L1 versus L2 use in the classroom: Focus on using English as much as pos-sible because it is important for students’ language development, especially in a foreign language environment. How-ever, know that limited use of L1 can be useful to make short explanations when students can’t understand any other way.
• Pronunciation focus: Do not ignore pronunciation work. Some focus on pronunciation, including suprasegmen-tals, can be effective, and in some cases necessary, for students to develop com-prehensible language production.
• Acquiring lexicon: Understand that this is a complicated process that takes time. Use various tools such as vocabu-lary enhancement activities in conjunc-tion with reading to boost students’ acquisition.
• Pair and group work: Use pair and group work to help students give and receive corrective feedback from some one other than the teacher. Use pair and group work in vocabulary learning situations to allow students to interact with new vocabulary both individually and by using the new language with their classmates.
• Emotional quotient: Be alert to your students’ emotional state of mind. Do what you can to reduce their anxiety by creating a relaxed and safe environment in the classroom. Language learning is emotional, and Communicative Anxi-ety is real.
My experience on the other side of the teacher’s desk, which made me focus on these points, is sure to make me a better and more empathetic language teacher in the future.