Summer is here and so are English language intensive courses. Adults and teens are lining up at your classroom doors, full of enthusiasm and ready to learn English. But soon they’re staring out the windows, looking up at the bright blue skies and wishing they were on the beach, or - frankly - doing anything but studying English for the next 100 hours.
So how can you turn it around and keep your learners on track and motivated this summer?
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You have a lot to do in this first class. It sets the tone for the entire English course and is your chance to show your students what you expect from them and what they can expect from you.
In teen classes, you’ll need to spend time outlining class rules and establishing your authority. You can do this by creating a class contract together and getting everyone to sign it. Although it’s summer and you want to have a good time, remember to stay firm and use an authoritative voice - at least for the first week or two.
With adults, it’s essential that they leave the first class feeling like they’ve learned something. By all means, start with some fun activities to break the ice, but make sure they go home feeling that their money was well spent.
You’ll also need to spend some time getting to know your students in both adult and teen classes.
While learning about their interests, you should also find out about their personal and professional objectives, so you can tailor your classes to meet their needs. Do this by surveying the class early on and use their ideas to plan later classes and projects. Students always appreciate personalization - and it certainly helps keep them motivated.
Your first class should be interesting, fun and focused on breaking the ice. But perhaps more importantly, it should challenge them. No one wants to take an easy course - it feels like a waste of time (and money). If your activities feel too easy, they’ll switch off, their minds will wander, and it will be tough for you to recapture their attention.
It’s therefore a good idea to have a range of activities of various difficulties up your sleeve. If students find things too easy, you can increase the challenge.
In addition, you should always have extra work for fast finishers. Teens especially get distracted quickly, but adults will also lose interest if you’re not giving them enough to do. So make sure to mix fun, dynamic activities with level-appropriate materials.
Set your objectives early on. This includes:
People like to know why they are doing things and how it will be useful for them. Objectives are a good reminder of this, and you can help students track their progress towards their goals by giving them daily or weekly can-do statements or by having them keep a learner journal.
It’s a great idea to start every class reviewing what happened in the previous class or the previous week. This helps students refocus and remember what they did, and sets the tone for the rest of the day. It also allows you to re-establish authority with teenagers if students were rowdy or distracted in the previous class. Go over the rules again, if necessary, and explain they’re starting over with a clean sheet.
You can also have students reflect at the end of each class, sharing what they found hard, what they learned, what they enjoyed most and what they want to do more of. This will help you continue to deliver classes that challenge and interest them during the course.
Routine is important but so is surprise. Once you’ve established how things work and the activities and projects are well underway, turn it upside down. Take students outside, play a game or start an inter-class competition.
It will refresh your students, re-energize them and give them a new kind of challenge. It will also keep them on their toes and excited about what you plan next - a great motivational tool.
Introduce challenging themes, topical content and allow students to bring their own articles, videos and photos. Using authentic materials alongside coursebooks is a great way to motivate students. If they see that they can understand and work with real-world content, they’ll increase confidence in their own abilities.
Progress, progress, progress. Without it your students will lose all motivation, even if your classes are challenging. Use a course to support your curriculum. Not only will it help you develop themes during the language course, but it will scaffold language and give students a physical reminder of what they are learning and achieving.
At Pearson Languages, 2024 has been a landmark year full of innovation, connection, and impactful resources for businesses worldwide. We’ve worked on so many things with the aim to empower global workforces and help organizations unlock the potential of language skills to drive business success. Here's how we made a difference this year.
As the new year approaches, it's the perfect time to reflect on our teaching practices and plan engaging, effective lessons for our English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Thoughtfully crafted lesson plans can make a significant difference in the learning outcomes and engagement levels of your students. Whether you're teaching young children, teenagers, or adults, the principles of effective lesson planning remain consistent. Here are some ideas, hints and tips to help you create dynamic and successful ESL lessons for students of all ages.
