Teaching Grammar to Beginners: Tips and Structure for a Perfect Lesson

Do you need help with teaching grammar to beginner English learners? Don’t fret, I got you. In this video, we cover all of the steps, tips, and methodology needed for you to ace any grammar lesson you teach to beginner students. The methodology we are using in the video is based on a teaching structure that I developed called The 5 Points. This is an effective teaching strategy to get beginner students to communicate with each other as if they were higher-level students.
Don't forget to like/subscribe!
If you are new to my series - Teaching English to Beginner Students, check out my other videos below.
13 Fundamentals You Need to Know • How to Teach Beginners...
Teaching Vocab to Beginners • How to Teach English t...
Lesson Structure for The 5 Points • How to Teach English t...
Oh, if you are interested in TEFL certification, train with me and the great staff, in Prague, at The Language House TEFL!
Here are the steps covered in the video
General Tips
1. Don’t teach too much grammar
2. Elicit everything
3. Keep your TTT VERY low
4. Move slowly
5. Drill a lot
6. Work on grammar variations
7. Keep your vocab basic to not overwhelm them
Pre-work: Think of 3-5 questions using your grammar point that you want your students to be able to use by the end of the lesson. The goal is for them to ask/answer these questions to each other without the use of the board or notes.
What are you wearing?
What is he/she wearing?
What am I wearing?
What are they wearing?
What are we wearing?
Point 1: Teach and review the vocabulary necessary to answer these questions. Since we are focusing on grammar, we want to keep the amount of vocabulary low. Obviously, enter your class with the basic hellos!
Point 2: Elicit an example to your first question, ‘I am wearing’. If the function is unclear to students, use visual aids to get the meaning across. Then, teach the name of the grammar point, ‘present continuous’. Finally, teach the structure for just the first example (we don’t want to overwhelm them). CCQ (concept check question) throughout the entire presentation. Try to keep it short!
Let students practice their own answers to the question using the vocabulary you reviewed.
After they can make their own statements, I’ll elicit and drill the question.
Point 3: In groups, have students practice both asking and answering the 1st question to each other in groups. We’ll jump back to Point 2 and do this with all of the question/answer pairs. With each new statement/question, review the grammar variations with them.
Point 4: With all of the questions on board, students can practice in pairs/groups by asking all of them. While they do this, begin to remove the prompts from the board. Since we practiced each question and answer individually, they should be able to manage this with some help. You can end (or begin) this section with a written study if you wish.
Point 5: Remove all notes and boarded structures, pass out role cards for variation, and incorporate negatives if appropriate. Encourage students, if they can, to use authentic language. Do this multiple times until their output sounds great.
Now that students have an understanding of the tense, you can teach more verbs and vocabulary in the next lesson to make the tense shine.

[@yoefalcon1988]

I just started an ESL teacher’s job, after one year teaching online! This channel has been an amazing discovery!!!

[@takudzwasam9946]

Hi do you offer WhatsApp English lesson

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

That’s so great to hear 🎉

[@analovato2380]

Yesssss, please make a video with tips for first lesson with beginners!! Thank you so much, you're awesome

[@milenamosquera8696]

Thank you so much teacher Chris, you are amazing 😃

[@timofey4748]

Amazing as always! Thank you so much for such useful and informative videos!

[@arashsol1064]

your videos are perfect, god bless youuuu.

[@angilif32]

You're a lifesaver! I always struggle with grammar, and seem to fumble my way through lessons. I ALWAYS talk too much! They do end up more confused than where they originally started. Keep it up!

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Happy to help!

[@caro1591]

Yours are just the best TEFL videos. Thank you so much.

[@user-yk6cv7pq2x]

Thank you so much for creating this series of teaching English to beginners. I am currently in Vietnam and practicing Buddhism at a temple. I decided to volunteer to teach people English because people here are very poor and English greatly expands their opportunities. I am really trying to learn how to create lesson plans that flow well. Can you please share some advice on how to think of questions and answers, and also how to know when to advance to more detailed questions and answers? I want to make sure I am keeping up with my students ability to learn and not boring them. I looked into fluentize, but the material is too advanced for pure beginners. So I will be creating my own lessons, and it would be very helpful to get an idea of how long I should keep things simple and also how to move on from this stage. Thank you!

[@chiaracris84]

Thank you so much Chris. Your videos are really helpful. Teaching beginners is really hard and I’d love to see more of this content ❤ very grateful for you/your beautiful channel 😊

[@glendarainey6885]

Yes please to a video on your first class with beginners. Thank you so much.

