Teacher-Student interaction Student-Student interaction

● T should make sure to ask ICQs and CCQs ● If ss have digital books they can share with
to keep students on task. each other and annotate together.

● T can share their screen with ss. On a
browser teacher can load different pages and
switch between tabs to share with students.
Through this feature, as well as the chatbox,
they can share
● Groups can share whiteboard or share
google docs to collaborate on activities (e.g.
brainstorm, listing ideas, making mind maps,
planning essays)

● The teacher can take screenshots or save ● Students can share whiteboards and links
whiteboards during the lesson and then share with the teacher and class.
it with the students for feedback or reference
during or post-lesson.

● T can nominate students as group leaders or
representatives to promote discussion and
get group feedback
● After students have discussed in breakout
groups, they can be put into other rooms to
discuss and compare information with
another group (could be used for pyramid
discussions, group rankings, information
gaps).

● Ss can message teacher privately if they ● Ss can private message their assigned
have a question. partners to discuss questions, compare
answers, before giving feedback to the whole
class.

● Students can give feedback to T through the ● Certain students can be sent a text to dictate.
chat or reactions features. In breakout groups they dictate to their
partner who then types what they say in the
chat box to check.

Activities

Whiteboard

Tic tac Toe Teachers can review vocab by giving definitions. Teams can race to type in the
(Played through correct answer. Whichever team answers first can draw their team’s symbol in the tic
whiteboard) tac toe grid on the whiteboard.

Pictionary Teachers can privately message a word to a student. S draws the picture on the
whiteboard and others in the class guess.
Alternative: In breakout groups students can share whiteboard and play pictionary in
smaller groups,

Jumbled sentences Teacher types the words of a sentence in varying order. Students can then select the
words to move them around or type in the correct sentence
Alternative: Teacher displays a sentence that is already jumbled. Students race to
write the sentence in the correct order.

Gap fill races Teacher types part a sentence on a shared whiteboard or google doc. Teams have to
race to fill in the missing words. (Whiteboard can be divided into columns and/or
teams can be given colors to see who answered first.)

Draw the board Another version of slap the board. Would be easiest to share slides or powerpoint on
the screen. Teacher shows questions and possible answers. Teams are given a
symbol they need to draw on the answer (e.g. red box, green cat) before the other
teams draw their symbols.
Sentence race Teacher puts students in breakout groups. Teacher sends a vocabulary word to
everyone. Students work together and race to write a sentence with that word. When
they are finished one student in the group messages the sentence to the teacher.

Sharing screen

Kahoot / Quizlet Students can use their phones to login to the session. For quizlet, students can be put
into breakout groups according to the quizlet group and work together in that room.

Share You can share a screen and present your slideshow. You can allow students to
powerpoint/slide on annotate or react if they have questions or comments and even ask them to draw or
screen type on the screen.

Share image for To lead-in with a visual, share the image and students can annotate what they see or
lead-in circle things they don’t have the language for.

Share portion of Go to share screen > advanced > portion of screen. This can be used when you only
screen want to share part of an image or text to elicit language from students.

Nominating T can display textbook or questions (e.g. multiple choice question) and nominate a
students for student to select the answer in different ways such as typing the answer, showing the
feedback by text and having students circle where the answer is, annotating an arrow or symbol
annotating screen next to the correct answer.

Virtual Background T and Students can share an image or video as their background for context
setting,solo presentations, video commentary.

Vocabulary

Say and spell Put students into groups of 3 or 4 in breakout groups. Tell one student to describe one
word from the unit. Other students in the group have to race to guess the correct word
and spell it correctly. If they do so, they get a point. The student with the most points
after a fixed time wins.

Vocab Image Hunt To review the vocabulary, the teacher says a word and students race to find an image
of that word. They race to copy the link and post it in the chatbox.

Word grouping Share a google doc with the class, giving different groups their own tables to work in.
Instruct ss to look back at the words in the unit and organize them into different
groups. The ss choose which word groups they want to make (e.g. positive/negative,
difficult to pronounce, forgotten words, same stress pattern, collocations with the
same word). After some time T can ask groups to look at other group’s word
groupings to compare and then address any confusion.

Semantic Maps Teacher writes a word on the whiteboard within a circle.

Students add words around it that are related.
Teacher then asks students if they can organize the different words into categories or
groups (T can put ss into smaller groups and share a picture of the whiteboard for
them to discuss in the breakout room.)

Grammar

Five-in-a-row Give students a 5 x 5 grid (3 x 3 for lower levels) with different words or clauses.
Students pick a square on the grid and make a sentence using the information on that
grid. If the student is correct they can put their mark on that square. The aim is to be
the first student to get five squares in a row. (Multiple grids can be made on a google
doc with pairs

Relay race Students are put into teams and ordered. Draw sections on whiteboard for teams to
write in. Teams race to write a sentence using the grammar point, but each student
can only type one word at a time. (Eg. S1: They S2: have S3: met S4: before

Visual Grammar T displays a series of photos to elicit a sentence in the target grammar. Students can
 annotate on the image or write their sentence in the chatbox.

Listening

Dictations T or Student can dictate sentences that students have to type in chat or on a word
doc.
Extension: If you give the students sentences from a text in a random order, they can
then discuss the sentences and order them (e.g. essay introduction).

