Teaching a New Skill
Approach your student with respect and the
expectation he or she can learn
Provide many demonstrations
Break the task into small steps
Assist if needed
Encourage student as he or she works independently
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Literacy Program Students
Most are Latino
Most have intermediate skills in native language
All are highly motivated
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Learning Variables
Innate ability to learn another language
Degree of comfort in making mistakes
Contact with English speakers
Amount of time to study and practice
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Learning English with a Purpose
Jobs
Helping children
Health
Community
GED
Citizenship
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Session One
To personally experience beginning to learn a new language
To learn the teaching strategy “chaining” for use with small
groups
To understand what language really is
To learn ESL teaching strategies for developing students’
listening and speaking skills: new vocabulary and basic
conversations
To understand the importance of the Life Survival Skills to
your student and the Literacy Program
6

Session Two
To become aware of individual differences in how adult
students learn – Learning Channels and Multi-Sensory
Teaching
To learn to design a lesson plan geared to your student’s
needs
To become familiar with a variety of teaching materials
To become familiar with technology resources for teaching
ESL
To become familiar with additional Life Survival Skills and
how to incorporate them into your lesson plan
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Session Three
• To learn how to teach reading, paying attention to the four
components: Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and
Comprehension
• To learn strategies for teaching pronunciation and
contractions
• To learn the teaching strategy of Total Physical Response
(TPR)
• To become familiar with additional Life Survival Skills
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Session Four
• To learn to use Language Experience to teach reading and
writing
• To learn some strategies for teaching writing
• To become familiar with additional Life Survival Skills
• To become aware of cultural sensitivities and differences
• To become aware of the need to keep professional
boundaries with students
• To learn ways to continue to communicate with the
Literacy Program staff and fellow volunteers
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Agenda Session One
•Introduction of Trainers and Participants
•Overview of Training
•Beginning Lesson in an Unfamiliar Language
•Total Physical Response
•What Is Language?
•<<<<< BREAK >>>>>
•How to Teach Vocabulary
•How to Teach Conversation
•Life Survival Skills – Introduction and Emergencies and
Safety Signs
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Materials to Bring Each Session
Teaching Adults: An ESL Resource Book
Oxford Picture Dictionary
Binder with Handouts
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Major Elements of Language
Inner language – the language of thought
This is thinking, a mental activity that we do to
assimilate our experiences.
It’s what we do to make sense of our world.
It precedes the development of either receptive or
expressive language.

Major Elements of Language
Receptive Language – input
The ability to receive and understand information
coming in via language
The ability to understand spoken or written
information
In learning a new language, it precedes expressive
language
Expressive Language – output
The ability to encode or transform thoughts and ideas into
spoken or written language symbols

Functions of Language
Vehicle for interpersonal communication
Vehicle for thinking
Vehicle for transmission of culture

Components of Language
Sounds (Phonics)
Words
Sentences (Syntax)
Meaning (Semantics)
Social Use and Customs (Pragmatics)

Components of Language
Sounds (Phonics)
Studying the sound system of language has three
aspects:
 Hearing – discriminating the individual sounds
 Pronouncing the individual sounds of the language
 Learning the rules for combining the sounds into words

Components of Language
Words
Words are made up of one or more basic units of
meaning
 Meaning units include roots, prefixes, suffixes, plurals, and
possessives
 There are rules for how these meaning units are put together
to form words
In English words of more than one syllable, knowing
which syllable to stress is an important part of correct
pronunciation (clap the stress)

Components of Language
Words
Contractions – they are very commonly used in English,
and so we must call attention to them and teach them
Gender – In Spanish, nouns have gender (masculine,
feminine) and their modifiers have gender agreement
(la casa, el toro); In English, gender is not usually
expressed grammatically
Verbs – They are the hardest words to master because
their forms and/or endings change according to which
tense (past, present, future) is used
 Example: “She try hard to landing airplane without crash.”

Components of Language
Words Exercise
Here is a wug.
Here are two _____.
The man knows how to bip.
Yesterday, he _____.
Today, he is _____.
Tomorrow, he _____.

Components of Language
Sentences (Syntax)
Syntax can be considered the architectural plan of the
language
It is the system of rules for arranging words into
sentences.
As an example of how languages differ
 In Spanish, the adjective usually follows the noun it modifies
(la casa bonita).
 In English, the adjective comes before the noun (the pretty
house).

Components of Language
Meaning (Semantics)
At the simplest level, semantics refers to a single word.
At a very complex level, semantics involves the
interaction of words within a given context such as in
the use of metaphor or myth.
Additionally, some words have figurative meanings or
multiple meanings.

