Engage from the start

We learn a language by using it.

For most adult beginning English learners in community literacy settings, their highest need is to understand spoken English and be able to communicate through speaking, followed by the need to read English and provide written information.

1.  Start with names

Try to engage learners in listening and speaking activities from the very first lesson.  Even if learners are not comfortable speaking English at all, most are comfortable saying their name.  Start with simple introductions ("My name is ____.  What's your name?") and build from there.

2. Listening practice with reluctant speakers 

For learners who are very reluctant to speak, start with listening activities that require a physical, not spoken, response (TPR or Total Physical Response).  Examples are:

• Point to the door

• Touch your book

• Show me 3 fingers

Here's a short video from Minnesota Literacy Council demonstrating a TPR lesson.

3.  Less teacher talk time, more student talk time

The goal is to have more of your time with learners spent with learners talking (student talk time) than with you talking (teacher talk time).  Learners don't learn to speak English by listening to you.

For in-person classes, use the power of pair-work.  After introducing an activity and checking for learner understanding, have learners practice in pairs.  Then switch pairs to give learners more speaking time.  Then have learners practice as a large group.  Then (if appropriate) have learners demonstrate the activity by themselves to the group.

This sequence follows the principle of "private practice before public performance".  Give learners lots of opportunity to practice an activity with a partner or very small group first, then to practice the activity as a group (not individually), before asking for individual performance before a large group.

For Zoom classes, pair-work generally isn't feasible.  It's not advisable to put beginning English learners in breakout rooms without a teacher or assistant to facilitate and monitor the activity.  Instead, use facilitated breakout rooms (if you have an assistant) to provide smaller group practice first.  Have learners practice the activity together (chorally).  Then start a round-robin dialog when one learner starts the dialog or asks a question and the second student answers.  Then the second student starts the dialog or asks a question with the third students.  

4. Encourage learners to lead activities

When doing practice exercises, give learners a chance to lead activities after you have led the first round of practice.  To explain that you're looking for a volunteer to lead the activity, ask "Who will be the teacher now?"  If Mary volunteers, then explain "Teacher Mary, you ask ..."

5. Give learners time to respond

At the beginning, learners need plenty of time to process information.  They are watching you for physical clues, trying to capture your spoken instructions, trying to translate those instructions, and looking at whatever you might be showing them.  Silently count at least five (slow) chimpanzees before repeating your request.

If you believe the learner needs to hear the request again, ask using the same words, but ask more slowly and with gestures or a demonstration.  Rephrasing a question only adds more cognitive load.

6. Give learners tools to self-advocate for understanding

Very early on start teaching and practicing phrases that learners can use to self-advocate for understanding, including:

• Can you repeat that?

• Slower please.

• I don't understand.

• I don't know.

Encouraging learners to use these phrases (and praising them when they do) helps them understand that it's better to ask for help to understand something than to stay silent.