Heath Pulliam is an independent education writer with a focus on the language learning space. He’s taught English in South Korea and various subjects in the United States to a variety of ages. He’s also a language learning enthusiast and studies Spanish in his free time.
Those who have taught children anywhere between the ages of 4 and 8 know that one of the biggest challenges of getting through to them is keeping your presentation style interesting. As someone who taught ESL in South Korea to kindergarteners, there are a few factors that make keeping students engaged a challenge. In countries where students learn English, students often have a heavy courseload and high expectations. As a first-year teacher, I learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t through trial and error. These are four methods that I consistently used to keep my students interested and engaged all day.
Students are quick to lose focus at such a young age. You’re not speaking their mother tongue and some parts of an ESL curriculum are less than exciting. With young students, you can’t lecture your way through the material all day. Kindergarteners have a small window of focus and it must be capitalized on. The following methods are ones that worked for me and can be modified to cover any topic you’ll run into in an ESL curriculum.
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Don't let the simplicity of this tool fool you. The Wheel of Names, which is exactly what it sounds like, is a very simple tool that you can put the names of your students on to randomly (or not) select a student. The Wheel of Names crushes hand-raising and it’s a constant struggle to get everyone raising their hands. (We can’t let the quiet ones just slip through the cracks!)
The beauty of the Wheel of Names is the guaranteed excitement on every spin. They’re kindergarteners. The nature of randomizing who’s going to answer the question, come up to the board, or go first in a game is so exciting to them. Use it however you want. The suspense has kids excited to see who will be chosen and has them cheering on whichever classmate gets chosen.
I used this tool mostly during review sessions to choose students to answer questions. It can also be used for creating small groups, making sure everyone gets a chance to speak during activities and seeing who’s going to get to do the next fun thing in the classroom. You’re teaching kindy, have fun with it.
We never came up with a good name for this game, but we used it a lot. Every Friday, during our chapter review, this was undoubtedly the best compromise between fun and effectiveness for reviewing material. It also fosters speaking, one of the most important parts of learning a language.
Here’s how it works. The class is separated into two teams. (For a little extra fun, use the wheel of names or a cup of popsicle sticks with students’ names on them to select the teams.) The teacher has a set of review questions or vocabulary words. On each turn, one person from each team has a chance to answer the question. You can do hand-raising or a randomization method to pick who answers.
If the student representative from the team gets it right, they earn a point. If they get it wrong, the opposing team gets a chance to answer for a point. Alternating between each team, the first to a certain number of points wins. A simple game, but at this age many students are just getting used to team-based activities.
This game is so effective because it makes use of children’s natural competitive spirit. When one student is up, the rest of their team cheers them on. Learning material is important, but a big part of teaching young students is teaching them social skills, too. This game gets everyone excited and gets the material to stick. It also teaches them the importance of teamwork and how to win and lose gracefully. (Not everyone can win every time).
At the end of the year, the students in my class ended up being the best writers in their respective age groups. I think this activity, making ‘Super Sentences” a few times a week was a big contributor to that. Inspired by a textbook we had, here’s how this activity works.
We’d create sentences with this formula:
Who or what – The owl
Did what – hunted for mice
Where – in the forest
When – at night
The owl hunted for mice in the forest at night.
Before students got to work on their own, We’d fill out a little table on the board as a class that looked something like this – but changed every time.
Who or what? (noun) |
Did what? (verb) |
Where? (prepositional phrase) |
When? (prepositional phrase) |
The dog The raccoon Joey Mr. Heath Chloe The thief |
Ran Slept Attacked _______ Found _________ Learned to ________ sneaked |
On top of __________ Under __________ Through the ________ Next to the ________ Inside of the _______ Behind the ________ |
At sunset At 4:00 PM In the middle of the day In March In the evening |
After this, students can get to work making their own sentences and drawing what is happening below. After a few times, many students began to make up their own nouns, verbs and prepositions that were not listed on the board. And when everyone gets comfortable writing sentences, you can add a ‘Why?’ section at the end.
This activity is one of my favorites because it helps bring out children’s natural creativity. In an ESL curriculum, there’s a lot of material that’s less than exciting, so any way to give the kids a little freedom can be a game-changer. It’s also great for vocabulary, grammar and writing practice.
To finish off the activity, have each student read their sentence and have the class vote on their favorite for a prize!
Something to know about teaching ESL in non-English-speaking countries is that often, no time is allowed to be spent not learning. This is definitely the case in South Korea. Even after lunch and towards the end of the day, students are rarely allowed to do anything if it isn’t enriching. Because of this, playing games that are fun and learning-effective is a must.
Now, I’m certainly not the first one to play Bingo. This version however, is slightly modified to be as enriching as possible. We played this version often at the end of the day, because focus runs low around that time.
Essentially, this is just vocabulary bingo with a little bit of charades mixed in. For this activity, make a basic bingo board with some of your current vocabulary words or target language. There are plenty of sites that make this easy.
What makes this version different is that on each turn, rather than telling everyone the word, describe it to the class and try to get them to guess what the word is. So, if the word was ‘teamwork’, you might say something like “This is what it’s called when everyone works together to help their team win.” You can even have a student helper that helps facilitate the game by giving the descriptions.
After the word is guessed, reiterate it to the class and proceed with Bingo as usual.
Part of being an effective teacher, especially with the younger ages, is harnessing kids’ natural excitement, energy and innate curiosity to their own benefit. Instead of suppressing it, it’s essential to adapt your teaching style to work for your students.
