ESL Learning Styles, How to Implement Them and Have Fun
Posted: Thursday, March 27, 2008
by Shelley Vernon
Teaching English Games
All ESL students do not learn the same way. The traditional classroom teaching techniques have been proven to leave a few students struggling with concepts, but do not fear; there is a simple, enjoyable solution. If you just educate yourself about the different types of ESL learning styles, you can make learning ESL easy and fun!
Several models of ESL learning styles have been proposed and while some points are still under debate, most researchers agree that there are four basic types of learning styles. A good ESL program will attempt to reach out to all four types of learners.
The suggestions below are roughly divided according to type of ESL learning style; however, many of the games and activities lend themselves to use with mixed groups.
AUDITORY ESL LEARNERS get a lot out of spoken instructions; lectures, tapes, etc. They will learn faster with listening, recitation and story games.
Karaoke is a wonderful way to combat shyness and boost self-confidence -- any study of music is a great way to break the ice and facilitate word recognition. Encourage the students to participate in singing outside the classroom, too!
Another helpful tool is a prepared tape with words left out, combined with a matching worksheet; students can use words they have just heard to reassemble the transcript. You can even set up a felt board with a word list to encourage these students to develop their visual learning skills as well.
Story building games are perhaps the most fun; students fill in the blanks in the sentences with words to complete the meaning -- sometimes the results are unexpected! This can also be a team effort project. Try quizzes, too; the students can pair off.
VISUAL ESL LEARNERS profit from a quieter approach. Written instructions and demonstrations will make the most sense to them, and they will retain a lot of information from videos and flash cards. Books with illustrations are appreciated by these students, too.
Simple board games based on familiar favorites, such as Grammatical Chutes and Ladders, can also help these students learn while enjoying a game. This and other boards can be easily made and kept in the classroom -- just remember to make them age appropriate for your students!
Humorous comics and other pictures with captions can be rewritten to expand vocabulary -- get ready for giggles! Humor in the English language can be extremely instructive; a study of puns, for instance, can help students differentiate between similar sounding words.
Worksheets and word puzzles are easily utilized by visual learners. A Reading Treasure Hunt can even get competitive as students race to find all the parts of speech in a given paragraph.
TACTILE and KINESTHETIC ESL learners are the least likely to respond to traditional methods. Tactile learners will benefit most from hands on instruction; Kinesthetic ESL learners like to use their whole bodies to complete learning exercises. Including games for both types will benefit your classroom as a whole -- it has been documented that such programs are actually the self-reported preference among ESL Language Learners.
Placing items in a bag, then having the students identify them by feel is a good vocabulary game, and it can be expanded by asking them to describe the item's characteristic, while the rest of the class take turns guessing. They will be encouraged to reach for more words to use as clues!
If you have the room to experiment with activities that use the whole body, try this: give each student a card with a word or punctuation symbol, then take turns lining them up at the front of the class to make a proper sentence using as many people as possible. This game is great for EFL learners as it helps teach our sentence structure.
In smaller classrooms, try model building. Assembly games using Legos to create creatures following written or verbal instructions will cross into the Auditory and Visual learning styles as well. Maps are another good way to stimulate interest -- again, written or verbal instruction can be given on how to draw or define their maps. Make sure you stock colored pencils!
By introducing language games into your classroom, you increase the chance of reaching every student by making English easier and more fun to learn. This can carry over into other avenues as well, and give them the chance to widen their perspective on ESL learning styles. Games are also a proven way to relax timid students and coax unsure ones into participating. By fostering an exciting, gently competitive atmosphere in the classroom, you will be able to ensure that you reach every student in a way that facilitates his or her own particular ESL learning style.
Shelley Vernon has helped 1000s of teachers be an inspiration to their pupils and achieve results 2x as fast. Improve the effectiveness of your lessons by up to 80%. Receive free English language games now on http://www.teachingenglishgames.com
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