Why don’t my students speak English in class?

Silvia Minardi
Silvia Minardi
Students sat at a table with a teacher stood with them interacting with them
Reading time: 3 minutes

Last year, I contributed to a national research project with an article titled “?”. The title originated from a concern expressed by a language teacher involved in the project, highlighting a common challenge faced by numerous language teachers. The difficulty of developing learners’ production and interaction skills is a well-known issue in language education.

Large and increasingly diverse classes, limited time, and learners’ reluctance to speak in class are significant hurdles. During pair and group work, students often revert to their first language (L1), they lack confidence in speaking activities and end up avoiding all interaction in English. These observations are consistent with recent Global Scale of English (GSE) research findings, which indicate that 52% of English learners leave formal education without confidence in their speaking skills.

Factors contributing to learners’ reluctance

Several factors contribute to students’ reluctance to speak English in class. Psychological barriers such as lack of motivation, shyness, low self-confidence, fear of making mistakes, anxiety and concerns about negative evaluation play a crucial role. Linguistic challenges, including limited vocabulary, poor pronunciation, and insufficient grammatical skills, further exacerbate the problem.

Task-related issues can also hinder speaking, especially when tasks are not well-matched to the learner’s proficiency level or focus more on accuracy than communication. Additionally, the classroom environment may not always be conducive to speaking, particularly for learners who need more time to formulate their thoughts before speaking.

Positive teacher impact

Fortunately, teachers can positively influence these intertwined factors. By creating a supportive classroom atmosphere and implementing well-designed tasks that prioritize communication over perfection, teachers can encourage reluctant students to participate more actively in speaking activities.

Leveraging technology: Mondly by app

One effective tool that can help address these challenges is Mondly by app. This learning companion is especially beneficial for learners who are hesitant to speak in class. Mondly by app offers over 500 minutes of speaking practice, encouraging learners to use English in real-life situations and tasks that prioritize action and communication over accuracy. This approach allows for mistakes - they are part of the game - thus fostering a positive mindset, which is essential if we want to enhance our learners’ speaking skills.

AI-powered conversations

A standout feature of Mondly by app is its AI-powered conversation capability, thanks to advanced speech recognition software. This flexibility helps build self-confidence and allows students to experiment with various production and interaction strategies.

Comprehensive skill development

Mondly by app is designed not only for speaking but also to develop all four language skills—listening, reading, writing and speaking—and is aligned with the Global Scale of English. The vocabulary for each topic is selected from the GSE vocabulary database, ensuring that learners are exposed to level-appropriate words and phrases.

Integration into classroom teaching

To facilitate the integration of Mondly by app into classroom teaching, three GSE mapping booklets have recently been published. These booklets cater to different proficiency levels:

  • Beginner (GSE range: 10-42 / CEFR level: A1-A2+)
  • Intermediate (GSE range: 43-58 / CEFR level: B1-B1+)
  • Advanced (GSE range: 59-75 / CEFR level: B2-B2+)

These resources provide practical guidance on how to incorporate Mondly by app into lesson plans effectively, ensuring that the tool complements classroom activities and enhances overall language learning.

Conclusion

Encouraging students to speak English in class is a multifaceted challenge, but it is not insurmountable. By understanding the various factors that contribute to learners’ reluctance and leveraging innovative tools like Mondly by app, teachers can create a more engaging and supportive learning environment. This approach not only boosts students’ confidence in their speaking abilities but also fosters a more inclusive and interactive classroom atmosphere.

Embracing technology and aligning teaching practices with modern educational standards, such as the Global Scale of English, can lead to significant improvements in language proficiency and student engagement.

Learn more about Mondly by app

About the author

Silvia Minardi holds a PhD in linguistics from the University for Foreigners - International University - of Siena. She is currently teaching English as a Foreign Language at Liceo Statale “S.Quasimodo” in Magenta and at Università dell’Insubria (Varese).

