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My experience as a total beginner to a new language began seven years ago when I started taking Spanish classes. Since then, I have studied in one-on-one classes, group classes, in Spanish schools abroad, and in my university in Canada. My first teachers, at the very beginning of this journey, are the teachers that I remember the most. Their approach to teaching and the language that set me on my course to becoming fluent, laid the essential groundwork for me as I continued. In my experience, the best teachers that I had when I was a beginner, approached Spanish with simplicity, patience, and encouraged me to continue learning. When teaching beginners it is important that the teacher simplify and control their own use of the language and that they constantly check that a student has understood. Using easily understood words like "yes", "no", and "okay" are good ways to check in. The best teachers that I had at the beginning always spoke clearly to me and did not use idioms or slang that would confuse me. When a student has no vocabulary at all in their new language, the use of actions, miming, and visual aids is incredibly important. The use of these tools can help the teacher avoid direct translation if they speak the students native language. In my own experience, I found it much more rewarding to come to understand a word through use of a drawing or gesture, rather than if it was translated for me. Beginners may learn very slowly and will need a lot of repetition and review in order to keep new vocabulary and grammar in their heads. When everything is brand new it is difficult to make connections within the new language. Eventually, connections between words will help vocabulary come more quickly, as well as familiarity with the sounds and spelling. A great teacher to beginners will be very receptive to the pace of their student and will respond with patience. As a new student, I sometimes felt embarrassed when I had to review material that I knew I had already learned, I kept thinking "I should know this already". My favourite teachers would incorporate reviews into the lessons so that I could revisit things I had learned and embed them in my memory. Perhaps the most important characteristic of a teacher for beginners is to be encouraging. Starting a new language from zero is scary! Especially for adult learners the experience may be nerve-wracking and may make them feel vulnerable and insecure at the start. A teacher in this case should know that one of their objectives is to make the students feel comfortable and motivated to continue learning. For beginners, it is crucial that the teacher not correct every mistake. New learners will make plenty of mistakes! If every time they say something incorrect, they are stopped and corrected, they will feel extremely discouraged and may no longer feel driven to participate in class. A teacher should take note of mistakes that are becoming patterns and address them as needed, but overall they should be supportive, reassuring, and use positive reinforcement to make their students feel confident and rewarded. A teacher to beginners has the work of motivating their students to continue learning. The teachers that I had in the beginning made me feel confident, curious, and excited to learn more. It is a humbling experience to start to learn something new, and extremely rewarding to continue and become fluent! Though a teacher may be teaching beginners, they should consider the impact they'll have on their students learning in the long run and take it upon themselves to encourage their students to continue.
