Engaging+students+in+the+classroom


 * __A. General Ideas for Engaging Students in the classroom.__**

Ask questions. Asking questions and and having students respond is a natural and proven way for the teacher and students to use the language. It develops both listening and speaking skills. Questions form an important part of teaching. Teachers use questions frequently in the classroom to make students talk. Effective questioning will ensure effective learning. Here are several techniques you can develop to make your questioning more effective.



Questioning Strategies
An active learning environment in the classroom can be created by asking appropriate questions. It is therefore important to know some strategies of asking questions. Strategies of asking questions. > Do not ask vague or general questions such as ‘What is your view regarding the topic?’ > Complex structures may confuse students.
 * 1) Think of the questions that you need to ask students as you prepare your lesson plan.
 * 2) Emphasise questions that will help students follow your lesson.
 * 3) Ask clear and specific questions that will enable your students to give clear answers.
 * 1) Use vocabulary items that students can understand.
 * 2) Use simple sentence structures.
 * 1) Ask questions that cover all the cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy i.e. knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
 * 2) Give students sufficient time to answer your questions.
 * 3) Rephrase your questions if students do not respond to them the way you expect them to.

The lightning strikes technique is very effective and can be established from the first day of class. The teacher asks a question and then pauses two or three seconds before calling on a student for an answer. This way, during the pause, all students will think of an answer in case the "lightning strike" falls on them. And even though the teacher calls on only one student, others are more likely to listen to for the answer to to see if it is the same as theirs. 

• Use the “lightning strikes technique of asking the question and pausing before suddenly throwing the ball or other object to a student. The expectation is that everyone is to think of the answer in their head during the pause and then be ready to answer if you throw the ball to them. • Allow the students to chose the next “victim” by throwing the ball to each other.
 * 1. Throw things -- Use ** balls, stuffed animals, bean bags, etc to “call on students”.


 * 2. Change the pace ** – Don’t let communicative activities go on for too long. Set a timer and stop when it goes off- even if everyone hasn’t finished. It is better to leave them wanting more than to go on for so long that they lose interest.

• Students love to play games. Take advantage of that by planning activities that develop speaking skills, and encourage creative thinking and communication. Use games to help students memorize vocabulary words, practice grammar structures, explore cultures, etc.
 * 3. Play -- ** Language classes should be the loudest, most active classes in the school.

Divide into teams, have the boys go against the girls, have contests, playoffs, challenges, etc. Ideas: Eggspert buzzer game. Concentration on the whiteboard. Tic Tac Toe. Jeopardy. Tip: Don’t allow the students to always pair up with the same friend. Mixing up partners and groups will keep them from getting too comfortable and getting off task because they are with a friend.
 * 4. ** **Add the element of competition.**

• Powerpoint slides • Real objects or toys • Pictures. Develop a picture file Cut out pictures from magazines Print color pictures from internet (Google image search specific words) Print black and white pictures from internet and then color them (or have the students color them) (Tip: Include the words “coloring page” in your image search for bold, simple pictures.) Draw stick figures Ask or assign students (and parents) to help you gather, color, copy, and mount pictures. Tip: If you can, mount pictures on cardstock and laminate them. They will last longer.
 * 5. Use visual aids. ** This generation has been raised on TV and video. They are visual learners. Use visual aids as much as possible. Introduce and practice vocabulary using:

If the students sense that you think singing, or playing is childish or embarrassing, they will be reluctant or “too cool” to join in. If you go into it with a positive attitude and show you love it yourself (or are at least willing to give it your all)-- they will too.
 * 6. Have a positive and playful attitude. ** None of the above ideas will succeed if you don’t have the right attitude.