Quick answer: The five essentials when leading an EFL class are: set the scene (seating and a warm-up that gets students talking early); pre-teach the key language for the task; give plenty of student-to-student practice time; correct errors sensitively; and push students to use English outside class. Get these five right and even a simple lesson plan will run smoothly.
If you’re keen to be an inspirational EFL teacher and help your students make great progress, it’s good to know there are some worthwhile steps you can take to make the learning experience first class.
Here is an overview of the essentials to remember when leading a class – five habits that separate lessons that flow from lessons that stall:
- Set the scene – seating, atmosphere and an early warmer
- Pre-teach key language – so tasks don’t collapse over unknown words
- Maximise student talking time – pair and group practice
- Correct errors – sensitively and systematically
- Extend learning beyond the classroom – meaningful between-class tasks
1. How do you set the scene for a great lesson?
Arrange your class tables and chairs in a horseshoe shape at the start, where possible, so everyone has equal access to the board and the teacher. It helps communication and means students cannot hide at the back. Students can still move for group and pair work.
Lead the class with a warm-up game or enjoyable activity that gets them talking early. This helps break down barriers to speaking, gets engagement with English going and relaxes the class. If you can relate this ‘warmer’ to the theme of the lesson, even better. Here’s some more great TEFL warmers sure to get your class going, and if you teach online or want no-prep games, sites like ESL Games have ready-made options for every level.
2. Why should you check students have the key language first?
It may mean you need to teach/refresh some grammar, or you may need to explain difficult vocabulary from a reading text before they read. Explaining difficult words beforehand will help the reading ‘flow’, stop them getting distracted by unknown words and ensure you need only explain these terms once rather than multiple times to individuals. We call this pre-teaching and if you can ensure the whole class is engaged, they’ll be equipped with some essential language for the activities ahead.
Pre-teaching works best when the material itself is pitched correctly – see our guide on selecting EFL material at the right level for how to judge that.
3. How much time should students spend practising together?
Follow a reading/listening/writing task with a pair or group work task. This ensures students get to use the language you have taught actively.
Pair or group work activities might include communication games based on the theme, tasks where they have to agree on something, expressing opinions, guessing or prediction tasks, songs, role-plays, debates or discussions. Whatever you choose, always ensure you allow plenty of student talking/communication time; a common error new teachers make is talking too much and over-explaining. As a rough guide, in a communicative lesson your students should be doing most of the talking, not you.
Discussions are one of the best vehicles for this – our post on tips for TEFL discussion classes shows you how to structure them so everyone speaks. And if you need themed communication tasks fast, our 30 ready-to-print instant lessons are designed around exactly this kind of practice.
4. When and how should you correct errors?
Always correct mistakes but do so sensitively. While students are talking in pairs or groups, for example, you can monitor unobtrusively, taking notes to correct together as a class at the end of an activity. Consider writing up the mistakes on the board and elicit the correct answer from the class. Some teachers always include this correction slot at the end of classes. See more here on how to correct errors in the EFL classroom.
5. How do you get students using English outside class?
A couple of lessons per week will not transform your students’ English. Instead, classes should be seen as a stimulus for real use. So, give students something meaningful to do in between English classes. If possible, have them report back next time on an English task you set them (this really focuses the mind) or have them write up a dialogue they had in class as consolidation, for example. There are also many great English podcasts, YouTube videos or sites you can refer them to for practise – the free learner resources at American English (americanenglish.state.gov) are a good starting point. Some teachers have even set up a Facebook group, posting a question a week and getting conversations going online between classmates. When they use their new English in ‘real life’, it can be really motivating and do wonders for their progress.
Frequently asked questions
How can I adapt these essentials for beginners?
Keep every stage but simplify it: use a very short, visual warmer; pre-teach only five or six key words with pictures or mime; keep pair tasks tightly controlled (question-and-answer drills rather than open discussion); and correct gently, focusing on one error type at a time so beginners are not overwhelmed.
Do these techniques work in online lessons?
Yes. The horseshoe becomes a gallery-view rule (cameras on where possible), warmers work in the chat box or on a shared whiteboard, pair work happens in breakout rooms, and delayed error correction works exactly the same – note errors while monitoring rooms, then review them together on screen at the end.
How much should the teacher talk in an EFL class?
Less than you think. Over-explaining is the most common new-teacher error. Aim for students doing most of the talking in a communicative lesson: give short, clear instructions, demonstrate rather than describe tasks, and step back while pairs practise. Your talking time is best spent on setting up tasks and giving feedback.
What if students slip into their own language during pair work?
Make the task require English: give roles, information gaps or a concrete outcome to report back. Keep tasks short and timed, monitor actively, and praise pairs working in English. If the whole class shares one language, mix stronger and weaker speakers so English becomes the natural common ground for the task.
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These are five essential things to remember when you are leading your next EFL class. We go into much more depth on the role of the teacher, materials for classes, grammar and teaching the basic skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing in our accredited, online TESOL courses. Why not take a look?