Teaching ESL students poses many challenges for instructors. ESL teachers deliver course content in a language that their students may only grasp at a beginner level. Students from a range of cultures introduce a variety of behavioral differences into the classroom, which may be new and even incomprehensible to teachers and other students. A little preparation for the ESL classroom environment can make teachers more effective educators--and save their sanity.

Communication
Communication is a major issue in ESL classes. First, students' listening comprehension is low. Teachers should repeat instructions and key statements several times, and in different ways. Use simple vocabulary wherever possible to ensure students understand. Be prepared for students still missing things that you said, even if you have repeated them and spoken them clearly. Second, in some cultures, speaking directly is considered impolite. Therefore, if you ask students if they understand, they may say yes even though the opposite is true.

Differing Levels
Although many ESL schools try to group students according to level, instructors will always end up with classrooms that include a variety of language abilities. Some students will invariably be more fluent than others. Furthermore, students will excel in different areas. Some will be proficient speakers but write with poor grammar, while others will be too shy to speak much, but can communicate well in writing.

Learning Pace
Instructors should keep in mind that ESL teaching is usually slow, not only because they will have to repeat things, but language-learning can be a slow and arduous process, especially for adult learners. Entire lessons may have to be repeated. Students hit learning plateaus and little progress will be evident. Because the learning pace is so slow, teachers may find themselves abandoning half of their lesson plan because the first activity is consuming most of the class time.

Classroom Management
ESL students will bring a variety of behaviors that, although they may strike others as strange, shocking or even annoying, are perfectly normal in their home country. Students may be disruptive in class by talking when other students or even the teacher are talking. They may interrupt others who are talking. This may intimidate students from other cultures who are not used to this kind of behavior. All of these factors create difficulties for the instructor trying to control the classroom.

Physical Interaction
Different cultures have different norms regarding physical interaction. In some cultures, avoiding eye contact is considered a sign of deference. Students may be uncomfortable being singled out to answer a question, or participating in a heated debate. Some cultures practice strict unspoken rules about physical proximity to others. ESL teachers should consider these kinds of cultural differences when having open discussion, calling on students to answer and assigning group work.