Buenos días. Bonjour. Здравствуйте. 您好. Saluton.

So that's what they mean when they say "you had me at hello."

Since you may be a teacher of any of a few thousand non-English languages, we're going to try to keep this nice and vague. A strategy here, an activity there, a method for good measure. Plus, we're going to make this mostly "Dos" with a few "Don'ts" thrown in for clarification. What can we say? We're positive sorta folks.

Ready?

Do: begin reading. Now.

Do: Talk about the immeasurable value of studying a foreign language—any foreign language—in our great, big, globalizing world.

And don't let 'em forget it.

Do: Bring in current events. A short radio clip or news article can go a long way. Even if it's above their level, you can paraphrase it in words they'll understand. Extra points if you try to find one with a couple examples of the vocab words or grammar you're studying right now. The benefits go beyond just polishing that vocab or grammar: you're showing what's going on in the real-live present of that country, and that will do a lot more to keep your students interested than a scripted conversation about Enrique in the park.

And if you teach Latin or Sanskrit, chances are your students aren't in it for the current events. In that case…

Do: Show them original documents in that language. Poems, philosophy, drama—whatever was hip when that language was alive a few millennia ago. In those cases it's about making it come alive for the students, not about telling them how to ask for a can-opener in Ancient Greek hexameters.

And whether your language is alive or dead…

Do: Play songs, watch movies, read literature, and bring in other elements of culture. Chances are your Russian students are there because they want to get a taste of Dostoevsky in the original, not just to memorize all six declensions of vodka.

And on that note, Do: Incorporate topics that aren't your typical laundry list of food, weather, greetings, and household items. Yeah, those things are good to know if you're headed to the country anytime soon, and in a lot of intro textbooks they're the bread and butter (and table, and springtime, and nice to meet you) of the first hundred-odd pages.

But don't fall into a routine where your students memorize one vocab list after the next, get tested on the new words, and move on.

Instead?

Do: Focus on communication.

Do: Get them to use what they've learned in a variety of contexts.

Do: Nudge them outside of their comfort zone.

That's what communicating in a non-native language is all about, right? The more you encourage your students to create with language, the more they'll gain comfort, confidence, and (eventually, hopefully) skill.

And as this Forbes article describes, sometimes moving away from grammar and simple vocab and toward a model that focuses on a wider variety of communication—even, shockingly enough, using a language class to teach a non-language subject—can add some pizzazz to a class where students think they know what to expect. And the things they learn along the way could lead to some pretty awesome convos with native speakers, too.

Which leads to this pretty key caveat: Don't correct every mistake they make. Caramba, does it ever sting the ears to hear "cómo estoy?" a few dozen times in a row. But if you stop students in the flow of speech to fix each and every error, you're not doing their confidence any favors. So let the occasional problem with agreement and conjugation slide (with the appropriate balance, of course; you can always let them know later). Because if they get more comfortable expressing themselves, accuracy will follow.

Don't (along similar lines) assign hundreds and hundreds of worksheets to practice one grammatical concept. Sure, the first 10 or even 20 can be super helpful, but after they get the theory, the real deal is how to use it in conversation and writing.

And so, within the communication spectrum, a few extra dos:

Do: Focus on pronunciation. No matter how perfect a student's grammar is or how big their vocabulary, if their pronunciation is off, they won't be able to communicate with native speakers.

Do: Encourage them to express their ideas and opinions, even if it takes a roundabout route to get there.

Do: Create activities that switch between the concrete and the abstract. So an activity to practice ordering food or talking about a tourist site, followed by statements of what they liked about that site, and why, and what was the deal with that controversial issue in the vicinity last week.

Do: Use a range of approaches. That means concrete and abstract, but so much more, too. This MoraModules page gives you the gift of describing a whole cornucopia of methods for teaching foreign language. You've got the direct approach, the reading approach, total physical response, the silent way, the functional notional approach, the natural approach—and don't worry, plenty others where those came from, too. Read all about them and figure out how to shuffle them up to make sure your students are learning in different ways, and with different focuses.

Do: Make sure your students spend more time talking than you do. Whatever the level.

Yeah, we know that can seem overwhelming. Pretty much all of language learning can seem overwhelming. Which leads us to this super important do…

Do: Help your students stay motivated and keep a positive attitude—even when the subjunctive case, that new set of characters, or that weird guttural noise seem totally impossible. As this article states in its penultimate point—and this one talks about in a Chinese-specific setting—things like constant encouragement, acknowledging how far your class has come, targeting student-specific needs, and throwing in the occasional fun or artsy lesson can go a long way.

And in the end, Don't worry. It'll all work out fine. Er—that is, bueno, bien, хорошо, 良好, bonajn.