Comments on: How Do I Teach ESL Without Speaking the Students’ Language?

By: Hector

Hector — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 17:42:39 +0000

Simple – you can draw or use a calendar. And avoid things like using “u” instead of “you”.

By: Shelley Ann Vernon

Shelley Ann Vernon — Thu, 17 May 2018 10:28:26 +0000

I agree with Robin Graham. It’s always possible to teach using only English and frequently it is the only solution, when you have a multi-lingual class for example.

To answer Karl, asking how to teach months of the year, I came up with these ideas:

The idea is this: Pick 6 months with typical weather. If weather isn’t an option, keep reading because there are alternatives lower down.
Write up the month and draw a pic of the typical weather.
Spread those over the board – word + pic.

If the UK it could be:
January: freezing weather
March: leaves coming out on trees
April: rain
July: sunshine
October: Autumn leaves
December: snow

That’s six months – which is enough in one lesson for the little ones or they won’t learn any of them – better six than a blur.

Now you call out the month and they mime it. Then they mime and you guess. In teams – one mimes – the others guess. They will loosen up with the miming as they get used to it. However if they don’t like it don’t insist.

Get the kids to each draw one of the types of weather. Call out the month and the kids with that picture all jump up and shout out the month. After you’ve called each month once the kids swap papers and do it again.

Then you can take one of each weather and stick it on the wall (kids can do a gap fill while you stick them up).

I might be interesting to do “In January I make snowmen”, in March I ….” whatever activities the kids do in those months.

If your pupils are in the tropics and have never known snow then adapt these ideas to something relevant. For example there might be a festival in a certain month of the year. One could just as easily associate each month to a special day or festival, relevant to the country you are in. Equally one could associate the date of birth of a famous person, known to your students, with a month.

I’m author of several games books for teaching English in fun ways. You can check them out on Amazon under Shelley Ann Vernon, or on my website Teaching-English-Games dot com.

By: Ms. C

Ms. C — Wed, 02 May 2018 14:58:45 +0000

I agree. If you’re teaching solely language then that makes sense, but if you’re teaching a content plus language, then you have to find a way to make that content comprehensible to the students. Plus, there are so many new apps and websites that make much easier to communicate regardless of knowing the language. You also have to be careful where you teach. If you teach in a country that has a history of suppressing that first language, you want to be careful telling that student not to speak it. You could be sending the wrong message. I usually just do both: try my best to use the first language as a foundation and then start moving to only English as they get better.

By: Victor Garcia

Victor Garcia — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 04:48:38 +0000

I totally agree with B, Gain. The first language L1 (whatever might be) could the best tool to teach a second language L2. Specially out of the L2 environment. Now, as it happens with every single tool, if you don´t know how to use it, is better not to try it because instead of a tool, you´ll have a setback. I used to see a sign in all English Institutions in Colombia my country; official and private, saying: “Think in English”. That´s silly for me! How is that possible for a beginner student? How does a human being could think in a language he or she doesn´t know anything about it?

By: Kuitair

Kuitair — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 06:46:24 +0000

I have seen it work in certain situation. I know that teaching only in the target language is possible. I also believe that bilingual education is best in certain circumstances. It really depends on the students. However, there is also the factor of motivation. If students are not motivated and will not use that language, it becomes more difficult to gain their cooperation. My question is how does one teach using only the target language when it comes to behavior problems in the classroom (especially if the teacher does not start the year off with the students)?

By: Rei

Rei — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 01:00:45 +0000

I have to agree with B. Gain- after 15 years teaching English in China, Japan, and Korea the English Only approach only works on paper. One of the biggest drawbacks is that there is no ‘flexing’ of English muscles outside of class. And while English only looks wonderful written on a pamphlet to promote the school, it’s the students who take the hit if they cannot ‘learn English’ in the 40 mins a day that they spend trying to figure out what the heck you’ve said. Even when I learned Japanese in university they delivered the instruction with English- and when English natives learn other languages they ALWAYS use English. I call it a ‘touch stone’ by providing the vocabulary in Chinese and expanding the English from there…that way students are allowed to understand the fundamentals of the lesson while still using English. These kids aren’t hearing it in their daily lives, they aren’t using it after class and it’s unrealistic to think that they will magically learn to swim if you throw them in the ocean without any tools.

By: Karl

Karl — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 16:09:43 +0000

What about the months of the year or days of the it has no image or drawing how they will be able to know
What you are talking about ..

I think u are going to show the equivalent words in their language or show them the meaning using spanish english dictionary..

By: B. Gain

B. Gain — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:05:43 +0000

I do not completely agree with this assessment. I am assuming he is dealing with adults in a training school or students that have some basic understanding of English to begin with. Perhaps he is teaching middle school, high school or university. For true beginners, teaching a mix of English with a native language is best. Especially with younger people. Sure, some will take hold of English and run with it. But, at what costs? I have seen this type of English learning that he explains. What typically happens is that the achievers in the class take off running, but far too many others are left behind in the dust and they never really fully recover from their initial failure. I think the most prudent advice to give is to evaluate the quality of the students and determine what might be the best course of action to take. Just because one method or experience works for a person, does not mean it will work in all situations. That is why teachers need to be flexible and innovators.