How does one teach English to speakers of other languages (TESOL)?
November 9, 2023 9:20 PM Subscribe
How do you teach English (your [hypothetical] only language) to adults who don't know any English at all?
I googled it and searched here (167 results and the first 30 odd were not quite what I wanted), so people who have English only, how do you teach it to people who don't have any English at all?
Like, first day in the classroom, do you point to yourself and say, "teacher" and write it on the board and hope they don't think you just said your own name? Do you have a bazillion flash cards and show a picture of an orange, with the word orange underneath and say "orange"?
How do you get across the meaning of verbs like "are"(no picture for that), and past and future tenses and plurals and stuff?
Anything else interesting you want to share that I haven't thought to ask? Thanks.
I googled it and searched here (167 results and the first 30 odd were not quite what I wanted), so people who have English only, how do you teach it to people who don't have any English at all?
Like, first day in the classroom, do you point to yourself and say, "teacher" and write it on the board and hope they don't think you just said your own name? Do you have a bazillion flash cards and show a picture of an orange, with the word orange underneath and say "orange"?
How do you get across the meaning of verbs like "are"(no picture for that), and past and future tenses and plurals and stuff?
Anything else interesting you want to share that I haven't thought to ask? Thanks.
How do you teach a child? You simplify things, you speak very clearly, you repeat a lot, you use the things around you, you build up vocabulary, you use some humor and creativity.
As Michael Tomasello has shown, children learn best in a one-on-one environment where language is a commentary on a situation they understand-- such as playing with toys.
Some abstractions aren't that hard. You drive the toy car off the table and it falls down: a perfect opportunity to use the past tense. You have two toy cars: this is a car, these are cars. And sure, the child will take longer to learn some things: they get by for awhile with "Where Daddy?" And that's fine; they need to learn the content words first.
It's an actual teaching method to use the language to be taught exclusively, or as near as possible. I have a French textbook by teachers who used this method. Obviously they had years of experience to draw on to explain French words without using English.
I expect it's not ideal for, say, the first semester. But you could do it, and millions of people have, when they suddenly found themselves in close contact with foreigners.
posted by zompist at 9:59 PM on November 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
As Michael Tomasello has shown, children learn best in a one-on-one environment where language is a commentary on a situation they understand-- such as playing with toys.
Some abstractions aren't that hard. You drive the toy car off the table and it falls down: a perfect opportunity to use the past tense. You have two toy cars: this is a car, these are cars. And sure, the child will take longer to learn some things: they get by for awhile with "Where Daddy?" And that's fine; they need to learn the content words first.
It's an actual teaching method to use the language to be taught exclusively, or as near as possible. I have a French textbook by teachers who used this method. Obviously they had years of experience to draw on to explain French words without using English.
I expect it's not ideal for, say, the first semester. But you could do it, and millions of people have, when they suddenly found themselves in close contact with foreigners.
posted by zompist at 9:59 PM on November 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
One of the methods the Peace Corps used (at least in the 90s) was Total Physical Response, which is very gestural: "I stand up," "I sit down," "You stand up," "You sit down," "I open the door," "You open the door," and so on. You act out everything, and you ask your students to act out everything.
You probably wouldn't think in terms of teaching the verb "is" as a single word/concept, at least at first. You'd think in terms of teaching phrases and sentences - "Which marker is purple? Yes, that marker is purple. Please give me the purple marker."
And (perhaps surprisingly), there's actually a lot of grammar that you can teach just using TPR. For example, if I wanted to introduce past tense, I might say, "Maria, draw on the blackboard," and then I might say, "Maria drew on the blackboard. Class, who drew on the blackboard?" Eventually you might transition to something like TPRS, which grew out of Total Physical Response but is more reliant on storytelling, so it's easier to work more sophisticated grammar into it.
posted by Jeanne at 10:04 PM on November 9, 2023 [5 favorites]
You probably wouldn't think in terms of teaching the verb "is" as a single word/concept, at least at first. You'd think in terms of teaching phrases and sentences - "Which marker is purple? Yes, that marker is purple. Please give me the purple marker."
And (perhaps surprisingly), there's actually a lot of grammar that you can teach just using TPR. For example, if I wanted to introduce past tense, I might say, "Maria, draw on the blackboard," and then I might say, "Maria drew on the blackboard. Class, who drew on the blackboard?" Eventually you might transition to something like TPRS, which grew out of Total Physical Response but is more reliant on storytelling, so it's easier to work more sophisticated grammar into it.
posted by Jeanne at 10:04 PM on November 9, 2023 [5 favorites]
Keep in mind that these adults (presumably) already speak at least one language fluently. They're familiar with the concept of a verb and (at some point) they will be actively looking to learn some.
