Beginner and Elementary Learners - problems, needs and techniques.

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This article, originally part of our Delta courses looks at teaching beginner and elementary learners (CEFR A1 /A2 levels) and asks:

a)     
What are the problems you face in beginners and elementary classes?

b)     
What are the needs of these learners and what techniques can you
use at this level to promote learning?

Section a: Problems

• Learners
  may be expecting a completely different methodology from the one you wish to
  use (eg if you wish to use a communicative and constructivist approach with an
  emphasis on active participation and autonomy), and be confused or made anxious
  by the difference between their expectations and the reality. This may be due to
  a) previous experience of learning another language with a different
  methodology – eg audiolingualism; b) experience in all subjects of a “traditional” educational background where it is the
  teacher’s job to “teach” the language and the L’s role simply to learn the input. This might be particularly
  true in cultures where the T. is seen as the “authority” who knows exactly what
  the learners should do and how they should do it  – eg Vietnam(see the further reading below), where this
  attitude still continues despite governmental attempts to introduce a more
  constructivist view of learning in schools. In this situation, discussion of the
  reasons behind the “new” approach, and the gradual introduction of unfamiliar
  activities starting with “easy” participatory tasks while still
  incorporating more familiar ones (such as drilling) can help “ease” the Ls into
  the new approach.  

• Ls may have
  unrealistic expectations about how difficult learning is going to be and become
  demotivated by what appears to them to be “slow” progress and how much more
  there is to learn. After the first few lessons, they may feel they learn/are
  able to retain very little of the  language that has been covered.  For learners from
  Romance languages, introducing as many cognates as possible can help retention
  – so that they feel they have learnt more although the amount of non-cognate
  lexis and grammar covered is still at a level with which they can cope. Even if
  the T. is not an expert in the L1(s) of the learners, googling eg “Spanish
  English cognates” will bring up a list from which words can be chosen. For
  all learners, constant recycling is essential, so that Ls get both (massed
  practice” on the first introduction of the target item and “distributed
  practice” in later lessons (Stevick, 1976). 

• “Beginner”
  may actually cover a range of level from true beginners who have no knowledge
  of the language to false beginners who have learnt it before but too long ago
  to have retained it. However, the false beginners are liable to find the
  lessons easier than the true beginners and to make faster progress as the
  language is actually only being “reactivated” rather than learnt from scratch.
  This can be demotivating for both groups – the true beginners feel frustrated
  because they seem to be less able than the others while the false beginners may
  feel “held back” by the slow progress of the true beginners.  This situation
  again needs to be discussed and explained with the group, and emphasis placed
  on the fact of it being a natural consequence of the different situations and
  not a case of anyone being “more stupid” than the others. Additionally,
  differentiated activities can help. Eg the true beginners can have an activity
  with five items to complete while the false beginners have an additional five –
  all to be completed in the same time. 

• Literacy
  problems  (a): Learners whose L1 does
  not use the Roman alphabet but a different script will need to be taught to
  read and write in English as well as learning the other language systems. In monolingual classes, this would mean the course need
  which will mean the course has to be longer than equivalent courses for groups
  who already used the alphabet, but it would be a particular problem in
  multilingual groups where some learners did and others didn’t know the script.  

• Literacy
  problems (b): It is also a particular problem with young learners just starting
  school who may be learning their own script at the same time and could be
  confused by the introduction of a different system. Even if the Roman alphabet
  is used in the L1, the letters may have a different sound/spelling
  correspondence in the L1 (eg in Italian “ch” = /k/ and not /ʧ/). Some coursebooks for the 5-7 age groups therefore hold
  back the written script, taking a purely aural/oral approach until the children
  are reading confidently in their own language.

• Classroom
  language – whether for explanations of lexis or grammar, instructions for activities or
  whatever – needs to be limited to what learners can understand, which will
  initially be very little. Use of visuals, gesture etc can help here (eg
  pictures for lexis, pairing learners by saying simply “you two, your two, you
  two” and gesturing to show which learners should work together) but there is
  also a strong argument for some use of the L1, which can be quicker and
  reassuring for learners.   This presumes
  however that the T speaks the language(s) of the Ls, and is therefore often
  only possible in a monolingual class in the Ls’ own country.

• Some
  beginners may be refugees who have had traumatic experiences in their own
  country, and who also experience “culture shock” on arrival in the country to
  which they migrate. They will often be unmotivated and even hostile. The T.
  needs to show empathy and to ensure that they see how what they are learning in
  the classroom can help them in their everyday life. For
  example, I once had a Chilean refugee in a beginner’s class who had been
  tortured under Pinochet’s regime. She was clearly emotionally distressed by the
  “light” approach of the coursebook we were using which presented humorous but
  unrealistic situations to present and practise the language, and by the
  “holiday mood” of other learners in the group who were in London for a summer
  course and more interested in shopping
  than human rights.

