Back-to-School Guide: Teaching in English When It’s Not Your First Language

Noor has been teaching political science at an English-speaking university for nearly two decades. Although she isn’t a native speaker, she feels comfortable giving lectures in English and finds that her language background helps her relate well to her ESL students.

While Noor usually feels confident when she is speaking in front of students or colleagues, she does worry about her written English. “As the professor, I am supposed to set a good example,” said Noor. “So I can’t give my students written materials or comments that have spelling and grammar mistakes. And of course, if I’m writing an article for publication, it has to be perfect.”

Noor’s concerns are common among non-native speakers who are teaching in English-speaking schools. After all, written words often “stick around” longer than spoken ones, and it’s natural to want grading comments, lesson instructions, syllabi, emails, newsletters, and scholarly works to look professional.

Fortunately, if you are a non-native speaker who teaches in an English-speaking school, we have some tips and tricks to help you make sure your written English reflects your knowledge and professionalism.

1. Use templates to save time and reduce stress

As a teacher, you often write similar messages over and over again. For example, if your students are children, your communications with their parents probably cover similar topics such as missing homework assignments, field trips, class policies, and behavior problems. If you teach university-level students like Noor does, you will be giving feedback to dozens (or even hundreds) of students for the same assignments.

Therefore, instead of writing each message from scratch, create a set of templates with common sentences you often use. If you struggle with any particular words or phrases, be sure to include those so you don’t have to keep looking them up. For instance, the last example sentence below would be helpful for someone who has a tough time with “advise” vs. “advice”.

• “Great effort on this assignment! You explained your ideas clearly, but I would like to see more supporting details in the next draft.”
• “This week, our class will focus on _____. Please remind your child to bring ______.”
• “Take another look at this section. Can you think of a different way to solve these equations?”
• “You’re off to a good start, but can you add a few more sentences to expand on your ideas?”
• “As we all know, preschool children can be messy! Sometimes they spill their food, or they get dirty when they play outside. So please send a change of clothing for your child to keep in his/her locker.”
• “To prepare for the final exam, I strongly advise you to review the following readings:”

Templates give you a reliable starting point and ensure consistency. You can personalize them with details for each student or each class, so they aren’t all exactly alike.

2. Keep your sentences short and clear

Long, complicated sentences can be confusing, even for native speakers. If you are communicating with your students’ parents, keep in mind that some of them might not read English fluently! Therefore, when you’re writing instructions or giving your students feedback, aim for one idea per sentence.

Instead of this:

“Although your essay demonstrates creativity and includes some strong examples, it is at times difficult to follow because of the lack of transitions and organization, so I would encourage you to spend more time planning and connecting your ideas before your next draft.”

Try this:

“Your essay shows creativity and strong examples. However, it is difficult to follow. Next time, try planning your structure and adding transitions between paragraphs.”

 

3. Pay attention to your tone

Tone is especially important in education. You want to sound supportive, encouraging, and professional in order to generate a positive response to your message.

Let’s say you’re teaching middle school mathematics and you’re sending an email to a parent regarding a child’s homework assignments.

This sounds too critical and will probably make the parents feel defensive:

“Ryan is careless about his homework assignments. They’re too sloppy! He also skips over problems because he doesn’t want to take the time to solve them.”

This sounds more professional and is more likely to get the parents to take action:

“Some of the grade seven students have been rushing through their homework assignments and skipping over certain problems. Please encourage Ryan to review his work carefully and tell him he should see me after class if he needs help.”

4. Proofread important messages

For official communications such as parent newsletters, course syllabi, reports, or staff memos, it is especially important to take an extra minute to double-check your spelling, grammar, word choice, tone, and phrasing.

Imagine you’re a university student and on the first day of class, your professor hands you a syllabus that reads like this:

“All class assignments be turned in on the day their due or you will receive a zero for that assignment if you fail to turn it in on time. I can make exeptions for emergency cictumnaces, but you must contact me BEFORE the assignment is due not afterward.”

Would you expect to have a good experience in this class? Probably not.

Here’s a better version of the same paragraph:

“All class assignments must be turned in on the day they are due. Failure to do so will result in a zero for that assignment. I can make exceptions for emergency circumstances, but only if you contact me BEFORE the assignment is due.”

5. Keep a learning mindset

Improving your written English is a journey that can last for years. Every email, every piece of feedback, every syllabus, and every classroom handout gives you another opportunity to practice.

Keep a small notebook or digital file where you can save useful phrases, corrections, or examples you want to reuse. Bit by bit, your confidence will grow.

“I know my English isn’t always perfect,” said Noor. “But at the same time, it has improved a lot since I started teaching. When I go back and read through old papers and emails, I see a big difference.”

Final Tip: Get support when you need it

Even the most experienced educators sometimes worry about how they’ve phrased their comments on a student’s paper, instructions for an assignment, or messages to parents. That’s where TextRanch can help. Our team of editors can provide fast, reliable feedback on your academic, business, or personal writing. Some of us have even worked as teachers, so we understand the demands of a busy classroom. To find out more about us, just click the blue box.

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