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The advent of online education has transformed the way we teach and learn, especially when it comes to teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). In the world of virtual classrooms, engaging and effective teaching props have become invaluable tools for ESL educators. These props not only make lessons more enjoyable and interactive but also help students grasp language concepts more effectively. In this article, we will explore some of the top ESL teaching props for online teaching that can enhance the learning experience for both teachers and students.
Why Using Props in the ESL Classroom is Essential
When young children embark on the journey of acquiring their first language, they function much like sponges, soaking up everything they perceive through their senses—what they see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.
To enhance this process, toys, books, games, and various activities can add an element of enjoyment, especially when they are utilized in a way that encourages physical participation in the learning. Additionally, incorporating these child-oriented resources into the learning experience can also involve the "show and tell" aspect.
For ESL students, particularly those in their early years, the task of acquiring a non-native language brings its own set of unique challenges. As an ESL instructor, you will likely employ props and other teaching tools not only to infuse enjoyment and engagement into the learning process but also to prompt responses from students, thereby enhancing their fluency in English.
For online teaching, props can even more help to focus the student’s attention. In an online lesson, you have less control of the learning environment and potential distractions.
But you can make use of the fact that the students are used to watching videos or playing online games at home with lots of action happening on the screen. With many props (and high teacher activity), you can deliver an experience close to watching a cartoon movie and draw full attention.
What Qualities Define an Effective Prop for Teaching ESL?
To be honest, virtually anything can serve as a teaching prop for any subject, provided it serves a specific purpose. As ESL educators, whether in a physical classroom or in an online setting, our goal is to swiftly engage students with readily available teaching props and aids.
Given the multitude of students and classes we handle throughout the day, having a fundamental set of teaching props and aids can be a significant time and sanity-saver.
Effective teaching props for ESL are those that have versatile applications across a wide range of classes, student demographics, and instructional scenarios. It's simply impractical to clutter your home or office with props tailored to each unique context.
This is why you should aim to amass a collection of props that can cater to diverse ESL age groups, subject matters, themes, and proficiency levels.
A prop truly proves its worth when it can be employed for:
- Enhancing vocabulary development.
- Spelling practice
- Phonics learning and pronunciation improvement
- Describing items
- Comparing and contrasting
- Explaining cause and effect
- Facilitating role-play
- Teaching and singing songs
However, it's important to note that not all props must be multifunctional to be effective. Teaching very young learners can be demanding, given their limited attention spans. In such cases, using noise-making props like noisemakers and clappers can be quite beneficial.
Recommended Props for ESL Teachers
Hand and Finger Puppets
Hand or finger puppets serve as fantastic tools for ESL classroom instruction. Employ them to enchant your students in conversational activities, role-play, and various interactive exercises.
By simply slipping them onto your hand or fingers, puppets can magically morph into imaginative characters that your students can relate to and develop affection for.
In the following video, Karen Frazier, co-author of the Let's Go series, offers an exemplary demonstration of utilizing puppets in the ESL classroom to introduce conversational skills:
As evident from the example, puppets prove to be excellent teaching aids for ESL instruction. When working with young ESL learners, you have the opportunity to infuse life into your puppets, thereby enlivening your lessons and fundamentally altering the educational journey for your students.
Stuffed Animals
Stuffed animals are highly popular among young ESL learners and, like puppets, they can be incorporated into various educational settings. In fact, you can interchangeably use both puppets and stuffed toys.
The primary distinction lies in the fact that stuffed toys are somewhat more challenging to animate, as you can't manipulate their parts manually as you would with puppets. Nonetheless, there's a wide array of stuffed toys available, making it likely that you'll find a specific toy that suits your needs.
You can place them on a table or shelf or hold them in your hands while teaching. Most importantly, stuffed animals are soft, adorable, and huggable, making them favorites among children.
Employ stuffed toys in warm-up activities, storytelling sessions, or even in the creation of imaginary scenarios like zoos, farms, or aquariums.
Play Food
Food is a subject that resonates well with ESL students, and playing food serves as an excellent tool for encouraging discussions about food.
Leverage play food to explore concepts related to food groups, colors, shapes, and tastes. Furthermore, you can employ play food to delve into more intricate topics such as the distinction between healthy and unhealthy foods, popular dishes worldwide, or the various meals of the day.
So, don't hesitate to use play food to involve your students in enjoyable and interactive activities. Plan a picnic, enjoy a pretend lunch, cook dinner together, place food orders, and dig in for a wholesome learning experience!
Balls
Is there a child who doesn't relish hitting, kicking, throwing, or catching a ball? It's hard to think of one.
If you've never incorporated balls as props in your ESL classroom, you'll quickly discover the enjoyable and dynamic element they bring. A ball can be employed to designate student turns in various activities. The possibilities for activities in the ESL classroom involving a ball are virtually limitless.
For instance, here's an illustration of Jenny White using a ball to effectively captivate her students in a vocabulary game:
The remarkable aspect of incorporating a ball into your teaching is the ability to get your students up and engaged in physical activity during the lesson. This not only enhances their focus and involvement but also introduces elements of competition, teamwork, and the synchronization of thoughts with actions.
For online ESL instruction, a ball can be utilized to discuss topics such as sports, colors, and shapes, making the virtual learning experience more interactive.
With the inclusion of a ball, your ESL students are sure to have a fantastic time while learning English – no joke!
Conclusion
The advent of online education has revolutionized the way ESL educators approach teaching English to students of all ages. The use of teaching props and aids has become a fundamental aspect of this transformative journey. These props serve the dual purpose of engaging students and enhancing their understanding of the English language.
As the world embraces online learning, platforms like Allright.com have recognized the importance of providing teachers with a wide array of materials and resources that can be seamlessly integrated into their virtual classrooms. Teachers can apply these teaching props to make their lessons more enjoyable, interactive, and effective.
To be effective, teaching props for ESL must possess versatility and cater to diverse age groups, subject matters, themes, and proficiency levels. These props can aid in vocabulary development, spelling practice, phonics learning, and more. While not all props need to be multifunctional, they should align with the specific needs and attention spans of their intended audience.
