How can I make lessons fun for young learners in online education?

Discussion about teaching ESL to children

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havvaasert
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Joined: 30 Apr 2021, 14:40
Status: Trainee Teacher

How can I make lessons fun for young learners in online education?

Unread post by havvaasert »

Hello everyone,

I am a trainee teacher for now. I am giving lectures to 5th grade students in Turkey. Although I have found a lot of fun activities, the students do not fully participate to the lesson and do not turn on their cameras. I cannot understand if they are listening to me. Although I usually try to find activities that will interest them, their motivation has dropped due to online education. What activities should I prepare to increase motivation? Can I turn online education into a fun environment just like face-to-face education? I'm waiting for your helps.
Thank you.
Have nice day :)
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Cheesecake
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Joined: 03 May 2021, 11:54
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Re: How can I make lessons fun for young learners in online education?

Unread post by Cheesecake »

Hello,

first of all, you could do some activies in which it is a must to turn the cameras on. For example, it could be a "game" where the children are supposed to show the one-word-answer written on a paper. The one, who shows his/her answer first, becomes the winner. The ambition of the race will give them the energy and motivation for the whole class.
Another activity you can do is to watch a short video of a movie which is popular at the time. After you have received their attention, you could ask them questions according to your subject to be taught. For example, they could describe their favourite scene in Simple Present.
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mooncorn
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Re: How can I make lessons fun for young learners in online education?

Unread post by mooncorn »

Hi Havva , I really understand your situation and I hope you can reach the solution as soon as possible. If you ask me, you can do small activities from time to time instead of constantly studying. For example You can organize a quiz but of course not to grade. For example, they will all turn off their microphones . When you ask the question, the first person who makes a noise will win if he/she gives the correct answer. You can set a 5-star limit for the reward. You can set a nice reward for those who reach 5 stars maybe you can talk with their family, so they can deliver your gift to their childrens for you. Maybe you can have a costume party. They choose a character for themselves and they dress up and and the whole class try to guess who they are. And also you can hold a song contest like "O Ses Türkiye" you choose a few juries and the rest become competitors etc.( of course English songs:) ) You can organize occasional activities like this. Studying lessons constantly can bore them after a while, even if you do lesson-related activities, it may not be enough. The pandemic process is very difficult for everyone, so it wouldn't be bad to try a little different things, huh?
Have a nice dayy :)
Last edited by mooncorn on 03 May 2021, 12:28, edited 1 time in total.
FrancesDav
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Joined: 27 May 2022, 12:29
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Re: How can I make lessons fun for young learners in online education?

Unread post by FrancesDav »

This is a great topic. I work with preschool children and I want to say that they are easy to get interested. First, consider the age of the children. Second, be sincere. Children feel it.
GriffyHEE
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Re: How can I make lessons fun for young learners in online education?

Unread post by GriffyHEE »

First, those above have made great points. Being sincere goes a long way with students. They can sense that.

Some points I'd like to add:

Have a very well thought out plan with minimal downtime. Quite a few young children have short attention spans and building your lesson with that in mind can make the lesson more fun with them.

Use a variety of activities. Doing the same drill for a long time gets boring in the classroom...let alone online. Play games, sing songs, and just have a blast while giving students plenty of opportunities to participate and practice.

I make a lot of content that can help make classes a bit more exciting and fun online. You can check out my website and download some of the free lessons for young learners. They have an introduction with keywords, a presentation of keywords in context and nearly 20 games and activities built in.

This is my website: www.happyeverydayenglish.com

I also have a lot of other content such as standalone games and digital tools that can help make your classes more fun.

Good luck!
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