Friday, February 28, 2025
Think back to any successful lesson you have attended as a student. By successful, we mean one in which not only did you understand the topic, but you also enjoyed it. Was it because the topic was easy for you to comprehend? Why do you think this was the case? Chances are that the person delivering that lesson was not only a great teacher, but also possessed excellent communication skills. As teachers, we must be aware that we need to develop effective communication skills since our job requires us to listen to our learners, understand the problems they might face and address them, often in a very short space of time. This blog post aims to explore some practical strategies to help you enhance these skills both inside and outside of the classroom.
Teaching can be a lonely job; hours upon hours of dealing with learners and their needs can take its toll on us. We all know that’s the case as a teacher, but let’s try to reflect on what can be done to make it better. Sadly, many of us teachers tend to isolate and bottle up the issues we encounter in our everyday teaching. We’re here to tell you that you’re not alone! Whether it is with co-workers, more experienced teachers, team leaders, Directors of Studies or other staff at your school, it is crucial that we don’t isolate ourselves from our working environment. You’d be amazed at the support you can get from your fellow teachers when strong team-building is established in your working environment.
As many workplaces around the work will profess, ‘it’s all about teamwork!’ and this phrase captures the essence of how important it is to nurture a positive team environment. The following list (Bain and Company)[1] provides an interesting take on observable behaviours in successful teams and includes ways in which we can incorporate these practices into our daily work as teachers in ELT.
Direction and discipline: Successful teams clearly define goals and stay in constant communication. As teachers in ELT, taking into account your learners’ goals and expectations is crucial when planning your lessons. It is also essential for you to be aware of what the company requires of you throughout the school year (e.g., writing reports, marking exams, testing students and meeting deadlines). In addition, knowing who to contact will make you more efficient when finding solutions, so make sure you are familiar with your company’s organisational chart.
Dynamism: Teams prepare for and lead change. While it is important to stay up to date with the latest teaching practices, we must also remember that this doesn’t only involve adopting novelty teaching techniques and tools. It also implies going back to the basics. Reflecting on your own teaching and revisiting basic concepts a can go a long way. With this in mind, classroom observations are incredibly valuable. Don’t be afraid of asking fellow teachers to observe one of your lessons with a fresh pair of eyes. Their feedback can provide insights you might not notice on your own.
Drive: Driven teams stay motivated through setbacks to achieve their goals. As teachers, we face countless challenges in our practice, probably far too many to list in this post. But know this: we hear you, and you are not alone! Sharing your struggles and finding solutions together will lead to a more fulfilling teaching experience.
Collaboration: Members of a team are supposed to solve problems together. As teachers, covering lessons, attending regular team meetings, sharing ideas and working out solutions to issues are just some of the ways can make our experience in the workplace more bearable.
Just as teaching can be a lonely job when you don’t share your thoughts and feelings with others, you are also constantly surrounded by communication-hungry students in the classroom on a daily basis. This communication is the most important when it comes to your job as a teacher as the communication that occurs in the classroom sets the tone for all of the learning that happens and your learners’ motivation.
The first thing you have to try and ensure is that students actually want to speak in the classroom, and an excellent way to encourage conversation is icebreakers. Whilst these activities are often left for the start of the school year, they can also be valuable at any time, and are incredibly helpful when groups struggle to speak up or express their opinions. They can also ease tension in the classroom (e.g., right after an exam) and give you a chance to get to know your students better throughout the school year.
Here are some easy and adaptable icebreaker activities you can try in your classroom:
Exorcise the demons: Sometimes ss can feel nervous about coming up with ‘good’ ideas in class, so why not ask them to write down the worst idea they can think of? The next time you are conducting a lead-in to a topic or getting ss to think about a particular subject, try getting them to think of bad ideas instead of good ones and see if this helps them contribute more in class. If it goes well, you’ll also get a few laughs out of everyone, yes, even teenagers!
Speed dating: In a variation on traditional pair-work, why not mix it up and have ss speed date each other instead? Put ss in two lines in the middle of the classroom and have them sit facing each other. Students can create their own questions on a certain topic, or using specific target language from the class, or you can give them a topic to speak about. Give them a set time to talk to each other before you get them to change partners. This way, everyone gets a chance to speak, and they have a very specific objective in terms of time!
