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A-Z Teacher Tips

Below are some general tips to assist you in preparing yourself, your class and your students for English language learning. Be on the lookout for links to fun informative and free ELL sites!
A is for Assessment

  1. All lessons should be planned with assessment to test students’ grasp of material and then assessment should be done periodically to confirm they do grasp it and you can move on.

C is for Create conditions for language learning

  1. Create a classroom culture that makes students feel comfortable. Sometimes you don’t have much say over the classroom or its appearance so do your best with what you have including the students. If desks aren’t arranged to be conducive to learning move them around. Learn your students names.

B is for Be Creative

  1. Language learning is fun! If you’re an artist, draw your vocab pictures. Design a game. If you’re writer create interesting stories. You don’t need to find examples, you can always create your own (if you don’t fancy yourself a creative person, don’t worry, there are plenty of online sites you can use like Quizlet - and they're free!).

D is for Discover who your learners are

  1. Learn a bit about your learners to engage them in class. And by all means please learn their names and the proper pronunciation as much as possible (see video above).

E is for Enunciate
  1. You want your students to understand you so speak clearly not louder or much too slowly. View these other principles of teaching.
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F is for Flexibility

  1. Make sure to leave room for flexibility according to learners’ responses; if a lesson is not going as planned (too few students showed up, the grammar lesson isn’t being understood, etc.).

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G is for Group Work​
  1. Make sure to incorporate group or pair work. Students can learn from each other. 
H is for Handouts
  1. Use handouts whenever possible so students can watch along and make notes. Instructions should be clear.
I is for Instructions

  1. Give instructions in a clear manner, provide examples of good work.

J is for Jolly

  1. Be happy. If you look like you’re enjoying the lesson your happiness is infectious. Be careful with jokes though as humor doesn’t always translate well.

K is for Know, Want to Know, Learned

  1. Know, want to know, learned KWL Chart

L is for Learning Objectives

  1. Start every class with learning objectives on the board- even for beginners and even if they can’t read much yet 

M is for Multi-Level

  1. Prepare to have a few levels in your class. Activities should be created so as to include various levels of beginners, intermediate, etc.

N is for No Talking Down

  1. It can be hard for older students to have to learn a new language so just because the material you might be using is for school children doesn’t mean you can’t use it while talking to the student as an adult.

O is for Own Your Mistakes

  1. You don’t need to know everything so if a lesson isn’t working, stop and admit it and say “let’s try this instead and we’ll finish this tomorrow.” It’s better to stop than to confuse your students more.

P is for Patience

  1. Language learning takes a lot of patience on the part of both the learner and the teacher so start with yourself. Be patient.

Q is for Quit Talking

  1. You not the students. The best way to learn a language is to practice it. Allow your students to speak more, there’s no need for lectures in language learning. Look here for some best practices

R is for Repetition

  1. Remember to use repetition for all levels. For beginners this means repeating words and phrases consecutively for learning. For more advanced students this may include repeating use of a part of speech in different ways for reinforcement.

S is for Specific and Measureable

  1. I will identify, teach, and post key academic vocabulary and structures for one content lesson each day. Here are five specific and measurable actions you can implement to assist English language learners in the classroom. 

T is for Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

  1. Check in periodically to make sure students really grasp what is being taught. This could include simple hand gestures which are made known at the beginning of class (e.g. thumbs-up means we understand).

U is for Understanding

  1. Don’t just assume that someone shaking their head “yes” understands. As specific questions that gauge comprehension.

V is for Variety

  1. Variey in approaches and activities keep students attentive and interested, use visual aids. Games can add variety and fun!

W is for Wait Time

  1. Give each student enough time to process and consider ideas before asking for answers. Some students take longer to process and this isn’t their native tongue so time to prepare an answer is valuable.

X is for eXperiment

  1. Encourage students to try everything. Try to pronounce something even if you don’t know how. Try to write a word or phrase just from hearing the teacher say it. Encourage them to take notes and write everything they hear.This will allow them to see key patterns in phonics.

Y is for Youth role models

  1. For each subpopulation, know the leaders in your community that have been successful transitioning into the American culture speaking English. Involve them in your classroom for the benefit of all students. Students older, but closer to their age will have a greater impact. High school aged students could visit younger students as role models. This works in reverse as older students will be impressed by the younger students’ abilities.

Z is for Zeal for Teaching

  1. Be zealous in your teaching and don't forget the things your students are zealous about such as their culture. Let them share.

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