TEACHING BEGINNERS

A mini guide to
teaching beginners 2
Rhona Snelling concludes her series on teaching at a very low level.

H aving considered common

definitions of the level and relevant
SLA theories in the first article, we will
cognitively process, for example, trying
to teach too many lexical items or a
grammatical point that is too complex at
time with you. Monitoring is an incredibly
valuable interaction for teachers and
students. Aim to monitor, especially with
now look at eight essential skills for this stage. Also, bear in mind that this level larger classes, as much as you practically
teaching this level along with activities is all about setting the foundations for the can. Maybe that means listening to three
for each language system and skill. rest of the student’s language journey – get pairs do their role-play in one activity
it right, and they will have a smooth and and then, in the next written activity,
pleasant passage; get it wrong, and they’ll checking another three pairs are using
Aims and planning regret ever planning the trip. the correct grammar in an exercise. Don’t
Lesson planning is where the magic of forget to consider your correction and
your lesson starts to bubble and, for low So, what is achievable? Anecdotal feedback preferences. What are you going
levels, I would encourage you to be research suggests students are able to to do with the incorrect language you’ve
even more meticulous with preparing ‘learn’ around 6–9 new lexical items observed? How and when will you correct
your potion. Think carefully about what per lesson. This may appear to be a it: will you keep a list and use it later in a
you’re going to teach, when (remember small number at first glance but we whole class activity on error correction or
Krashen’s Natural Order Hypothesis need to consider that each single will you supply the correct language on
(Krashen, 1982)?), how you’re going to lexical item comes with a complex the spot for the individual student?
teach it and why you’re teaching it. In amount of new information: with its
short, be able to justify your aims for the own orthographic pattern, spelling,
lesson. How do each of the activities and phonemes, graphemes, syllable stress,
Teacher-Talking-Time (TTT)
stages within the lesson contribute to form, usage and relative frequency. In the communicative approach, the
the aim? If there isn’t a clearly useful or pedagogical goal is to reduce TTT and
identifiable aim to an activity, remove the A group of unrelated words will be increase Student-Talking-Time (STT).
stage from your lesson plan. And don’t be more semantically challenging for By allowing students more opportunity
surprised if it takes you a full hour to get students to learn than a group of related to practise and produce new language,
through one page of your course book! words, such as ‘Food and drink’. This we are enabling them to activate it and,
That hopefully means you are making a topic is an example of one where a hopefully, move it from working memory
clear presentation, providing sufficient slighter greater number of items may be into long-term memory. Whilst low-level
opportunity for students to practise, and presented. It would not be unreasonable students possess a relatively small lexicon
allowing time to observe, monitor and or unnatural to have 12–15 items in and have less working knowledge of the
praise/revise your students’ output. this set. It’s conceptually easy and has language, we should still endeavour to
the added bonus of being a visual increase STT. In fact, it’s arguably more
translation of the L1 word. important with low-level students.
Achievability
This builds on lesson planning and the So, what about your TTT and the
importance of making sure the stages and
Monitoring language (or input) you use with your
aims in the lesson are achievable, which, Sometimes, of course, what you think students? This input will, of course,
in turn, supports the Cognitive Load is achievable, may not be achievable. include far much more than classroom
Theory (Sweller, 1988) and the necessity This brings me to the importance of instructions – it includes all of your oral
to keep the ‘load’ of work at a suitable monitoring. This is your opportunity output, such as the greetings you use
level. What I mean by that is we are not to get feedback on how the class and when students enter the classroom, how
overloading our students with more input individual students are coping, and it’s you praise or correct, and the way you
than they can comfortably and easily their opportunity to get some one-to-one set up classroom activities. For a B1/B2

