English for Adults

ACADSOC ONLINE ENGLISH TUTOR

 LET ME HEAR YOU

• Do you feel embarrassed during class？

• Do you find it challenging or difficult？ why？

• Have you ever received complaints？

WHY EFA？

This course will help you

Whatbe
 Improve teaching techniques, makes
morean excellent online tutor?
professional

 Know how to interact with adults in the class

 Avoid students' complaints

 I. Pre-class Preparation

II. Teaching Techniques

Contents
III. Reminders to Teach Adult Beginners

IV. Attachment
 Pre-class Preparation
Part I -Teaching Environment
-Teaching Attitude
Pre-class Preparations – Environment-1 Quiet Background

The teaching background should be quiet and bright.

NO people talking, car horns, cock crows etc.
Pre-class Preparations – Environment-2 Tutor Image

Good lighting

Tarpaulin/clean,neat background

Proper distance

Noise-cancellation headset,
soundproof foam
Dress code：blouse/shirt
Pre-class Preparations – Attitude
Friendly
 Make sure you are polite and
enthusiastic throughout the
class. Keep smiling!
 Create a cordial and warm
atmosphere
Patient
 Give students ample time to
respond, please don’t rush them
 Don’t lose patience when
students make mistakes
Especially for the level 0 learners
Encouraging
 Motivate and encourage
students output
 Help build self-confidence
 Maintain a positive attitude
 Teaching Techniques
Part II
- Principles
- Opening
- Learn &practice
- Closing
  Know Adult Characteristics
PRINCIPLES  Teach for The Right Purpose
Pre-class Preparations – Know Adult Characteristics

1 2 3 4 5

Time
Self-concept Experience Readiness Orientation
perspective
to learning
Mutual planning Use learner Develop based on
and collaboration Immediate
experience learner interests Problem-centered
application
Principles–Teach For The Right Purpose

Aim:

- know why your students are learning English and then design Purpose
your teaching techniques when giving class;
- help tutors focus lessons on the needs and wants of the students.

How: Technique Content

- Find the S’s purpose and English level in the opening part (e.g.
for examination, for interview, for improving speaking skills, for
accurate vocabulary..);
- Arrange your techniques for this student, and focus on the
purpose to give your lesson (e.g. for IELTS, you can help the
student to improve on the fluency and coherence, lexical
resource.. ); S’s English
- Recommend appropriate courseware for the student in the level
closing part;
  Rapport Establishment
OPENING  Time Management
Opening - Rapport Establishment

Aim:

To drive the student to respond actively and

create a friendly atmosphere
1. Greeting & Introduce
yourselves
How:

Tutors need to
Demonstrate passion and profession;
Capture the student’s purpose to learn English; Rapport
Assure his/her English level; 2. Ice-break questions
Establishment
Adjust your teaching methods to him/her;
Interact with him/her.

Tips:
3. Lead-in naturally
- Effective strategies can be customized language, courtesy,
doing activities, etc..
- Demonstrate your profession, education, experience, etc.
Opening - Rapport Establishment 1 Greeting & Introduce

Example 1. Greeting Example 2. Introduce each other

1. Wave hands friendly! Introduce yourself with simple sentences.

2. Say “hello/hi!” to the student.
Asking the student to introduce himself/herself:
3. Show a warm smiling!
* What’s your name？
* How old are you？
* Do you have a hobby?
Opening - Rapport Establishment 2 Ice-break questions

Aim: Example 2. Ice-break questions

Capture the student’s purpose to learn English;

Assure his/her English level; You can ask some further questions according to the student’s
Adjust your teaching methods to him/her; introduction to get more information to adjust your teaching
methods(speech rate/speed, range of vocabulary, grammar,
sentence structure etc. …).

Asking icebreaker questions(Sample):

• How is your day today?

• What do you usually do in your spare time？
• Do you like..?

Asking motivation-related questions(Sample):

• Why are you learning English?

• How do you want to use the language in the future?
• Have you taken classes before?
• What are your biggest challenges using English? (e.g. read
ing, pronunciation, etc.)
Opening - Rapport Establishment 3 Lead-in

Example 3. Lead-in

Introduce topics and ask the student relevant questions

like this:

- Today we will talk about restaurant.

- What do you usually eat for dinner?
- Do you usually cook dinner by yourself?
- Do you like eating in the restaurant ?
- What’s your favorite dish?

