Sunday, 9 August 2026

Let the kids think!

 I'm a firm believer in teachers waiting for students to actually ask for support. If you're playing a game, and really want to take your turn & progress, then the motivation is high...but teacher, don't jump in to facilitate. Instead, wait for the language to percolate, language attempted, missing word isolated.



And wait for an actual request (weaker learners who are unable to verbally ask for help will indicate no-verbally they need a boost - watch carefully). Other students might be able to help - if not, then chances are they'll all need to use this same 'unknown' word again soon and will listen/practice/rehearse before their turn comes around.

Similarly, let students self-correct. Accept what they are trying to say, and let them reflect on their output/pronunciation/accuracy. Maybe teacher indicates that something was not quite right, or it needed to be faster or more fluently delivered? Not teacher driven, but students striving to 'get it right' on their own.



Teacher's role in any game, for my money, is to facilitate as much English with as little active participation as possible. Encourage, keep the focus, make sure we're playing nicely and having fun. For sure, allow books open to glance at key structures, question or sentence structures...but let the players do all the work. Can't see any English here? Because it's all been absorbed already :)
Where are all the words?!








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