Becky Crosbie

Diane Carter

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch20  

ABSTRACT

You are starting an amazing journey in English language teaching (ELT). On this journey, you will help students learn English as a key for opening doors to their future. How can you best share your excitement to inspire students for learning English? Start by designing thematic, project-based instruction to engage the whole class, provide students freedom to choose how to develop their focus of study, and give them opportunities to share their interests and enthusiasm. In turn, this will develop strong bonds and a sense of community. To make learning even more fun and meaningful, implement diverse ways to incorporate reading, writing, listening, and speaking in your ELT classes. Conclude each thematic unit by displaying students’ finished projects in the school (classroom, auditorium, hallway) and community (public library, museum, offices). These displays will make your students feel valued, successful, and confident in their abilities and will compliment your motivating, nurturing classroom environment. 

Keywords: classroom community, English learners, thematic units, nurturing environment

How to cite this chapter: 

Crosbie, B. & Carter, D. (2023). Creating an ELT Classroom Community. In V. Canese & S. Spezzini (Eds.), Teaching English in Global Contexts, Language, Learners and Learning (pp. 246-255). Editorial Facultad de Filosofía, UNA. https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch20 

INTRODUCTION

When you were a student, what made a class your favorite? Was it feeling that you were part of a group where your thoughts and opinions were heard and respected? Did the teacher listen to your opinions and value them? Did all class members feel comfortable participating in the learning process by sharing and discussing their points of view? Did everyone listen and show interest in others’ ideas? Did the group share common and individual goals? Did this experience leave you energized? If so, you belonged to a classroom community.

Classroom community is a cohesive and supportive group (students and teacher) with common goals and responsibilities, characterized by positivity and tolerance. Members of this self-reliant community work together productively and share a sense of fun. According to McLeod (2018), building a classroom community is important because it promotes active student participation in discussion and group activities. Members explore, discover, and challenge academic materials together while assuming ownership and responsibility for their learning. Classroom communities succeed by using social activity to stimulate learning.  

BACKGROUND

Interest, motivation, and emotional engagement are essential components of healthy classroom communities, especially classrooms dedicated to English language teaching (ELT). Historically, such classrooms were teacher-centered with vocabulary, book exercises, and verb conjugations. Insights to cultural aspects were brief and based on film clips and other artifacts (postcard, pottery, music). Such cultural aspects were usually not used as springboards to engage or motivate students and hence did not serve to build a classroom community. 

Freire, the famous Brazilian educator, posited a theory of education where, by using problem-solving skills to gain knowledge, students change from being passive receptables to being active learners participating in the learning process (Freire Institute, 2022). When students engage in thought-provoking conversations about real life issues, they take charge of their own education. Uninspiring methods become replaced with song, drama, roleplaying, storytelling, and other thought-provoking activities. Interactive and project based, these nurturing activities lead to student-centered classroom communities where students reflect on ideas and issues as they practice and expand their English language skills.

Learning a language is not just learning letters, words, and grammar; it entails learning about a culture’s customs and behaviors. When taught together, culture and language promote successful language learning and prepare students to navigate a multicultural world (Ho, 2009). Reluctant learners, living in communities where English is seldom encountered, might not recognize value in learning a new language and might not care about English-speaking cultures. Their interests may awaken when an instructor brings English-speaking cultures to life through guests, movies, and e-pals. Students become motivated by engaging in online and offline opportunities with English speakers who share their same interests. Such activities support classroom communities where students use English to learn about English-speaking cultures.

MAJOR DIMENSIONS

In positive, flexible classroom communities, students have fun while working cooperatively to complete projects and reach goals. Community defines what a class “is” rather than what a class “does” (Cheney, 2002, pp. 51-52). To begin creating a classroom community, implement the following activities in your ELT classes. 

Introductory Letter/Email

Before the term starts, send a letter or email to students introducing yourself. This shows students that you care about them and have time for them. In this introduction, include information about your interests, adventures, hobbies, and favorites (e.g., food, music, films) as well as pets and anything else to foster rapport with students. Also include your experiences with learning new languages and your philosophy of language learning. Though students can be encouraged to reply, it works best if this is not required. Through this initial written communication, establish the groundwork for a positive classroom community.

Initial Ice Breaker

Set the tone for your classroom community by providing a warm welcome on the first day. In your initial ice-breaker activity, consider using students’ home language if students have a low English level. Following are three ice breakers that have worked well in our classes.

Interview/Introduce. In pairs, students interview each other using these and other questions: Do you have a hobby? What is something unique about you? What is your favorite food? What is your greatest fear? Students take notes. After about 10 minutes, the students in each pair switch roles. When the class reconvenes, the students in each pair introduce each other to the class. 

Find Someone. Each student has the same list of about 20 items (e.g., owns a cat, knows how to juggle). All students move around the room. Each student interacts individually with a classmate, asks questions of that first partner to see if this person fits one of the items, writes that person’s name next to that item, and then moves to find a new partner. Students try to talk with as many classmates as possible. The student who completes the most items is the winner of this activity.  

