Feeding Student Engagement

Part one of this article highlighted the importance of combining interactive activities with learner-centered approaches to capture students' interest and commitment to their learning tasks. Technology, being ever-present, offers a variety of teaching options that we should embrace at different stages of the learning process. This article serves as a reminder checklist of effective strategies and activities to include in our teaching toolbox. While many of these strategies may already circulate in our minds, writing them down can make them more actionable. Part one reminded us not to treat the curriculum as our bible, to vary class routines, to spark curiosity, to encourage critical thinking, and to use real-life materials.

We Use a Variety of Thinking Routines

Our “Thinking” and “Behavior” classroom routines regulate class conduct and structure patterns of action. It’s beneficial to have a variety of these routines. For instance, if we are working on a text about the Middle Ages, we should use a combination of thinking routines to guide students’ thoughts and learning. These routines act as keys to unlock students’ understanding of how people lived their everyday lives during those times:

The "Here, Now, There, and Then" Routine
The "What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I Have Learned" Routine
The "I Know This, I Think This, I Wonder About This" Routine
The "Pair, Share" Routine
The "Think, Puzzle, Explore" Routine
The "Circle of Viewpoints" Routine

These routines help shape the learning path, unleash imagination, make thinking visible, and enrich the overall learning experience. Of course, we need to elaborate with examples, pictures, images, video clips, and follow-up activities. Students practice language as they explore diverse viewpoints.

We Use Technology

Adapting to technology enhances our teaching ecosystem and aids in research, text generation, and writing. Strategies that embrace technology can create thriving, collaborative, and dynamic learning environments. For English teachers, tools like interactive smartboards, online platforms such as Kahoot, adaptive exercises tailored to individual students through AI-powered chatbots, and personalized feedback from AI tutors make sense. We can break spatial limitations with virtual tours in museums, use Google Earth to take field trips to historical sites, and practice English while learning about the world. Additionally, educational apps like Duolingo, Babbel, or Rosetta Stone can support language learning for both young and older students.

We Create Collaborative Environments

Project-Based Learning and group projects (like creating a newspaper, a short film, or a travel guide) foster collaborative learning and enhance students' language, cooperation, and presentation skills. Students research a topic of interest and present it to their classmates. Peer Teaching is another effective collaborative learning strategy that excites students. They pair up to teach each other or work on language exercises together, with stronger students often helping weaker ones. Beyond planning, this strategy involves devolving responsibility and assigning leadership roles in areas like honesty, empathy, public speaking, attendance, polite language, goal setting, and inquiry.

We Puzzle Them

By keeping a surprise up our sleeve, we can turn the lesson into a daily adventure, like a treasure hunt. Riddles or enigmas, for example, supercharge student motivation by stimulating their curiosity. Google is a convenient source for these. Here’s an example:

Riddle: The day before yesterday, Chryssa was 7 years old. Next year, she will turn 10. How is this possible?
Answer: Today is January 1st. Yesterday, December 31st, was Chryssa’s 8th birthday. On December 30th, she was still 7. This year she will turn 9, and next year she will turn 10.

Mind traps also spice up lesson routines. Here’s one: “Mary's mum has 4 children. The first child is called April; the 2nd May; the 3rd June. What is the name of the 4th child?” Or “How many times can you take 4 from 33?”

Ten different uses for an everyday object (e.g., a pen) will challenge students to come up with various uses (a dart, a conductor’s baton, a bookmark, a pin, a hair accessory, an object to reset an electronic device, or to rip something open, poke holes in something, scratch one’s back, or make a hair bun).

Brain teasers also work like attention magnets. Here’s one: “Connect the dots using 4 or fewer straight lines without lifting your pen.” Students will struggle with the task and use lots of language to describe their responses.

Spot the odd one out and “What am I?” type games also invigorate a lesson. These activities take little time but immensely energize the classroom.

We Use Storytelling and Drama Techniques

Storytelling as a method of presenting information is far more memorable than presenting bare facts. Interactive storytelling in class engages everyone intellectually, emotionally, and imaginatively. Getting students to retell a story, summarize a text, or recount a personal experience strengthens their language practice. Stories don’t just come from adventure books or oral traditions; every being, object, image, or document (like a map, letter, or diary) can inspire stories and creative responses. Paintings, for example, invite us to tell their stories. Some are even mysterious. Consider using René Magritte’s The Lovers II, 1928. To devise a story for this painting, students must employ their observational skills, imagination, critical thinking, curiosity, and expressive abilities. Why are the lovers’ faces covered with fabric? What does it mean that they cannot have intimate contact? Does the painting depict passion, isolation, or frustration? Could it mean that we cannot fully understand the thoughts of our closest companions?

We can use the “laboratory” method to help students develop their thoughts. By giving them keys and clues, we allow them to pick up, sort out, and make meaning from these elements, thus making their thinking visible. School should be about exploring ideas and strengthening reasoning abilities. Storytelling not only connects us with our students and strengthens their speaking skills but also enhances their thinking skills.

As teachers, when we look in the mirror, we hope to see a mentor who guides, explains, and inspires with a sense of humor. Our eyes, voice, and expressions show that we truly care, knowing that emotions are contagious. Our tone of voice and choice of vocabulary reflect our belief in our students’ capacity to learn. We train ourselves to tolerate ambiguity and treat failure as a natural part of learning. We praise effort rather than ability. Our approaches and style of delivery help create meaningful relationships and foster positive learning environments. We search for the “how” of things, give smiling faces, and expect to receive smiling faces in return.