How to use praise to motivate your students

Joanna Wiseman
A group of students hugging a teacher
Reading time: 3 minutes

Praise in the classroom is a valuable resource that every teacher has in their toolbox.It can encourage struggling students and reward learners who have been studying diligently and working hard on their language skills.

But not all types of praise have the same effect. Let’s take a look at different types of praise and how you can use it to boost your learners’ motivation andself-esteem.

Different types of praise in the classroom

There are three types of praise that teachers commonly engage in - but they’re not all equal and are not all desirable:

  • Personal praise: Here you praise a student for a specific ability or quality. For example, you might say something like,“You have a great memory for vocabulary”.
  • Effort-based praise: Thisis when you comment on a student’s efforts. For example, you could say,“I can see you tried really hard with this vocabulary homework – well done.”
  • Behavior-based praise:This type of praiseis where you comment on how a student is acting, an example would be,“You were really paying attention during the vocabulary lesson – good job.”

So how – and when – should we use these types of praise in the classroom?

Try not to praise ability

The first type of praise – personal praise – should be avoided in the classroom.has shown that this type of praise doesn’t have a beneficial effect on motivation.

In fact, praise for intelligence actually has a detrimental effect on student achievement. When students were praised for their intelligence, they tended to care more about their performance goals – the score they achieved on a test, for example. Learning goals, like mastering a new skill, became less important to them.

Moreover, personal praise has been shown to undermine student resilience in the face of failure. Students showed less persistence when it came to challenging tasks and less enjoyment of the challenge. They also performed more poorly than children praised for effort.

Furthermore, when you praise students for their ability, they also tend to see intelligence or aptitude as a fixed trait. However, students who are praised for effort are more likely to see ability as something they can improve on. This feeds into the development of a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset.It’s important toinstilla growth mindset in learners to enable them to reach their full potential.

How to praise effort and behavior

When it comes to praising effort and behavior, what’s the most effective way to do it? Here are some techniques to employ:

1. Be specific

General praise such as “Good job” isn’t nearly as effective as a comment that shows you’ve been paying attention to what the student is doing. A precise compliment will make a much bigger impact on a student, for example:“I was really impressed at how hard you concentrated during the listening exercise. Well done.”

2. Give praise in the moment

Immediate praise doesn’t need to be disruptive, but it shows students that you are paying attention and noticing good behavior and effort.

3. Avoid comparisons with other students

Instead of saying, “You got the best mark in the class – well done!” say something like,“You got a really high score in the reading test. Your hard work has really paid off this term.”

4. Keep track of praise

Before your class, choose three or four students you’re going to praise that day. That way, you can be sure that each and every student will benefit from the motivational power of effective classroom praise!

5. Personalize your praise, depending on the student

Young students enjoy being praised publicly, but shy students, older children and teenagers prefer positive feedback to be given quietly.

Don’t overpraise and watch your positive bias

It’s important to be sincere. Older children, especially adolescents, have an extremely low tolerance of insincerity. So, don’t be tempted to praise students too often, or too effusively – it can actually have a negative impact on your relationship with your whole class. Insincere praise can lead students to question your judgement.

It’s also really important to be aware of your positive bias.that teachers consistently give students of color more positive feedback on their work. It’s done with good intentions, but it can actually be harmful. If you regularly overpraise students for minor achievements, it can imply that you have low expectations for these students. And, this can make your students feel like they might not be capable of fulfilling the high expectations that you should have of them.

So, instead of overpraising, focus on giving specific, immediate praise to motivate your students, boost theirself-esteem and unlock their potential.

Find out how tonurture creativity in your learnersand this post will tell you how topromote student happinessand wellbeing.

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  • A girl sat surroudned by bookshelves, she is leaning on one and reading a book

    4 top tips to help you encourage teens to read

    Por Donatella Fitzgerald MBE

    Two big questions about reading

    Children who engage with reading are three times more likely to have high levels of mental well-being than those who do not - ().

    There are two big questions we need to consider to help our students succeed in today’s school environment and to improve their general well-being.

    Research points in one direction: that is reading for pleasure! Here are four tips to help your students read more - and enjoy it.

    Tip 1: Give them a choice of great graded reader

    Reading can help students escape into new worlds and switch off from the day, helping them cope with stress and worry. The outcomes of reading will occur more often and more strongly if reading is enjoyable in the first instance.

    The benefits of reading are more likely to be felt when reading takes place through free choice. Give your students a wide selection of graded readers of different genres and at the right level. Ask them what genres they know and then do a class survey to find out which they like reading most.

    app English Graded Readers offer teenagers a large range of genres at all levels. The series offers world-renowned stories – fiction, non-fiction, biographies, cinematic readers, plays, short stories and classics – rewritten for English learners.

    Tip 2: Involve the students in a collaborative group activity

    A reading circle is a strategy where the teacher puts students into groups to read a whole book or one or more chapters. At the end of the project, each group creates a presentation to deliver to the class. Reading circles reinforce listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in a supportive and collaborative environment.

    What’s more, they encourage students to deepen their understanding of a chosen text, as students are encouraged to talk about the book they are reading with their classmates. They discuss plots, the specific language used, and personal experiences, think about the characters and make connections to the outside world and citizenship.

    Students work collaboratively and think about and discuss what they have read. At the same time, they are guided towards deeper comprehension and are encouraged through active learning to take an interest in other students’ ideas.

    This type of collaborative project works perfectly in a face-to-face or remote teaching situation. It can be a way of nudging reluctant readers to read. You can help your students deepen discussions about books, create lifelong readers and build a respectful classroom community.

    How to lead a reading circle

    Create your reading circles by forming groups of four to seven students. Learners should be at the same reading level and also have similar interests, where possible.

