In this article, English teacher and Hands Up volunteer Alex Guzik discusses the role of imagination in the classroom.
‘Sit comfortably in your chair. Close your eyes or just look down. Take a deep breath, breathe out and relax. Imagine you’re standing in a very beautiful valley. What is the weather like? Is it cool, warm or hot? Is the sun shining? Look around. What can you see? Are there any trees or flowers? What colour are they? Look at the sky. Are there any clouds? Now look in front of you can see a house….’
This is how a visualisation exercise in the Hands Up Project may start, and this is how a journey into a child’s great imagination starts.
The ability to create pictures of what the brain receives in a language different from one’s mother tongue and persuade the mind to think in that new language is one of the greatest abilities and, arguably, one of the main aims of learning a language. Once a language learner realises that thinking in their second language is possible they feel more confident and believe in their success in language learning.
What is a guided visualisation?
During a guided visualisation exercise learners listen to their teacher’s voice and imagine everything that they hear. Later they have an opportunity to write down or draw what they saw and share their ideas with a friend/classmate.
The benefits of doing visualisation
There are a few reasons why we consider visualisation to be highly beneficial:
1. It deals with learners’ inner world and this is often neglected in formal lessons.
2. The children are interested in such activities and are usually very eager to share with each other and the teacher what they imagined.
3. There is no right or wrong answer and this can reduce the fear of making a content mistake – thus building self- esteem
4. It is materials light. Learners only need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. The teacher does not have to prepare any extra hand-outs, just the script and some gentle music.
All the points mentioned above make guided visualisation extremely useful.
How it works in HUP sessions?
Stories and storytelling are great fun and they make the most of HUP sessions as they are the main pillar of the entire project. However, I am convinced, that stories might come not only from the outside world through the volunteer, culture or a book. Every child has their own stories in their mind and visualisation is one of the tools we have at our disposal to let these stories out in English. Learners feel the volunteer’s attention and support; their teachers enjoy their learners’ effort and enthusiasm.
So how does it happen?
At first, the volunteer (with the help of the local teacher) creates the right atmosphere as much as it is possible.
Then the volunteer starts guiding the children through their imaginations. We can take the children anywhere in the world and even beyond it.
When learners come back to reality, they either draw or write down what they imagined and then share it with their classmates.
As the final stage, the children show their pictures and talk about their journey to the volunteer.
Great language practice!
But it’s not the end! If the class is fairly big, we can ask the children to do some homework, which is recording a video talking about their experience.
It is incredible how much language practice children receive out of such simple activity! They have to process the language and they cannot rely on their first language.
In my case, we often have a group of 20-25 girls and we always have homework. Sahar, their teacher, is a very patient and supportive teacher. She always makes videos of the girls. It is such a reward to watch the homework and see the girls happy and actively using their English. We also notice the progress they make throughout the year and how their own confidence in using English grows. And, believe me, there is no need to travel far, just close your eyes and imagine!
Here’s a video of some of these activities in one of our HUP sessions with children in Gaza.