麻豆传媒入口

During intimate conversations with just one or two people, Nasteho鈥攚hose primary language is Danish鈥攕peaks English with the confidence of a native speaker. 

But in her ninth-grade English language classroom, where she is surrounded by nearly two dozen of her peers, her composure can evaporate, and typical language learning activities like practicing new vocabulary or answering questions in English can elicit 鈥渁 lot of stress,鈥� she says.听听听

That鈥檚 not unusual. The fear of failure is deep-rooted and powerful in young learners and can prevent them from taking risks and acquiring new skills. This can be especially true in language classes, where that 鈥渢eachers often observe learners struggling with physical signs of anxiety such as tense muscles, trembling, and dry throat.鈥� Concerns about making mistakes in front of classmates, especially in middle and high school, can loom large.

Nasteho鈥檚 teacher, Fatima Belouahi, is keenly aware of how hard it is for her English language learners to practice their skills while the whole class is 鈥渨atching and listening.鈥� In Belouahi鈥檚 classroom at Lundehusskolen鈥攁 bright, newly renovated K鈥�9 school in Copenhagen, Denmark鈥攖he focus is on lowering the stakes around language learning.

When 麻豆传媒入口 visited her classroom this winter, Belouahi鈥檚 15- and 16-year-old students sat in small groups casually chatting in English. Students tripped up occasionally鈥攎ispronouncing a word or struggling to articulate a complex thought鈥攂ut they pressed on with a laugh, troubleshooting or correcting themselves.

Instead of trying to convince students that their fears aren鈥檛 warranted, Belouahi makes a point of creating a positive, mistake-friendly classroom where students feel comfortable experimenting. One of the ways she does this is by incorporating strategies. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to be perfect from the beginning,鈥� Belouahi says. 鈥淭he goal is for them to use their English language as much as possible and as best as they can. Not perfectly.鈥澨�

Here are five playful learning strategies from Belouahi鈥檚 classroom designed to make the act of learning a new language less daunting, and more joyful, social, and engaging. 

Draw It Out听

In this exercise, like Pictionary with academic benefits, Belouahi has students draw a representation of a vocabulary term鈥攃ensorship or free speech, for example鈥攖hen challenge a partner to identify the words they鈥檝e drawn. It鈥檚 a fun, social game that鈥檚 backed by research: When students draw information they鈥檙e learning, it can .

After organizing students into pairs or small groups, Belouahi gives the class a list of challenging English language vocabulary words and phrases focused on the day鈥檚 lesson about social media and cancel culture鈥攁 topic her students are familiar with and interested in. To close out the activity, students explain their vocabulary terms to their partners and discuss their illustration. The room fills with laughter as kids work through each other鈥檚 sketches, chattering away happily in English.

Inner Circle, Outer Circle

When she wants to introduce new material, emphasize key concepts in a lesson, review before an exam, or have students share their thoughts after independent reading, Belouahi likes to get kids interacting with each other.

鈥淪ome days our students only talk to their best friend or the one who sits beside them,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏ut this exercise pushes them to talk to each other, to talk to people at different levels or who have different opinions. That allows for discussions or debates where they have to give their own opinions.鈥� 

Start by having students choose a partner and then form two concentric circles鈥攐ne inner circle and one outer circle. One member of the pair will be on the inner circle, and the other will be on the outer circle, across from each other. Present a question to the class鈥攆or example, Belouahi asked students if they thought it was OK to 鈥渃ancel鈥� or stop supporting someone because of bad behavior they exhibited in the past. Pairs discuss for a set amount of time, then the outer circle of students rotates, providing each student with a new classmate to speak with.听

Walk and Talk

Traditionally, students might be given a set of prompts to discuss while seated鈥攁nd that routinely happens in Belouahi鈥檚 classroom. But when she has the time, she likes to incorporate activities that are more active to get students up and moving.听

For a walk and talk, students pair up, and Belouahi provides them with open-ended discussion questions. When weather and time permit, pairs walk around a lake that鈥檚 near the school, but this activity can be done in a courtyard, school hallways, the gym, or any area where there鈥檚 space to move around freely.听

Asking questions that are relevant to students鈥� lives can make conversations more meaningful, while grouping students in pairs allows them the privacy to practice the target language without fear of judgment. 鈥淚 asked them to discuss if they鈥檝e ever felt threatened at school or how they would handle a situation where they knew a friend was being bullied,鈥� Belouahi says. 鈥淎nd they could have answered while sitting down. But while walking and talking with different classmates, I think the conversations get a bit deeper.鈥� 

Fortune Teller

Repurposing a childhood favorite, Belouahi likes to use paper fortune tellers to get kids talking. On the outermost flaps are colors, then numbers. On the innermost flaps, students find a question they鈥檒l discuss in the target language. When we visited the classroom, questions included 鈥淲hat is cancel culture鈥� and 鈥淗ow can someone behave badly online?鈥澨�

In pairs, one student operates the fortune teller while the other student chooses a color and spells it aloud (鈥淕reen, G-R-E-E-N鈥�), then a number (鈥淔our, F-O-U-R鈥�). They鈥檒l choose one more number, which determines the flap to lift and reveals the question the pair will discuss. (For free customizable templates, search online with the keywords 鈥渆ditable fortune teller template.鈥�)

Role-Play as Influencers

Belouahi鈥檚 lesson about social media and cancel culture provided a perfect opportunity for students to role-play as influencers, creating fake TikTok videos based on prompts she provided and allowing them to practice their language skills.听

In small groups, students received a piece of paper detailing specific scenarios that they鈥檇 be acting out. One group was instructed to create a video featuring the fictional Marie D., a beauty influencer who reviewed a new moisturizer and wanted her followers to buy it. Each student played several roles within the group鈥攈elping to write the script, operating the phone camera to record, using arts and crafts materials to make props, and directing the student who would play the influencer. At the end of class, students submitted their videos to Belouahi to view. 

The exercise gets students to grapple with vocabulary and sentence structures in novel and challenging ways. Because only Belouahi and the small groups themselves view the final videos, students are more likely to take risks and feel less self-conscious as they bravely explore learning and speaking English.听