Sapna Bhatia, English Trainer & Public Speaking Mentor, at (https://topmate.io/sapna_bhatia), talks about how for many second language learners, speaking is the most difficult part of learning. They may stay silent due to fear of mistakes or lack of confidence. Yet, as they improve and receive positive feedback, they begin to speak more openly. This passage explores how learners transition from silence to confident communication.
A topic that is very close to most of our hearts as teachers is about students. This gains more importance when it comes to the students who are learning a new language in the classroom. Usually they are quiet observers, listen to what we say carefully, but seldom speak or hesitate to speak. Hence, it becomes very important that we get a new perspective on this and a few practical tools to help them. Our classrooms should be places where each learner feels safe and confident enough to talk and express their views. They should convert their silence into effective communication.
Most of us, teachers, would have noticed that students, when learning a second language, carefully listen to us, try to understand what we say, try to make sense out of it, and grasp the new language. We need to ensure that the language classes, especially, should be places where the children learn to make sensible communication. Often, we start wondering when we see a quiet student, if he is bored with the lesson, if he is not understanding what we say, or if he is not trying to follow our teaching, etc. But such a view should be totally avoided as it is not due to his not understanding the lessons that he keeps quiet. The student is trying to absorb whatever we say and make his cognitive thinking work. It is our duty to make sure that he is not forced out of this situation, but he should encounter a warm, less-pressure, and inviting environment to make his first effort to use the language. We should be patient enough to allow him to start the effort.
The time when the student keeps silent is usually long. It is purely due to the fear that he develops inside him when he tries to use the new language. He starts wondering if he is making mistakes, if he is not good at his accent, if he will be mocked by others, if others will start laughing at him, and if the teacher will reprimand him for wrong usage of the language. A small mistake from his end and any mocking from his peers and teachers will push him into silence again. Hence, we have to give the student space where, even if he makes mistakes, we can correct him in an appreciative tone. When the student is in a group, he has to work with others; he has to start feeling one among the others and not be lonely and left out.
Understanding student vulnerability
If we can put ourselves into the students’ shoes, when we imagine standing in front of people and trying to speak in a language that we have just started learning, we will be getting an umpteen number of questions in our minds. Are we using the right word, are we pronouncing words correctly, what will others think if we pronounce words wrongly, and so many people are waiting to hear me talk, and I should not look like a stupid person by all these mistakes, etc, are some of the thoughts that come to our mind. These thoughts will not be random ones to fade away; in fact, they can create a recurring fear inside our minds. We should use emotional intelligence to help us get over this, similar to using our teaching skills. We, teachers, should view the hesitation on the part of students not as a lack of knowledge, but as vulnerability. The students pause when they feel they are taking a risk. So, we should be empathetic and kind enough to them, and the student will get all the encouragement to take the risk. A word of recognition will do all the trick. Our feedback can make the students feel more confident, or it can pull them down, too. Instead of pointing out the error in the usage of words, we can say that we appreciate his use of the word, and he can try using the proper verb to make the difference. While pointing out the error will make the student quiet all the more, our appreciation will give the required boost in using the language. The student who is hesitant to use the language may become a confident leader and speaker.
Nurturing confident speakers
We can help the students in developing confidence by being clear in our goal to get the language into them slowly, with prompts and sentence starters. This will ease the pressure on the student when he has to give a sentence from scratch on his own. Strategies like pair-share work great. The student first thinks of ideas, shares them with the other partner, where he will feel more secure, and then, after discussion, he shares them with the whole class. This greatly reduces the pressure on the student. And finally, he does not hesitate to use the language. We have to build the momentum for the student to improve their speaking skills in the language. We need to focus on consistency and confidence by making it a regular practice. The exercise can be speaking opportunities that give them less stress and build their fluency in language. They can be given small leadership roles, such as timekeeper, so that they can converse with the other students. We should not be evaluators; we have to give proper feedback, motivate, and focus on growth and strategy. Such a belief we show to the students can motivate them to believe in themselves.
A student in my class joined halfway through the year, never said anything, did his work well, and so I started talking to him every day. I linked him with a patient and empathetic student. After some time, I found him speaking to his partner, we celebrated this step, and soon he opened up more and became a good conversant, presenting his project powerfully. By using these strategies, we can achieve transformation and trust, and we can change the student from a silent observer into a confident personality. They may struggle initially, but we have to keep supporting them by giving sentence starters, group work and appreciation.
There are some more points to this. A speaking circle is where we have a group of students discuss a topic for a few minutes, and the outer circle listens. Then the outer circle gives feedback on the positive aspects they notice. Next one is the “word of the day” where we can assign one student each day to come up with a new word, use it in sentences, and help other students to use it too. This will give them a sense of ownership. This will be a routine like using the textbook. On the whole, we, teachers, should understand that a student sitting in the back of the classroom can be a potential speaker or a leader, a storyteller with plenty of ideas and stories that can be shared with others. We only have to encourage that potential in them. It may take time, but we have to have the courage to change our habits, believe in the potential of the students, and reinstate confidence in them if they do not believe in themselves.
Playful paths to fluency
I start with low-pressure activities such as pair-share, allow the students to listen first, and then slowly help them gain confidence and trust, and then they start speaking. It is the anxiety that holds them back. I encourage group work, not to give any correction publicly that may demotivate them, and I ensure to appreciate them so that they get over the fears and start speaking the language more confidently. The mistakes should be turned into learning moments, making speaking fun when learning, and following the rules. We use tongue twisters and make them practise pronunciation, which can be done by means of games and storytelling. We can give them sentence starters, make them create a story, and with contributions from every learner, the storytelling can be fun and useful.
We need to be supportive, create activities, and their mistakes should not be magnified. We should allow them to be themselves. We can also share our mistakes, experiences, etc. It is their effort to communicate that is more valuable than the grammar. The main step should be to make the students feel comfortable, even if they make mistakes. Once they get the feeling of comfort, they will gradually shift to grammar and improve on that, too.
For children with diverse needs, visuals and sentence starters will help. We can give some tips for starting the conversation, explain how it is useful, etc. For advanced learners, we can give writing tasks and creative speaking assignments. They can write on a topic, give presentations, and be part of group discussions, pair-share activities, and also they can have their own individual work.
Teaching in the digital age
Technology has made our lives easier and challenging as well. For Gen Z learners, catering to their requirements is difficult. We have to create activities and make them more fun and engaging for them. We need to keep up their interest. When they connect with their peers, the session turns more engaging and interactive. The students can share their ideas, which is ideal for today’s students who get easily distracted by advances in technology.
Motivation through recognition
We have to give them speaking, writing, listening, and reading tasks. In any competitive exam, these play a major role. All these go to show the students’ accuracy and fluency in language. Giving shoutouts is the best thing that can be done. When the students get such an appreciation, it encourages them as well as others to make up their minds to get a similar kind of appreciation. Exhibiting their work, giving certificates, making them the star of the day or month based on their performance, can inspire them and make them resolved to achieve the best.
This is a summary of the talk given by the author on schoolreformer.com
Contact details
Sapna Bhatia
M: 9911988119
E: educatorsapnabhatia@gmail.com