Teaching English to adult complete beginners: the first ten lessons

A complete beginner can't follow an explanation in English, so everything has to be shown. The good part is that adult beginners make fast progress at the start, because every new phrase is one they can use the same day. This guide covers what to teach in the first ten lessons and in what order, how to teach with very little shared language, how to give instructions, and what to avoid.

Before the first lesson

Find out three things, in the student's own language if you can. A short message they can put through a translator works.

• Can they read the Latin alphabet? A student who reads only Arabic, Chinese, Thai or another script needs extra time for letters, spelling and typing. Plan for it from the start.
• Why do they need English? Work, travel, moving to a new country, a child's school. The answer decides which words come first.
• Have they studied English before? A true beginner knows almost nothing. A "false beginner" studied it at school and forgot most of it. False beginners recognize a lot and move faster, so they get through these ten lessons sooner.

The first ten lessons

The order follows four ideas. Start with what the student can use this week. Teach be before other verbs. Teach I and you before he and she. And every lesson repeats the one before.

1. Hello and where you're from. Hello, goodbye, I'm…, What's your name?, Nice to meet you, Where are you from? I'm from… Short forms of be: I'm, you're, he's, she's. Plus the classroom phrases below.
2. Numbers and spelling. Numbers to 100, the alphabet, spelling names, phone numbers and email addresses. Questions with be: How old are you? What's your phone number? End by filling out a simple form.
3. People in my life. Family and friends with my, your, his, her: This is my sister. Her name is Ana. She's a teacher.
4. Jobs. What do you do? I'm a nurse. He's an engineer. Words for jobs and places of work, and a or an.
5. Prices. How much is it? How much are they? Money, plurals, and this, that, these and those. A shopping role-play.
6. My home. Rooms and furniture with there is and there are. The student describes their home, or draws it on the whiteboard.
7. My day. Routine verbs and the time: I get up at seven. I start work at nine. The present simple with I and you.
8. His day, her day. The -s in she works, questions with do and does, the days of the week, and always, sometimes, never.
9. Food and ordering. Food words, I like… / I don't like…, and I'd like a coffee, please. A café or fast-food role-play.
10. What I can do, and a review. can and can't for ability, then a longer conversation that uses everything so far: name, country, job, family, home and day.

Some of these will take two lessons. That's fine. Move on when the student can use the language without reading it from the screen, not when the slides run out.

Classroom phrases for the first lesson

Teach these on day one and keep them where the student can see them in every lesson:

• Sorry? / Again, please.
• Slowly, please.
• I don't understand.
• I don't know.
• How do you say ___ in English?
• What does ___ mean?
• How do you spell it?

With these seven, the student can manage the lesson in English from the first week, and you'll know when they're lost.

Teaching with very little shared language

• Show, don't explain. Use pictures, objects, gestures and drawings. Hold a cup up to the camera. Draw a big house and a small house. Use a clock face for the time.
• Model first. Give your own answer, then point to the student: "I'm Maria. I'm from Mexico." Point. The example explains the task better than any instruction.
• Use the same gesture for the same thing. A hand behind your ear for listen, pointing to your mouth for say it, miming writing for write. After two or three lessons, you'll rarely need words for instructions.
• Teach phrases before rules. How much is it? and I'd like a coffee, please work long before the student knows what would is. The rule makes sense later, once they have several examples.
• Allow translation for single words. If you share a language, or the student has a translation app, a quick translation of a word like usually or need saves minutes of miming. Don't let it become the language of the lesson.
• Check by doing, not by asking. Beginners answer "Yes" to "Do you understand?" whether they understand or not. Ask a yes/no question about a picture, or have the student do the first item.
• Repeat a lot. Beginners need to hear and say a phrase many times before it sticks. Start each lesson with three minutes on the last one, and keep the same people and places in your examples for a few weeks.
• Write it down. Type each new word on the slide or in the chat as you say it, so the student sees the spelling and has notes to review.

Keeping instructions simple

Here's a typical instruction:

"OK, so now what I'd like you to do is have a look at these pictures and try to match them with the words on the left."

A beginner hears noise. Try this instead: "Look." (point at the pictures) "Match." (draw a line for the first one) "You." (point to the student)

• Use short imperatives: Listen. Repeat. Read. Match. Write. Say.
• Give one instruction at a time.
• Do the first item together.
• Use the same instruction words every lesson.
• Speak a little more slowly, keep a natural rhythm, and pause between sentences. Don't speak louder.
• Don't drop the small words. "You go shop?" is harder to learn from than "Do you go shopping?" Beginners need correct English, just less of it.
• After a question, wait. Five seconds of silence is thinking time, not a problem to fill.

If you teach with SnappySchool, the student sees the same slide you do, so "Look" and a picture are often all a task needs to begin.

What to avoid

• Talking too much. If you've spoken for a minute and the student hasn't said anything, stop and hand it over.
• Grammar words. "Third person singular" means nothing to a beginner. Show I work, she works, with the -s in a different color.
• Too many new words. About ten new words in a lesson is plenty, if you use them again and again.
• Material made for children. Adults are beginners in English, not in life. Use jobs, shopping, appointments and their own interests, not cartoons and children's songs.
• Correcting everything. Fix mistakes that change the meaning and mistakes with today's language. Let the rest go for now.
• Rushing to new tenses. The past simple in week two feels like progress, but a student who can't yet ask a price or say "I don't understand" isn't ready for it.
• Fast audio with no support. Use short, clear recordings, play them two or three times, and show the text afterward.
• Long homework. Five minutes a day with the lesson's words does more than an hour on Sunday.

Ready-made lessons in the same order

The SnappySchool library's A1 course follows nearly the same order, and each lesson downloads as a PDF. These match the first ten lessons above:

• Greetings and introductions: hello and goodbye for every time of day, countries, and short forms of be.
• Numbers, ages and phone numbers: numbers to 100, the alphabet and questions for personal details, ending with a form at a language club desk.
• Introducing people: my, his, her and their, with photos of a roommate, a best friend, neighbors and a boss.
• Jobs: words for jobs and workplaces, and a and an, at a Career Day in Denver.
• How much is it?: American money, prices and plurals, with a yard sale role-play.
• My home: rooms and parts of a house with there is and there are, ending with a game of draw my home.
• My daily routine: ten phrases for daily routines and the present simple, with a baker in San Diego who gets up at 3:30.
• Ordering at a fast-food counter: ordering with would like, with a menu and a meal for two.

For grammar on its own, the A1 grammar course goes from am, is and are to was, were and regular past verbs.

Questions

Can I teach a complete beginner if we don't share a language?

Yes. Pictures, gestures, examples and very short instructions do most of the work. Teach "I don't understand" and "Again, please" in the first lesson, so the student can tell you when they're lost.

Should I use the student's language in class?

A little. A quick translation of an abstract word can save time. But most of the lesson should be in simple English, and the classroom phrases should be in English from the first day.

What should I teach first, grammar or vocabulary?

Phrases. My name is…, How much is it? and I'd like…, please are words and grammar together, and the student can use them the same day. The rules come later.

Should I teach the alphabet in the first lesson?

Usually not. Teach it in the second lesson with spelling names and email addresses, where it has a use. Students who don't read the Latin alphabet are the exception: start on letters early, a few at a time.

How much homework should a beginner get?

Five to ten minutes a day: the lesson's words, a short listen-and-repeat, or a few sentences copied from a model and changed to be about themselves.