10 things in common: If your students don’t know each other very well or there are some awkward silences in class, you might want to try getting them to find out things that they have in common with each other. You can give ss different topics to talk about, or give them a set time in which to find out 5 or 10 things they have in common with each other. As a teacher, you’ll also find out things about your students that you might not have known before!
Charades and taboo: These classic icebreakers are great for getting students talking in a fun and low-prep activity. For Charades, students act out words, phrases, or target vocabulary without speaking, while their classmates try to guess. It’s a perfect way to recycle vocabulary as well. Similarly, in Taboo, students describe a word without using a list of “taboo” words. This incorporates a communicative element to this icebreaker, helping students practise synonyms, definitions, and encouraging communication.
Tall tales: You can also incorporate writing into icebreakers. You’d be amazed at how creative your students can be with this story-writing icebreaker. Start by giving students an opening sentence like, "It was a day I’ll never forget..." or "Suddenly, the lights went out...". Each student writes the next sentence in the story, then folds the paper to hide what they’ve written and passes it to the next person. By the end, you’ll have a series of hilarious and unexpected stories to share. You can give it a twist by incorporating target language, for instance, into each sentence the students write.
Unfortunately, we don’t always get it right and sometimes communication doesn’t go the way we wanted it to go. Can you think of any situations in which communication breakdown has occurred? The following is a list of classroom situations in which communication may fall short, so you can try to avoid this happening to you in the future.
Imagine tapping the rhythm of your favourite song on a table and asking a partner to guess it. While the tune feels obvious to you, your partner will probably have difficulties identifying it. This experiment (Newton, 1990)[2] highlights how easily we assume our message is clear simply because we understand it. That’s why it’s crucial not to assume communication has happened, make sure that it has. This is especially important when giving instructions, so remember to use ICQs!
Try to put yourself in the shoes of a teenage student going through a rough patch. For them, nothing is more frustrating than a teacher who acts as if they know exactly what the student is experiencing. Therefore, it is crucial to read between the lines and do our best to avoid making assumptions. Keep in mind that this also depends on whether the student feels comfortable sharing their feelings, so tread carefully.
Learners are often reluctant to listen to us, and if, on top of that, if we talk just to hear our own voice, it will only add insult to injury. It is crucial to strike a balance: we need to engage their attention without making it all about us. You’d be surprised at what you can achieve by encouraging your students to talk to each other, participate in class and allow them to find their own voice.
We often have to convince learners to do things they are reluctant to do, but sometimes, the message comes across as, “You must do what I say and there’s nothing you can do about it.” This can make students feel threatened, causing them to stop listening and react irrationally, aggressively, or, more commonly, with total silence. That’s why striking a balance between what we say and how we say it is crucial.
Sometimes, we get caught up in sharing everything we know, hoping to cover all bases. This may not have the desired effect on communication, and too much information at once can overwhelm students and cause them to disengage. Remember, it’s okay to embrace silence: thinking time, breakout rooms (if teaching online), pair work and even writing down ideas can encourage participation without information overload. Again, let the learners do the talking! On the other hand, saying too little can be just as harmful. If instructions are unclear or explanations too brief, students may feel lost or confused. So, don’t assume students already understand what you mean, check their understanding, and remember to grade your language correctly, especially at lower levels.
Have you ever had a teacher who came across as patronising or dismissive? Chances are they made you feel ignored or embarrassed, and it probably didn’t help you learn at all. This is a common mistake in teaching, where we may unintentionally belittle a student. While sarcasm and a bit of banter can create a fun classroom environment, they should only come after building great rapport with your students. Used thoughtfully, humour can engage learners, but misused, it can break trust and confidence.
Your tone conveys your message, whether it is supportive or dismissive, serious or casual. While a teacher’s harsh tone can make students feel unappreciated, an encouraging tone can lead to a more positive learning environment. Remember, people often respond more to your tone than to the actual words you use.
Whether you’re an experienced or newer teacher, communication is always something that challenges you and makes you really think about what to say and how to say it. Being a teacher can be incredibly draining, as we are in constant contact with people day in, day out. This doesn’t mean it’s all negative, though- communication breakthroughs and those fantastically positive moments in class make it all worthwhile and fill up your emotional cup ready for another day of teaching.
[1] https://www.bain.com/insights/at-the-top-its-all-about-teamwork/
[2] Newton, L. “Overconfidence in the Communication of Intent: Heard and Unheard Melodies.” Unpublished doctoral dissertation (Stanford, CA: Stanford University, 1990)
