3 Stress Relief Strategies to Help Students in the ESL Classroom

Like many other subjects, learning a foreign language is a cumulative process. What you learn during one lesson or study session will build upon what you learned previously. Learning a new language especially English is not easy. A lot of students struggle to face the confusion and difficulty of English. English being particularly popular can be hard at times for several reasons. This essay discusses the way teachers should do to help their students get rid of the pressure of learning English.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yen D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

1. Encouragement

The first method we can do is making students enthusiastic by encouraging students to take part in in-class activities. These games improve learners speaking skills. English pronunciation completely differences from their mother tongue language. Some students feel embarrassed about their poor English speaking. Because of this reason, many English learners are stressed when they attend classes. The students’ attitude decides how successful a class is so the teacher needs to blow away all boring things. Activities connect people so teachers should organize some games such as warm-up, crosswords or teamwork to raise students’ motivation. Students can be more comfortable and be attracted to the lesson. Using games in teaching English makes studying fun and alleviates stress. Also, the students will be easier to remember and the lesson will be more efficient.

Also Read: What does TEFL mean?

2. Homework Reduction

The second way to lessen students’ pressure is that teachers should reduce homework. Homework, quizzes, tests, and even in-class assignments can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety in students, particularly those who may be struggling to keep up. This stress and anxiety can derail a student’s progress and cause them to feel isolated from their more successful peers. Homework is necessary, but not too much. Instead of giving students exercises on a textbook or asking them to learn by heart boring grammar, teachers should suggest their students’ other ways to review the lesson. For example, students can create a performance that is relevant to English to perform in class or make a presentation about the last topics. Students will be more interested in these activities than hard exercises in the textbook.

Also Read: How To Start Your Own ESL Teaching Service

3. Appealing Materials

The last method we can mention here is that to increase students’ motivation, teachers should prepare attractive materials and have practical suggestions. One of the easiest and the simplest ways on how students can improve their English speaking abilities is by watching English movies and television shows. Most of us do not speak to native English speakers, this is something worth noting. With English films, they can glimpse into how American or British actors pronounce commonly used words and phrases. They can also keep a track of accents, slangs, and colloquialisms. Another activity for the teacher is to give students knowledge about cultures or naturals which are familiar with them, help them more understandable and comfortable. Some mysterious stories could be useful to dig students' curiosity. The most important thing is keeping students' enthusiasm when learning English.

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Everywhere you come, language teachers are using different methods and giving conflicting advice. Learning vocabulary by word lists, absorbing it naturally by reading, concentrating on the sounds first or improving their pronunciation as they go along are some examples of teachers’ suggestions. In a nutshell, stress when learning English can cause a lot of suffering to students. For this reason, teachers should have suitable methods to help their students to overcome pressure.

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