5 ways to reinspire your students after the summer holidays

Joanna Wiseman
A class of students sat at desks in a classroom looking at their teacher stood at the front

The new academic year is here and we're getting ready to head back to the English classroom. Yet, after a long and relaxing summer holiday, some students may feel unmotivated to return to the same class routine, especially if they have been learning English for several years. So, how can we reinspire students to keep learning and reconnect with English? By bringing in new resources, learning approaches and targets, we are sure you'll be able to rekindle their love of learning.

So let's look at five ways to reinspire your English students in the coming academic year.

1. Set new goals

Students may lose interest in classes or feel discouraged when they don't have a clear target to work towards. If this is the case with your class, have them write up a list of five new goals they'd like to achieve.Ìý

These goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. So rather than just saying "I'd like to learn more vocabulary", have students make it SMART.Ìý

For example:

Specific: "I'd like to learn new advanced vocabulary to use in my writing."

Measurable: "I'll test myself to see if I can define and use 20 new words in sentences."

Achievable: "I will dedicate 2 hours a week to studying the definitions and writing example sentences in context."

Relevant: "This will help me get a good score in myÌýÌýas I struggle with formal academic language."

Timely: "I will learn 20 new words by the end of September."

If learners find it difficult to think of goals, ask them to write one for each language skill: listening, reading, writing and speaking. You can also refer to the GSE Teacher Toolkit, which has hundreds of learning objectives organized by age, level, skill type and more.

The idea is to encourage them to set clear objectives, giving them an exciting new challenge to work towards for the year ahead.

2. Encourage students to find conversation partners

Students may lose interest in improving their English if they've only been studying in a classroom. They may see it as something boring and unrelated to their real lives.Ìý

A great way to tackle this is by encouraging them to talk with English speakers outside of class. By doing this, they'll pick up new vocabulary and expressions, giving them more confidenceÌýin their language abilities.Ìý

Suggest that they attend a language exchange.ÌýÌýandÌýÌýareÌýgreat platforms to find regular language exchange events in their local area. While this is suitable for intermediate learners and above, it may be a bit daunting for beginners.Ìý

In this case, the appÌýÌýmay be a suitable alternative. Similar to a language exchange, learners can connect with people from around the world. They can choose people with a similar level as them and either write messages, send short audios, or do video calls, depending on their ability and confidence.Ìý

Communicating with real people is a fun and encouraging reason for your learners to want to improve.

3. Introduce interesting new vocabulary

Students may become disheartened if they've been learning for years but aren't seeing much progress. A simple and effective way to help them improve their level is by encouraging them toÌýexpand their vocabulary.Ìý

They already have to study a lot of vocabulary from their textbooks, so why not give it a more personal twist and ask for suggestions of topics that interest them?Ìý

Maybe they are gamers and want to learn how to communicate better with other players around the world. Select vocabulary about styles of games, turn-taking, and strategizing that they could use – they can practice in class and be thrilled to be given homework.

Perhaps some of your students want to study or work abroad. This may be a common topic, but one thing that is not frequently discussed is how to deal with the paperwork of living in another country. For example, getting into more specific language about banking, housing rentals, or setting up wifi will help them feel more confident about their move. Though these things differ between countries, there is a lot of overlapping vocabulary and roleplaying will do wonders to reassure and excite them about their upcoming adventures.

By allowing your students to take control of their learning, their motivation is naturally higher and you too will enjoy finding out specific language about their interests.

4. Work on specific problem areasÌý

Language learners may become frustrated and lose motivation if they continue to make the same mistakes. It may cause them to feel disheartened in their abilities and want to give up, especially for those who aim to sit exams. You can help them level up by identifying specific problem areas and tailoring your classes to work on these.Ìý

Tests can help your learners discover their weaknesses and avoid the frustration of sitting and not passing an exam. They'll be able to pinpoint what they need to work on, and you can dedicate your classes to exactly what they need, rather than cover areas they may not have problems with.

For example, if students are experiencing difficulties with reading comprehension, you could try introducing more varied reading materials. Ask them to bring in blog posts, magazines and news articles on topics that they find interesting. Highlight keywords in the text to enhance their understanding of the piece and create comprehension questions similar to the test format they'll take.Ìý

By giving a little extra attention to fixing problem areas, learners will soon start to see their progress, encouraging and inspiring them to keep going.

5. Change your class formatÌý

Sometimes learners become demotivated simply because they have become too used to the format of the classes. If this is the case, you might want to take a break from the textbook and try more creative language learning methods. For example:

Use interactive games

Suitable for all levels, you can use platforms such asÌýÌýorÌý to test your learners. They offer a new dimension to the class, encouraging students to have fun with the language. Divide them into teams to add an element of competition – there's nothing like a friendly game to excite students!