Matching T can play short audio clips with options of main ideas on one side of the screen. T
can then nominate students to draw lines from the main idea to the clip.

Sentence stress T displays a sentence and says it to the class. Students use the draw tool to mark
which syllables are stressed (can be easily adapted for other micro-listening activities
such as intonation, linking sounds, disappearing sounds).

Reading

Jigsaw reading Students can be given parts of the reading to read and take notes. Then students can
be put into breakout rooms and sent questions that target all sections of the reading.
Students work together to answer all the questions.

Reading feedback Students can be shown the digital book through shared screen and highlight where
they found answers.T or ss can also highlight specific language for further discussion
of meaning or language analysis that focuses on tone, author purpose, or inference,
for example.

Speaking

Group discussion Students are given questions and put into breakout rooms but are given roles such as
roles the English police, the boss, notetaker, and the reporter. The boss makes sure
everyone takes turns to speak and the notetaker summarizes the group’s
discussion.The notetaker sends the notes to the report who then reports to the rest of
the class back in the main room.

Speaking relay In this activity, you can give word or image prompts where students will have to say a
sentence or speak for 20 seconds about the prompt. The first person who volunteers
and completes the activity successfully gets a point for their team. However, they
cannot speak again until the others in their team have spoken. In the meantime, they
can send chat messages to their team members to help.

Mini presentations Students prepare in breakout rooms to prepare a demonstration. They can work on a
shared document or slide as well for their visual aid.

Small group Similar to a task-based learning style. Students can be put into a breakout room to
feedback practice a particular conversation. T can join the different rooms and give feedback to
the smaller group, which may make them more comfortable than if they were
receiving the feedback in front of the whole class. You can ask strong groups to demo
for the class when back in the main room and/or provide general feedback for the
whole class and then return groups into breakout rooms to practice a similar
conversation style and check for any improvements.

Useful websites ● Kahoot / Socrative / Quizizz - Teacher can make quizzes that students can
access through their laptop or phone. These sites also have options for
students to complete the activities at their own pace.
● Quizlet - Teachers and students can make vocabulary study sets. Students
can review vocab with activities such as spelling, matching, and students in
class can play quizlet live by going into breakout rooms according to their
quizlet team.
● Randomlists.org (to vary student interactions)
● Jeopardylabs (review games)
● Geoguessr.com (warmer, elicit language)
 ● Wheeldecide.com (to select students for fb, to give varied speaking prompts)
● Simple wikipedia (same as the original, but with simpler English)
● Breaking News English contains a variety of activities for listening, reading,
grammar and vocabulary at different levels.

Activities, tasks and classroom management

Teacher talking time

As with a face to face session, vary the activities you use and be aware of teacher talking time - best practice
emphasises this as a key consideration when teaching online.

Instructions/concept checking
ICQs and CCQs are of even more importance when teaching online. Ensure everyone knows what they need
to do and are on task. Use tool feedback features (hand raise, emojis, agree/disagree button)

Encouraging students to talk

Getting students talking can be even more of a challenge online.
● Use more quick warmer activities in pairs or small groups to encourage peer rapport and interaction.
● Use more micro-scaffolding to make sure there is not too much of a cognitive load when students are
doing a task.
● Appoint student leaders to pairs and groups to encourage discussion.

Pre-class: Planning
● Plan each stage of your lesson with explicit reference to the tools and use on Zoom being included in
the written plan. For example, “use the arrow/spotlight here”, “ask for reaction here to ask for
feedback”. Keep this plan for reference during class.
● In a group of peers, decide on how a lesson might look for your shared class/level/programme.
● In the same group, plan a lesson.
● Practice individually with the tool then get back together to deliver the lesson live.
● When you are confident, record an activity or section of your lesson for others to learn from.
● Teach your session.

Pre-class: Preparing to Teach

● Be ready to go at least 15 minutes before the class start time as per normal teaching practice.
● Have all the documents, pictures, or files you want to share uploaded and ready to go.
● Have internet tabs arranged in the order in which you wish to share them
● Have a Google Doc ready to use as your own ongoing whiteboard. Use the doc to
○ store links you wish to share with students for easy and quick access.
○ note down whole class feedback. The tab for this doc can then be shared and students can
raise hands to suggest corrections.
● Prepare your instruction and concept checking questions (ICQs/CCQs) before class. You can then
copy and paste. This saves time typing.
● Upload a profile picture before your class. This allows students to recognise you in the event your
webcam does not work.
Audience Awareness:
● Don’t move on too quickly between activities. There may be a lag. The presenter needs to factor in this
lag to wait for questions or comments to come in.
● Acknowledge online participants frequently, and by name. Provide feedback and ask questions to
online students.
● Verbalise your actions. Let people know what you are doing and why.
● Encourage use of the chat window
● Check in with students and asking how they feel about the language point or activity - ask them to send
a reaction.
● Connection/tech issues including background noise and audio quality. Remind them of the need to
have headphones, a microphone, and to be in a quiet place.
● Include regular checks that students can hear: A quick reaction can be used to check when returning to
the main room, or going into the breakout room.