Teaching English To Non-English Speakers

Teaching the English language to a non english speaking person can be exciting and interesting. If this is of interest to you, consider traveling to other countries to teach. 

It is generally preferred for the English teacher to be a native English speaker. 

Here are some common terms you should familiarize yourself with: 

Before you excitedly answer any employment ads you should learn the meaning of commonly used terms as well as recommendations for working locally or abroad. 

TEFL: Teaching English Foreign Language; often refers to teaching English in a foreign country. Known to students as EFL classes. 

TESL: Teaching English as a Second Language; usually refers to teaching English to foreigners in an English speaking country. Known to students as ESL classes. 

Would you prefer to teach locally or abroad? 

For people who wish to travel TEFL can be a great opportunity to interact with new cultures and to finance traveling. It is important to investigate the country you will be traveling to as well as the employer offering the position to ensure you will be safe and have reliable work. You may decide to work with an agency based in your home country that will assist you with legal questions and assist you in making living arrangements. 

While many foreign positions are available to individuals without experience or certification you will likely find the education and resources of a class to be valuable before taking an assignment. If you think you would like to try this career out you might offer your services locally, as a private tutor, or take an instruction class to familiarize yourself with the responsibilities and work required to teach a language. 

The Advantages of Teaching Yourself

Many people will first look into what classes are available when they're interested in learning a new skill, and taking a course does have some advantages. For instance, with a course there is always an instructor to help one learn. Also, some skills can only be taught in groups, like most sports and many kinds of dances. 

Still, putting together one's own study plans seems to offer the greater advantage in most cases. For starters, a person who teaches himself can learn at his own pace. He can study when and where it's most convenient, rather than being bound by a set class schedule. There also aren't the costs of getting to the school. Also, there might not be a course in the skill being offered near his home. There might be a class in French or Spanish at the local continuing education school, but there usually won't be for a course in a more unusual language like Swedish or Finnish. 

Cooking classes are a good example of how self-learning is often the better option. At an adult education center, classes will be offered in a certain type of cooking, like baking Christmas cookies or in preparing thirty-minute recipes, and the course will cost about fifty dollars. One will be shown how to prepare about half a dozen recipes, and will have to write down each and every ingredient and step, hoping not to miss anything. Meanwhile, at the bookstore the same fifty dollars could buy a couple of good cookbooks which will be filled with recipes, and sometimes, there will be step-by-step pictures showing the preparation. It's simpler to buy cookbooks and to go through them at home. 

Strategies for Motivating Students to Learn

As an adjunct education professor I am often asked, "How do I motivate students to learn?"

Motivating students to learn is a struggle that all teachers face.

Since I also teach middle school social studies it is the challenge I personally face everyday.

The truth is motivating students to learn is one of the key components of effective teaching AND classroom management.

If students are not motivated to learn then they are most likely not involved in the lesson and if they are not involved in the lesson they are much more likely to cause classroom management problems.

Therefore, it is critical for teachers to increase student motivation to learn and the best way to do this is for teachers to spark student interest at the beginning of every lesson.

Here are six effective strategies for motivating students to learn I do at the beginning of lessons:

1. Use critical thinking questions ~

The great thing about using these types of questions is that they don't necessarily have a right or wrong answer so students are allowed to express their own opinions as opposed to simply being told to memorize facts.