Components of Language
Social Use and Customs (Pragmatics)
Pragmatics is a set of sociolinguistic rules one knows
and uses in determining who says what to who, how,
why, and when.
“Pragmatics is the use of language to express one’s
intentions and get things done in the world.”
According to some experts, language can ONLY be
understood within its social context.

Components of Language
Four Principles of Good Pragmatic Language
Quantity
 Be informative but not overly dominant
Quality
 Be truthful and accurate
Relevance
 Maintain connection with the topic
Manner
 Understand and comply with patterns of turn taking and
presenting ideas in a logical order

Components of Language
Exercise: Which component does each of the following
examples represent?
1) Your student says, “The cow is eat grass” instead of “The
cow is eating grass.”
2)Your student says “jes” instead of “yes.”
3)Your student asks you, “how are you?” as you are leaving.
4)Your student looks confused when you ask her to “hang on
a sec.”
5)Your student says, “The dog brown bit me” instead of “The
brown dog bit me.”

STEPS FOR TEACHING VOCABULARY
1. Begin by using Shhhh & Listen signs.
2. Pronounce the word showing the object or picture
three times.
3. Use the Repeat sign.
4. Pronounce the word showing the object or picture
three more times. Each time the student repeats the
word.
5. Practice the word using the object or picture.
“This is a _____ .” “What is this?” Student answers.
REPEAT THE ABOVE STEPS WITH THE NEXT NEW
VOCABULARY WORD.
6. Review both new words using the objects and
pictures. “ This is a _____ . What is this?” Students
answer and repeat the words.
7. Quiz the students by alternating the new words with
pictures, objects and questions to check for
understanding.
Repeat Review Practice Praise

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Writing a Dialogue
Choose a dialogue that is useful for your student.
A dialogue gets your student started in
conversation in a particular setting.
A dialogue should consist of approximately three
simple exchanges.
You’ll be teaching the dialogue orally. Your
student won’t see the written form.
Before teaching the dialogue, teach the
vocabulary you’ll be using.
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Steps in Teaching Conversation
1. Tutor recites whole dialogue (both
parts) 3 times.
As you say both parts, physically move
back and forth between the two imaginary
speakers or in some way indicate the two
separate parts.
2. Tutor says each line and student
repeats (3 times).
Use the stop and beckon gestures to
indicate when your student should speak
and listen.
3. Practice dialogue, tutor taking 1st
role
and learner taking 2nd
role.
If necessary, mouth or whisper the lines to
prompt your student.
Use props if appropriate.
4.Tutor and learner reverse rolls.
(Optional)
5.Remember to praise your student!

Homework
Teaching Adults: An ESL Resource Book
pages 58 – 63
Create a phone dialogue for your student to use for
calling to cancel a lesson.
You’ll bring this with you when you first meet.
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(phone number)
I answer the phone.
Hello
Hello, this is Maria.
I’m sorry. I cannot
come to class this
week. I will see you
next week.

I am not home. My husband
answers the phone.
Hello
Hello, this is Maria. Is
Krissen there?
No, she’s not here right now.
Can I take a message?
Yes, please tell her that I
cannot come to class this
week.
Okay, I’ll let her know.
Thank you. Good-bye.
Good-bye

I’m not home and the machine
answers.
Hi. You’ve reached the home
of Dave and Krissen. Please
leave a message.
Hello, this is Maria. I’m sorry.
I cannot come to class this
week. I’ll see you next week.

Tutor Objectives for Literacy Training –
Session One
To personally experience beginning to learn a new
language
To learn the teaching strategy “chaining” for use with small
groups
To understand what language really is
To learn ESL teaching strategies for developing students’
listening and speaking skills: new vocabulary and basic
conversations
To understand the importance of the Life Survival Skills to
your student and the Literacy Program
35

Homework
1. Write a dialog/phone conversation for your student
to use when calling you to tell you that he/she can’t
attend the next class.
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Answer the following three review
questions:
Vocabulary: What are the steps for
teaching a new vocabulary word?
Conversation: What are the steps for
teaching a new conversation?
Life Survival Skills: Name the four
Life survival Skills for which there are
assessments and Resource Binders.

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Watch a tutoring session on YouTube.

39
Read: Teaching Adults, An ESL Resource
Book
Introduction to ESL Tutoring/What is
Language?: pp. 7-10, 13-27
Vocabulary/TPR: pp. 37-50, Conversation:
pp. 60-65
The reading homework assignments in
Teaching Adults, an ESL Resource
Book are designed to reinforce the
lessons in the training. In addition, for
more ideas and extensions of
techniques you will use in your
tutoring, we strongly suggest that you
read the rest of the book before
beginning to tutor. It’s a great resource,
full of ideas.