When you make an ESL activity what are the vital components? I was reflecting on this the other day, and came up with a list of four for my activities.

As I start to think about a new activity, I want to make sure that it addresses the social interaction in the classroom, since language is fundamentally a social interaction. I have noticed that when students move about the room, they show a great sense of engagement in the lesson. I also see more smiles. For this reason, I include movement on my list of vital components in an activity. This is not to even mention the 'head fake' effect (students are concentrating on something other than the main point, which allows a bit of unconscious mastery training to take place), or the greater amount of oxygen exchange in their lungs simply because they are moving, so they can think better.

Next, I know that language learning takes a lot of memorization. I want to assist in that process, so I want them to repeat the actions many times. Repetition is a vital component to a good activity as it instills confidence (in the student in themselves, merely by repeating) and predictability into the activity (so lower stress levels). Be careful not to overdo this one and have a boring activity drone on and on. Balance is important.

Try to give your students lots of chance to speak in the activity. They are coming to learn a language, and speaking is the best training. Even if they may not produce the language themselves, it becomes easier for them to hear it in a natural setting if they have used it themselves, so always include some chance for the students to produce the target language.

I also want to ensure they have a chance to hear the target language again, and again. I had one student who heard some correct English and told me 'it sounded strange and wrong'. After some listening practice, that student felt much better about the language, and was more open to using it. Hearing it in a novel situation requires a high level of familiarity, which comes from listening to it again and again, preferably with some small changes each time.

These are my four vital ingredients to an ESL activity.

One example here might be a good idea.

The target language is "What time do you ~?" Have the students stand in a circle and pass a ball around asking each other in turn, "What time do you A?", where the A may be generated from flashcards, previously made lists on a white board, or just out of their heads if this is a review activity. This activity has another charm; it is simple. I find also that balls tend to encourage people to speak faster, so push their envelopes without me saying anything. It is a good activity for about 3 or 4 minutes.

Have fun designing activities!

Les Perras, owner of English Language Franchise in Ikoma, Japan, and author of the website English Listening World at http://www.english-listening-world.com/.