Top 4 Tips For Teaching New Language to Absolute Beginners

It can be difficult for a low-level student who barely knows the L1 of students to easily understand basic principles and terms. This can particularly be a burden for native speakers who do not even know how to string a sentence together or answer simple questions like “How are you?” Nevertheless, a teacher can make a strong improvement in the life of low-level students using the right procedures to guide and help them. This can boost their confidence and make them learn faster to take them to the next level. Below are some smart tips to adopt when teaching beginners a new language.

#1: Understand some basic phrases and words in the student’s native language

Using the L1 of students has been proven to be extremely helpful in enhancing their learning capacity, although many language schools frown at this approach. Imagine trying to illustrate an idea, point out a scenario or explain a particular vocabulary. Low-level students would comprehend better if it is likened to a word or phrase they are conversant with. You may not necessarily speak their language but sometimes it is good to adopt some terms to better put a point across.

#2: Smiling helps

Coming into a beginner class as a teacher with a hard countenance will always put off your low-level student. They actually build trust and become expressive when their teacher gives a positive body language. You will have to smile always to help them learn faster. They actually look at you to know if they are free to express their opinion about a particular question. Always give them a positive radiance to their learning process.

#3: Find an assistant

An effective way to teach low-level student new languages is to find one of the students that is smarter than the rest and making him your assistant. This way, he will be able to help you communicate simple vocabularies and tasks to other students in a way that they would easily understand. This even makes the learning environment lively because the students can easily relate with each other and learn faster. You can also employ the help of some teaching technologies – language laboratories to make the whole process of learning faster and easier for the students. A good example is the Robotel language laboratories which is a digital technology platform that helps facilitate language learning.

#4: Speak slowly

How do you expect a student whose L1 is Japanese to understand you when you are speaking English at a fast pace?  You have to constantly remind yourself to speak slowly especially if you are part of the vast number of coffee addicts that rely on their fix to cover lengthy lectures. Boldly write “Speak slowly” at the top of your lesson note to keep yourself in check.

Using the right approach and attitude can help you teach beginners and make the seemingly tough task become simple. Use the above tips and you will notice how fast your students learn and improve.