What To Teach In An EFL Classroom

Join a global community of over 200,000 TEFL teachers working throughout the world! Enrol me!

But somewhere, there’s a little voice inside your head that is telling you that being able to speak English is not the same as being able to teach English and being a TEFL teacher does not just involve having a fat chat.

So how exactly do we teach English as a foreign language and what exactly do we teach?

Well, when we learn English, we learn language – vocabulary and grammar – and we learn skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking. So this is what we teach. Easy, no?

Ok, no, it’s not that easy. So let’s have a look at the different elements of English that you will need to unpack in your English lessons in order to be able to teach your students effectively.

WHAT TO TEACH IN AN EFL CLASSROOM

Vocabulary

Vocabulary are the words which are the building blocks of any language. Being able to use a word means having a passive knowledge of the world, as well as an active knowledge of the word. If we have a passive knowledge of a word it means we are able to recognise it and understand it in its written or spoken form. If we have an active knowledge of a word it means we are able to produce and use it accurately and appropriately. In other words, we know its form, function and meaning, which further involves knowing which word class it falls under, in which contexts it can be used and what words are related to it.

WHAT TO TEACH IN AN EFL CLASSROOM

Grammar

Grammar is the way vocabulary is joined together to create meaning. Grammar relates to how the different word categories interact to form meaning in phrases, clauses and sentences. It is also related to issues of morphology, syntax and semantics. There are numerous different grammatical structures in English which are necessary for EFL learners to understand, so a lot of your time in class might be spent on grammatical issues.

WHAT TO TEACH IN AN EFL CLASSROOM

Skills

In language we make use of four skills to comprehend and produce language. Reading and listening are considered receptive skills because we receive language that we need to decipher. Writing and speaking are productive skills because we are producing the language. As you can imagine, both sets of skills require different, well, skills, to ensure communication. Reading and writing require a recognition of letters, spelling and punctuation; listening requires an awareness of accent and connected speech; speaking requires a knowledge of pronunciation.

As you can see, teaching English does not simply involve talking to your learners. Learning English is a complicated process, one which the teacher needs to assist as much as possible in order to make life a little easier for our learners.

WHAT TO TEACH IN AN EFL CLASSROOM

Get Social

Follow us on social networks, join our newsletter - get the latest news and early discounts

Sign up to our newsletter

Follow us on social networks, sign up to our e-newsletters – get the latest news and early discounts

Accreditation Partners

The TEFL Academy was the world’s first TEFL course provider to receive official recognition from government regulated awarding bodies in both the USA and UK. This means when you graduate you’ll hold a globally recognised Level 3 (120hr) Certificate or Level 5 (168hr) Diploma, meaning you can find work anywhere and apply for jobs immediately.

Product added to your cart

You have added to your cart:

Request call back

    Please leave your details below and one of our TEFL experts will get back to you ASAP:

    captchaType characters on the left:

    Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

    Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

    Thank you! Your message has been sent!

    Download the TEFL World Factbook

      Please enter your details in order to download the latest TEFL World Factbook.

      Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

      Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

      Thank you for downloading the TEFL World Factbook!

      If the TEFL World Factbook did not download
      > Click Here To Download <

      Download the Online Teaching Guide

        Please enter your details in order to download our Online Teaching Guide.

        Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

        Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

        Thank you for downloading our Online Teaching Guide!

        If the Online Teaching Guide did not download
        > Click Here To Download <

        Download Prospectus

          Please enter your details in order to download our latest prospectus.

          Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

          Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

          Thank you for downloading our prospectus!

          We hope you enjoy reading our prospectus, we have tried to make it as useful as possible! Please get in touch if you have any questions.

          If the prospectus did not download automatically
          > Click Here To Download <

          $
          $