6 tips to get your students talking
Do you have a class that doesn’t like to chat much? Check out our tips and strategies to get your ESL students more comfortable with talking in the classroom.
1. Developing relationships
The most important gateway to getting your students talking is to develop an open, caring and strong relationship with them and let’s be honest, it can be challenging. Try to make it easy for your ESL students to understand your lessons, by speaking slowly and clearly. Try to use words that would be easy for them to grasp. Use visuals whenever you can. Offer assistance and be supportive while staying positive toward them. Continue to give them credit on the great job they’ve been doing and we guarantee they’ll strive to be the best students possible.
2. What’s the question?
If you want your class to be talkative, steer away from rhetorical and simple yes or no questions. Think about the questions you want to ask and prepare your lesson plan. A good example is to ask a question where your students will have to choose a side when answering. Divide them into two teams and let your students have a debate on their views in English.
3. The beauty of groupwork
There’s no need to dominate the class conversation with group activities. Divide your students in pairs and have them work on their conversations! You can create scenarios where they have no choice but to improve their English skills like developing speeches, making a video or working on writing assignments together (all in English).
4. ESL students need time to think
Give your students some time to think when you ask questions. Expecting an immediate answer might not always be the correct way to go. Let them discuss the question, or you can give them 5 – 10 minutes to collect / write down their thoughts before giving feedback, encouraging them to be more confident in speaking out.
5. Your body language
Your body language plays an important role in the way your students perceive you and it’s not always easy to focus on your presence continuously. Remember to always give your students your full attention without getting distracted. Getting distracted and folding your arms or interrupting while a student is talking is a perfect example of the wrong body language that will prevent your students from talking more.
6. Focus on them individually
An important skill to have as an ESL teacher, is to focus on students individually. It wouldn’t be fair to give a student that’s struggling to learn the alphabet and a student that’s reading on a fourth grade level the same challenge to improve their English abilities. Try to focus on a student’s unique skill and try to adjust the lesson or instructions to cater to all the students personally.
A good relationship with your fellow students is key to a talkative class. We hope that you’ve found this information useful and that your students get chatting right away.