20 tips for effective foreign language teaching
Teaching a foreign language is an exciting and demanding profession. You need to know how to adapt to learners’ needs and levels, while motivating them and supporting their progress. How can you make your language lessons lively, interactive and effective? Here are 20 practical tips to help you improve your teaching practice.
Create a positive learning environment
The first tip is to create a positive learning environment, where learners feel comfortable expressing themselves. To achieve this, you need to :
Foster a climate of trust and respect between learners and teachers.
Valuing learners’ cultural and linguistic diversity.
Encourage participation and cooperation among learners.
Recognize learners’ efforts and progress.
Define clear learning objectives
The second tip is to define clear learning objectives for each course. Objectives should be :
Specific: they should indicate what learners should know or be able to do by the end of the course.
Measurable: they must be assessable through criteria or indicators of success.
Achievable: they must be adapted to the level and needs of the learners.
Realistic: they must take into account the time and resources available.
Temporal: they must be situated within a timetable or lesson plan.
Use authentic materials
The third tip is to use authentic materials to teach the language. Authentic materials are real documents, produced by native or competent speakers of the language, in a natural context. Examples include newspaper articles, videos, podcasts, songs and so on. The use of authentic materials makes it possible to:
Expose learners to a natural and varied use of the language.
Develop learners’ listening and reading skills.
Stimulate learners’ interest and curiosity in the target language and culture.
Prepare learners to interact in real-life situations.
Encourage communication
The fourth tip is to encourage communication between learners and with the teacher. Communication is at the heart of language learning, as it enables learners to put their acquired linguistic knowledge into practice. To encourage communication, we need to :
Favoring oral and written activities that involve an exchange of information, opinions or emotions between interlocutors.
Create communicative situations that are motivating, relevant and adapted to the learners’ level.
Give learners the opportunity to express themselves freely on subjects that interest or concern them.
Correct learner errors, taking into account the meaning and context of the message.
Provide constructive feedback
The fifth tip is to provide learners with constructive feedback on their language performance. Feedback is a form of feedback designed to help learners progress in their learning. To provide constructive feedback, you need to:
Highlight learners’ strengths and weaknesses, based on the learning objectives set.
Give advice or suggestions to improve the quality or effectiveness of the speech or text produced by the learners.
Focus feedback on learners’ linguistic accuracy (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) and communication (clarity, coherence, relevance).
Encourage learners to self-assess and reflect on their mistakes and progress.
Vary activities
The sixth tip is to vary the activities offered to learners. A variety of activities helps to :
Maintain learners’ attention and motivation.
Stimulate learners’ different language skills (comprehension, expression, interaction).
Adapt activities to learners’ different learning styles and rhythms.
Encourage learners’ creativity and involvement.
Possible activities include
Role-playing, which involves simulating a real or imaginary communication situation.
Debates, in which learners compare their points of view on a controversial or topical subject.
Games, which use play to learn or revise the language.
Discussions: exchanging information or opinions on a given topic.
Supporting learning
The seventh tip is to support learners’ learning. Scaffolding learning involves supporting learners in the completion of a complex task, by providing them with aids or guidance adapted to their level. To support learning, we need to :
Break down the complex task into simpler sub-tasks, gradually increasing the level of difficulty.
Provide learners with models, examples or clear instructions for carrying out the task.
Guide learners in solving problems or finding information.
Encourage learners to use their prior knowledge or learning strategies.
Take account of different learning styles
The eighth tip is to take account of learners’ different learning styles. Learning styles are the individual preferences or habits that influence the way learners perceive, process and remember information. There are several types of learning styles, such as :
The visual style, which favors the use of images, diagrams or colors to learn.
The auditory style, which favors the use of sounds, music or dialogue to learn.
The kinesthetic style, which favors the use of movement, touch or action to learn.
To accommodate different learning styles, we need to :
Vary teaching media and modalities (oral, written, visual, auditory).
Offer learners activities that correspond to their dominant learning style or enable them to develop their secondary learning style.
Respect the pace and specific needs of each learner.