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 TEACHING BEGINNERS

student, teachers do not need to be so of the machines; it thwarts maximum and implicit knowledge. This means it
aware of their own output as the students opportunity to engage with all the will be easier for us to recall the correct
are that much more advanced and have available resources. language – and use it more automatically.
a larger working lexicon and schemata Make sure there is plenty of opportunity
in L2 in their long-term memory. For My personal opinion is that there are valid for practice of the target language
low-level students, teachers will need reasons to use L1 on select occasions, but following the presentation; moving from
to regulate their output if they wish I would counsel teachers not to make L1 controlled practice, to semi-controlled,
their students to comprehend (as in usage the norm or at least aim to reduce it and then freer practice.
Krashen’s (1982) Comprehensible Input as students progress.
Hypothesis) and successfully process You can create opportunities for
language without feeling overwhelmed repetition through managing student
or anxious (as in Krashen’s (1982)
Total Physical Response interaction – ask students to mingle,
Affective Filter Hypothesis).
(TPR) swap pairs, change groups, interview
The practice of using physical movement students in another class or interview a
So, your output should always be clear to aid the learning of language is useful host family. Each fresh interaction allows
and concise for this level. For the very for any level and is often popular with the practice experience to be slightly
first beginners’ class I taught, I created a younger classes and teens, as well as different, but still purposeful. You can
draft script for my greetings, instructions, some adult classes. This can include any also offer repetition by differing the
classroom management, board work over-exaggerated physical movement, types of practice activities and games:
(let’s not forget this is another input such as miming or gesturing, and is a flashcards, realia, props, roleplays, board
source for students) and feedback. valuable tool in helping students ‘see’ races, and so on. And don’t forget to
It’s something I still do and serves to the language independent of any written revise the previous lesson at the start of
remind me of the need to be aware of prompt. It changes the pace of the the next one, and to review.
a teacher’s impact on the lesson, and lesson and it can help students feel more
the importance of communicating engaged, aid understanding and reduce Empathy
effectively and successfully. the need for L1.
Last but by no means least. Rapport,
emotional intelligence, kindness,
You can use mime to teach vocab
L1 (such as a big yawn and stretch for
listening, patience, soft skills – it’s that
sentiment of respecting the student as
It’s impossible to discuss TTT without I’m tired). Gestures can communicate
a human being, someone who is new
pondering the use of L1 in the classroom. classroom instructions (listen to –
to a subject and willing to learn, and
It’s a controversial and wide-ranging pointing to your ears, open your books
helping them achieve their potential.
topic in itself. In my experience, it has - opening the palms of your hand to
This quality is a prerequisite for
its advantages and disadvantages. The simulate a book opening) and actions
teaching, in my opinion. Empathy brings
positives for students are that it can can assist in demonstrating functional
to mind Krashen’s (1982) Affective
provide reassurance when encountering language. For example, the teacher
Filter Hypothesis, and the notion of
new and challenging language (e.g. drills pen with the class and individual
considering the student’s emotional
students can check the translation of students and then asks one student
state and optimising their receptivity
concrete nouns against the L1 equivalent); ‘Can I borrow a pen?’ whilst pointing
to learning.
and it may be less emotionally daunting to the student’s pen and to himself/
and intellectually demanding than a herself. The student offers the pen
If I asked you to reflect on your own
class that is wholly in the L2. It also allows and the teacher uses it to scribble
experience as a L2 student, how would
teachers to quickly set up activities or something in a notebook and returns
you describe it? What did your teacher
explain grammar rules in more depth. the pen saying ‘thank you’.)
do to facilitate the whole learning
These advantages only exist, however, if
experience? Reflection is a valuable tool
the class is monolingual or all speak one
common language and the teacher is a
Repetition for a teacher’s self-development, as it
prompts us to keep the students’ needs
competent speaker of that language, or if Repetition leads to consolidation of
at the forefront of our mind and reminds
the teacher competently speaks multiple language and confidence using it. It will
us to always question our actions and
languages in a multi-lingual class. help nudge that new language through
decisions in the classroom.
the working memory and into the long
The disadvantages of using the L1 is that it term memory, and build those all-
can create an over-reliance on a linguistic important neural networks of knowledge.
Classroom activities
comfort blanket that will unlikely be According to McLeod (2017), the LTM is Let’s now look at some classroom
available in an L2 environment. It also the large (potentially unlimited) database activities that practice each of the four
reduces students’ exposure to the target of all our knowledge, and once language language skills (the passive/receptive
language. It’s a bit like going to the has graduated to this location, it has skills of Reading and Listening, and the
gym but being denied access to many successfully become part of our explicit active/productive skills of Writing and

