Do you know the movie Blackboard jungle. That movies just popped into my head. It is an old black and white movie circa the 1950s. It reminds me that students are all the same through out the years. As you grow older you change the students all stay the same. So the struggle to have an effective learning environment has always been around.

Here are 25 things that you can do to maximize your students interaction in class.

1. Being honest with yourself

2. Respecting the learners

3. Seeing things from your student perspectives

4. Be an encourager

5. Having a relaxed learning environment

6. Building rapport with the students

7. Ask questions instead of giving explanations

8. Ask open ended questions, not Yes/No questions

9. Give time for the students to listen, think and process their and and then speak

10. Be and active listener

11. Listen to the individual

12. Listen to what they are trying to say

13. Listen to their language mistakes

14. Allow them time to think and don't talk during it

15. Increase the student talking time (STT)

16. Use of gestures and decrease teacher talk time

17. Allow the students finish their sentences

18. Use groups to increase STT

19. Use and pairs to increase SST

20. Consider the arrangement of the classroom. Tables and chairs (Circles, Squares, horseshoe)

21. A teacher can be a part of the class, not always at the head of the class.

22. Encourage student interactions with each other.

23. Encourage cooperation when needed and competition when needed

24. Let the students take the responsibilities for their progress

25. If students speak to quietly, move away, not closer and encourage the student to speak louder.

Karl Johnson teaches English as a Second Language in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam. For more information, contact me to find out how you can teach ESL. I'd be happy to help you with more information

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