TESL 0100- Unit 9- reflections- how to encourage shy students to participate
How do you encourage a shy student to participate in the classroom?
In my opinion, the first thing that a teacher can do is to provide a friendly environment that the student feel comfortable to participate. The teacher has to mention to the students that they are here to learn and assure them that making a mistake is part of learning. Then, the teacher should find the reason for being a silent student; is it because of shyness or lack of knowledge in English? Some times in ESL classes some students do not speak because they do not understand the lesson and they prefer to stay silent. For both reasons, the teacher has to provide some activities that would engage students such as pair work, group work, giving presentation, playing fun games, etc. According to Cox, J. (n.d) teachers can use these strategies while working with a shy student in the classroom:
- Treat Them the Same as the other Students: It is essential that a shy student know that they are being treated the same as their classmates. Usually, the students already know who is shy and who is not in the classroom, because it is quite obvious. Then later on when you can get them alone, tell them how proud you are of them.
- Create a Signal to Interact with Them: A signal is a great way for all students to interact without really having to speak. This way they aren’t just sitting at their desk and anxiously worrying if they are going to get called upon. You can use a simple thumbs up sign or thumbs down sign, or you can get a little bit more creative and have students flip a green card for yes and a no card for no.
- Let Them Get Prepared Before You Call on Them: if you think the student has something to add to the conversation but is too shy, then try and give them a few minutes notice before you call upon them. This will help them prepare what they want to say. You can tap their desk, give them a wink, or place your hand on their shoulder and let them know beforehand that this means for them to get ready to be called on.
- Pair Them with a Friend: All shy students have that one classmate that they connect to and feel comfortable with to be themselves around. Make sure that you allow this student to be paired with that person during group work, lunch time, or carpet time. This can make a world of a difference in a shy student’s life in school. Try not to make it too obvious to the other students either if you can.
- Give them a Classroom Job: A great way to get a shy student to interact with his classmates is to give him a classroom job that allows him to interact with peers, but doesn’t necessarily make him talk to them. Being the class paper collector, the homework helper, or the class librarian allows a shy student to interact with their peers but in a way that is comfortable for them.
The other strategy that a teacher can use is games. Games have a great educational value and it can be used in the classroom to make learners use the language instead of just thinking about learning the correct forms. Games encourage learners to interact, cooperate, to be creative and spontaneous in using the language in a meaningful way. Learners want to take part in activities; to play games and are generally quite competitive. In order for them to take part they must be able to understand and communicate in the target language. Games also encourage learners to keep interested in the work and a teacher can use them to create contexts in which the language is useful.
Hong (2002) suggests a few questions to keep in mind when considering which game to choose for the different age groups: Which language does the game target? Which skills does it practice? What type of game is it? What's the purpose for using it? Does it fit the students? How could I simplify or make it more complex if necessary? How much interaction and participation is there? Do I like the game myself?
Games lower anxiety levels, are entertaining, educational and give students reason to use the target language. It is a natural way of learning and exposes students to real learning opportunities. “Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems that at times seem overwhelming.' (Uberman, 1998).
Here is the video of an ESL teacher in Spain that uses games to teach English to her students:
Overall, classrooms should be a fun and comfortable place for students to enjoy their time
while learning a new language. Teachers should understand their students needs and abilities and provide them suitable learning materials and activities, which could be playing games and group discussions.
It is fun to take a look at these fun ESL games video.
Resources:
Cox, Janelle. (n.d). 5 Teaching Strategies for Working with Shy Students. Teach Hub. Retrieved from: http://www.teachhub.com/5-teaching-strategies-working-shy-students
De Wit, Anne-Louise. ( May 2012). Teaching Tips - Using Games in the English Second or Foreign Language classroom. The University of the Witwatersrand. Retrieved from: http://www.witslanguageschool.com/NewsRoom/ArticleView/tabid/180/ArticleId/85/Teaching-Tips-Using-Games-in-the-English-Second-or-Foreign-Language-classroom.aspx
Hong, L. (2002) Using Games in Teaching English to Young Learners.The Internet TESL Journal, Vol VIII, No. 8.
Uberman, A. (1998) The Use of Games for Vocabulary Presentation and Revision. English Teaching Forum 36:1.
Drama-and-ell-students [video file]. Retrieved from:
Meddeas. (May 17, 2017). TEFL (Almost) All Fun and ESL Games [video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSihiTCZB4Q
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