Creating a Good Learning EnvironmentDiscouragement /

criticism / put-down

Passive listening

Not relevant to personal interest

Encouragement / praise

Interactive

Relevant to student’s personal interests and goals.

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An environment that contains tension or anxiety can make the student unavailable for learning. Keep your lessons:

PositiveInteractiveRelevant

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Multi-Sensory Teaching

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Retaining information

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• Hear only 20% • See and hear 40%• See, hear, and do 80%

Lesson Planning

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Components of a Lesson Plan 

• Conversations 

• Vocabulary 

• Pronunciation 

• Formal English Skills 

• Life Survival Skills 

• Reading and Writing 

• Homework  

 

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Conver-sation

English Skills

Life Skills

Lesson

Make your lessons:Learner centeredRelevantPurposefulFlexible

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Before your first lesson:You will -have met your student at the office.have agreed on a time and place to meet.know your student’s learning level and goals.have prepared a phone dialogue for your

student to use to cancel a class.probably NOT have chosen a book to use with

your student.

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Guide for First ESL LessonDon’t try to do too much.Do some informal assessment. Speak English as much as possible.Keep corrections to a minimum.Speak naturally.

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Ideas for First Lesson

Bring a photo to share (family, job related).Role play phone conversation.Teach words your student can use to let you

know he/she didn’t understand.

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Language learners are more successful when their anxiety level is lowWork to create a relaxed and trusting

atmosphere.Laughter is a great stress reducer.Guarantee success by building on skills

previously taught and breaking skills into small easy steps.

Review, review, review.Praise, praise, praise!

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Homework is Essential!Homework should be structured and

meaningful to your student.Always include “Practice English” with

concrete examples and a recording sheet.Make sure the amount you assign is

reasonable for your student’s situation.Acknowledge, correct and praise your

student’s homework efforts!

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Overview of ESL Teaching Materials

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CASAS assessment (Comprehensive Adult Student

Assessment System) Students are assessed on entering program

and at the end of the fiscal year.Reading test is multiple choice and tests

reading comprehension only.Listening and writing tests are also available. You will be told your student’s level.You will use this level to choose materials,

monitor your student’s improvement in reading and for Life Survival Assessments.

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High Beginning ESLSPL 3 Listening/Speaking: Functions with some difficulty in situations related to immediate needs; may have somesimple oral communication abilities using basic learned phrases and sentences. Reading/Writing: Reads and writesletters and numbers and a limited number of basic sight words and simple phrases related to immediate needs. Canwrite basic personal information on simplified forms. Employability: Can handle routine entry-level jobs that involveonly the most basic oral or written communication in English and in which all tasks can be demonstrated.

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The following books are available at the Literacy Office. As a tutor, you may check out a Teacher’s Guide, a Student Book and Workbook, but please return them to the office when you finish using them. If only a couple of sections are needed from a workbook, please make copies of those pages. You may use the office copy machine for this. In addition, there are numerous other books and workbooks at the office including an extensive collection of reading comprehension activities.

Come browse!!

Session TwoTo become aware of individual differences in how

adult students learn – Learning Channels and Multi-Sensory Teaching

To learn to design a lesson plan geared to your student’s needs

To become familiar with a variety of teaching materials

To become familiar with technology resources for teaching ESL

To become familiar with additional Life Survival Skills and how to incorporate them into your lesson plan

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