    The objective of each circle is to read the book and prepare a presentation to share with the whole class. Each group decides collaboratively which reader they would like to read together; however, ask each group to read a different book so you have a variety of presentations.

    Reading circles should be fully student led. Students are empowered and supported by their peers as they all have a specific and important role to play. Through the project and preparing the digital responses students learn digital skills and improve their digital literacy and critical thinking.

    Suggested reading circle roles:

    • Slides Wizard: Creates the slides for the presentation
    • Presentation Wizard: Helps with the presentation to the class
    • Artistic Wizard: Looks at the illustrations in the book (this could be good for students with dyslexia)
    • Film Wizard: Finds information about the film version if there is one
    • Word Wizard: Finds new or keywords
    • Summary Wizard: Writes/creates a summary/visual summary of the plot
    • Sentence Wizard: Finds important quotations, and sentences in the book
    • Character Wizard: List/description of characters
    • Places in the book Wizard: Finding out about symbolic locations in the book

    Students can present their reading circles project in several different ways. For example:

    • A PowerPoint presentation
    • A poster
    • A video
    • A Padlet (interactive notice board where they can post comments, files, pictures and audio and video recordings).

    While students are watching the presentations, they should give feedback to the groups presenting using a feedback form, giving praise and suggesting areas of improvement.

    Tip 3: Introduce your students to a class library

    Introduce a class library and engage students in reading during class time or outside the classroom. If you don’t have much space for physical books, eLibraries can also ensure students can read the books remotely and read the same book at the same time! As with the printed versions, there are readers for teenage and adult students who want to supplement standard English course materials and build their English competence.

    At the end of the year, students can organize a reading festival (either face-to-face or virtually) where they showcase their responses to reading e.g. videos, posters, lap books, dances…anything they like!

    Tip 4: Help struggling readers build their confidence

    Offering students a choice of readers at the right or slightly below their level can help boost their confidence. Ideally, guide them towards short stories so they can finish them.

    Audiobooks can be an alternative to reading a book for a student with dyslexia (and other SEN students). They can have the same experience and many of the same benefits from listening to the story in English.

    If they are reading it is important to scaffold their reading with pre-reading activities as they provide the necessary support before the reading starts and activate their background knowledge. It is also important to pre-teach vocabulary items and encourage them to predict what will happen in the story. Pair students up with a reading buddy so the student with dyslexia has another student who can help them.

  • A Parent reading to his two children from a book with all three of them laying on the floor

    How can teachers encourage parents to get kids reading at home?

    Por Donatella Fitzgerald MBE

    “Sharing a story with your child is one of the most incredible things you can do for them.” – .

    Research shows that getting kids reading at home can increase their reading ability at school – and improve their overall well-being. Parents and guardians can make a big difference. But how can teachers encourage parents to get their children to read more at home? We explore some strategies you can use.

    Tell parents about the benefits

    Reading can give children a break from technology-centered activities. It can help them to relax and unwind; reading a book can make children laugh and feel happier! Through hearing stories, children are also exposed to a rich and broad vocabulary.

    “It is important for teachers to establish contact with parents as much as possible and give very clear guidelines on the benefits of reading, and how they can create a reading routine and help their children read at home,” says Kasia Janitz-De La Rue, Product Development Director at app.

    So, encourage parents to find time for a reading routine. Just before bedtime is a great time, as .

    Give parents practical ideas for reading strategies

    Encourage parents to read with and not to their child. It doesn’t matter how long they set aside to read – just 10 minutes of quality reading time can make a big difference.

    Here are a few tips concrete reading tips for teachers to share with parents:

    • Ask children lots of questions while reading.
    • Use encouragement and praise to keep children engaged. Saying things like “what fantastic ideas” or “you thought so carefully about that, what might happen now?"will keep their minds working.
    • Use their past experiences to talk about what’s being read. Things like “have you learnt about…at school?” or “do you remember when we watched…and found out about…?” are good conversation starters.
    • Tune in and listen to children, and be curious about their interests. “I didn’t know you knew so much about…” or “I love reading stories about…with you,” are good phrases to keep in mind.

    It’s also a great idea to share online resources with parents. You can also suggest that parents look up read-aloud YouTube videos featuring authors, teachers or librarians reading their favorite stories. This way, children can watch and listen as often as they like.

    Recommend graded readers

    Graded readers are books that use language in line with a child‘s learning level. They can help children build confidence, and help slowly expose them to authentic reading levels.

    Encourage parents to identify what genre their child is interested in and show them the readers available. Each time parents see their children move up a level, they’re sure to see their children’s love for reading grow.

    Suggest before, during, and after reading activities

    Before reading

    Parents can take turns with their children to predict what the story is about – or what will happen next. Here is an activity teachers may suggest they try:

    “Start with the cover of the book and the blurb on the back cover. Reveal the cover slowly to ask the child what they can see. Ask them to guess what is on the cover. Once they have seen the cover, ask them questions about the images on the cover – who, what, why, where and how?”

    While reading

    Remind parents to focus on their children’s reading comprehension by using strategies like prediction, questioning, clarifying, and summarising. Teachers can ask parents to:

    • check ideas and understanding as the child reads: ‘So, you think that….’ ‘Did you expect…to happen?’ ‘Why do you think that happened?’
    • use the pictures in the book to help with comprehension
    • describe what is happening and talk about the characters.

    After reading

    Don’t forget: parents can continue to explore the book’s topic once reading time is done! A few ideas to share with parents include:

    • organising a puppet show for family members and siblings after making puppets of the characters in the book
    • having children draw a picture of their favorite character or their favorite page in the story
    • encouraging children to express their opinion on the book.