How to Make Money Teaching English Online: Teaching Methods and Procedures

...how do you teach English online?

For those who have a background ni second language acquisition, you know that there are different approaches you can use in teaching English to non-native speakers. Each method has its supporters and detractors. Some are well-received, and others do not exist anymore. But there is no single most effective method when it comes to second language acquisition. The best method is actually a combination of these approaches.

In your classes, you can employ and experiment with these four approaches or methods.

1. Audio-Lingual Method (ALM)
The Audio-Lingual Method, or Audiolingualism, is an approach that stems from the idea of habit formation. Proponents of this method believe that when a phrase or expression is repeated over and over, the pattern is drilled into the student; therefore, he will use it until it becomes second nature to him. Drills are, therefore, a staple in this method.

2. Total Physical Response (TPR)
There are some underlying principles of TPR that, at this point, are not necessary for they may complicate or confuse, so to put it simply, Total Physical Response is a method that relies on the idea that a student responds to commands using physical movement. In TPR, you demonstrate what you intend to say.

3. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
CLT, some sources say, is by far the most effective among all the approaches. It focuses not mainly on grammatical competence but on communicative competence, or one's ability to use a language for a variety of purposes and functions. These functions or purposes include giving directions, asking for directions, and greeting someone on his birthday.

4. Direct Method
The goal of this method is to provide students with the needed knowledge to use the target language in everyday situations. This method stems from the belief that learners can learn a second language easily without the use of their first language. In this method, grammar is taught inductively. The student guesses or works out the rule of pattern of the target language, and to aid in induction, the teacher asks countless questions.

To have a well-organized online English class, you should have a standard format to follow. The format is called a class flow. What is "class flow"?

A class flow is the organized arrangement of the parts of an online English class. It is similar to a lesson plan. In every class you conduct, you always start with an impressive opening and assess your student's learning just before you say goodbye.

a. Lesson Proper is where you "teach" each of the sections and parts of the lesson. Your way of teaching should be in line with the lesson sections' objectives. It has three sub-parts: warm-up, discussion of the lesson sections, and wrap-up.

b. In Warm-Up, you should do two things: (1) introduce the topic (and the objective) clearly and properly, and (2) ask a warm-up question.

A warm-up question is a question that prepares the student for the topic. It should be relevant and simple.

"Today, we'll talk about the days of the week. We'll learn how to name each of them properly."
"How many days are in a week?"

c. Discussion. The way each lesson section is handled should be in line with the objective. Unless requested by the student, no section or part should be skipped. Also, each section should be interconnected. They should be introduced and ended properly. (For teaching techniques, proceed to "What are the techniques or strategies I can use in my classes?" and "How do I teach these lesson sections?")

d. Wrap-Up is where you assess whether or not the student has understood the lesson. This is where you give a brief summary of what was discussed and where you ask a review question. Also, in this part, you remind or give the student important tips or homework he should accomplish.

"We talked about the days of the week. So, how many days are there in a week? Can you name all of them?"

As you go on, you should not forget to do the following: ask extension and expansion questions, give commendations, and give corrections and tips.

An expansion question is a question that allows a student to apply the patterns, words, and phrases included in the lesson. This question is very closely related to the key patterns, words, and phrases included in the lesson. An extension question, on the other hand, is similar to a follow-up question. It is a question that arises during the lesson based on the student's response.

At least one or two extension or expansion questions in each lesson section are sufficient. To prevent you from forgetting what questions to ask, it is advisable that you write (or type) them down.

In giving commendations, uttering sincere phrases of acknowledgment is enough. You can say "good job," "very good," or "goof" for a job well done. Or you can give him rewards or "virtual stars of scores" for quizzes and activities. Remember, the objective of giving commedations is to acknowledge the student's hard work and encourage him to always do his best. When giving commendations, sound sincere and natural.

When giving corrections, it is advisable to wait for the stuent to finish his thoughts before giving corrections. Never interrupt.

Tips are simple bits of information that make it easier for students to remember or figure out a pattern. They should, therefore, be as simple as possible and should not (further) complicate.

The closing part is where you bid your student goodbye. It is important that the student acknowledges the end of the class once you utter your closing spiel.

"Bye, Matilda! See you on Thursday! Don't forget to study the next section..."

These are just some of the many strategies online English teachers employ in their English classes. You may not employ all of them in one class, and some of them may not work for all students, but you will definitely use at least one of them when you teach online.

1. Role-Playing
In Role-Playing, you and the student assume roles and act out those roles. For instance, if the lesson is about giving and asking directions, one of you pretends he is lost and the other gives directions.

2. Information Gap
This works best if you have more than one student. The idea is for learners to interact and talk to each other to fill out missing bits of information. In teaching new words, for example, you give one student a group of words; and the other, the meaning of these words. Give the students time to match the words with their definitions, but to complete the task, they need to interact, share what they know, and ask each other questions.

3. Reading Aloud
With this technique, students not only hone their readins skills but also their pronunciation skills.

4. Pair Work
In Pair Work, your students work in pairs to complete a task. For example, you can ask students to read a dialogue in pairs, or let them clarify what they learned from the dialogue by interacting and asking each other questions. Remember, the idea is to let students work in pairs.

5. Learning by Teaching
In Learning by Teaching, students are allowed to prepare and teach lessons. Instead of you teaching, your students discuss a set lesson or topic.

6. Substitution
This technique works best when discussing sentence patterns and structures. A word or group of words is changed with another set. Say, the pattern you are working on is "I feel sad today." You can ask the student to change the word "sad" into another word that connotes feelings.

7. Q&A.
In Q&A, you ask your students a set of questions, but before this, you need to teach your students how to answer using a complete sentence or following a pattern. You can also give your students time to ask those questions.