Tips:

- If you can’t transfer it naturally with a few questions,

maybe you can try to say ”today we will talk about
the restaurant . Do you like eating in the restaurant ?”
- Follow up the courseware’s questions or ask questions
related to the topic to interact with the students.
Principles–Time Management

Aim:

To finish the lesson completely within 25 minutes

How:

Manage the time effectively via implementing each critical

part of the lesson plan efficiently.

Tips:

- Can teach each part according to the time recommended

in the material
- Don’t be stuck too long at reading the passage . If you find
it’s difficult for the students to learn the passage which last
for a few pages, then you’d better focus on the main part
of the passage . Make sure you complete the teaching
process.
  Scaffolding

LEARN & Correction

PRACTICE  Extension

 Praise
 Learn&Practice –Scaffolding Techniques 1

What: Aim:

- a teaching method; To help the student comprehend the challenging concepts and
- to create opportunities for students to learn step by step; complete the tasks smoothly.
- with the help or guidance to perform more difficult tasks.
 Learn&Practice – Scaffolding Techniques 2

How :

Give effective modeling and demonstrations

Tips:

- Give appropriate help depending on the student’s

need （guidance, partial support or full support）

Partial Full
Guidance
Support Support

Implicit - - - (Giving help only when it is needed) - - - Explicit

Make Your Meaning Clear 1

What:

About maintaining effective and smooth communication by

having tutors and students utilize all their language resources,
going beyond just one language.

Aim:

To make your meaning clear and make it easier for the student
to understand.

Example

The students is newly to this fully-immersed online English

atmosphere, tutor chooses to translate the material content into Translator English & Chinese
Chinese for a better understanding of the student. As a result, the
student knows the messages well in this way.
Make Your Meaning Clear 2

How:

Use at least 2~3 meaningful expressions effectively such as

① speaking a little bit Chinese,

② using translator, and an integration of home

language(Chinese) and class language(English),

③ body language, gestures and facial cues,

④ pictures and real objects.

Tips:
Picture Sentence model Body language
Trans-languaging practices vary from students
characteristics, comprehension and English level.
 Learn&Practice –Correction 1

Aim: Correction Example 1 (Oral)

- Help him/her output and utilize the appropriate words, （Tutor showcases how to do first, then student is invited to do it
expressions, grammar and sentences. independently.）
- Help him/her to master the content on the class. T: Let’s try again, can you make a sentence with the word
“metaphorical” yourself ？
S: I always use metaphorical.
How : T: Oh, you mean “you always use the metaphorical sentences.” right ?
S: YES.
Offer corrections when necessary; T: Could you make another sentence?
Use effective methods such as utilizing the chat-box and S: ...
guiding the student to either articulate or complete simple T: Well done!
tasks independently;

Tips:

- Avoid overcorrections and correct the student in a

positive fashion.
- Don’t interrupt him/her if he/she is speaking a long
paragraph.
Learn&Practice –Correction 2

Correction Example 2 (Typing)

Groups: Learners learn English for a few years but

- Can’t use it well ;
- Have grammar and structure problem;
- Want to improve the accuracy;

HOW:

- Tutors can type the students’ answer and giving the correction;
(e.g. conjunction, grammar, vocabulary..)
- Tutors can take some notes to reminder the students’ of the
appropriate vocabularies and expressions;
 Learn&Practice –Extension 1
Aim:
- To give students more practice with a grammar structure or
expression because they haven’t quite ‘got it’ yet
- To explore a particular topic further
- To review material from the lesson or unit
- To assess where students are in their learning
How :
- The quickest way to extend student knowledge is to ask
different kinds of questions (depending on the lesson topic
and student level) ;
- Ask WH questions or ask for an example;
- The tutors may provide necessary input and vocabulary to
encourage student output.
Tips:
- Help the student master more learning content.
- Don’t interrupt him/her if he/she is doing a conversation.
Extension questions Example 1
01 WH Questions:
[what, when, where, who(whom), why, how (how exactly, how often,
how long, how much, how many)]
Topic: a close friend
Who the friend is
Where and when you first met
What you like about this friend
Whether this person is popular with other people
02 Ask for an example
T: What you like about your friend?
S : I like her because she is considerate and sensitive.
T: Do you mind giving an example?
E: Sure. Whenever we were together, she acted like a big sister,
supportive and caring. Even now when we are apart, she always
surprises me by sending from afar a birthday gift to me.
Learn&Practice –Extension 2

Extension questions Example 2 (for advanced learners)

Strategies Examples

Comparison (In a lesson about life in cities) What are the differences between big cities and rural areas?

