ESL teachers are always supposed to write a lesson plan, to know what they’re going to do in their lesson. However, the biggest part of the job happens ‘on the stage’. Your authentic interest in your students, your skill at improvising, your sense of humour, and your problem-solving skills will weigh more in your evaluation than the perfection of your lesson plan. However, to be good at problem-solving and improvisation, you need to prepare mentally (anticipating problems). Here are some ‘What to do…’ questions for you:
What to do if you don't know the answer to a question?
It might happen even after 20 years of teaching experience. Students ask tricky questions. Rule number 1: Keep cool. Avoid coming up with a random answer and ending up making a mistake. Admit that this question came unexpectedly (perhaps even with some humour: “Good question, Nick. Nick–Teacher: 1–0”). Jot the question down for yourself and promise the student that you’ll get back to them with an answer in the next lesson. It’s important that you actually do so! Students forgive teachers for not knowing everything, but they never forget if you lie to them.
What to do if your ESL student asks you a question that isn’t in your syllabus at that level?
Some students might have studied English for many years but end up in a lower level because, while they’re well-trained in grammar and vocabulary, they’re weaker in listening skills, for example. These students often feel frustrated and try to prove themselves by asking questions that are meant for higher levels. The problem is that this can confuse the other students, and you might get tangled up in explanations that are time-consuming and often require more background knowledge than the class has yet covered.
The best thing to do is not to answer these questions in class, but to give the student a chance to discuss it with you privately: during your office hours or via email. Explain to them, though, that the question will be covered at A2/B1/etc. level, so they might prefer to just wait a while. Most students don’t even bother writing an email or coming to see you, since the question was really more for their own benefit than for the rest of the class.
What to do if one of your students provides an extensive grammar explanation to the other students in their first language?
This happened to me — they even commented on my “poor Italian” (we weren’t supposed to use Italian in the classroom, obviously). Classroom rules are very useful for avoiding these situations, but more importantly, you need to insist on them:
- only English in the classroom;
- try to explain things in English (for example, describing a word you’re looking for);
- listen to your peers;
- put your hand up before speaking, etc.
Praise students who respect the rules, and make nice but firm comments after any breach. For example, as my dear colleague from Oxford did after reminding the students three times to let him explain the grammar: “You – student. Me – teacher. Me – boss.” It worked, and he even got high scores in the customer feedback…
What to do if you have to teach a book the first time?
Read the Teacher’s Book. It gives a detailed proposal for your lessons. You can always add your own ideas to it and leave out many of the smaller tasks. You just need to understand which points are essential to the syllabus (which grammar vs. vocabulary you need to teach, and which reading vs. listening task pre-teaches or activates these).
What to do if you have any questions?
Ask me in the comment section.