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Teaching beginners, whether young learners or adults, can be intimidating. Teachers, especially inexperienced ones, may wonder where to begin. They may anxiously think, "How will my students understand what I expect of them? Should I learn some of their native language so I can more easily communicate with them? With what aspects of the English language should I start?" Thinking about things from the students' perspective can be most helpful. Let's discuss three aspects of doing that and how they can be beneficial. If your students do in fact know zero English, what kind of communication will they understand? The obvious answer is gestures. Gestures are the primary useful method to communicate with students what you expect them to do. Overly exaggerated mimes and gestures can usually effectively illustrate whatever it is you expect your students to do or understand. In addition to gesturing, it is also important to use clear, simple language. For example, instead of rattling off "Now it's time for everyone to stand up and play a game", try starting in a sitting position yourself then clearly say "Stand up" as you stand. After a few times of doing it that way, not only will your students learn to recognize the command without the mime but they will also have learned some new vocabulary. Another aspect of thinking about things from your students' perspective is taking into consideration what is of interest to them. It may be best to start teaching vocabulary that they will actually use right away rather than ABC's and 123's. Most students would like to know a greeting or two first and how to respond to them. They can probably put that vocabulary into practice right away and feel like they are really speaking English! The absolute basics of English can then be circled back around to later on in the syllabus. You should also use materials that are of interest to your students and that they will enjoy using. Keep it interesting by using colorful and exciting pictures. Probably some of the most stressful and frustrating things for a beginner student, especially a young learner, is being asked to read from the textbook or being handed a worksheet with only text on it. So ditch the textbook and worksheets for fun games and flashcards. A third aspect of looking at things from your students perspective is to always confirm understanding and offer lots of praise. Keeping in mind cultural influences, your students may not feel comfortable with the Western method of raising their hand and asking for further explanation. They may also be embarrassed if they think they're the only one in class who didn't get it and therefore, they'll keep quiet about it. So going over things several times and asking students to repeat it back to you or demonstrate in some way that they understand is very important. Simply saying, "Okay, everyone got it?" is not sufficient. Praise is also very important for both adult and young beginners. Praising even small or half victories will go a long way in building their confidence. So while teaching absolute beginners, and even false beginners, can seem daunting, it can be very fun and rewarding. If the teacher keeps a fun, energetic attitude and doesn't take themselves too seriously, this can rub off on the students and create a great atmosphere for starting from scratch with the English language.
