In the past year, I have had more and more opportunities to teach adults. Teaching the staff at Kema Guangzhou branch was certainly one of my greatest growing experiences. For the first time, I was able to formulate a complete lesson plan geared solely for business. As I executed the lesson plan, here is what I observed:

1.    Be very clear as to what you expect of them right from the very start. Always have a goal for each lesson.

2.    Students want to learn what directly applies to them in their line of work. Instead of following a single textbook, get regular feedback the students as to what they would like to learn- glean from various sources, and go.

3.    Varying group sizes is always a good idea. However, my students worked better and seemed to be more creative with their English when they were in teams of three or four. I assigned students in teams accordingly, each with one strong English speaker.

4.    Tell the students to never be afraid to speak. Making mistakes is a critical part of the learning process. Speaking is the key to learning- the more you make an effort to speak, the faster you will learn.

5.    Always smile, present yourself as approachable, and constantly commend every student for their efforts.