For instance, one you've taught 'red' and 'apple', they can probably learn 'are' from 'apples are red' (and a hundred other uses).
posted by demi-octopus at 11:31 PM on November 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
For instance, one you've taught 'red' and 'apple', they can probably learn 'are' from 'apples are red' (and a hundred other uses).
posted by demi-octopus at 11:31 PM on November 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I can tell you exactly how I did it. I used to teach folks who had very little or sometimes no English. The classes would be mixed, so they didn’t all speak the same language as each other, either. The first couple of weeks were always baffling for everyone but we’d get through it with gestures and pictures. I put post-it notes on everything in the classroom. The door had a post-it that said “door.” The garbage can had one that said “garbage can.” Et cetera.
It’s important to load them up with vocabulary. I would teach nouns by showing them the item or a picture of the item and saying the word and writing it on the board for them so they can see how it’s spelled. Yes, this is tricky for folks whose first language doesn’t use the Roman alphabet. I taught them nouns in thematic groups: items in the classroom. Rooms of the house. Members of the family. Parts of the body. Clothing.
I taught them set phrases at first. “Hi. My name is _______.” Then I’d ask a question, “What’s your name?” It didn’t matter if they understood each word, or the verb “is,” or things like that. It mattered that they understood that when they heard those sounds, it meant that someone is telling you their name and then the question is asking you what your name is. I’d show them videos of about ten people in a row saying, “My name is _______.” They’d quickly figure out that the one variable was the person’s name, and the rest of the sentence was an indicator that the person was going to tell you their name. Then I’d get them to practice introducing themselves.
A lot of beginner language teaching is like this. You set up an authentic situation (e.g. you are meeting someone) and then teach them the language chunks they need to communicate in that situation. Doesn’t matter if they don’t know what each individual word means at first.
I did teach them verbs, too—same thing. I’d demonstrate the verb, or show a video of someone doing the thing. Verbs were also taught in thematic groups: activities you do in school (write, read, speak). Activities you do at home (clean, sleep, eat). I also taught simple verb tenses in a particular order. Early on I’d teach simple present: “I eat breakfast in the morning” and present progressive (“She is eating breakfast right now”) would come a little later. You’ll note it includes “is,” which the students learned is a helping verb that has different forms depending on the subject. They learned that by repetition, by being shown “She is eating” “He is sleeping” “They are walking” and figuring out the grammar patterns. Simple past (“I cleaned the kitchen”) was a little later on.
The first few weeks were never easy, but you’d be surprised how quickly people picked up simple vocabulary and phrases. I got them to do speaking, listening, writing and reading. Our classroom was total immersion; I didn’t speak their languages and they only (mostly) spoke English in the classroom, though sometimes they’d need to translate and would use their translation dictionaries (now they’d use Google Translate, probably). But we encouraged them to use simple language until they got it, and then build on it as time went by.
I really enjoyed teaching beginner English. I got to know my students really well because I was with them about 4 hours per day, and it was fun. I quickly learned how to communicate with folks who didn’t share a common language with me. Also, even though it’s been ages since I taught beginner English, I’m still really good at Pictionary and charades!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:04 AM on November 10, 2023 [22 favorites]
It’s important to load them up with vocabulary. I would teach nouns by showing them the item or a picture of the item and saying the word and writing it on the board for them so they can see how it’s spelled. Yes, this is tricky for folks whose first language doesn’t use the Roman alphabet. I taught them nouns in thematic groups: items in the classroom. Rooms of the house. Members of the family. Parts of the body. Clothing.
I taught them set phrases at first. “Hi. My name is _______.” Then I’d ask a question, “What’s your name?” It didn’t matter if they understood each word, or the verb “is,” or things like that. It mattered that they understood that when they heard those sounds, it meant that someone is telling you their name and then the question is asking you what your name is. I’d show them videos of about ten people in a row saying, “My name is _______.” They’d quickly figure out that the one variable was the person’s name, and the rest of the sentence was an indicator that the person was going to tell you their name. Then I’d get them to practice introducing themselves.
A lot of beginner language teaching is like this. You set up an authentic situation (e.g. you are meeting someone) and then teach them the language chunks they need to communicate in that situation. Doesn’t matter if they don’t know what each individual word means at first.
I did teach them verbs, too—same thing. I’d demonstrate the verb, or show a video of someone doing the thing. Verbs were also taught in thematic groups: activities you do in school (write, read, speak). Activities you do at home (clean, sleep, eat). I also taught simple verb tenses in a particular order. Early on I’d teach simple present: “I eat breakfast in the morning” and present progressive (“She is eating breakfast right now”) would come a little later. You’ll note it includes “is,” which the students learned is a helping verb that has different forms depending on the subject. They learned that by repetition, by being shown “She is eating” “He is sleeping” “They are walking” and figuring out the grammar patterns. Simple past (“I cleaned the kitchen”) was a little later on.
