An excellent and simple concept for teaching English learners as well as learners in general is “slowed speech.” Teachers have a tendency to talk very quickly. This may be due to the fact that they’ve said the same things year after year or it may be because they are always thinking about the end assessment. I am not sure the reason why so many teachers speak quickly but I know they do because I have heard them. It can be difficult even for an educated adult to follow some teachers. This goes to show how hard it must be for some students to acquire new concepts.
Eye contact is a must. Sometimes I can tell just by looking at them when they aren’t getting it. Once I have established I am going way too fast, I can slow down and enunciate the words. Another sure-fire way to see if they are hearing you is to have them write a response to a question on a white board and hold it up. If you see 80% doing it wrong, you know you are probably your speech is too fast if not irrelevant. I think you’ll find that slowed speech is nearly always a good idea in teaching.
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