8. Singing
When teaching pronunciation or when targeting a difficult sound, this strategy comes in handy. Say, for instance, the student has difficulty producing the /r/ and /l/ sounds, you can teach him the song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

9. Repetition
In Repetition, you let your student expose the language by asking him to repeat what you say. This works best for beginners and zero-English students.

10. Sentence Construction
This strategy is very simple. In Sentence Construction, you let your student create sentences using words you provide. For instance, after explaining the meaning of a new word, you ask the student to make his own sentence using that word.

11. Physical Demonstration
This strategy is useful in many situations such as the following: when teaching a zero-English student a new word or when words alone are not sufficient to let your student understand your point. In Physical Demonstration, you point to where or what something is, you gesture, you act out, or you nod to indicate agreement.

12. Retelling, Summarizing, and/or Paraphrasing
In your classes, remember to give your student many opportunities to use the English language. In Retelling, Summarizing, and/or Paraphrasing, you ask the student to explain something using his own words. With this strategy, you can also gauge how well your student has understood a concept.

13. Use of Pictorial Products
Drawings, pictures, and diagrams are not only interesting and lovely to look at, but they are also a very powerful tool in teaching English. You can use drawings to demonstrate what you mean, or you can present pictures to explain the meaning of a new word.

14. Asking Probing Questions
You will encounter students who either do not want to speak or speak only with a "yes" or "no." Ask questions that require them to speak more such as open-ended questions.

15. Use of Tongue Twisters or Nursery Rhymes
Tongue Twisters are useful when teaching pronunciation. Nursery rhymes are one way of piquing students' interest.

1. Dialogues
Dialogues are ever-present in ESL books because the idea is to bring an external situation into the classroom. Dialogues are also helpful when you want students to understand in what context or situation a certain expression is used. For example, when teaching the expression "You got me wrong!" you can choose to present a dialogue and let the student figure out what the expression means.

To teach dialogues, here are the suggested steps.

- Set the scene of the dialogue.
(In the dialogue, two people are in a classroom. It's their first time to meet."
- Read the dialogue. Have students listen.
- Read the dialogue again. This time, have students repeat after you.
- Read the dialogue with the students. Assign roles.
- Ask comprehension-check questions.
- If time permits, re-create the dialogue using your own information.

2. Sentence/Pattern Drills
Like Dialogues, drills on sentences or patterns are common in ESL books. They give students a chance to play around with certain patterns and learn how to create more possible sentences that arise from those patterns.

- Give a brief explanation of the expression.
- Let students understand the pattern,
- Demonstrate how to manipulate the pattern.
- Give students an opportunity to play around with the pattern.

3. Completing Fill-Ins
In this activity, some parts may be left blank for the student to fill in. This is to re-create a dialogue or to reinforce patterns.

Here is an example of a Fill-In activity

George: What's your favorite season?
Miranda: I like fall.
George: _____________________?
Miranda: I like winter.

The procedure is very simple. You just ask the student to fill in the blank to complete the dialogue. Then, you can read the dialogue together.

4. Grammar Points
ESL books focus on communicative competence; that is, the ability to know enough of the English language to be able to survive in an English-speaking country. Grammar is second priority, so it is taught in small pieces. Along the way, you will have to teach one or two grammar concepts such as verb conjugation, so make sure to brush up on your grammar skills.

When teaching grammar, you can choose to explain outright, but this strategy may bore your student. If you feel that the student need not know a grammar concept because he already knows it, you can just ask a review question.

5. Topics or Questions for Free-Flowing Conversation or "Freetalking"
Not all activities in ESL books focus purely on the technical aspects of the English language. There are also activities intended to either review or let students integrate the concepts discussed. These activities take the form of topics of questions for free-flowing conversation. Make sure to keep an open mind. Some students may find the topics boring, so you may need to modify the questions to suit their needs. At times, you may have to add more questions.

6. Pronunciation Drills
Pronunciation is a combination of stress, reduction, and linking. This means that to capture the real essence of pronunciation, you have to focus on sentences and not just words alone. That is why in ESL books, pronunciation activities usually have a focus, from reducing little words like "to" and "at" to linking "t" and "y"; and almost all the examples are sentences.

When teaching pronunciation, start with a brief explanation of the concept in focus. You can choose to begin with "Native speakers have a bad habit of decreasing the intensity of some words. These words are reduced, so how we pronounce them also changes." You can then do some drills.

7. Writing Activities
Writing is one of the basic skills your students need to master. But sometimes, it is taken for granted. Some students do not take a writing task seriously because it is time-consuming, or because they do not fully comprehend how it affects their lives. Writing activities take many forms, form essay writing to creating an easy-to-read e-mail or personal letter.

You may want to start by explaining the significance of the activity of taks. You can present a sample text or passage for your students to pattern their work from. Discuss the parts, the tenses used, the approach, and everything that your students need to know.

8. Listening Activities
Some ESL books include a CD where recorded conversations are stored. You can instruct your students to listen to these recordings. You can choose to follow the instructions, but if you want to create your own listening activity, feel free to do so. For instance, you may want to give your student a Youtube link to Larry King's interview of Paris Hilton after she got out of jail. Assign this as homework, and in the next class, ask questions about the interview.

9. Test or Quizzes
Quizzes and tests are still a great way of gauging how much a student has absorbed. But remember that quizzes do not have to be nerve-wracking. If you have more than 2 students, you may want to do a Quiz Bee to pique their interest.

10. Games
Games should be related to the lesson or should at least teach students something. You can use flash cards as aids or modify popular games to suit your students' needs. For example, you can create your own Hangman or Text Twist game and introduce it in class.

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