5 Strategies to Boost ELs’ Joy in Learning
By Angélica Ribeiro
Imagine your school recently received two new English learners (ELs) from Japan: Yochi and Mia (pseudonyms). They are both in third grade and have intermediate English skills, sharing similar backgrounds. For example, they attended school in Japan until second grade before moving to the U.S. due to their fathers’ jobs. Also, their parents, who are considered middle-class, have always encouraged them to value education and practice Japanese culture. You have noticed that Mia is developing her English faster than Yochi. As you try to figure out why, two contrasting moments come to mind. The first happened in Mia’s reading class when you saw her smiling, actively listening to her teacher’s instructions, and participating in a small-group discussion about a book the students read. The second moment is when you observed Yochi in his social studies class. Despite being in a group, he was trying to answer questions about a reading passage by himself. When the teacher asked him to share his answers, he looked down with a frown on his face and never said a word. Reflecting on these two moments, you ask yourself, As a teacher, what can I do to help my English learners experience the joy I observed in Mia?
Positive emotions, such as joy, can positively affect language learning. Among other benefits, positive emotions can help ELs notice new vocabulary and grammatical structures, improve their focus in class, build resilience in dealing with challenges, and develop personal resources for improving their English (Pan and Zhang 2023). Moreover, positive emotions can boost ELs’ motivation toward learning, increase willingness to communicate in English, improve their English skills, and lower anxiety (Wang, Wang, and Li 2023). Therefore, when creating lesson plans, it is important for you, as a teacher, to consider how to promote positive emotions within class activities. By centering positive emotions, you not only enhance your students’ happiness, but also create a supportive and culturally sustaining learning environment. Below are five strategies that you can use to cultivate positive feelings and experiences for ELs in the classroom:
1. Start Class with a Positive Interaction
Begin your class with a short warm-up activity to boost students’ positive mood. When students talk about positive events, their bodies release endorphins and dopamine, making them feel good (Ribeiro 2018). Here’s an example of an activity you can do:
Invite students to have a three-minute conversation with a partner about one of the following prompts:
- What’s one good thing that happened to you recently?
- What’s one thing you are grateful for?
- What’s one thing that went well yesterday?
- What’s one thing you are looking forward to?
Then, invite a few students to share their answers with the whole class.
2. Use Culturally Relevant Materials
By using culturally relevant materials, you allow students to connect with the activities on a personal level, making them more purposeful and significant. This approach enhances the meaningfulness of the activities for the students. As a result, you increase their engagement in the tasks, facilitate their learning, and help them internalize both the language and the content (Lu 2022). You can select culturally relevant materials based on what you know about your students’ background and interests. For example, if you are teaching a lesson on weather, consider using images that show different types of weather from your students’ home countries or encourage them to bring pictures of weather to share in class.
3. Use Simulations of Authentic Situations
Using simulations of real-life situations enhance learning by encouraging students to apply new content, practice English, and experience events they may encounter in their actual lives. This approach can also boost students’ motivation and confidence in using English outside the classroom (Ross and Rivers 2018).
You can incorporate simulations of real-life situations into your teaching by involving students in role-plays and writing activities that are connected to their lives. For instance, in a social studies class, students can participate in a role-play of a job interview for a position they aspire to in the future. Simulations can also be integrated into a writing class, where students can practice writing a persuasive essay with the following prompt: “Pretend you want to join the ______ club (students fill out the blank with the name of a club they would like to join). Write an essay convincing the membership why you should be selected to join the club.”
4. Give Students Choices
When students can make choices in class, they engage more deeply in the task, leading to a more enjoyable learning experience (Lu 2022). Following the instruction of new content and material, give your students the choice to select a task or assignment to apply what they have learned. For example, in a lesson on an informational text, you can encourage students to pick an informational book on a topic they are interested in and would like to learn more about.
5. Engage Students in Best-Friend Discussions
By incorporating best-friend discussions in your classes, you create opportunities for students to make new friends. Having friends in the classroom offers students support, social connections, and a sense of belonging. To implement this strategy, you divide students into small groups whose members are called “best friends.” It is important to call them “best friends” (instead of “group members”) because the language your students use shapes their emotions, thoughts, and perspectives (Marian 2023). Therefore, by referring to peers as “best friends,” your students begin to perceive them as supportive friends. After dividing students into groups, you invite them to work on a particular activity with their “best friends.” For instance, in a math class, you can provide each group with a problem for students to solve together. As best friends, they should assist each other in understanding the math problem, any unfamiliar terms, and how to solve it. Note that your students can also refer to their group members as “friends,” “good friends,” or any other term that reflects the idea of support.
Positive emotions can greatly enhance language learning. By implementing the five strategies mentioned above, you can boost your ELs’ enjoyment and invite joy into the class. These strategies can help improve students’ engagement in language learning, willingness to communicate, motivation, and confidence in using English both inside and outside the classroom. In short, positive emotions can create powerful ripple effects in your ELs’ learning trajectories.
References
Lu, Xiaoyue. “Influence of Emotion on Second Language Acquisition.” Proceedings of the 2022 3rd International Conference on Language, Art and Cultural Exchange (ICLACE 2022). Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, Atlantis Press SARL (2022): 696-699.
Marian, Viorica. The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak, and Live Transform Our Minds. Dutton, 2023.
Pan, Chunmei, and Xian Zhang. “A Longitudinal Study of Foreign Language Anxiety and Enjoyment.” Language Teaching Research 27, no. 6 (2023): 1552–1575.
Ribeiro, Angelica. Running into Happiness: How My Happiness Habit Journal Created Lasting Happiness in the Midst of a Crazy-Busy Semester. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
Ross, Andrew S., and Damian J. Rivers. “Emotional Experiences Beyond the Classroom: Interactions with the Social World.” Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 8, no. 1 (2018): 103-126.
Wang, Haihua, Yingli Wang, and Shaojie Li. “Unpacking the Relationships Between Emotions and Achievement of EFL Learners in China: Engagement as a Mediator.” Frontiers in Psychology 14 (2023): 1-13.
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Dr. Ribeiro is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She teaches courses on second language acquisition (SLA). Her research interests include learner agency, emotions, and technology in SLA. She is the author of Running into Happiness. |
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