Teaching ESL to young children has its own set of challenges. They can hardly sit still for an hour of lecture, let alone a whole day. Make use of, or draw inspiration from these methods and see how they can work for you.
Teaching young learners? Read our posts '8 first lesson problems for young learners' and 'Effective classroom management routines for very young learners'.
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Are you studying abroad (or soon to be), learning a new language and need some inspiration on ways to practice your language skills in the real world? Don't worry. It can be daunting to know how to begin, especially in an unfamiliar place, However, with a little bit of effort and following these useful tips, you will be able to improve your language skills and make the most of your study abroad experience.
Reading time: 4 minutes
As a language teacher, your goal is not just to impart knowledge but to guide your students on a transformative journey toward fluency. Assessing and tracking learning progress is a dynamic process that empowers both educators and learners, rather than being just a routine task.
In today's language learning blog post, we will explore the significance of assessment in language teaching and provide valuable insights on how to track and assess your students' linguistic development.
Regular assessments enable teachers to tailor instruction to meet individual student needs. Identifying strengths and weaknesses helps educators adapt teaching methods, promoting a more personalized and effective learning experience.
Assessment results can be very useful in motivating students. Even small progress should be acknowledged as it can boost their confidence and encourage a positive attitude towards learning. It is important to share success stories, celebrate achievements and foster a culture of continuous improvement within your language classroom.
Assessment feedback can help students improve their skills by giving them a clear idea of their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers can use this feedback to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning journey and foster a growth mindset that is resilient even in the face of linguistic difficulties.
Embrace a variety of assessment methods to capture the multifaceted nature of language learning. Beyond traditional exams, integrate speaking assessments, project-based evaluations and collaborative activities. This diversity ensures a comprehensive understanding of your students' language proficiency.
Example: Consider assigning projects that involve researching, creating presentations and demonstrating creative expression (like plays or videos) in the target language. Assessing various aspects such as language skills, creativity and critical thinking. Design projects around your class's interests and motivations.
Integrate formative assessments into your teaching strategy. These ongoing evaluations, such as quizzes, class discussions and short writing assignments, provide real-time feedback. For instance, if you notice that your students are struggling with a particular concept, you can use formative assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of your teaching approach and make necessary adjustments.
Example: Conduct regular quizzes, polls or short assessments during class to evaluate students' understanding. Use quick checks to gauge student understanding to adjust teaching methods accordingly. This will help you tailor your teaching methods in real time to ensure effective lesson delivery.
Encourage students to maintain language portfolios. These portfolios can include samples of their written work, recorded conversations and reflections on their language learning journey. Portfolio assessments offer a holistic view of progress and provide students with a tangible record of their achievements.
Example: Conduct periodic portfolio reviews to discuss progress and set goals. Encourage frequent reflection to show learners how far they've come.
Empower students to self-assess. Encourage reflection on their language skills, setting goals and evaluating their own progress. Self-assessment also fosters a sense of responsibility and independence in the learning process. When students take ownership of their progress, they become more invested in their education and are more likely to achieve their goals.
Example: Provide your language students self-assessment checklists or rubrics for them to evaluate their proficiency and set personal goals.
Use language learning platforms' analytics and progress reports for data-driven decision-making. It's great to help save time and provide reliable and up-to-date reports.
Example: Using online platforms for assignments, quizzes and collaborative projects with built-in tracking features. Our learning platforms, app English Connect (PEC)and MyEnglishLab (MEL), can help you keep track of your students' progress.
Cultural projects are a great way to engage students in the broader context of the language they are learning. These projects could involve researching cultural practices, traditions or historical events related to the language.
Students learn how to navigate cultural nuances, understand diverse perspectives and effectively communicate in different cultural contexts by participating in cultural projects. Such projects help students form a personal connection with the language and bridge the gap between theory and real-world application, making language learning more meaningful.
Example: Assign projects that explore certain cultural aspects of the target language, encouraging a deeper understanding of context. These can be evaluated on how well it's presented, its clarity, and how factually accurate it is.
Peer review is a valuable practice that promotes a sense of community within the language learning classroom. It involves students working together and offering constructive feedback to each other, which leads to the development of their language skills. It creates a collaborative learning environment where students actively participate in the improvement of their peers, learning from one another's strengths and weaknesses.
Students often put more effort into assignments when they know peers will review their work. This increased accountability can lead to higher-quality work and a greater commitment to language learning.
Example: Implement peer review sessions where students provide feedback on each other's written or spoken assignments. Encourage constructive criticism to enhance collaboration and learning. To accommodate shy students, this process can be anonymous.
Assessing and tracking language learning progress is integral to effective language teaching, requiring continuous interaction between educators and students.
By utilizing diverse assessment methods and fostering a culture of constant improvement, language teachers play a vital role in guiding their students toward linguistic fluency. Helping language students celebrate their successes and overcome challenges helps them to be not only proficient speakers but also lifelong language enthusiasts.
Are you an English teacher preparing for assessments? Check out our postMotivating your students through assessment.
As well as our learning platforms, PECand MEL, we offer various English assessments and courses to help track your learner's progress and to certify their English level, so make sure to explore our range to find the best solution for your students.
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Welcome to the beginning of a new year, filled with countless possibilities and exciting opportunities for learning a new language. If you're like most people, you probably have some language learning resolutions and goals you'd like to achieve this year.
While setting these goals is easy, sticking to them can appear daunting. But don't worry, we’re here to help you not only set those goals but also achieve them like a pro. Below are some useful tips to help turn your language aspirations into reality this year and to keep you motivated towards your goals.