She is the President of the Italian association Lingua e Nuova Didattica and vice-president of Amerigo, the Italian association of US international exchange alumni. For three years (2011-2013) she chaired REAL, a European network of foreign language teachers’ associations which grouped up to 128 associations all around Europe. Since 2019 she has been an associate member of the LCT Centre for Knowledge-Building, a research centre at the University of Sydney.

Since 2000 she has been working on various professional development initiatives and projects both at national and international levels. She was also very active in pre-service teaching training of future EFL teachers at different universities (Turin, Vercelli and Milan) and in university courses for CLIL teachers (Università Statale - Milan). She has worked extensively as a teacher educator in pre-and in-service courses in ELT (ProgettoLingue 2000, SSIS, TFA, PAS), CLIL (methodology university courses), educational linguistics, assessment and evaluation; she has designed blended training courses.

In 2015. she took part in the preparatory session for the Intergovernmental conference about the "Handbook on the Language Dimension in all Subjects," the latest publication of the Language Policy Unity at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. She has been involved in various projects of the ECML (European Centre of Modern Languages) in Graz where she is currently involved in the project “Plurilitearcies for Global Citizenship”. She is a member of the Language Policy Experts Group at the Council of Europe.

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    6 tips for planning your first English classes

    By Nicole Kyriacou

    You are nervous, yet excited. You want to appear relaxed and fun, but still be taken seriously. Most of all, you are keen to make an excellent first impression.

    With all that in mind - planning your first English classes of the year can be a daunting experience.

    Here are six things to consider when planning your first classes:

    1. Set clear aims

    Whether you are teaching young learners, teenagers or adults, it’s important you discuss the aims and objectives of the course from day one. You’ll need to learn more about your students' needs to do this. Why are they learning English? Do they want to prepare for an official exam? What activities do they enjoy? What things do they need to improve the most?

    The way you do this will depend on the age of your learners. For example, with adults and teens, you could get them to interview each other and write a report about what they found out. With younger children, do a survey they can complete using smiley faces.

    2. Find out students’ interests

    Although you should understand your students' needs and why they want to learn English - to help make your classes relevant and engaging - you should also discover what they enjoy doing outside of class.

    To do this, get students to write mini bios you can stick around the classroom. Or have them prepare presentations where they share something they are passionate about with the rest of the class - using coursebooks. As a class, go through the contents page, vote on which topics students find most interesting, and start with those.

    3. Break the ice

    You want your first class to be fun so that students are motivated, and associate English language learning with something they can enjoy. Ice-breakers can also be an excellent way to get to know each other and learn about your students' current level of English.

    Activities where students have to ask each other questions work well.

    4. Provide a comfortable environment

    Young learners and teenagers tend to be shy at the start of a course - especially if they don’t know each other. Develop a rapport and break down boundaries by including team-building activities in your first class.Your aim is to have all the students feeling more comfortable with each other before the end of the lesson so that there are no awkward silences in future lessons.

    5. Manage expectations

    Managing expectations is an essential part of a teacher's job. Make sure in the first class you are clear about what you expect from your students and what they can expect from you.

    Have students brainstorm the rules for the class and then make a big poster or ‘class contract’ which all students have to sign. Display the poster on the wall so you can always refer to it if someone misbehaves.

    Try to keep the rules as positive as possible. Instead of writing: 'Don’t speak your first language', write: 'Try to always speak English and ask if you don’t know a word'. If you are feeling really brave, you can even get your students to devise a list of rules for you which you can display on the wall next to theirs.

    6. Make it challenging

    It’s great making your first lesson fun - but there’s nothing more motivating than leaving a new class and feeling like you’ve made a good decision and you are going to learn lots (and you aren’t wasting your time or money). This is especially important for adult learners.

    So, as well as getting to know each other and finding out their needs, teach them something new. This could be 10 new pieces of vocabulary, how to structure a letter or report, or a list of resources they can use at home to practice their English.