What Is an Effective Approach for Teaching English?

The most effective approach for teaching English is a well balanced

combination of diverse activities, use of real life scenarios and visual aids,
group work, native English language samples, practice in all four language
skill areas, and a fun, positive attitude. All these components need to be a
part of every lesson as your basic approach to teaching English.

Incorporate All Four Skills

 Reading, writing, speaking and listening are the four components to

teaching and learning English. No matter what skill area your lesson
features, incorporate the others as well. For example, if you are teaching a
listening class, have the students later check their listening activity by
reading what they heard and ask each other follow-up questions to practice
speaking. Have student write down what they did in class or record their
progress in a journal.

Use Real English

 Real English refers to the language used in real life situations. You might
think that all English is “real” but in fact, many textbooks use stale or
outdated vocabulary and situations. Supplement your teaching materials
with authentic language materials such as television and movie clips, articles
from magazines and newspapers, and conversational opportunities with
native English speakers.

Be Active

 Involve the students physically in the lessons. Role playing, simulations,

group work and student presentations are all ways to have the students
physically interact with the language. Have the students practice grammar
 drills in pairs and then have them change partners every five minutes. Have
students stand up or walk around the room as they practice dialogue.
Change the seating arrangements often. When learning verbs or idioms,
have students act out the meanings. Aim to include some kind of physical
activity at least every fifteen minutes for every lesson.

Use Props and Manipulatives

 Learning by doing is one of the most effective methods for teaching English.
Try to simulate real life situations for the language as much as possible by
incorporating things that support meaning. For example, when teaching
directions, use maps. Use pictures as writing prompts, or have students
draw story boards to express ideas. If you are teaching numbers, count
actual items. Whatever the content of your English lesson, try to bring
relevant items for the students interact with as they learn.

Group Work

 Because English is a tool for communication, students learn best when they
learn actively as opposed to passively. To achieve this, group work is very
effective. It is important, however, to mix up the members of the groups often
so that students are constantly being challenged to use English with different
people. Sometimes students can choose their own partners or groups and other
times you can assign groups. Use different methods of choosing group members
to keep the students on their toes.

Have Fun
 A fun, positive attitude is key to effectively teaching English. Learning English is
an on-going process of discovery for the students. Keep this in mind and allow
yourself to share in the joy of discovery. Do this by setting up challenges and
competitions among the students. Play games that help them increase their
vocabulary and expand their thinking. Present surprises during classes such as
an unexpected ending to a story or a scavenger hunt in which they collect items
to be used for a project.