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In a Confidence-First English™️ setting, we prioritise emotional safety before we begin learning language.
Many learners don't actually need more grammar explanations. They need:
- confidence speaking,
- confidence in making mistakes,
- confidence sounding "good enough",
- confidence in meetings,
- confidence travelling,
- confidence in being themselves in English.
That emotional barrier is enormous, especially for:
- anxious learners,
- perfectionists,
- neurodiverse students,
- professionals,
- and people who've studied English for years but freeze when speaking.
We understand that faster learning happens when students feel comfortable, unlike the common teaching approach, which suggests that students become comfortable and confident AFTER learning.
How does Confidence-First English work?
We teach using the following simple process:
SPEAK (low-pressure output)
EXPLORE (notice language, introduce resources)
SHAPE (refine)
WIN (recognise success)
We do not act as therapists; that is neither our place nor our aim. We do aim to have our students feel relaxed enough to learn efficiently and effectively. Traditional methods concentrate on input, output, and correction before more output. In our Confidence-First English™️ system, we actively manage students' emotional states to help them grow in confidence.
Confidence builds comfort and then fluency.
How This Looks In Practice.
Calm
When a student first joins the class, it is not wise to jump straight into complicated learning. Our student may not yet be in the right headspace to retain information. If you try to teach too early, the student can get flustered, and then confused and finally frustrated by any information you present. This does not build confidence. In fact, it destroys it. So, we need to help our students settle into the class with a predictable, comfortable routine.
Before class, we should already know if our students have any special requirements to help them get the most out of their lesson. A learning needs assessment and a placement test should be completed by all students before they begin learning, so we can determine their needs, goals, and current abilities.
Students with Dyslexia may do better with certain fonts on worksheets and slides, and large blocks of text should be avoided. Students with ASD or ADHD might do better with certain colours, environments and movement breaks built into the class. Being able to accommodate our students' needs, whether they learn in person or online, will help our nervous students relax in our class and ultimately with us, thereby optimising their learning experience.
For some very anxious students, this might involve a breathing exercise before class. Just a simple breath in, hold, and then out can help them to focus and ground. Aromatherapy oils, such as Lavender or Vetiver, in the air (provided there are no sensitivities to them) can be a really helpful and calming addition to the classroom when taking physical classes.
We can briefly do mindfulness and grounding exercises with nervous students before learning begins, if students wish.
Speak
Then, we like to ask a familiar set of questions.
- How are you today?
- What have you been doing?/How was your weekend?/How was your holiday?
- What's the weather like?
The students come to class knowing they will likely be asked those same questions and have mostly prepared answers in mind before they speak. Repetition builds familiarity and trust. This gives them confidence, as they know what to say, and their answers become more fluent with each session. Extracting those answers at the start of each lesson becomes as easy as pie, and it "greases the wheels" for further chat. We also gesture for the student to ask the same questions in return, and keep our answers very simple and uncomplicated, so they can have a pre-learning conversation.
Once we know a student well enough, if their language ability and confidence level allow, we ask more in-depth questions about their lives and the experiences they share. Always keep it light and pressure-free.
- How was your birthday?
- Did you visit the museum?
- Was the film good?
- How was your meal?
Even students with higher language levels appreciate the simplicity of the first few minutes of the lesson and the way their hands are held as they are led down the path of conversation. Only once they look calm and relaxed do we proceed.
I don't understand...
A student who is speaking BEFORE we start learning is far more likely to feel able to continue speaking. But before learning, there is something all students should know first. They can use a translator app if their English is very basic, to learn the following two very important phrases:
- "I don't understand"
- "Please can you repeat that?"
One of the very first things we teach our students is how to say they do not understand something. It is important for them to be able to ask for a better explanation or more help with the point they are learning. A simple "I don't understand" can be used for many situations. "Please, can you repeat that?" is another great phrase to have learned.
Now that our student is comfortable and already speaking, the learning can begin.
(Part One of Two)
