Teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) is a complicated and widely studied endeavor. Many techniques are involved in the teaching of English to non-native speakers. In general, a teacher must consider these four subjects when designing and teaching an ESL course: planning, evaluation, class management and class activities.

Planning
Planning courses and making lesson plans are two essential parts of teaching ESL. The many techniques in this area of ESL can be reduced to two main ideas: finding a central theme and giving variety. When planning a class, the most important thing you can know is the goal of the course. Use this goal as the central theme of the class, while planning a variety of activities for students. An effective ESL course should have a clear, central theme with a variety of activities surrounding that theme.

Evaluation
Assessing students' progress is integral in teaching ESL. If you do not know whether your students have improved, you have no way of knowing whether your course has been effective. Evaluation can be a teaching technique in that it can be disguised as an activity. Tests, question-and-answer sessions, and presentations are all forms of evaluations, but students do not necessarily know you are assessing their progress by such means. Use the technique of evaluation as a portion of your course without letting students know you are evaluating them -- they will demonstrate their progress without feeling the pressure of being analyzed.

Class Management
No matter what type of ESL class you are teaching, you will need to employ some sort of class management. The most important part of class management, regardless of the class, is the idea of allowing the students to feel a sense of group identity. The technique of making the class feel as it is one entity allows you to unconsciously persuade students to keeping themselves in-line. This technique is especially important in classes with younger students.

Class Activities
Any teacher can create worksheets or individual tests of aptitude. It is only when a teacher excels in technique that she can create activities for the whole class in any situation. Such a technique allows a teacher to set the class to work as a whole. Class activities can include lectures, conversations, practice material and tests. The essence of this technique is developing activities in which the whole class can participate.