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 TEACHING BEGINNERS

Speaking) and each of the four language and answers in written format, by writing of syllables or parts in the word (4).
systems (lexis, grammar, phonology, personal information questions (How are Confirm answers by writing the syllables
and function). Each of these systems you? What is your email address? Who on the board or by using your fingers to
and skills are interlinked and mutually is your favourite teacher? Where are you count the number of syllables. Confirm
dependent, so endeavour to provide a from? What’s your address?) on a piece which syllable is stressed (the -me-).
balance of these from day one. of paper or in a WhatsApp message and Then dictate other nationality words
giving/sending the questions to classmates and ask students to write the word and
Reading who then reply in a full sentence (I’m the number of syllables. Drill the words
fine, thanks. My email address is rhona@ with the class and ask them to identify
To locate information in a text: ask
me.com). Students can work in pairs, the stressed syllable.
your colleagues in the staff room to
groups or whole class, but should swap
lend you their ID card, travel card,
roles so that they practice both questions Function
business card, library card, or any card
and answers.
with some personal details that they are To revise and provide authentic practice of
willing to share with your class. Show a specific exponent (e.g. ordering a drink
Lexis
these to your students and ask them in a coffee shop): choose a short dialogue
to locate names, addresses, countries, To revise the lexical set of Food and that includes the functional language
addresses, telephone numbers, etc. Drink: divide the class into two teams exponent and write it on the board. Ask a
Elicit sentences with to be (e.g. ‘Emma (or 3–4 for larger classes) and play pair of students to role-play the dialogue
is from London’.) or possessive ’s (e.g. Pictionary on the board. Role a dice to to the class, before pairs then role-play
‘This is Emma’s ID card’.) decide which team starts. The winning the same dialogue together. Monitor and
team sends one student to the board, the encourage appropriate use of intonation
Listening teacher shows or whispers to him/her a and sentence stress. Then remove (i.e.
food and drink word, then he/she draws wipe off/delete) core chunks of language
To listen for gist and for detail: ask
it on the board and his/her team has to from the dialogue. Put students into new
a colleague to talk about their close
guess the word. Only confirm the word pairs to roleplay the dialogue again. If
family (it could be fictional), either in
is correct if the team can give correct possible, and with smaller classes, take the
a recording or live to your class, and to
spelling, pronunciation, and an example class to a coffee shop to order and pay for
state (and spell) names and give ages. Ask
sentence. A correct answer means a drink. (Do check with the coffee shop
students to listen and choose the topic of
another go (with a new student drawing) employees first.)
the monologue from some options on the
from the team. An incorrect guess means
board: family, jobs, sport. Students listen
the other team has a go. References
again and select or complete the details in
3–4 sentences on the board: Krashen DS (1982) Principles and Practice in
Grammar Second Language Acquisition. Prentice Hall.
Bella has one brother/two brothers.
To consolidate understanding of correct McLeod SA (2017, Febuary 05) Multi store
Her brother is [Louis]. She is [15] years old. sentence structure and word: choose model of memory Simply Psychology.
[online]. Available at: https://www.
5–6 sentences that exemplify a recent
simplypsychology.org/multi-store.html
Speaking grammar point and use these to prepare
a set of cards – one set per sentence, with Sweller J (1988) Cognitive load during
To provide freer practice of problem solving: effects on learning.
each card in the set having one word
introductions: for new classes, run a class Cognitive Science 12 257-285
from the sentence on it. Jumble each
mingle and ask students to introduce
set of cards and ask pairs or groups to
themselves to all their classmates using
reorder into a correct sentence. You can
phrases on the board:
increase the challenge, by also including
A: Hello, what’s your name? one or two distractor cards within a set,
i.e. cards with an irrelevant and incorrect
B: I’m Rhona. Nice to meet you! What’s
word, or you can give two sets of cards/
your name?
sentences at the same time, or give the
A: My name’s Andreas. first and last words of a sentence for them
to complete the rest of the sentence, or Rhona Snelling is a freelance ELT author,
Monitor and remodel any errors simply set a time limit. teacher and editor. She qualified with
International House and has extensive
(grammar, pronunciation, or stress)
teaching experience in Europe and
on the spot. Phonology Australasia. She has also worked as a
content editor for Pearson and OUP, and
To introduce syllables and word stress holds a MSc in Applied Linguistics and
Writing
in nationalities: say A-me-ri-can and SLA from the University of Oxford. Rhona
To provide freer written practice of be leave a clear pause between each has authored many best-selling ELT
information questions and answers: ask syllable. Drill the word in the same style coursebooks, including Speak Your Mind
Starter level and Get Ready for IELTS.
students to exchange simple questions and ask students to identify the number

68 www.modernenglishteacher.com n Volume 30 n Issue 2