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April 13, 2005
Tips & Tricks - Getting Shy Students To Speak!
Friends,
Have you ever had one of those classes when it seems that silence is the rule of the day? Or maybe you just have a class that is full of shy students, and some days you feel as if you are pulling teeth just to get them to speak!
You know how it goes:
"So, Josie, How was your day today?" "Fine." "Tell me what you did in the morning." "Ate breakfast." "Okay, how about this afternoon?" "Ate lunch." "Did you eat anything interesting?" "No."
See what I mean? Luckily, there are . . .
. . . some tips that can help you get those shy students talking! I have recently inherited a class like the one I described above. It has eight students, and they are all extremely shy. In a one-on-one situation, I can communicate pretty well with them, but they seem to close down when talking to each other, or in front of one another.
Here are some of the things I did right away, and the mood seems to have changed a little, although we've got a long way to go!
First of all, they were seated in rows, and I changed the seating arrangement to a circle. This way, they have to look at each other in the eyes (or at least in that general direction!), and it seems to help them relax a little.
Another thing I've found is that most of their comments were directed at me. For instance, if one of them asked another a question, and they didn't understand it, they would turn to me and ask me to repeat it. I simply tell the student to ask the other speaker to repeat the question. Likewise, if I am asked to express my opinion during one of their discussions, I will generally just turn the question around and say something like, "I don't know, what do you think about it?"
Finally, I've had them stand up a few times and socialize with each other. I assign them a specific task--such as finding out the second names of everyone in the class--and then step back and let them experiment. Seems to get them out of their shell for a while--at least until the start of the next class!
Have you ever taught a class like this? If so, I'd love to hear how you overcame the student's hesitancy to speak. I would love to liven up this class!
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at April 13, 2005 01:30 AM
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Tracked on April 30, 2006 12:50 PM
Comments
I never had any special techniques for shy students, other than to be friendly. Their shyness was established years ago and putting them into a situation, in which they were uncomfortable, would be of little help. I'm afraid they need help from a therapist and there would be little a teacher could do to help except to be friendly.
Posted by: kenneth cohan at April 14, 2005 12:39 AM
Shyness/laziness or just reluctance to speak?
Whatever, I find no better approach than a written dialogue with say two parts.
It is repetitive, sure but it gets them all speaking.
The so called 'class discussion'just doesn't work as 10 mins into it, the particiapants are the handful of strong speakers you get in any class.
Give them a couple or more dialogues with a prize - a piece of candy is OK.
Then start to move the goalposts.
1. Give them all time to familiarise themselves with text but DON'T tell them which part they will have.
2. Let them know that you are looking for action to suit words - if the dialogue calls for a phone conversation let them mimic that. Frees them up and they become less self conscious.
3. Allow thenm to prepare a dialogue with a partner on a theme sentence ie 'What an I going to buy mother for her birthday' or 'Are you getting used to living in a dormitory?' laughs and insights here!
The point is that every student knows it is not optional whether to speak, or not.
Keep the dialogue texts going for as long as it takes to get them OK with the idea of speaking then gradually remove the support.
Posted by: Rob at May 6, 2005 08:42 AM
Get them motivated and wanting to learn, and then try out all your tricks to get them speaking.
What are their motivations to learn English - Do a lesson so you can see, but in this situation more importantly so they can see, why they are learning English. I've found once students realise their motivations (even if they just decided on some during the lesson!), they become more motivated. Once they are motivated and wanting to learn, my job as thier teacher becomes a whole lot easier!
After having a chat about their motivations and aims, elicit from them and tell them ways in which they can achieve them. By participating, and speaking etc., of course! Tell them it's great to speak, and that they'll learn so much faster if they do.
Now it's time to try out different acivities and all the little tricks of the trade to get them speaking. This could include topics which interest them, personal topics, having them learn about a topic (eg. a reading) before discussing it etc. And in a quiet class, I always turn on the radio down low - it's amazing what a little backgound noise can do to help break the silence.
Posted by: kelly at April 13, 2006 09:56 AM
I'm currently working in a college in China & many of my students are painfully shy. It doesn't help that I have classes of any number between 30 to 60 which can be quite intimidating for a student to speak in front of.
One thing I've found, however, is if I give them a few minutes to write down their answer to the question I've asked, e.g. what's your dream? or whatever, then ask them to tell me, they seem more confident knowing that they have the piece of paper in front of them if they want/need it. It also gives them a chance to collect their thoughts into English & not have to translate on the spot when speaking which can also be one of the sources of their shyness.
This also gives me a chance to circulate whilst they write & give reassurence that what they're writing/ going to say is good & worth saying, or to correct mistakes which could cause them to 'loose face' as they are so afraid of here.
Hope this helps some people!
Posted by: Amie at November 1, 2007 05:46 AM
