When teaching, it’s necessary to make sure information is broken down into bite-sized pieces. These small pieces, like bread crumbs in the forest, can create a path for the students to follow. Leave one out and the students might get lost.

Wrong assumptions and cultural differences can keep us from reaching our students, so always begin slowly. Consider the class that was supposed to play a board game I’d created. After giving detailed instructions, I watched as the students ignored the game and began talking in Chinese. Why? Because they’d never played a competition involving rolling dice and moving little pieces around a board. So I stopped everything and got them to roll dice and move around the board with me. An hour later, everyone was so involved in playing the game that none of the students wanted to leave. And to think I’d been about to toss something I’d spent hours creating.

Taking the time to first explain, model, and then letting them try for themselves, can make a big difference. This is especially true for a large class. For example, consider a role-play where 'parents' and their 'student child' talk to the school representative. Before putting the four students together, get all the 'mothers' to meet together to talk about what they are going to say in their group. Do this with all the characters first, listening in and perhaps giving them some hints. Now each character will have some confidence about what they are going to say in the group and the role-plays will go much more smoothly.

Before we debate in my class, we have a series of steps that begin with two students discussing a topic, and then arguing opposing sides. We stop, model some useful phrases, and then the two students move to form a group with two other students. Using the same topic, they begin again with a discussion, and finally move on to a debate. They can even move again to form new groups, getting lots of practice debating a single issue. This is the kind of repetition that can give them confidence. After this exercise they are able to debate any topic that vocabulary permits.

A class for practicing a job interview goes like this: What are the qualities of a good friend? Are you a good friend? Then you must have some of these qualities. What are the qualities of a good worker? Aren’t they the same qualities you just told me were the qualities of a good friend? So you must have some qualities of a good worker. Add this to the fact that you speak English, and you have something that an employer might be looking for. Now come into the job interview ready to tell me why you are the best person for the job.

Create a complete path, step by small step, and your students can follow you anywhere.