Getting teenagers to participate in class is not always easy. Clara Prado gives her advice on how to increase engagement and build confidence.
Teenagers are normally loud, fast-talking and very energetic. But, as students, especially of a foreign language, they can become magically silent and seem unmotivated. What happened to this creature that was so eloquently discussing something with friends 5 minutes ago? No, they haven’t disappeared. They are just scared of speaking and making a fool of themselves in front of the class.
I once had a student that refused to participate, no matter how many times I asked him a question or for a comment about any topic. I then found out that the year before, with another teacher, he was constantly teased for not speaking English well. So, he decided he simply wouldn’t speak. Although this was a severe case, I found that the entire class had issues with oral communication.
We all know how important the oral language is to the student’s learning progress, especially when learning a foreign language! Most students don’t have a lot of other opportunities to practice speaking, so they need to be able to converse with their peers and you, their teacher. This conversational practice is of high importance. But, the question remains of how to deal with peer pressure and their fear of being ridiculed?
Getting students to participate
In order to get my students to participate, I looked for research on the topic. This research showed that this is not a new problem and has been around for some time. Many specialists agree that the best weapon to fight peer pressure would be self-confidence. When the student believes in his convictions and is sure about his personality and appearance, he does not seem to suffer the pressure in such a significant way.
However, as teachers, we know that not all students are confident. In a group of teenagers it is not difficult to find students who are suffering some kind of insecurity and self-doubt. As we know, teachers’ attitudes can influence the dynamics of the room. There are therefore some changes that we can make to help students cope better with pressures in the classroom.
Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and make them believe in themselves
It’s a good idea to demonstrate to students just how much they are learning. One idea is to think of an activity with authentic material so that students can see their English put to real use. If the class’ attitude is really bad, start by introducing material in individual exercises and slowly move to whole-class tasks. It’s important to create opportunities for students to succeed. Once they see they can, they will have more courage to keep trying.
Do not allow students to bully others: be vigilant
It’s important to show students that there is zero tolerance bullying in the classroom. Try to create an environment where students feel safe and can take risks without having to fear failure and ridicule.
Increase your students’ self-esteem and confidence by focusing on their successes
This point is more about trying to adjust our attitudes as teachers. We should try not to always point out the mistakes that students are making. If a student makes a mistake in front of the class, instead of pointing out the mistake, just repeat what he said, but correctly. For instance, if the student says: “He are studying at the moment” just repeat the sentence correctly by saying, “Okay, he is studying at the moment”. We should give the student a chance to notice the mistake on his/her own, without having to point it out.
Teach students to realize that they can learn from their mistakes and how to deal with errors
I always like to emphasize to my students the importance of learning from your mistakes and knowing what needs to be changed. But, how can we do this in the classroom? Well, make the mistake seem cool! Use it as a teachable moment or, when you are teaching a new topic, try to point out the places that you know are the tricky parts. This way we can help our students before they have a chance to make a mistake. Also, before starting an exercise, make sure to pronounce the most difficult words first and discuss the goal of the exercise in a very clear manner (even if a little repetitive). This ensures that students really understand what is expected of them. Using these steps, I was able to get my own students talking and having a little more fun in the classroom. With time, they realize that the classroom had a good atmosphere and they started to follow this vibe.
I’m sure there are many other ways and activities to get your students to talk. Do you know any? Can you share any tips and techniques with us?