Evaluate your students' English proficiency levels. If you are teaching for a school or other organization, students may have taken placement tests before being put into your class. However, you should still review the results of these tests yourself before teaching. If no prior test results are available, consider giving a proficiency test on the first day of classes.
Choose your teaching method. If students are absolute beginners, ensure that you have sufficient mastery of their native language to effectively communicate with them. For a group of students from many different countries, an immersion method--taught entirely in English--can work well, as long as you work slowly and methodically. Using supplementary teaching tools available through various media may be a helpful option.
Divide each lesson into sections. Based on your students' initial proficiency levels and your own teaching methods, construct a list of goals for the semester or the course, and shape the class accordingly. A sample class might include a warm-up activity, a brief group speaking activity, class work on vocabulary words and pronunciations, a grammar lesson and some time to try writing an essay.
Work on specific skills. The basic skills involved in learning another language are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Try to divide your class time evenly between reading and listening, which are the two passive language skills, and speaking and writing, the two active skills. If you must choose, though, focus on the active skills. This will help students learn as they repeat and use the language based on what they have already learned.
Work with each student one-on-one at least once a week. If students don't seek you out during your office hours, or before or after class, find them yourself and talk with them about their goals and their progress. By doing so, you'll convince them that you are invested in their learning, as well as encourage them to work harder to improve their English skills.
Assign extra work outside class. Today, many resources are available online that work well as homework. Have students read English-language newspapers or listen to online English podcasts, then report on what they learn. Alternately, you can have them email you their in-class essays and correspond with you electronically to improve their writing.