Teaching Young Learners Online

WEEK 2 ENGAGEMENT, CONTENT AND DIFFERENTIATION

Engaging your learners

Tips from teachers

different engaging strategies, such as:

- delivering simple and clear instructions
- maximizing their talking time with different interaction patterns in different activities
- playing games which may imply sharing and unsharing the screen
- using sounds in a guessing game
- muting their microphone so they can work collaboratively in a riddle I must guess
- role playing using their bodies and tones of voice
Primary and secondary teacher

In terms of asynchronous interactions, I model the expected answer and then students
participate in the threaded discussion forum where they receive timely feedback so as to
edit their work or answer a follow-up question to keep the conversation going. They can
also post questions to other partners so as to engage into meaningful conversations
among peers. Once they complete the task they are also awarded with badges.
Secondary teacher

They are split in teams and have them compete as they do in the classroom. I've done it
using the chatbox with a multiple choice activity where the fastest team writing the word
wins 2 points and the other ones get 1 for participation.
Secondary teacher

During live sessions we have a routine. I keep them interested by asking questions. And
sending personal messages in the group and telling them they can do it.
Angela, Peru, secondary teacher

I try to communicate using different ways, I check comprehension all the time, make
the lessons short and simple and teach my learners how to collaborate.
Primary teacher

Learners need to feel like they have contributed to a class. Teachers address some of
this via whole class feedback and discussions/presentations in smaller groups; however, I
find that learners are really motivated and excited when asked to say something 'in front
of class' at least once during the live lesson. Primary learners love it when they play
teacher's assistant in nomination or checking work.
Anagha, India, primary and secondary learners

© British Council 2020

 During live sessions, I've found that games, adding elements of competition to the task
and anything that gets them out of their seats and moving around helps to change the
pace and keep them engaged. So for example if I want to review some vocabulary, I ask
students to put their notebooks on the floor 5 steps away from their computer. I either
show them a picture of the lexis on the screen or type a definition in the chat box or
verbally give them a definition. The students race to their notebook, write down the word
and then race back to their seat. The first to return gets to type the answer to me. They
get a point if the spelling is correct.
Tashya, Sri Lanka, primary and secondary learners

Keeping things fun and unpredictable! Something as simple as an online wheel decider
https://wheeldecide.com/ can be a good and exciting way to invite responses from
learners in a virtual classroom. Directing them to useful online resources is also a way to
empower them and enhance learner autonomy. I found that they do enjoy exploring new
collaborative platforms where they can experience a new way of contributing to class
discussion and articulating their own creative ideas.
Ivy, Hong Kong, primary learners

© British Council 2020