Set project work

Put your class into small groups and have them work on a project to present to the rest of the group. Choose topics they might cover in their textbooks, such as occupations, travel or cultural traditions. Or even better – let students come up with their own! This activity can be modified to suit all levels and offers a challenge as learners will need to push their language limits.

Hold class debatesÌý

More suitable for intermediate learners and above, class debates get everyone talking. You can ask students to brainstorm topics they're interested in. You can offer prompts such as climate change, the advertising of junk food or the impacts of social media. They'll be happy to talk about things that concern them.

Throw in some unexpected activities to bring students' attention back to class and spark their interest in learning again.

Explore more lesson tips in our blog posts

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    So, how can you bring classic Shakespearean dramas like Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth to life?

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    How to get teenagers to think critically

    By Anna Roslaniec

    Critical thinking is a 21st century skill that has been around for thousands of years. There are records of Socrates using critical thinking skills in his teaching in 4th century BC Greece. In recent years though, critical thinking has again become more prominent in education.

    What is critical thinking?

    Critical thinking requires students to do more than remember and repeat information. Instead, it encourages them to analyze, examine, evaluate and use their problem-solving abilities through questioning, theorizing and rationalizing to have a deeper understanding of the world around them, both inside the classroom and beyond.

    Why is critical thinking so important?

    In the past, success in education was largely based on the ability to remember facts and figures. However, the skills which our students need today go further than memorization. With our rapidly evolving technology, the internet, and the bewildering amount of information online, it is essential that our students can use higher-order thinking skills to analyze and assess the information they are presented with.

    How can you incorporate critical thinking into your classes?

    Devising long-term goals

    We all know the importance of looking ahead and planning for the future. We can encourage this skill in our students and directly relate it to their learning.

    At the start of the course, take a moment to chat with each student individually and ask them to identify an objective for the first part of the year. You may like to brainstorm possible objectives as a class first, but it’s important for students to determine their own personal objectives, rather than imposing objectives on them.

    During the first half of the year you can talk to each student about their progress and ask them to assess to what extent they’re achieving their goals.

    The key point comes at the end of the semester when students evaluate their progress and set a new objective for the following one.

    Analyzing

    The ability to analyze options, risks and opinions will help your students in the future in many situations, including when they decide which course to take at university or which job to take.

    You can practice this skill by providing students with relatable situations and asking them to analyze and compare the options.

    For example:

    Imagine you are taking a trip with some friends this summer. You have a number of different options and want to discuss them before finalizing your plans. Talk to a partner about the different trips and decide which would be best:

    • Traveling around Europe by train for a month ($1,000)
    • A weekend hiking and camping in the countryside ($200)
    • A weekend break in a big city, with shopping, sightseeing and museum trips ($500)
    • A week-long trip to the beach in an all-inclusive resort ($650)

    Anticipating consequences

    Students also need to have an awareness of the consequences of their actions; this is a skill which is transferable to making business decisions, as well as being important in their everyday lives.

    To practice this skill, put students into small groups and give them the first part of a conditional sentence. One student completes the sentence and then the next student adds a consequence to that statement.

    For example:

    Student A: If I don’t study for my English exam, I won’t pass.

    Student B: If I don’t pass my English exam, my parents won’t let me go out this weekend.

    Student C: If I can’t go out this weekend, I’ll miss the big football match.

    Student D: My coach won’t let me play next year if I miss the big match.

    Rearranging the class menu

    By giving students more responsibility and having them feel invested in the development of the lesson, they will be much more motivated to participate in the class.

    Occasionally, let students discuss the content of the day’s class. Give them a list of tasks for the day, including how long each will take and allow them to discuss the order in which they’ll complete them. For larger classes, first have them do it in pairs or small groups and then vote as a whole class.

    Write on the board:

    • Class discussion (5 minutes)

    The following tasks can be done in the order you decide as a class. You have five minutes to discuss and arrange the tasks as you choose. Write them on the board in order when you’re ready.

    • Check homework (5 minutes)
    • Vocabulary review (10 minutes)
    • Vocabulary game (5 minutes)
    • Reading activity (15 minutes)
    • Grammar review game (5 minutes)
    • Speaking activity (10 minutes)

    Take this one step further by asking your students to rate each activity out of 10 at the end of the class. That way, you’ll easily see which tasks they enjoy, helping you plan more engaging lessons in the future.

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    7 reading strategies for primary and secondary

    By Anna Roslaniec

    Reading can transport students to new places, immerse them in incredible adventures and teach them more about the amazing world around them.

