Active Learning Strategies for EFL Learners

Active Learning Strategies for EFL Learners

• Reciprocal Questioning:

  • Used to encourage open dialogue where students act as teachers.
  • Students create their own questions about topics, reading sections, or lessons.
  • Class is divided into pairs/small groups to develop questions for discussion with the rest of the class.
  • Can be used with "question stems"
    • Comprehension stems:
      • Describe X in your own words.
      • What does Y mean?
      • Why is Z important?
      • How could X be used to Y?
    • Connector stems:
      • Explain how X and why Z.
      • In what ways are X and Y similar?
      • In what ways are X and Y different?
      • How does X tie in with what we learned before?

• Three-Step Interviews:

  • Develops active listening skills.
  • Students quiz each other, share thoughts, and take notes.
  • Students are divided into groups of three.
  • Roles assigned: interviewer, interviewee, note-taker.
  • After each interview, roles rotate.
  • Time for each interview can be adjusted depending on grade level and experience.

• The Pause Procedure:

  • Intersperse strategic pauses into lectures to improve understanding of teaching materials.
  • Pauses of 2-3 minutes after every 10-15 minutes of lecture time.
  • Encourage students to discuss/rework notes in pairs, answer questions, and solve problems posed by the instructor.

• The Muddiest Point Technique:

  • Students write notes on the most unclear or confusing element of homework, lectures, or class discussions.
  • A one-minute reflection on the confusing aspect is required.
  • Facilitator reviews learner submissions providing feedback and clarification.
  • Identify common muddy points or difficulties.
  • Cluster to decide how to address / revisit student learning and skill building.

• Think-Pair-Share:

  • Students independently respond to a question by jotting down their ideas and share with a partner.
  • Discussing similarities and differences with partner
  • Pairs feed back their ideas in a whole group discussion.
  • For five to twelve minutes, partners discuss similarities/differences on this topic

• One-Sentence Summary:

  • Students use higher-order thinking skills to condense learning into one sentence.
  • Done at the end of lessons.
  • Summarize learning, help memory.
  • Can be constructed as headlines for newspaper report, 140-character tweet, or a hashtag summary.
  • Examples of summarizing learning into what, how, why for particular topics.

• Role Play:

  • Encourages collaborative learning, improving children's confidence.
  • Students take on roles of characters in a situation.
  • Encourage problem solving with relevant skills.
  • Role-play exercises can range from simple to complex.

• Just in Time Teaching:

  • Students complete tasks outside of the classroom.
  • Responding to short questions (online/worksheet).
  • Group exercises based on the work and answers in the classroom, for cooperation.

• Mind Mapping:

  • Learners use mind mapping to record their learning and make connections among key points.

• Game-Based Learning:

  • Suitable way to tap into digital skills and student engagement.
  • Lesson teaching software is used with creative resources.

• Rotating Chair:

  • Encourages active listening and summarizing discussion points.
  • Teacher or student introduces topic; students raise hands to speak.
  • Current speaker chooses next, summarising previous and then adding their own thoughts before passing along.

• Sequencing:

  • Used to retell stories or other topics.
  • Students rearrange sentences/pictures into correct order (e.g., day and night, events in a person's life, water cycle).

• Spot the Deliberate Mistake:

  • Students correct teachers' mistakes (teacher deliberately makes mistakes).
  • Encourages learners to spot errors, extra points.
  • Helpful for class discussion, creating engaging lessons, or making more active lessons.