Multiple Choice: Teaching English in a foreign country can be _____________!

01 September 2016 • Tips

Multiple Choice: Teaching English in a foreign country can be _____________.
a. exciting
b. scary
c. confusing
d. the best adventure ever

You’ve accepted a job placement. Signed a contract. Bought a ticket. Packed your bags. Have dreamed of exhilarating destinations and exotic people. You can’t wait to begin your new adventure and your new job!

Your new job…teaching English. Your new job teaching a language. Teaching grammar, you know, grammar? — That thing you haven’t thought of in years…or ever. Okay, breathe.

Whether you’re going to be teaching children, teenagers, or adults, there are some tricks to the trade.

Read on for some tips for teaching, classroom management, and lesson ideas.

Teaching Adults - Motivation to learn

Teaching adults can be intimidating. They are older, so it’s going to be more than singing songs and playing games. They have opinions that may be very different than yours. And they have questions, sometimes seemingly endless questions. But teaching adults can be fun and rewarding.

Adults learn languages for many reasons. Their motivation or lack thereof can make or break a class. It is a good idea to find out why your students are learning English and what their goals are. You don’t want to teach business English to students who are only interested in traveling. While it may seem common sense to ask, many new instructors don’t. Sometimes your school or academy may give you background information for students and sometimes they don’t.

There are many ways we can learn information about our students. Surveys are quick and easy.

We can pair students up and have them interview each other and then report to the class. We can have students introduce themselves, in groups or in front of the class. If you have students introduce themselves, it is a good idea for the teacher to go first. Students can model their answers after yours. We can have students write a small
paragraph, which can then be collected or read out loud, depending on time and class size, of course.

Here is a sample survey you can give to your students. Of course you can add more questions or change the questions.

Student survey
1. How many years have you been studying English?
2. Why are you studying English?
3. What do you want to improve?
4. What do you enjoy doing in English class?
5. What is your hobby?