Teaching someone who has never learnt english

[margyf]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone knew of good webistes and books and learning material to buy.

I am looking at teaching a older polish lady who has never had any english lessons.

I want to be able to teach the fundamentals but I dont want to confuse her too much if this makes sense.

Look forward to hearing from you

[keyidiomas]

I think Oxford's new series, English for Life, is a great resource for older adults beginning to learn English. In my case, my students hadn't studied or been in any sort of academic environment in years and I found that English for Life taught useful English with simple explanations. Each lesson is only 1 page so students feel that they are progressing from early on.

Natural English is another option...the book's objective is to teach practical, conversational English.

Based on my experience with adult absolute beginners, I advise against New English File. I use the books for other types of classes and it's alright, but I find it to be too ¨academic¨ and less conversation-based for older learners.

[H.M.]

Thank yuo for giving these sugesstions

[margyf]

Hi

Thanks for the advice very helpful indeed.

[SunShine]

I found New English File totally confusing. I had to use it for my teaching practice during training. The lessons were too long for 45 minutes and quite often the activities were confusing, even from a teacher's point of view. Consequently, I failed two lessons that had been given to me to teach from that book. I should have followed my instinct and ignored some of the exercises which seemed way beyond the capabilities of my students.