Two Truths and a Lie. Each student tries to fool their classmates by telling two truths about themselves and one lie. The other students vote on which of the three statements is a lie. 

Look for other icebreakers online (Turner, 2021), or use one that you have used before. An effective ice breaker triggers brief discussions, which can help students get to know each other.

Student-Generated Rules 

After students have more information about their classmates, they are ready to join you in establishing rules for their new classroom community. Offer some broad concepts for them to consider (e.g., respect, tolerance, collaboration, responsibility, compromise). The actual rules will be created through collaborative student effort. This process is important because when students have a voice, they take ownership of their learning (Plotinsky, 2019).

Relationships

Your classroom community is about relationships between students and between you and your students. A climate of trust, respect, and appreciation is the backbone of the learning process. Unlike written work, classroom community strategies are not time fillers used sporadically after the usual lesson. Rather, community building starts before your first class and permeates your daily activities throughout the entire year.

PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATIONS

In your classroom community, nurture a fertile and productive environment for students to develop English language skills by following time-tested teaching suggestions. 

Rituals and Routines

Rituals and routines serve to promote healthy language development. Students value routines and steps that have clear directions because they feel secure when knowing what to do. This is especially the case during transitions such as entering the room or switching from whole class to groups (Williams et al., 2009). Students feel valued when allowed to make their own choices. One choice could be agreeing to have weekly class meetings where students express thoughts and reactions about instructional materials, propose ideas for upcoming topics or projects, and introduce concerns or interests to be investigated in their classroom community. 

Interactive Oral Activities to Promote Literacy

Acquiring oral language is essential for developing English literacy. When oral activities are meaningful and engaging, students can connect content from the oral activity to the reading and writing process (Williams et al., 2009). Content-based activities are effective for strengthening English language skills while reinforcing and expanding content learning (Peregoy & Boyle, 2009). Interactive thematic activities should include speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

Cooperative Learning Groups

Learning groups allow students to cooperate with each other during project work. In cooperative groups, members focus on an area of study, make choices based on common interests, and decide group roles. Each group member has a productive, valuable role such as director, spokesperson, recorder, timekeeper, or artist, plus any other role identified by a group. Although students with low English proficiency might see group work as letting others talk, they are encouraged to talk by another student whose role is making sure that everyone participates (Bondie et al., 2014).

Group Projects

Group projects serve to activate the curriculum, motivate students, and strengthen the classroom community. For their project, members in each group choose an inquiry focus connected with the subject matter. To develop their group project, students discuss, negotiate, debate, and use problem-solving strategies. Each group’s final presentation includes written products of some type, oral presentations (e.g., dramatizations), and hands-on products (e.g., maps, models, artwork). This facilitates differentiated instruction and self-reliance, nurtures a comfort zone to demonstrate knowledge in different ways (WIDA, 2022), fosters responsibility and cooperation, and uses multiple aspects of English literacy such as researching and note-taking. 

To demonstrate how to plan content-based group projects, we share three projects that we did in our classes with English learners. As with all major activities, we have selected names for these projects: Aesthetically Speaking, Otterly Fun, and Storyteller. As you read about these three projects, think about how you might adapt them for your classes. Based on these ideas, plan your own projects and interactive lessons to match your students’ interests and language levels.

Aesthetically Speaking. Our Aesthetically Speaking project was initially inspired by the famous artists and their artwork that our English learners were studying in their art class. To implement this Aesthetically Speaking project, find photographs of original paintings. These paintings need to have people, objects, colors, and landscapes for students to describe as shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1

Paintings Used in a Lesson That Builds Classroom Community

The steps for implementing this project are as follows:

1. Divide students into groups with about six students per group. For example, a class of 30 students will have five groups of students, and each group will have six students.

2. Select a painting such as those displayed in Figure 1. Make two large copies of this painting and scan it into your computer. 

3. On your computer, slightly adjust this painting in four different ways. You can adjust it by adding or deleting objects or by changing the color of objects. Print one copy of each of the four altered paintings and two copies of the original painting. This will give you a set of six paintings. Now prepare five complete sets of these six paintings so that each of the five groups will have their own set of six copies (four adjusted and two original). 

4. Two members in each group receive an original painting (but they do not know this). Each of the other four members in that group receive a painting that was adjusted and is, therefore, different from the original. This means that two students in each group have paintings that match while none of the other students have a painting that matches anyone else’s painting. 

5. Within each group, students talk in pairs but do not show their paintings. They ask a partner about the other’s painting by using questions such as these: How many people are in your painting? Is there a white house with a blue roof? Are there boats on the water? After sharing questions and answers with the first partner, each student rotates to a new partner. The goal is for students in each group to identify the two group members who have identical paintings.

