http://busyteacher.org/12158-how-to-teach-absolute-beginners-esl-zero-to-hero.html
Been teaching many years. So many it's kind of scary to look back now. 20. 20 years ago I was asked to help a school girl catch up with the English she'd need in secondary school when she'd always studied French before. Complete beginner. A few others followed at the time. However, now, low levels is not something I enjoy or know how to do.
Some will argue that absolute beginners is now a false notion, that everyone has had English lessons at some point in their lives. No. I teach francophone Africans in conflict areas and coming across absolute beginners is not uncommon. Of course, they've heard English but that doesn't mean they can say things in English.
This is my new challenge this year. A South American man in his mid 50s who can't speak but can understand some basic written English. And an African francophone who can't even read basic sentences. The odds are that this is going to become a important part of my job this year.
I have noticed throughout the years I have been doing skype with developing countries is that their spelling tends to be a very weak area, and that our western methods of teaching don't always work. Giving them a photocopy and relying that they'll know how to do the exercises by reading the instructions is often an ambitious task. They often need to be told, orally, what to do, slowly and very clearly. One thing at a time.
Yesterday I was on the British Council Kenya website, the Ugandan one too, teh problem is that these are English speaking countries too.
I really want to help these people and do my best.
No se puede dar por supuesto que saben que es un verbo o un verbo en pasado o que entiende o quizas se acuerden de algo. Two days ago, I said that came and began were the past tense of come and begin and this was very enlightening for the man! Can you believe how astounded I was that he was so happy to have learned that this word he saw all the time (came) meant "vino"?
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