing (If you were president, what's the first law you would pass?), personal (When is the last time you were given a really bad gift?), or totally random (Would you rather lose your sense of sight or hearing?). You could even tie these questions into the topic of the class or use them to review grammatical structures introduced last class. (Note: think twice before asking questions that employ grammatical structures students haven't seen yet, such as the second conditional used in the first example).

5. Read your audience.

The thought of English class causes many students to shudder because it reminds them of their days back in high school sitting in front of a chalkboard memorizing and reciting the conjugations of the verb "to be." Our job is to re-frame what "English class" could mean for these students. English shouldn't be boring or demotivating, and you don't need to sacrifice your professionalism as a teacher in the process. One of my goals is to make that hour interesting and entertaining so students don't dread coming to class or feel too uncomfortable to fully participate. Students generally respond well to humor, games, competition, and a healthy dose of silliness. However, I mention that reading your audience is crucial because, while telling jokes might work with your high school students, executives in a business English class might not receive them well. Get to know your audience so you can adapt your methods to what works--and doesn't work--for each student.

What's something you wish you'd know before your first class as a teacher?