Teaching English to Absolute Beginners: 8 Best Tips and Strategies

As a teacher, I find that teaching English to absolute beginners can be both an exciting and challenging experience. It takes a lot of patience, creativity, and resourcefulness to break down the fundamental concepts into their simplest elements and communicate them effectively to learners without prior knowledge. 

Teaching math at a high school in China gave me the opportunity to help my students build their foundation in English, which ultimately led them to perform better in my math class. 

Keep reading to explore a few tips and strategies I used that work well for me when teaching English to absolute beginners. 

1. Establish a genuine connection with your students

I believe that the first step in teaching English to absolute beginners is to establish a connection with your students. As teachers, we must create a safe and comfortable environment for our students. 

I found that building a rapport with my students will help them feel comfortable and confident in their ability to learn. 

I suggest you start by getting to know your students’ interests, hobbies, and goals, as it will help you tailor your lessons to their needs and make them more engaging.

2. Start with the basics

When teaching absolute beginners, I think we should remember that it is important to start with the basics. 

I suggest you assume that your students have zero English level; instead, I suggest you focus on helping them build functional vocabulary levels, such as greetings, simple verbs, and common nouns. 

Try to use simple sentences and avoid complex grammar rules that may overwhelm your student. As your student progresses, you can gradually introduce more complex vocabulary and grammar, building up from the most basic foundation.

You can also start with the English alphabet, numbers, and common greetings. I suggest you use visuals such as flashcards, pictures, and videos to aid learners’ comprehension. Make sure to explain the meaning and pronunciation of every word thoroughly.

3. Simplify grammar and vocabulary

In the beginning, I suggest you avoid using complex grammar structures and technical terminologies when teaching absolute beginners. I encourage you to simplify grammar rules and make them easy to remember through repetition and practicing them in context. 

Try to teach new vocabulary in context and avoid teaching random words without any relevant context. 

Also, ensure your students have plenty of opportunities to practice and use new vocabulary and grammar structures in real-life situations.

4. Use visual aids whenever possible

In my experience teaching absolute beginners, I found that they typically struggle to understand complex language concepts, which is why I generally use visual aids such as pictures, videos, and diagrams. 

The truth is that visual aids can help your student connect words with objects, actions, and concepts, making it easier for them to remember and use new vocabulary. 

I also encourage you to try to use real-life situations in your examples to keep the lesson relevant and practical.

5. Use a variety of teaching materials and methods

I also find that when teaching absolute beginners, it is important to incorporate a variety of teaching materials and methods into our lessons. 

You can try using textbooks, children’s stories, songs, and real-life situations to make lessons more engaging and interactive for your students. 

Teach vocabulary with “realia,” which includes actual objects that your students can see, touch, and interact with. 

I generally use stories, cartoons, and games to help my students remember grammar structures and vocabulary in context.

6. Encourage your students to practice a lot

As the saying goes, repetition is the mother of all skills, which also applies to teaching absolute beginners. Try to encourage your student to practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills as much as possible in and outside the classroom.

You can encourage your students to practice through homework assignments, practicing with a language partner, or engaging in simple conversation. 

I discovered that the more my students practice, the more confident they will become in using the English language.

7. Provide positive feedback and encouragement

Positive feedback is an essential part of learning any new skill. When teaching English to absolute beginners, I suggest you encourage your student to ask questions and provide feedback on their progress. 

When providing feedback to your students, be positive in choosing your words, and provide specific examples to help your student understand where they are succeeding and where they need to work. 

Also, try to acknowledge your students’ efforts and progress, no matter how small, to help them build confidence and motivation to continue learning.

It is absolutely important to create a safe and welcoming environment where your students can feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes.

8. Capitalize on using technology

I realized that utilizing technology can make language learning more engaging and interactive for absolute beginners. I encourage you to use online resources like ChatGPT, interactive games, flashcards, and apps to make lessons more fun and memorable. 

Try to encourage students to practice their listening, speaking, and writing skills through online language exchange platforms and streaming English content, such as podcasts, movies, and TV shows with subtitles.

Final thoughts 

In my experience, even though teaching English to absolute beginners has been challenging, it also has been an extremely rewarding experience.

Overall, I found that by establishing a connection with your student, using visual aids, starting with the basics, encouraging practice, and providing feedback, you can help your student build a strong foundation in the English language. 

Remember to be patient, kind, understanding, keep things simple, use lots of repetition, and make lessons engaging and fun while providing a comfortable, safe, and welcoming environment for learners to learn and practice, as it will ensure your students successfully progress in their language-learning journey.