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In language teaching, we always aim for student-centered classrooms that encourage student to student interaction. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Students will often continue to work solo unless we intervene and really push them. Here are some tips to help promote student to student interaction in your classroom.
1. Tell your students the objective of the task - why you want them to work together. If you have a valid reason and you share it with your students, there is a much higher chance that students will respond favorably.
2. Write questions on the board and tell students to discuss the answers. By eliminating a piece of paper, you not only save paper, you prevent students from being able to write down a response. This will force them to speak.
3. If you have a longer list of questions, write individual questions on cards rather than handing them all out at the same time on a piece of paper. That way, you are once again forcing discussion above writing. Collect the cards at the end of the activity and they are ready to use again in a later class!
4. When you hand out a worksheet or use a textbook, have students share. You may decide to hand out a second copy as you go through the corrections so that all students walk away with the same material/ answers, but by having the students share, you will force them to work together.
5. Remember that seating arrangement is also a key factor. Have students move chairs/ desks around to better facilitate discussion.
6. Include “information gap” tasks. These are tasks where each student in a pair or group has only a limited amount of the total amount of information available. They will therefore need to interview each other to find the missing components. Making sure that students are not positioned where they can just look over at someone else’s sheet is essential.
7. Mix the partners up throughout the class and from class to class. This should allow for variety and also prevent students who are too friendly with each other from losing motivation. |