Practice contextualized learning
The ninth tip is to practice contextualized learning. Contextualized learning means teaching vocabulary and grammar in a context that is meaningful to learners. Contextualized learning helps to:
Help learners understand how the language is used in real or near-real situations.
Make it easier for learners to memorize and reuse vocabulary and grammar.
Make learning more interesting and motivating for learners.
To practice contextualized learning, you need to :
Choose a theme or topic that matches learners’ interests or needs.
Introduce vocabulary and grammar through authentic or semi-authentic texts, dialogues or situations.
Offer learners activities that enable them to use vocabulary and grammar in a similar or different context.
Promote critical thinking
The tenth tip is to promote critical thinking among learners. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, evaluate and synthesize information.
How can I adapt my courses to different learner levels?
There are several strategies for adapting your courses to different learner levels. Here are a few examples:
Differentiate instructions: this involves proposing activities or instructions adapted to the level and needs of each learner. For example, you can give simpler or more complex exercises depending on the level of difficulty, or offer choices of activities according to learners’ interests or objectives.
Use authentic materials: this involves using real documents, such as articles, videos or podcasts, to expose learners to a natural and varied use of the language. You can adapt these documents to suit the learners’ level, by simplifying vocabulary, adding images or subtitles, or selecting the most relevant parts.
Encourage communication: this means encouraging interaction between learners and with the teacher, using language as a tool for communication. You can create motivating communicative situations adapted to the learners’ level, such as role-playing, debates, games or discussions.
Provide constructive feedback: this involves giving learners feedback that aims to help them progress in their learning. You can highlight learners’ strengths and weaknesses, based on the learning objectives set. You can also give advice or suggestions for improving the quality or effectiveness of the speech or text produced by the learners.
Vary the activities: this means offering learners a mix of activities that stimulate different language skills (comprehension, expression, interaction). You can also adapt activities to learners’ different learning styles and rhythms, using a variety of teaching aids and modalities (oral, written, visual, auditory).
Supporting learning: this involves supporting learners as they carry out a complex task, by providing them with aids or guidance adapted to their level. You can break down the complex task into simpler sub-tasks, gradually increasing the level of difficulty. You can also provide learners with models, examples or clear instructions for carrying out the task.
These strategies are based on the principles of differentiated pedagogy, inclusive pedagogy and universal design for learning. You can find out more about these pedagogical approaches and their practical applications on the following websites:
Grammar | LearnEnglish: a site offering grammar lessons and exercises adapted to different levels of English.
Questions Present Past Future 1: a communication card for practicing questions in the present, past and future tenses.
Speaking cards 4 tenses. Another card with communication cards for practicing four tenses: present simple, past simple, present continuous and future with will.
Strategies for teaching diverse learners – Adobe Blog: an article presenting different strategies for teaching diverse learners.
How can I assess my learners’ progress?
There are several strategies for assessing your learners’ progress. Here are a few examples:
Use formative assessments: these are assessments designed to provide feedback to learners and teachers on the level of mastery of learning. Formative assessments can take the form of tests, quizzes, oral or written questions, or comprehension checks. They help identify learners’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as the need to adjust or reinforce teaching.
Use authentic assessments: these are assessments designed to measure learners’ ability to use the language in real or near-real situations. Authentic assessments can take the form of tasks, projects, portfolios or presentations. They enable us to assess learners’ linguistic and communicative skills, as well as their creativity and autonomy.
Use self-regulated assessments: these are assessments designed to involve learners in their own assessment process. Self-regulated assessments can take the form of reflections, diaries, self-assessment grids or action plans. They enable learners to become aware of their progress, difficulties and learning strategies.
You can find out more about these strategies and their practical applications on the following websites:
Your Guide to Assessment for Learning | Oxford University Press: a site offering advice, training and tools to help you integrate formative assessment into your teaching.
Evidence-based ways to assess student progress | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute: an article presenting different data-based strategies for assessing learner progress.
61 Effective Assessment Strategies for Teachers To Use: 61 effective assessment strategies for teachers.
