Teaching is recognised as one of the oldest professions in the world. It has always been seen as a duty of the society to develop and coach others as far back as the history can remember. Based on the acquired knowledge and experience, I will explore factors of effective learning and why it is important to meet the individual learners’ needs so that the desire outcome is achieved.

I understand that acquiring a second language differs from learning mother tongue hence my approach towards teaching vary. When I teach, I consider factors for effective learning as the most important thing to understand what students need. The key however is the ability to communicate in other language. Based on that knowledge I designed the syllabus which is a combination of learning goals/objectives and content distribution. My approach is adapted to teaching depending on:

• Level of the student’s language (functional, intermediate, advanced or native language) – choose different realia
• Ages – approach towards children is based on classroom activities, learn through play, teens – role plays, group work, competition and adults would be newspapers, reports etc
• Specific purposes – whether it is ESP (English for Specific Purpose) i.e. business, hospitality, marketing, law etc. or EAP (English for Academic Purpose).

I like to consider myself as facilitator (acting coach) who enables the learning process hence my classroom activates are mainly focused on the learners (actor). I let them do the talking and expressing themselves. It can be achieved by asking questions and drills that improve overall language retention.

I arrive 15 minutes (whenever possible) before my class starts, make sure all materials are prepared and goals set for the lesson. Flexibility, positive attitude of mine and student management skills are also important for success rate and, although easily forgotten, play a significant role in learning process.  

I took on a challenge of teaching basic Polish greetings to Spanish students as part of their general English course (Upper Intermediate level). All learners in this group are motivated as they want to be able to communicate in English. They also see the opportunity in gaining new skills and be able to improve their vocabulary on a wider scale. Having organised the class in the positive and safe environment, the outcome was easy to achieve. The one that needed to be overcome though was personality therefore I needed to design various activities to allow all students to take part and make sure they are all involved.

I used the learning cycle and teaching approaches knowledge to help me establish methods I wanted to use for the teaching to be effective. Below lesson plan is designed for adults and small groups however, if adjusted, it can also be used for bigger class.

I used a mixture of teaching methods like listening/speaking and direct/audio-lingual approach, although I also blended in reading and writing (including functions of grammar) so they become a habit. There is a fix agenda for each for each of my class:

1. Beginning – ice-breaking questions e.g. tell me about your weekend, what your future wife would be like etc. – 5-10 mins depending on the group
2. Wrapping up – 1 thing you take from the session – 5-10 mins depending on the group

The above consistency allows me to open and close each session the same way and be flexible on other parts depending on what the objectives and desired outcomes are. Each lesson plan emphasises different approach (e.g. reading/writing/grammar) where listening and speaking is core. My lessons are all in English and no translations is allowed. All words are explained in the new language. I use objects and pictures however in order to expand vocabulary each student need to add a description e.g. a forefinger – the finger next to the thumb, also known as the first or index finger (or show the picture of the hand and discuss it in details).

Session objectives/outcomes:

By the end of the session the student will:

1. Know things everyone from Poland has to explain to foreigners – No more questions!
2. Be introduced to words that look the same in Polish and English but have totally different meanings – No more silly mistakes!
3. Practice words that look the same in Polish and English and have the same meanings – Easy-peasy!
4. Be able to introduce yourself in Polish

The above choices of teaching approaches, resources are based on the principle of meeting individual needs and learning styles (visual – maps, auditory – You tube, kinaesthetic – by doing):

• Quiz where students are actively involved in session. This is also useful as backup activity if spare time is available.
• Q&A – oral questions enable the learner to think about what they are learning. The methods allow students to be challenged and it is an effective way of testing knowledge when open questions are used.
• Self-assessment – student is involved and is being encouraged to check the work before answering.
• Handouts – learners are able to revise and practice at home.

I used discussion and active learning as two key teaching strategies. Both of them are very effective as engaged all participants in direct conversations training them to think in new language. Assessments used were inclusive and effective i.e. everyone had to answer one question and was rewarded for different skills like quiz when students had a change to go to the board and present their knowledge. I also adapted resources to meet individual student’s needs (with dyslexia) and used coloured papers and specific pronunciations in brackets that allow effected students to focus on reading rather than writing.

My role is to ensure that people receiving my teaching reach their full potential and achieve the main learning goals. I am let to believe I am non-judgemental and non-opinionated while teaching and assume nothing when it comes to students. I make learning fun and productive as it is neither about the curriculum coverage nor numbers of books read. This is about promoting quality of teaching and learning as a result of it.

As teachers, we need to remember that we are also students. We need to learn to adapt to the environment, be flexible as a part of the bigger community and understand collaborative working. By sharing good practice with others, discussing lessons learnt we are improving systems, becoming stronger together and making learning outcomes achievable.