Begin each lesson with clear, achievable objectives. What do you want your students to learn by the end of the lesson? Objectives provide a roadmap for both you and your students, ensuring that everyone is focused and aware of the goals. For example, an objective might be "Students will be able to use past tense verbs to describe their weekend activities." Clear objectives provide direction and help you measure student progress.
To cater to different learning styles and keep students engaged, incorporate a mix of teaching methods and activities. Here are a few ideas:
Authentic materials—such as newspapers, menus, brochures and videos—expose students to real-world language and contexts. These materials can make lessons more interesting and relevant, helping students see the practical application of their language skills. Even better, they’re everywhere, so easy to find. Here are some more suggestions for how to select and use authentic materials in your English language teaching.
Teachers are already used to leveraging technology to enhance lessons utilizing online resources, language learning apps and interactive platforms to create a dynamic learning environment. Why not take this a step further by using AI to create your own resources. Take a look at our blog on How to make the most of AI in the classroom for some more ideas.
How can teachers use the Global Scale of English (GSE) and AI to help students set and achieve language learning goals for the new year?
As the new year rolls around, it’s the perfect time for students to set fresh language learning goals. But for teachers, it’s not just about inspiring students—it’s about giving them clear, measurable goals that they can actually achieve. That’s where the GSE, a very powerful tool, comes in. It can help teachers create personalized learning paths based on where students are right now and guide them toward their language goals throughout the year. Let’s dive into how the GSE can work to boost student progress.
The GSE is a precise framework that measures English proficiency with remarkable detail. Each score on the GSE aligns with specific speaking, listening, reading and writing competencies. For instance, a student with a GSE score of 50 might handle everyday conversations comfortably (B1 level), while a score of 75 indicates functioning at a more advanced level (C1).
What sets the GSE apart is its granularity—it goes beyond general levels of "intermediate" or "advanced," allowing teachers to identify exactly what their students can do at any stage. This level of detail enables teachers to set targeted, skill-specific goals for every learner, ensuring personalized and purposeful progression.
Before setting goals, it’s important to determine each student’s current standing. The GSE is an excellent tool for this because it provides a detailed breakdown of a student's skills. Teachers can use GSE-aligned assessments to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, which gives a clearer picture than just knowing if a student is at an “intermediate” or “advanced” level.
Once you know where students are, you can set a baseline. For instance, if a student’s reading score is 52, you’ll know that they are likely in the B1 range, and you can target specific skills (like improving vocabulary or understanding main ideas) to move them forward.
Now that you know where each student stands, it's time to set some goals. These should be realistic, measurable and achievable based on their current level and the time span involved. The key is to pick goals that will push them to improve without overwhelming them. The GSE has detailed descriptions of what students can do at each level. You can pinpoint specific skills that need attention by looking at these descriptors. We know that large goals can feel intimidating, so break them into smaller, manageable chunks. Here, the GSE is an amazing resource, thanks to its granularity.
Using the GSE Learning Objectives (LOs) in conjunction with an LLM (Large Language Model) opens up a world of possibilities for creating focused activities at the right level for each student. Here are some key points on how this combination enhances personalized learning:
By combining the GSE LOs and harnessing the power of an LLM like ChatGPT, teachers can create personalized activities that cater to individual students' language needs, promote active learning, and foster continuous improvement.
Setting goals is just the start—tracking progress and adjusting those goals as needed is just as important. Throughout the year, teachers should regularly check in with students to make sure they’re on track. How can we monitor and adjust? Here are some tips.
Teachers should schedule regular one-on-one sessions with students to review their progress. The GSE can clearly show students their progress.
If students are achieving their goals faster than expected, adjusting their targets is important to keep them challenged. If they’re struggling, the goals might need to be more achievable, with smaller, more gradual steps.
Using the GSE can help students set clear, measurable goals and steadily progress throughout the year. By assessing where students are starting, setting specific GSE-based goals, creating personalized learning paths with AI, and continuously tracking progress, teachers can create a more dynamic and effective learning experience for their students. The new year is the perfect opportunity to help students improve their English and achieve their goals—and with these tools, teachers have everything they need to guide students toward success.
