Adult English, Beginner: A Sample Class Recap
It's never too late to start
Short sentences, real life, and a teacher who explains in your language.
Starting English as an adult takes courage. Most beginners already know more words than they think. What they need is a calm teacher, short sentences they can use tomorrow, and a clear record of what they learned, in English and in their own language.
Here is a full example of what a beginner receives after a lesson. Everything works: tap 🔊 to listen, play the video, and try the practice page.
Meet Meiling 陳美玲, 52, from Taichung. She stopped studying English after school, and now she wants to visit her daughter in Vancouver and talk to people there herself. She has a one-hour lesson with me every Tuesday at 7 p.m., Taiwan time, on Zoom. (Meiling is made up. Her lesson is a typical one.)
1The class recap: what Meiling receives
A few minutes after class, Meiling gets this by email. It shows what we did, the sentences she can use right away, her own mistakes fixed kindly, and three small things to practise.
Class recap · 課後小結
Meiling's English lesson 美玲的英文課
Lesson 2 · Tuesday 27 October · 60 minutes on Zoom第2課 · 10月27日（星期二）· Zoom 線上60分鐘
Dear Meiling,美玲您好：
You were nervous for the first ten minutes. By the end of the lesson, you were asking me questions. That is how it starts! Here is what we did.您前十分鐘有點緊張，到了下課前，已經開始問我問題了。這就是好的開始！以下是今天的上課內容。
Today we… · 今天我們…
- 🏙️Talked about the city and the countryside: "I live in the city. Taichung is big."談城市和鄉下：「我住在城市。台中很大。」
- 🚌Asked How far? and How long? "It's 5 kilometres away. It takes 20 minutes by bus."練習問「多遠？」和「多久？」：「離這裡5公里。坐公車要20分鐘。」
- 🌏Said where we're from: "I'm Taiwanese. I'm from Taiwan." "My daughter lives in Canada."說自己來自哪裡：「我是台灣人，我來自台灣。」「我女兒住在加拿大。」
- 🔤Practised the five short vowels and the magic e: hop → hope.練習五個短母音和「神奇的 e」：hop → hope。
- 🍜Talked about food and feelings: "I'm hungry." "I'm full." "I'm starving!"談吃東西和感覺：「我餓了。」「我吃飽了。」「我快餓死了！」
Meiling's star moment · 美玲的亮點
⭐ Meiling asked her first full question without looking at her notes: "How long does it take to get to Vancouver?"⭐ 美玲第一次不看筆記，完整地問出一個問題：「去溫哥華要多久？」
Your English · 您的英文
Two small fixes from today. Say the green one three times. · 今天的兩個小修正，把綠色的句子說三遍。
I am live in Taichung. → I live in Taichung. live 本身就是動詞，前面不用 am。
It takes 20 minute. → It takes 20 minutes. 兩個以上要加 s：1 minute，20 minutes。
New words · 新單字 (tap to listen · 點一下聽發音)
Practise this week · 本週練習 (15 minutes a day · 每天15分鐘)
- Watch Vowels Only once, and say each sound out loud.看一次《Vowels Only》影片，每個音都大聲說出來。
- On your practice page, tap and repeat the city and countryside sentences.在您的練習頁，點選並跟著唸城市和鄉下的句子。
- Write three sentences: I live in ___. It is ___. It takes ___ minutes to get to ___.寫三個句子：我住在___。那裡很___。去___要___分鐘。
Ross's note · 老師的話
Meiling, short sentences are perfect. Next week we'll practise what to say at the airport in Vancouver. ✈️美玲，短句子就很好了。下週我們來練習在溫哥華機場要說的話。✈️
📅 Next class: Tuesday 3 November, 7:00 p.m. Taiwan time, on Zoom.下一堂課：11月3日（星期二）晚上7點（台灣時間），Zoom 線上。
The recap arrives by email and also lives on the student's own page, so nothing gets lost.
2Watch at home
Many adult beginners were never taught the sounds of English, only the letters. These two short videos from my YouTube channel fix that, gently.
A, E, I, O, U: the long and short sounds, slowly and clearly.
Useful for phone numbers, addresses and forms: "one, O-N-E."
3Meiling's practice page: try it
Every student also gets a practice page built from their own lessons. Here is a small version of Meiling's.
Meiling's English Practice 美玲的英文練習
01City or countryside? · 城市還是鄉下？
Tap a sentence to hear it, then say it. · 點一個句子聽發音，再跟著說。
這是一座城市。
這座城市很大。
我住在城市裡。
這是鄉下。
這裡很安靜。
我住在鄉下。
02How far? How long? · 多遠？多久？
Far = kilometres. Long = minutes. · 「多遠」問距離（公里），「多久」問時間（分鐘）。
Travel words · 交通方式：
03Where are you from? · 你來自哪裡？
Country → nationality. Tap to hear. · 國家 → 國籍，點一下聽發音。
04Short vowels and magic e · 短母音和神奇的 e
Short sound first, then add e. · 先唸短音，再加上 e。
05Hungry or full? · 餓了還是飽了？
Slide, then say it. · 拉一拉，再說出來。
- I'm starving!我快餓死了！
- I'm very hungry.我非常餓。
- I'm hungry.我餓了。
- I'm not hungry.我不餓。
- I'm full.我吃飽了。
- I'm stuffed!我吃撐了！
06Quick quiz · 小測驗
🏡Fix it: "I am live in Taichung." · 改正句子
I live in Taichung. No "am" before "live". · live 前面不用 am。
⏱️"It takes 20 minutes." answers… · 這句話回答哪個問題？
Minutes = time → How long? · 分鐘是時間，所以問 How long。
🇨🇦She's from Canada. She's… · 她來自加拿大，她是…
Canadian! · 加拿大人是 Canadian。
🌾Green fields, a farm, very quiet: · 綠色田野、農場，很安靜：
The countryside. · 鄉下。
🍽️After a big dinner, you say… · 吃完一頓大餐，你會說…
I'm full! (or I'm stuffed!) · 我吃飽了！
Real practice pages grow every week, with word cards, quizzes built from the student's own sentences, and a writing box that goes straight to me.
4Tips for busy adults
- Fifteen minutes a day. On the bus, while cooking, before bed. It adds up faster than one long evening.
- Say it out loud. Reading silently feels safe. Speaking is what changes you.
- Mistakes are part of the lesson. Every recap shows your own sentences, fixed kindly, so you can see your progress week by week.
- Bring your real life. A trip, a grandchild, a form to fill in: we practise what you actually need.
Free: the Adult Beginner Pack. A printable PDF with the pictures, sentences, word lists and practice from this page.
Get the free pack5Six levels, one teacher
Every student gets a recap and a practice page at their own level. See what the others look like:
Want the full tour? Beyond the Lesson shows everything a rosscline.com student gets around each class: recaps, practice pages, the Time Document and more.
Beyond the Lesson: take the tour🎧 Story Time with Ross🎁 Free English packs
How to start
Take the free level test, or book a free 30-minute "virtual handshake" on Zoom. We'll talk about your goals and find the right level. There is no cost and no pressure.
Book a virtual handshakeFree level test
Ross Cline 柯受恩
Canadian English teacher. Founder of iLearn.tw, the licensed English school I ran in Taiwan for fifteen years. Now teaching online from Phnom Penh. rosscline.com