The first few weeks were never easy, but you’d be surprised how quickly people picked up simple vocabulary and phrases. I got them to do speaking, listening, writing and reading. Our classroom was total immersion; I didn’t speak their languages and they only (mostly) spoke English in the classroom, though sometimes they’d need to translate and would use their translation dictionaries (now they’d use Google Translate, probably). But we encouraged them to use simple language until they got it, and then build on it as time went by.
I really enjoyed teaching beginner English. I got to know my students really well because I was with them about 4 hours per day, and it was fun. I quickly learned how to communicate with folks who didn’t share a common language with me. Also, even though it’s been ages since I taught beginner English, I’m still really good at Pictionary and charades!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:04 AM on November 10, 2023 [22 favorites]
Response by poster: All the answers are great, thank you.
hurdy gurdy girl, I think we intersect in a simple Venn diagram (pictionary and charades) but the rest of my circle is using graphic design to translate academic papers into images / diagrams for presentations and textbooks. That was a fascinating response. Thank you.
posted by b33j at 3:00 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
hurdy gurdy girl, I think we intersect in a simple Venn diagram (pictionary and charades) but the rest of my circle is using graphic design to translate academic papers into images / diagrams for presentations and textbooks. That was a fascinating response. Thank you.
posted by b33j at 3:00 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was an ESL tutor during college as a volunteer activity. Since they recruited people without prior training, they had books specifically for that purpose we could use. My sessions would include walking the student through the book exercises, which did include a lot of pictures. I think sets of icons/pictograms can go a long way through helping people intuitively distinguish between things like "I am [name]" and "I am [job]"
So there are likely resources out there already created for this purpose that you could use in addition to the strategies others have suggested, if you have funds for it.
posted by space snail at 4:18 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
So there are likely resources out there already created for this purpose that you could use in addition to the strategies others have suggested, if you have funds for it.
posted by space snail at 4:18 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've taken in-person Berlitz courses (which are immersive, no English) and I've taken TOEFL certification courses.
I think one of the major hurdles to your difficulty understanding is you're conflating speaking / understanding a language with reading it. In the Berlitz courses I took for Spanish, for instance, I don't think there even was a blackboard. It was all just pictures without words.
Since the students were all adults who spoke one non-Spanish language, you basically piece things together. "Oh, they've now used es multiple times where I would use is. Therefore..."
Just as you wouldn't attempt to teach a child to read and write when they're only learning how to speak, the same is true with adults.
To me, one of the more difficult concepts to learn / teach happens when there's gendered language. For instance, in Spanish, if a woman is speaking, she'd use the word encadata to mean enchanted. But a man would say encadato. Since I speak English, there's no real parallel for understanding this concept. It might be easier for someone who speaks French, which is also gendered. Having masculine and feminine words is also confusing. So El means the in Spanish when the thing being spoken about is masculine, but if the thing is feminine you'd use La. Again, no parallel in English.
posted by dobbs at 6:21 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think one of the major hurdles to your difficulty understanding is you're conflating speaking / understanding a language with reading it. In the Berlitz courses I took for Spanish, for instance, I don't think there even was a blackboard. It was all just pictures without words.
Since the students were all adults who spoke one non-Spanish language, you basically piece things together. "Oh, they've now used es multiple times where I would use is. Therefore..."
Just as you wouldn't attempt to teach a child to read and write when they're only learning how to speak, the same is true with adults.
To me, one of the more difficult concepts to learn / teach happens when there's gendered language. For instance, in Spanish, if a woman is speaking, she'd use the word encadata to mean enchanted. But a man would say encadato. Since I speak English, there's no real parallel for understanding this concept. It might be easier for someone who speaks French, which is also gendered. Having masculine and feminine words is also confusing. So El means the in Spanish when the thing being spoken about is masculine, but if the thing is feminine you'd use La. Again, no parallel in English.
posted by dobbs at 6:21 AM on November 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I believe there are some courses you can take on Coursera that will at least teach you some ESL teaching basics. It's been a LONG TIME I've looked though, so the offerings may have changed.
posted by kschang at 8:38 AM on November 10, 2023
posted by kschang at 8:38 AM on November 10, 2023
Just because no one else has said it, TESOL is an academic discipline with research and training into best practices just like any other academic discipline.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:39 AM on November 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 4:39 AM on November 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
There's actually a series of books using "the Nature Method," developed by Arthur M. Jensen. You can view English by the Nature Method at the Internet Archive. There are several similar books for other languages, including Italian, German, and French.
hurdy gurdy girl's approach is excellent, and is similar to other accounts I've read, but I think the Nature Method books are also really helpful - at least, they've been really useful for me, studying German on my own.
posted by kristi at 4:36 PM on November 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
hurdy gurdy girl's approach is excellent, and is similar to other accounts I've read, but I think the Nature Method books are also really helpful - at least, they've been really useful for me, studying German on my own.
posted by kristi at 4:36 PM on November 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
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I imagine in many/most cases the students would have access to learning materials that use the student's language.
posted by lookoutbelow at 9:38 PM on November 9, 2023 [2 favorites]