As part of redesigning my website, I reached out to some of my learners about providing a testimony about their experience with me. Here’s the end one of them: 

…The different games and his particular way of explaining the content so that it sticks in your mind make you want to learn a little bit more every day. You’ll end up actually liking English.

– M

It’s that last line that got me thinking. It’s a wonderful testament that M was surprised she ended up liking English with me as her teacher, but it’s just as worrying that she apparently found this such a surprise. 

Were I still DoS in M’s old academy (a position I only held for one academic year), I’d be asking questions about whether their approach to learning was the most appropriate one. That torch has been passed, however, so I’m instead going to reflect on some important things to bear in mind as we walk back into our classrooms (or click on the Zoom logo) to make sure all our learners enjoy being in our classes. 

Motivation

It would be far too simplistic to say that learners have either intrinsic or extrinsic motivations for learning English, and in reality the topic of motivation is far too complex for a couple of short paragraphs here. It’s worth remembering that your aim for the class or the course (which often aligns with many of their parents if you teach teens or younger learners) may very well not even be of value or interest to the learners themselves. Anyone who’s ever faced a frustrating classroom management situation with a group of teens and pleaded “do you want your B1?” will know exactly what I mean – if there’s any response at all, it may well be one of indifference, and there’s almost certainly something in the room thinking “well, not really, but my mum does.”

Equally unhelpful can be those instructions from DoS’s that “you have to motivate them.” We do, but I’d wager it’s not in the way we immediately think. That abstract exam a long way off in the distance is unlikely to motivate many young learners, but there are many more shorter-term goals which can: interesting and engaging lessons, lessons with a communicative heart, a chance to work with your friends, a chance to make new ones, a slightly better homework score, a way to do that difficult exam task, or a teacher who praises you when you try, to name but a few, Seek out opportunities for regular micro-motivations that accumulate to engage your learners. 

Starting off on the right foot

The ELT community is awash with tips for first classes, second classes, and what to do before the course book arrives. Throwing my hat into the ring, then, here are five things I believe about starting a new course with a group of learners – not all things for the first lessons, but certainly for the first few weeks:

1. Wow them in the first week. There’s often a lot to do in the first few lessons, and learners who have done a couple of years or more may well already know the score: the getting to know you activity followed by the classroom rules activity followed by the speaking and writing activity followed by the game. Instead, why not show them something a bit different? You could have a craft activity, an inventive role play, or a fact-finding mission around the school – give your learners something in the first week that makes them go home saying “wow, I like this teacher!”
2. Adapt that welcome unit, or avoid it entirely. Most course books come with a lengthy welcome unit which recaps what learners are supposed to know having done the previous level. Trouble is, there will be some in the class who didn’t do it, many who’ve forgotten a lot of it, and covering it all will likely take two weeks of boring classes. Figure out what you can do to adapt the useful bits, especially if you want a chance to see what your learners can do, but remember that almost all the material will be covered later in the course anyway. 
3. Speaking lesson, anyone? This time last year I came across this wonderful first lesson idea from Chris Roland, and used it with all my teen groups from A2 and upwards. It’s a doddle to prepare (just as well, as those first primary lessons can be quite a strain) and provides you will lots of opportunities to hear and see what your learners can do. For them, they’ll leave feeling amazed – having barely used English in months, they’ve just spent a class speaking and writing in English with no problem, and it was fun. 
4. Classroom management is key: start as you mean to go on. In my experience, it’s the teachers who don’t really control their groups at the start that have classroom management issues later on. There’s always a grace period with a new group – a couple of weeks where they’re getting to know you and generally behaving well – but don’t fall into the trap of assuming they’re an easy group and therefore don’t need the classroom management tricks.
5. Set expectations. What do they do when they come into the class? Will there be an activity to do when they come in, or should they get out their homework? What homework do they have to do and how will they do it? When will you return it? What happens if they don’t do it? Why? What about if they miss a class, or need to leave early? Can they speak their own language in class, and if so why, and if not why not? As each of these things arise, help your learners see where the line is, why it’s there, and what happens if someone crosses it. Learners are much more likely to buy in to your lessons, and hopefully then enjoy them, if they know what to expect. 

Inclusive classrooms

In 2022 I completed a marvellous course on inclusivity led by the wonderful Michelle Worgan which transformed the nature of my classroom with all my groups. An inclusive classroom allows learners to feel secure, and means that they’re much more likely not only to learn, but also to enjoy themselves doing it. I thoroughly recommend you check out Michelle’s webpage. Here are four things I’m doing this year with my groups: 

1. A Venn Diagram getting to know you activity (from Michelle Worgan, I think). Before class, photocopy a Venn diagram (here’s one) and write 10-20 getting know you questions. Try to add a follow-up question to stimulate discussion, and in class you might want to work on expressions to react to each other and ask more questions to get more information. Give each learner a copy of the diagram, and model the activity with a volunteer: write your name and your partner’s name in each circle of the Venn. Ask the question, and discuss the answers. If you and your partner have the same answer, you write it in the shared space of the Venn diagram; if they’re different answers, write them in the respective circles on the diagram. Unlike the traditional Find Someone Who activity, this version allows you to celebrate differences as well as similarities. Top tip: don’t just do this once: every few weeks, put learners with a new partner and repeat the task – this helps solidify a classroom community, especially as our learners often tend to sit next to the same person every day. 
2. Adapt that Welcome unit into a stations activity and give your learners some agency. Photocopy one copy of each of the pages in the unit, cut them up, and organise them thematically (i.e. reading, grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc.) Then create stations around the room focusing on each of the broad categories, and blu-tack each activity to the wall. Learners then choose the aspect they want to focus on, complete the task alone or with a partner, and come to you for help and advice. This is an alternative way of running that welcome unit, and gives you another chance to assess what learners know and don’t know. Running it as a stations activity gives learners a sense of agency in their learning, meaning they’re actively working on an area of language they want to improve, or if they’re feeling tired that day, on something easy for them. Monitor how they work with this task, and consider running similar stationed activities if it works. 
3. Give each of your classes a space in the class to decorate, and explain to them that over the course of the year each group will be given a chance to create their space. Give your learners a chance to think about what they’d like to do, discuss it, and help them come up with a plan. In the past I’ve had poetry walls, book reviews, family trees, balloons, passports, postcards, and monsters.
4. It’s not my classroom, it’s theirs. Last year, I made a conscious effort to refer to my classroom space as theirs, not mine. When a learner asked me if they could move their chair, I’d reply “put it wherever you want, it’s your room!” Surely the people who need to feel most comfortable are our learners, so let them know it’s their space. 

Mitigating a negative ethos

There’s still an elephant in the room, though. Depending on your workplace, you might feel pressure from above to teach, treat learners, or prepare for exams in a particular way. These decisions don’t come out of the blue but are likely the culmination of the DoS’s or academy owner’s beliefs developed over years of interactions with clients, although sometimes these decisions can create a negative ethos amongst learners and/or teachers. 

As teachers, we need to be careful how we both engage and respond to this ethos as learners can easily pick up on animosity between teachers and their academies. Nevertheless, I’d argue that we need to keep learners like M in mind. I believe the learner should always come first, and as teachers we need to be aware of how a school ethos might be negatively affecting them. My learner M seemed surprised that she ended up liking English as a direct result of a school ethos so heavily focused on exams and achievement that the learner came second. 

Over to you

What about you? What do you do to create that positive space for your learners? Please share this article with any of your colleagues and join the discussion below.