• The total
  unfamiliarity of the language means that a high amount of concentration is
  needed and this can be very tiring, especially on intensive courses, where
  overload is a strong possibility, or in evening classes where learners attend
  already tired from a day’s work. The T. needs to take this problem into
  consideration when planning lessons, ensuring that there is frequent variety
  of activity type and consequently of
  pace, creating a suitable balance between new material and less intense
  activities recycling previously learnt items or allowing learners to reflect on
  new TL (eg further receptive exposure after a presentation)  and that there are frequent breaks. 

• Some false
  beginners may have had demotivating experiences when trying to learn “the first
  time round” and may have returned to a course not from personal choice but eg
  because they have been put on a course by their company. The teacher thus needs
  to ensure, even more than in other classes, that the lessons are enjoyable,
  that T/L and L/L rapport is good,  and
  that the classroom has a positive and encouraging atmosphere where mistakes are
  seen as “normal”. This is another
  reason for accepting some use of the L1 – for example, I often tell my Ls, in
  Italian, stories about funny mistakes that I have made when speaking Italian.
  This helps both rapport and shows Ls that they needn’t be “ashamed” of
  inaccuracies. 

• It may be
  difficult or even impossible to do a needs analysis with a beginners group – eg
  in a multilingual group of complete beginners – and the T. may have to start
  the course with no clear idea of who the Ls are and why they are taking the
  course. With monolingual
  groups, if the T understands the L1 this could, however, be done in the
  learners’ own language, while groups of false beginners may be able to give
  basic information on their reasons for studying, interests, likes/dislikes etc
  in English. 

Section b and c :
Needs and techniques

• Need: Even if beginners have specific communicative needs (eg Business
  English learners) they will still need to learn the basic structures and lexis
  of the language. Technique:
  Motivation can, however, be increased by ensuring that these are taught in a
  context which they see as relevant to their needs.   Eg.
  For both BE learners and general purpose learners learning because they want to
  travel, the verb BE can be taught and practised in the context of checking into
  a hotel  “Hello I’m John Davies. / You’re in room 352 / This is your keycard/ The
  lift is over there.

• Need: Many beginners will be learning a language for the first time and will
  need learner training (ie “learning to learn”) built into the course. For example, effective dictionary use may
  need to be taught, or they can be shown how to take advantage of “dead time” – eg when they
  are on a bus, or waiting for a dental appointment - by creating vocabulary
  cards which can be kept in their coat pockets (or creating equivalent activity types on websites such as
  Quizlet which can be accessed on their phones) to review language they have
  previously worked on.

• Need: Many beginners will be young learners – whether primary or secondary.
  It is arguable that for this type of learner the teacher must concentrate not
  only on teaching the language but also on general educational goals, for example, the
  development of both lower and higher order thinking skills (Bloom’s taxonomy).

• Need: Very young learners will be non-analytic and still within the
  “critical period” when the language can be acquired rather than learnt. Technique: They
  will therefore need an approach based on exposure – to songs, stories,
  chants etc - and games to help them
  transfer the language to productive use.   

• Need: Older learners however will want to analyse and “understand” and will
  expect explanations. Failure to provide these may cause frustration and
  demotivation.  Technique:
  There is therefore a strong argument for
  some use of the L1. As already discussed above, this presumes however that the T speaks the language(s) of
  the Ls, and is therefore often only possible in a monolingual class in the Ls’
  own country. 

• Need: Some beginners may not feel confident enough to start speaking
  immediately and need the “Silent Period” suggested by Krashen. Technique:
  For these learners, Total Physical Response activities can be used–
  either as originally intended as a method for the first 60 hours of the course
  (Asher), or as a “silent phase” in the lesson after the presentation of target
  language so that the learners have a chance for further receptive exposure
  before it starts being drilled or otherwise practised. 

• Need: Beginners who are learning in an English speaking environment will be
  encountering a lot of ungraded language outside the classroom, which may
  confuse or puzzle them and which they may want to ask about. Time should be left for this in lessons. However, it is often more useful if the T. does not answer on the spot but
  “collects” questions to be answered in the following lesson. That way s/he has
  time to think about the simplest way to explain what may be complex points, and
  to decide if some of the questions actually can’t be dealt with. Learners need
  to accept that eg there are some structures that can only be understood after
  they have reached a higher level. 

References and Further Reading

• If you want to read more about Vietnamese
  culture in general, behaviour in the classroom, and problems with learning
  English, see here : http://www.vietnamesestudies.org/uploads/4/5/8/7/4587788/vietnamforesolteachersvs2002.pdf

• Stevick, E.W. (1976) Memory, Meaning and Method, Newbury House