Basic best practices for teaching a second language. More here - https://community.eflclassroom.com/forum2/topics/teacher-training

1. TEACHING A
SECOND
LANGUAGE
--
TIPS FROM THE
TRENCHES

3. KNOW YOUR STUDENTS
Learn as much as you can about your
students – their lives, their culture
and their personalities/learning
styles. Use the student’s culture to
support learning.
Prior knowledge is an important factor
in learning a 2nd
language. We
connect the new through the old and
create meaning in the process.
Key Words: schema, cognates, transfer,
student centered teaching, L1

5. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify….
These are the 3 cardinal virtues of the
EFL / ESL instructor.
Use less words when instructing and
demonstrate more.
Avoid slang and idiomatic
expressions.
Reinforce with body language.
Repeat and Review OFTEN.
Key Words: TPR, micro teaching skills.
lesson delivery, modifications

7. Provide a Target and a Timeline
Write the lesson objective or target
language on the board.
Provide students with a simple, 1-2-3
agenda.
We learn better when we can see the
destination.
Always teach the big picture first and
then specifics.
Key Words: lesson planning, teaching
strategies, sequencing, assessment

8. COW

9. Provide Context, Background
Use manipulatives and realia (props)
when presenting language.
Make it real – if possible, go on field
trips, connect with real email pals,
take the lessons outside.
Use video and pictures to reinforce the
learning. Context allows students to
acquire language as they create a
their own theory of the world.
Key Words: the natural approach, realia,
visual learners, connectivism, epistemology

11. Everything has its time and place.
Never force students to speak or to
read/write before they are ready.
Call on more competent students to
provide comprehensible output for
the class.
There are no errors, only pit stops on
the road to language competency.
Key Words: error correction, the “silent
period” , I+1, the critical period hypothesis,
developmental stages

13. Make it Active!
We can learn on our feet as well as on
our duffs.
Give students tasks and focus on
production and their talk time.
The more students speak or are
“engaged” in the learning, the more
they will be learning.
Key Words: Comprehensible output, task
based instruction, teacher talk, inductive
learning.

15. Keep it up to date!
Use current events, stories and the
“now” as context.
Computer assisted language learning,
videos, technology and social
networking are crucial instructional
aids.
Authentic and teacher made materials
lead to good teaching practices.
Key Words: digital natives, call, technology
and computers, text to speech

17. Get more bang for your buck
Focus on one skill but use them all,
every lesson.
Language learning is a multi-modal
experience and we use all our
senses, skills.
Reinforce speech with text / writing.
Teach listening skills and don’t
assume understanding.
Key Words: language modes, lesson
planning, learning styles

19. Make it social!
Language learning is a social event.
We learn in concert with others.
Group your students and use their
differing levels so they help each
other.
Teach cooperation and make a
learning family out of your class.
Key Words: cooperative learning, project
based instruction, pragmatics, social
networking, netizens

21. Pause – create suspense!
Good teachers create anticipation in
their classrooms. Students “attend”
in anticipation of what comes next.
Deliver your lessons so there is a
sense of “what might come next?”.
Pause often to allow students to reflect
and answer questions. A good pause
is what makes action!
Key Words: lesson delivery, lesson
planning, narrative, rhetoric

23. It’s all about happiness
Learning is built on the emotional
world of a student.
Start with happiness and learning will
pour forth.
“I’d rather graduate one happy street
sweeper than a thousand neurotic
prime ministers.” – A.S. Neill

24. “When one teaches,
two learn.”