    What’s more, in today’s globalized world our students are exposed to written English more and more every day. It’s essential they have the skills needed to be successful in this environment. Many students are also going on to study in English at university and require a number of academic reading skills.

    It’s important you work on these areas in class to prepare learners for their future. Here are seven reading strategies to get you started including tips for both primary and secondary teachers.

    1. Predicting what’s to come

    Even before students start reading, we can use extra information on the page to get them thinking about the ideas and vocabulary they will find in the text. This encourages them to consider what they may already know about the topic. And, by adding an element of competition, we can also use it as a strategy to motivate them to read.

    Divide the class into teams and write the title of the text on the board. Have them work in their teams and write ten words they predict will be in the text, based on the title.

    After a few minutes, have teams swap lists and, as they read the text, check the words the other team correctly predicted.

    If you are teaching primary, you can do the same activity using any images which accompany the text. Have students describe the image in pairs first and then work in teams to predict the article's content, as above.

    2. Summarizing

    This strategy can focus on both the general idea of the text (the gist), and the most important details within it.

    To work on using summarizing for gist, give students a text and three short summaries of it, no longer than a sentence each. After students scan the text once, have them choose which of the three summaries best matches the general idea of the text.

    Then, to practice these skills, have them work in pairs to produce a summary of the text they just read. This summary should be approximately one-fifth the length of the original text.

    This not only encourages students to identify the text's main points but also requires them to use paraphrasing skills to put the ideas into their own words.

    Note that primary learners may need your support to create a summary. It’s a good idea to create a gapped text which they can complete with the keywords of the text. This will also help build their vocabulary.

    3. Identifying topic sentences

    Whether your students are reading for gist or detail, a topic sentence can give them the necessary information. Topic sentences are found at the start of a paragraph and are frequently used in articles and academic research to give the reader the main idea of what is to come. If you are unsure what a topic sentence looks like, the first sentence of this paragraph is an example!

    One idea to introduce students to the idea of topic sentences is to find a text with four or five paragraphs and remove the topic sentence from each.

    Give the students the gapped text and the topic sentences and have them match each sentence to the correct paragraph. This will highlight how topic sentences provide a summary of the main idea of each paragraph.

    This can be an effective task for both primary and secondary students, though it’s likely that primary students will be working with shorter texts. If you have a text with only three paragraphs, you can write a couple of distractor sentences to make the activity more challenging.

    4. Comparing and contrasting

    As with any aspect of language learning, if students can create a personal connection to the content, they will be more engaged and more likely to remember the information.

    We can use compare and contrast questions with any text. For example, for texts which tell a personal story, we can ask:

    • How are you similar or different to this person?
    • What would you do in that situation?

    For texts which talk about a particular issue, we can ask:

    • Do you think this is a problem in your country?
    • What would you do in this situation?

    Students of any age should be allowed to reflect on their learning and have the chance to empathize with the people and situations they read about. Even for younger learners, questions can be graded to their level to allow them to compare their experiences to the content of the text.

    5. Understanding numbers

    Non-fiction texts often include a lot of facts and figures and it’s important that students are able to understand what these numbers mean so they can really understand the text.

    Our younger learners might need help appreciating long distances or large quantities, so providing them with something more tangible can help them greatly.

    When working with distances and sizes, try to use familiar locations, such as the length of the school playground or the area of the classroom, and compare these locations to the measurement in the text.

    Similarly with quantities, find something which students can relate to easily. For example, if a text talks about the number of people, compare that amount to the number of students in the class.

    6. Working with vocabulary

    Teaching students how to use a dictionary is important, but it’s also essential that students can use other skills to understand new words when they can’t reach for a dictionary.

    As teachers, it’s important for us to identify the keywords in a text which we want students to remember and use after the lesson. You may choose to pre-teach this vocabulary so that students can approach the reading with a good understanding of the key lexis.

    However, there may be times when you want students to predict the meaning – of key and subsidiary vocabulary – from the context. It’s helpful to teach students to read around unfamiliar words as this helps them to identify the type of word it is (noun, verb, adjective, and so on), which helps them understand a particular word’s meaning within a sentence.

    7. Separating fact and opinion

    While many texts our students read are factual, there will be times when they also need to distinguish between fact and opinion.

    Sometimes, we can infer the writer’s attitude towards a topic by looking at the type of language they use and identifying whether words are neutral, or if they give us clues as to the writer’s opinion. This can be a difficult distinction for our students to make but we can do activities with the students to raise their awareness.

    Take a subject students are likely to have different opinions about, such as a famous footballer. Ask the students to tell you about that person, then categorize the words they give you as to whether they provide a fact or an opinion. Words such as tall, Brazilian and blue eyes would be facts about the player. Whereas amazing, stupid or the best player ever would show their opinion.