Classification (In a lesson a bout new technologies) In what groups can you organize your electronic devices?

(In a lesson about sleep disorders) Based on the information in the lesson, what is your conclusion about
Induction
sleeping problems?

Error Analysis (In a lesson about diet) What are some of the issues among people who eat uncontrollably/unhealthily?

Constructing Support (In a lesson about weather) What are some of the difficulties when living in cold areas?

Analyzing Perspectives (In a lesson a bout fashion) What is the reasoning behind someone’s selection of stylish clothes?
 Learn&Practice - Praise

Aim: When:

Give appropriate and timely rewards to intrigue the student as
well as to reinforce his/her positive behaviors.
How:
Use words or phrases like “Good, Cool, Great, Excellent, Good
job” to compliment a student for correct answers or positive
behaviors.
• 1. When the S is responsive for a teaching instruction.
(Example: read the paragraph after tutor)
• 2. When the S masters a new expression or sentence.
(Example: can articulate new expressions and sentences
independently)
• 3. When the S accepts tutor’s correction and practices again and
again.

Tips:

- When working with adults, the teacher does not have to

provide various kinds of rewards like teaching children.
- Reward based on the student’s performance as it really is.
Don’t to be too exaggerated.

oral praise thumb up

  Output-based review

CLOSING  Constructive feedback

 Tactical enrollment
Closing – Output-based Review

Aim: Example 1: Example 2:

T: Let’s review the lesson. Can
Before ending the class, tutor should help the student to you please answer with the 4
summarize and reinforce the target language. By doing so, it phrases ? Why do you always
ensures the student can master what he/she learnt after the go out for dinner?
lesson with you. S: ...
T: Good job! (thumb up)
T: Let’s review the lesson. Can
you please make a sentence
with the phrase I circled ?
S: ...
T: Cool ! (Thumb up)(Review the
phrases one by one)

How:

- For those advanced learners, start a little conversation and

ask the student to share her opinion with these phrases,
expressions, sentences.
- For those beginners , ask them to read these phrases,
expressions, sentences.

Tips:

- Choose the suitable way to review according to the

student’s English level and your rest time limitation.
- Pay more attention to the student’s output.
Closing – Constructive Feedback

How:
Diagnose the student's weaknesses and give constructive feedback/
suggestions and useful learning tips for students.

Tips:
Feedback from these aspect(choose some of them is OK):
Pronunciation, range of vocabulary, grammar, listening, ability to
complete sentences, etc..

Example:

You are a quick learner and very responsive. You were very good
today in class, and your listening skills and grammar were good. If you
could practice these words after class, that would be awesome.
（general feedback with praise)

(Type one or two mispronounced words in the chat-box) I would like to

see you improve on PRONUNCIATION and the complexity of your
sentences the next class, we will be working on the sentence, don't
worry because I am going to help you improve your English skills.
（weakness with specific suggestions on it）

So this is the end of our lesson. I am very happy to have you in my class.
Do you have any questions before we say goodbye？(check if the S
has additional Q）
Closing–Tactical enrollment

Aim:

To show your profession and experience for the students

How:

Choose the core characteristics to present （e.g. teaching

experience, certificate like IELTS, etc..）

Tips:
- Remember to showcase the truth;
- If you have no special experience to show , then just tell them the
general information.
 Reminders to Teach
Part III
Adult Beginners
Reminders to Teach Adult Beginners

1 Be patient

2 Make your meaning clear

3 Use translator

4 Check their comprehension（Facial expression/ Body language）

5 Key take-aways
Part IV Attachment
-Sample videos
Attachment
Sample Videos to guide you handle the adults trial class :

Level 0 sample videos：

https://textbook.acadsoc.com.cn/uploads/CoursewareResources/20200908/0de68279-a691-4d96-9df5-05cdb3dfd178.mp4

https://textbook.acadsoc.com.cn/uploads/CoursewareResources/20200908/bdc4d672-a85e-4758-8766-a9b7bfd21969.mp4

Advanced learners sample videos：

https://textbook.acadsoc.com.cn/uploads/CoursewareResources/20200908/d09b756f-01bb-4059-b841-6ec777a84f33.mp4

https://textbook.acadsoc.com.cn/uploads/CoursewareResources/20200908/2f1c2bb4-19ae-4e78-9d85-0778feb72248.mp4
THANK YOU

ACADSOC ONLINE ENGLISH TUTOR