Active Learning Strategies for EFL Learners PDF

Tanta University Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum& Instruction Active Learning Strategies for EFL Learners Level Two By Al-Shaimaa Mahmoud Al-Rashidy Lecturer of TEFL...

Tanta University Faculty of Education Department of Curriculum& Instruction Active Learning Strategies for EFL Learners Level Two By Al-Shaimaa Mahmoud Al-Rashidy Lecturer of TEFL Tanta University 2024  Chapter Two Active Learning Strategies Page 57  1. Reciprocal questioning Use reciprocal questioning to encourage an open dialogue in which students take on the role of the teacher and create their own questions about a topic, reading section, or lesson. divide the class into pairs or small groups and have students come up with a few questions for discussion with the rest of the class.  1. Reciprocal questioning you can provide students with “question stems,” Comprehension Question Stems Describe x in your own words. What does y mean? Why is z important? How could x be used to y? Connector Question 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 that we learned before?  2. Three step interviews It encourages students to develop active listening skills by quizzing one another, sharing their thoughts, and taking notes. Divide students into groups of three, and assign three roles: interviewer, interviewee, and note taker.  2. Three step interviews After each interview, have students rotate roles. Depending on factors including the grade level of your students and their experience with the strategy, you may adjust the length of the time for each interview.  3. The pause procedure Use the pause procedure to intersperse strategic pauses into your class lectures and enhance student understanding of teaching materials. To use the pause procedure, arrange for pauses of two to three minutes between every 10 to 15 minutes of lecture time. During these brief breaks, encourage students to discuss or rework their notes in pairs to clarify key points covered, raise questions, and solve problems posed by the instructor 4. The muddiest point technique It involves asking students to write notes on the most unclear or most confusing element of a given homework assignment, lecture, or class discussion. 4. The muddiest point technique It is a powerful exercise because it compels them to reflect on their learning. Learners write for one minute on the concept or problem that is most confusing for them. The facilitator reviews learner submissions to provide feedback and clarification as needed 4. The muddiest point technique Quickly read through at least half of the responses, looking for common types of muddy points or difficulties. Sort them by themes; then use clustering to decide what and how to address / revisit student learning and skill building in specific areas.  5. Think pair share It works by providing students with a question and giving them time to respond to it independently by jotting down their ideas. After a set amount of time, children then share their responses with a partner for five to twelve minutes, discussing similarities and differences. Finally, each pair feeds back their ideas to the class to facilitate a whole group discussion. 6. One sentence summary It allows students to use high order thinking skills to condense their learning into one sentence. This could be done at the end of a lesson to give students a few minutes to summarize their learning and improve memory. 6. One sentence summary At the end of a lesson, ask children to spend a few minutes summarizing their learning into one sentence. This could be a headline for a newspaper report, a 140-character tweet or you could challenge them to devise a hashtag summary.  7. Role play It can be used to help improve children’s confidence and encourage collaborative learning. A typical role- playing exercise would see students taking on the role of a character in a particular situation, encouraging them to solve problems using approaches and skills relevant to that situation.  8. Just in time teaching Your students will be set a task, usually reading, to do outside of the classroom in their own time. They’ll then have to respond to a series of short questions, whether that’s online or in writing on a worksheet. Once they’ve done this you can create a number of group exercises based on the work and their answers in the classroom, where students will have to cooperate.  9. Mind Mapping Learners can use mind mapping to record their learning and make connections between key points. 10. Game-based learning With children growing up in a fast-paced digital age, game-based learning is a great way to tap into their digital skills. Lesson teaching software drives student engagement and brings lessons to life with creative resources to use in the classroom.  11. Rotating Chair It encourages children to listen actively and guide class discussion by summarizing previous points made. The teacher or a child introduces the topic, children must raise their hands when they wish to speak. The current speaker chooses the next speaker, who must briefly summarize what the previous speaker said before adding their own thoughts and then passing onto another child.  12. Sequencing - This is commonly used to retell stories but can be applied to a range of topics. Give children a set of sentences or pictures to rearrange into the correct sequence to explain day and night, key events in a person’s life or the water cycle. 13. Spot the Deliberate Mistake - Children love to correct their teachers so why not make some deliberate mistakes for your class to spot? You could make a mistake in what you say, include some mistakes in a lesson presentation or in an activity - you could even give the class notice you’ll be making purposeful mistakes, extra points for the first to spot them!