Pictures, gestures, sounds, acting and also using some English (or any intermediary language that at least some of your students know). Writing English translation on the board will help. Especially for some abstract words/ideas or grammar terms in the beginning when they're still unfamiliar with the system. Even if they don't speak English, they can use online translators at first lessons which will help. And also if someone understood something, they should be allowed to explain to the others, providing they speak an intermediary language. And last but not least, I think creating a sort of routine every lesson might be useful. The most difficult is to survive the first lessons, it'll become easier later.

Hi Anne,

In Israel, we have a lot of immigrants from different countries. All of them want to study the language and they come to class to study. As a result in a class, there are students from different countries who speak a variety of languages. And the teacher doesn't know their languages.

For this reason, the teacher needs some kind of talent. It is a little bit the theater at the beginning. Books with pictures or just pictures.

I'm sure you are already familiar with Total Physical Response, it is a method in which the teacher performs an action, both demonstrating and saying it, and asks students to repeat the action. It is perfect for beginners and only the target language is used. Here's an introduction to TPR: https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/teacherzone/total-physical-response-efl-classroom/

I hope this helps!

@Anne, pantomime and pictures it is ok. But also you can use technology like applications which ability to translate voice or text to variety languages.

I don’t have any experience in it, only a degree in teaching that brings the background educational psychology and I’ve done lots of reading on second language acquisition. I would assume pantomime and pictures along with sound and other technology as mentioned already would work. If students have phones or other audio recording devices are available then that could help them practice and compare their pronunciation to a native speaker’s.

In general I’m fascinated by the idea of language acquisition upon first contact between cultures, for example on first voyages to the Americas. Accounts of it rarely seem to mention the language issue and how it was done. But they always seem to mention someone was a translator. That person had to learn it somewhere. Your situation is somewhat similar.