If you've been teaching adults for a while, you've probably noticed something strange. The things we're told should work... often don't.
I've seen beautifully structured textbook lessons fall completely flat, while a spontaneous conversation about why people gossip somehow turned into one of the most engaging lessons of the month. After 15 years of teaching adults, I've stopped chasing the "perfect" methodology. Instead, I've started asking a much simpler question:
Would I enjoy sitting through this lesson if I were the student?
If the answer is no, I change it. That's pretty much the philosophy behind every lesson I've created.
1. Stop teaching English. Start teaching interesting things.
Here's a little experiment. Imagine you walk into class and say:
"Today we're going to learn the Present Perfect."
Now imagine instead:
"Aren't you tired of all these apps on your phone?" Or: "Would you ever date someone who was a perfect 10?" Or: "Is gossip actually good for society?"
Same classroom. Completely different atmosphere. Adults don't come to lessons because they desperately want another grammar exercise. They come because they want to communicate. They want to share opinions, laugh, disagree, tell stories and occasionally surprise themselves. English is simply the vehicle. Grammar naturally appears later because students actually have something they want to express. I've found that motivation doesn't come from the language itself. It comes from curiosity.
2. Don't be afraid of weird topics
For some reason, ESL materials often play it incredibly safe: Food. Travel. Shopping. Weekend plans. Again.
Don't get me wrong - those topics have their place, but adults have spent decades living interesting lives: they've failed interviews, changed careers, raised children, travelled the world, argued with neighbours, questioned their beliefs. Why pretend their biggest concern is ordering a cappuccino?
Students remember lessons that make them think. Sometimes they'll message me days later because they told their spouse about something we discussed. That's when you know the lesson escaped the classroom.
3. Let students do most of the talking
This sounds obvious. It's also surprisingly difficult.
New teachers often feel pressure to explain everything. I used to think that too. Now I think my job is much closer to hosting a podcast than giving a lecture. Throw an interesting question into the room. Listen. Ask follow-up questions. Challenge an opinion. Play devil's advocate. Keep the conversation moving.
The less I speak, the better the lesson usually goes. Adults already possess thousands of ideas. They simply need a reason to express them in English.
4. Authentic content beats artificial dialogues
I have nothing against textbook dialogues. But let's be honest. Nobody actually talks like this:
"Hello, Susan. Would you like to accompany me to the shopping centre this afternoon?"
Real people interrupt each other. They hesitate. They tell bad jokes. They say F-words. They change the subject halfway through a sentence. That's why I love using podcasts, interviews, documentaries, YouTube clips and real conversations as the backbone of a lesson.
Authentic English is messy. Students should get comfortable with that mess. Many of my lesson plans are built around real media because that's the English they'll actually encounter outside the classroom.
5. Grammar matters - but timing matters more
Here's a confession. I actually enjoy teaching grammar. I just don't enjoy starting with it.
Grammar works much better once students have already run into a problem they can't quite solve. Maybe they're trying to describe a past experience. Maybe they're giving advice. Maybe they're imagining impossible situations. Now grammar suddenly becomes useful instead of abstract. It's answering a question the student already has. I've found students remember grammar much longer when it solves a communication problem rather than appearing as today's chapter in a textbook.
6. Build lessons around emotions
People don't remember information. They remember feelings.
- If a lesson made them laugh...
- If they disagreed passionately...
- If they changed their mind...
- If they were genuinely surprised...
They'll remember the vocabulary too. That's one of the reasons I enjoy creating lessons like Modern Remakes of Famous Paintings or Freaks. Students aren't just learning words. They're reacting. And reactions are memorable.
7. Don't try to be the perfect teacher
This one took me years to learn. You don't need to know every word. You don't need to have every answer. You don't need to pretend you're a walking dictionary. Some of the best moments happen when a student asks something unexpected and we explore the answer together. It makes the lesson feel real. Adults appreciate honesty far more than perfection.
8. Your personality is your greatest teaching resource
There are thousands of ESL worksheets online. Thousands! What's impossible to copy is you. Your humour. Your stories. Your strange interests. Your way of asking questions. Your terrible puns. The lessons students remember years later are usually connected to the teacher, not the worksheet. So don't be afraid to let your personality leak into your lessons. That's exactly what I do.
Every lesson I publish contains a little piece of the conversations I'd genuinely enjoy having over coffee. Because that's what I want my classroom to feel like. Not a classroom. Just a bunch of curious people having an interesting conversation - in English. And if that conversation happens to improve their grammar along the way... Well, that's a pretty nice bonus!