[@hildahafid4628]

I really love your content, Chris !!! Keep it UP ^_^

[@user-wp3hk1du5m]

THANKS ALOT YOU ARE SO AWESOME 👌

[@anasbenhaddou7827]

Thank you ❤

[@emmamartinez4716]

I also give them cards with words so they form sentences and questions.

[@weaintdeadyet]

So thankful to find you. I just started teaching a beginner English class and have no idea what I am doing. Small class of 3 or 4 native Spanish speakers in a small rural Arizona area. Thank you!!

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

You got this!

[@user-cl2sf5mt1w]

That was extremely useful, thank you a lot!

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Glad to help

[@elmokhtarlazrak5861]

Thanks

[@fionaabdelaal]

Thankyou you so enforce what I'm doing! Thanks

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

You’re doing great!

[@user-rn7ct7wc3s]

As an experienced teacher teaching ELS for the first time, I am deeply grateful for your help. It’s a whole new ballgame! Fantastic videos

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Thanks! I plan on making a lot more content in the coming months. Stay tuned

[@flamencojondotoday]

Great video as always! For the last four months I've been starting my career as an ESL teacher online. I watched your videos back when I was taking my 168 hr tefl course and they were really impacting for me. I watched them when I felt confused/overloaded with grammar/theory on my class. Your videos helped me to better understand my online tefl course and get extra exited to start my career. Thanks for all you do and congrats on the baby!

[@aswini3220]

How did you start teaching online

[@m.e-mahdi5159]

Thanks for your time and effort, it helps us a lot. May God reward you.

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Thanks for watching 🙌

[@barbwd]

Could you please make a video about teaching Advanced level students? Thank you

[@nishaperera888]

Thank you so much for your videos, i learn so much from it. Appreciate your commitment and dedication. 😊

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

You are so welcome!

[@thetroz4928]

Thank you Mr ❤

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

You are very welcome

[@user-rb7fb3nm2r]

I enjoy your lessons so much..thanks so much

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

I'm so glad!

[@FoodforSouls13]

Thank you for this video, it is very helpful. You're my favorite English teacher online.

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Aww ☺️ Thanks! I’m glad that I’m #1 for you.

[@FoodforSouls13]

🥰🥰🥰@@TheLanguageHouseTEFL

[@ranaawad4259]

Thanks a lot

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Most welcome

[@johnjackson4585]

Can you show a clips as to how to teach a student one to one ?

[@kevinmateoatenciamunoz7692]

What TTT and CGQ means?

[@Pedro-bu8xd]

BRAVO Sir

[@dileepg3390]

Do you provide online grammar classes sir? If so please do let me know sir

[@revathidevi2512]

How to subscribe

[@Mehdi-wf9zz]

Hey dude, sup? How u doing? I hope everything is all right with you. Just a quick little thing, In many language teaching methodologies that share principles in their approach toward the theory of language learning, we have come to realize that perhaps, ( just perhaps ) lol. Providing metalinguistic feedback about the language content might be rather unnecessary, and students often learn better and their performance better when they focus on transferring info rather than focusing on the structure. I hope people find this comment conducive to their teaching.

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

There’s a lot of ways to get the same solution for sure. With this framework, how would you teach the present cont to new language learners without introducing/exploring some elements of its structure?

[@daultondonna]

Excellent observation and well worded. Thanks for your input.

[@NM-mc4rj]

What about giving them a handout after the grammar presentation to solidify the learning? (Study 1/2 etc). This is where I get confused- not sure if that works with beginners.

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Yep, I mention that in the description that some written studies can be useful.

[@GabrielSilva-dw8me]

em inglês na linguagem formal, something pode se referir a uma habilidade ou a um ser vivo abstrato que não é um ser humano ou um animal? Tanto no sentido de que esse ser abstrato não existe na vida real e no sentido de existir no filme?

[@johnjackson4585]

Please make first lesson for beginners

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

Coming right up!

[@chunkychunks17]

Fluentize is down on my side? Is it not working for everyone else too?

[@TheLanguageHouseTEFL]

I reached out to Jake and it should be up and running soon.

[@chunkychunks17]

@@TheLanguageHouseTEFL Thank you, I'll keep checking until it does.

[@user-fi4sj6mn5h]

All you are saying is about that order of how to teach beginners but bremember, in our English language which means me and you okay, our English language we practice this our English language by speaking, learning, reading, and writing to ourselves, please teach them by this order if you can not just let me join you for this actions okay. So please what will you about it? Answer me now. Ask me the reason why I said that our English language but if already about reason then you are great to keep it up okay. Thanks for reading my massage.

[@user-fi4sj6mn5h]

What is your Facebook name?