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Teaching beginners is considered by many to be the most challengine level of language instruction.Since students at this level have little or no prior knowledge of English on which to build, the teacher (and accompanying techniques and materials) becomes a central determiner in whether or no students accomplish their goals.
3. Teacher talk
4. Authenticity of language 5. Fluency and accuracy
6. Student creativity
7. Techniques 8. Listening and speaking goals 9. Reading and writing goals 10.Grammar
LEVEL 1 Beginner
The knowledge of a beginner student may range from knowing nothing of the language to having basic vocabulary and knowledge of some phrases, but being generally unable to communicate in the language.
LEVEL 3 Intermediate
At this level, students are capable of managing the language within everyday situations that are predictable. They can talk about personal interests, have survival skills for travel, and can express and recognize some degree of opinion, attitude, and mood within a limited conversation. At work, intermediate students can interact with clients and colleagues when the topic is predictable and within their field of knowledge. A student will be able to ask basic questions and understand a lecturer if allowances are made for non-native speakers.
LEVEL 5 Advanced
An advanced student has a high degree of fluency and a comfortable use of language structure. At this level, students are aware of the role that the language plays within the culture and can adapt their language use according to the situation. They can manage themselves easily within routine areas, can maintain lengthy casual conversations, and have a wide range of expressions. At work, advanced students can easily discuss work-related topics, give presentations, and effectively argue a point or defend a position. Likewise they can follow meetings on topics within their area of knowledge. A student at this level can understand lectures and give presentations if the topic is not particularly complex.
False Beginners
Beginners that have already studied some English at some point in their life. Most of these learners have studied English at school, many for a number of years. These learners have usually had some contact with English since their schools years, but feel that they have little command of the language and therefore want to begin 'from the top'. Teachers can usually assume that these students will understand basic conversations and questions such as: 'Are you married?', 'Where are you from?', 'Do you speak English?', and so on. Often these learners will be familiar with grammar concepts and teachers can launch into descriptions of sentence structure and have students follow along reasonably well.
Absolute Beginners
These are learners who have had no contact with English at all. They often come from developing nations and often have had very little education. These students are often more challenging to teach as the teacher can not expect learners to understand even a minimal amount of English. The question,'How are you?', will not be understood and the teacher must begin at the very beginning, usually with no common language with which to explain the basics.
This gesture can then be repeated as linguistic skills become more advanced and the students will understand that a question needs to be asked. For example, 'I live in New York' and then cross your arms and ask, 'Where do you live'. When a student makes a mistake asking a question, you can then cross your arms and the student will understand that he / she needs to invert in order to ask a question
Make allowances for the different levels of your 'false' beginner class
False beginners will all have had some English training at some point in the past and this can cause some special problems. Some learners will really know more than they admit and, with the passing of time, might become bored with some of the basics.
When you begin teaching absolute beginners it is important to use gestures, pointing and what is often called "modeling". You can begin teaching subject pronouns and also introduce the verb 'to be'