Don’t get disheartened when you have to teach beginners

Teaching English as a second language to beginners is quite tricky. A teacher who is accustomed to teach only intermediate and advanced level students may find it so intricate dealing with beginners. If you just walk into a classroom full of beginners and start speaking fluently, you can see faces with question marks looking at you as an alien. And it is very hard for a new teacher to’ see through’ the learners’ eyes. But unless you start looking through their eyes, you will not be able to figure out their problems.

English, being the ‘crazy language’ according to Richard Lederer, has its own eccentric qualities which poses inexplicable challenges to a student who learns it for the first time. Teachers who handle beginners must be conscious of this fact and deal with them more cautiously. Otherwise, the learners will get into more confusion as the class progresses.

We all must understand that ‘working hard’ alone will not yield results but ‘working smart’ is crucial.

1. Silent letters

We don’t pronounce all the English letters in a word they appear in words like hour, rite, know, comb, asthma etc. This is a very complicated issue a teacher has to face while teaching beginners.

Listening to a beginner’s English reading may be so intolerable. Many a time, teachers may make fun of them after the class hours. If you and I try to learn Arabic or Spanish, we will do the same.

If you teach beginners, make a list of common words that have silent letters and train them to pronounce by giving 10 words a day. Explain this unusual characteristic of the English language. Some common rules might help them to understand:

• Mb at the end of a word (silent b)
e.g. comb, lamb, climb.
• Sc at the beginning of a word followed by 'e' or 'i', (silent c),
e.g. scene, scent, science, scissors
• Kn (silent k)
e.g. knife, knock, know.
• Mn at the end of a word (silent n)
e.g. damn, autumn, column
• Ps at the beginning of a word (silent p)
e.g. psalm, psychiatry, psychology
• Ght (silent gh)
e.g. night, ought, taught
• Gn at the beginning of a word (silent g),
e.g. gnome, gnaw, gnu
• Bt (silent b)
e.g. debt, doubtful, subtle
The letter H is silent in the following situations:
• At the end of word preceded by a vowel, e.g. cheetah, Sarah, messiah
• Between two vowels, e.g. annihilate, vehement, vehicle
• After the letter 'r', e.g. rhyme, rhubarb, rhythm
• After the letters 'ex', e.g. exhausting, exhibition, exhort
2. Alphabets and sounds

A beginner must be taught that an alphabet doesn’t need to represent only one sound. They must be aware that there are 26 alphabets and there are roughly 44 sounds in English.

For example,

Back, baby and about

In each of these words, the sound of ‘a’ is different. Teachers must spend time in educating the beginners in English sounds. This will be quite appealing to them and a good diversion from the monotonous grammar classes.

3. Pronunciation

According to the influence of mother tongue, the English learners, especially the beginners face pronunciation problems.

Arab learners find it difficult to distinguish between /p/ and /b/, /g/ and /j/.

Indian learners have problems with words like ‘institution’. Most of them pronounce as ‘institusan’.

They add stress to the alphabet ‘r’.
/i:/
This is a very difficult sound for many Brazilians who tend to shorten it to /I/.An example of this is saying /bItS/instead of /biùtS/.
The other sounds that need to be taught are:
/t/ and /d/

‘th’ sound

‘sh’ and ‘ch’

/s/ and /z /

Sheep and ship
Pen and pin
Pen and pan
Cap and cup
Cat and cot
Look and Luke
Ten and turn

You need to teach the sounds without complication. They don’t need to know the terminology of phonetics. Play it like a game.

ELT teachers must focus on pronunciation besides the other features of the language.

4. Grammar

Do not confuse the beginners with infinitives and auxiliaries. Abstain from using too many grammatical terms. Let your teaching be short and simple. Excessive use of grammatical terms makes the class too boring for the learners. Most of the learners learn English for effective communication not to become English teachers.

Teach one point a day. If you teach ‘to be’ verbs, don’t hop into ‘main verbs’. Go step by step. In teaching beginners, ‘slow and steady’ policy works out well.

Don’t teach too many grammatical points at a time. One day, one point. If you teach ‘Simple present- negatives’ today, be content with that topic. Don’t try to push them into ‘questions’ too.
One or two smart ones may try to push you hard to start the next lesson. If you fall into this trap, you will have to redo the ‘whole package’ after one week which could prove to be exasperating.

5. Spelling

Twenty common words per week may be effective to improve spelling. Make them write the words. Don’t be lenient in this area.

There is no short cut to improve the spelling skills of English learners. Help them learn the words’ meanings along with the spelling.

Some spelling rules may improve their skills. So don’t forget to teach the rules.

• Put i before e
Except after c
Or when it sounds like a
As in neighbor or neigh.
• Words that end in ss, sh, ch or x add es. Example: switch = switches
Words that have a consonant before a final y, change the y to i before adding es.
Example: summary = summaries
Most nouns ending in f or fe add s. However, some change the f to v and add s or es. There is no rule to follow here.
Examples:-belief = beliefs, half = halves
6. Selection of reading and listening material

Be very careful while you select study material for beginners. If you select a slightly improved language material, your students will not show interest as it looks like an alien language. Not all students will show great enthusiasm to refer dictionary.

Let the study material be straightforward especially the reading passages. The reading passage serves many purposes – vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, ability to read etc.

Avoid selecting a long passage. The learners tend to lose interest when they see lengthy passages.

The listening practice must focus on numbers, names, common words, greetings and introduction.

7.Simplify your language

Don’t be too fast. Be very slow so that they feel good about listening to you. Sometimes, you will to ‘act’ to make them understand. Don’t feel shy to act.

Use simple words.

8.Play games

Language learners of any level would love to play language games. There are traditional games like unscrambling, dumb charades etc which will be useful. You can think of your own games according to the need of the learners. When ideas spark in your mind, pen them down. Keep a piece of paper in your pocket always so that you won’t miss any of your precious ideas.

Don’t forget the internet. Language experts have come out with a lot of ingenious games. Not all will be effective. Nevertheless you can try some of them.

Note down the problems of the learners as you teach. When you are alone, think about it. Try to get a solution by consulting other teachers.

9.Observe successful teachers

Some teachers are astounding in their approach and presentation. There is nothing wrong if you sit in their classes and observe how they handle the session. Let not your ego prevent you from learning good methodologies which can mould you as a teacher. Don’t let the ego tell you that you know ‘everything’.

All the teachers must realize that the rapport that you build with your students is the first step towards successful teaching. If there is an emotional gap between you and your pupils, the learning process will lack depth. Plan for your ‘first day’ class creatively. As you know, the first impression is always the best impression.

10.Use of dictionary

If a language teaching session is to be effective, the learners must be encouraged to use dictionaries. As students search for words, they learn a lot of words. Language sessions must be full of activities. They must be student centered. Many a time the teacher plays passive role. If your session is dominated by your voice, then reconsider the strategy. I always feel that English classes must be boisterous but under the control of the teacher.

11. Say ‘no’ to traditional question papers

Don’t be a victim of traditional question papers that are full of ‘fill in’ exercises. Question papers must be appealing to the students. Don’t just focus on grammar. Add passages that will require the use of dictionary.

Beginners’ question papers must have crosswords, scrambled words, pictures (family tree, emotions), and dictionary pages for exploration. Add anything that will arouse curiosity in the learners.

Recently, we added some pictures like ‘kitchen, bedroom, bathroom’ in the question papers. The students were so happy to identify the objects and name them.

The list is endless. As you grow as a teacher, you will discover more.