On social media, I hear language teachers say all the time that they want their students to use the target language more, but they don’t know how. They ask for strategies or rewards or consequences to get their students to use the language more. The thing is, though, you can’t use strategies or rewards or consequences here and there and expect it to make a lasting, permanent effect on your classes. You need a complete overhaul in your teaching methods to only allow for the TL. You do this by using immersion—both you as the teacher and your students.

These same teachers who want their students using the TL more undoubtedly understand immersion, but are either scared or unwilling to try it. Or, they see a huge value in using English in the classroom. I will talk about what you gain and lose from not using English in another post, but I am here to tell you that if your number one complaint about your classes is that they don’t speak in the TL enough, then the answer you are looking for is immersion. It is absolutely possible to use immersion in the classroom, even at level 1.