Otterly Fun. Our Otterly Fun project was initially inspired by our students’ growing interest in ecology, endangered species, and, more specifically, the plight of river otters. We did this project in a middle school biology class that included several English learners. Students were studying endangered species and learned that the river otter had become extinct from excessive trapping and hunting. They also discovered that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) planned to reintroduce otters in local rivers. Students in the ELT class shared information and researched the topic. They made ceramic wind chimes (in their art classes), wrote stories about otters to be attached to the wind chimes, and sold the chimes to raise money for the DNR’s otter program. To show appreciation, the DNR invited students and teachers to the media-covered release of otters at a state wildlife preserve and provided a student workshop. Everyone enjoyed the fieldtrip, and English learners experienced authentic language learning. Adapt this for your ELT classes by identifying an ecological concern in your area and collaborating with an agency.

Storyteller. Our Storyteller project was initially inspired by art from indigenous communities where elders tell stories for passing on cultural wisdom to children. This project consists of preparing sculptures where the storyteller is surrounded by children as shown in Figure 2. Here, the storyteller has an open mouth to show that he is talking

Figure 2

Storyteller Project

Note. Designed and created by Becky Crosbie, sculptor.

When we did this project, our students worked in groups and researched storytellers and their respective cultures. Each student selected a storyteller from their own life (e.g., grandfather) who told stories for teaching life lessons. Students wrote questions to use when interviewing their storyteller. They used this information to write narratives about their storyteller in English and, also, in their native language. Community members who were literate in both languages helped students write this narrative in their native language. 

After the interviews, students sculpted their storytellers from clay. They fashioned a sculpture with a central figure resembling their real storyteller regarding clothing and personal items (e.g., pipe, chicken). This figure was usually surrounded by small children listening. Art teachers helped by providing clay and by firing the students’ clay sculptures. Instead, consider another option such as self-hardening clay.

After finishing their clay sculptures, students videoed themselves reading their narratives. This Storyteller project was displayed for several months in the local museum’s education section. The students, joined by their parents and teachers, celebrated their work with a fieldtrip to the museum where they could also see an exhibit of authentic storyteller art. 

In this chapter, you learned about building an ELT classroom community. You learned about writing introductory letters, welcoming students to brightly decorated classrooms, conducting an ice breaker, having students create classroom rules, and nurturing relationships. You also learned about using rituals and routines, interactive oral activities, cooperative learning groups, and group projects. Finally, you learned that such projects can be exceptionally positive when based on local concerns (e.g., environment) and cultural heritage (e.g., storyteller).

Here are some important points from this chapter:

• Classroom community fosters student ownership of learning in a positive, cohesive, and cooperative atmosphere.

• In a healthy classroom community, students have choices and take ownership of learning.

• English learners need to recognize the value of learning both culture and language together.

• Students must be active participants in the learning process rather than passive observers.

• Interactive activities heighten student engagement and foster English language skills.

From what you have learned in this chapter, decide what you would do in each of these teaching scenarios, make some notes, and share your ideas with your colleagues:

1. How can I teach language and culture together?

2. How can I organize cooperative learning groups in my ELT classroom?

3. My English class seems to be running smoothly, and student participation is good, except for Carlos. Everyone else is taking an active role, but he seems totally uninterested. What can I do to motivate Carlos?

By using the ideas in this chapter, do the following:

1. Write a letter of introduction for your new class of students.

2. Plan an ice-breaker activity for the first day and for your rule-making session. 

3. Decorate your classroom (physical or virtual) so that it feels inviting.

To learn more about creating a classroom community, visit these websites:

• Interactive ideas. https://share.america.gov/topics/everyday-conversations/  

• Other types of resources. https://libguides.wccnet.edu/oer-subjects/esl  

• Several other options. https://www.oercommons.org/browse?f.keyword=esl  

• Teacher resources. https://americanenglish.state.gov/  

For access to the paintings used in this chapter, go to these websites:

• A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte/twGyqq52R-lYpA?hl=en-GB 

• The Farm by Juan Miro. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.69660.html 

• Thunderstorm by Grandma Moses. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/155796468333525764/ 

Aspects about classroom communities are also addressed by other chapters in this book:

Chapter 4 Humanism in English Language Teaching by B. Meadows

Chapter 5 Building Relationships With Language Learners by S. Montiel

Chapter 6 Supporting Learners’ Social Emotional Learning by G. Mendoza

Chapter 11 Social Media to Enhance Language Awareness by S. Terol and J. Amarilla

Chapter 13 Designing Learner-Centered Classrooms to Promote Active Learning by H. Kaiser

Chapter 21 Connecting Student Interaction With Classroom Management by G. Mendoza

Chapter 22 Strengthening Communication Through Classroom Discourse by K. Buckley-Ess

Chapter 27 Implementing Actionable Gamification Design in ELT by F. Esquivel

Chapter 28 Using Theater to Teach English by S. Ruffinelli and C. Ortiz

Chapter 34 Alternative Approaches to English Language Teaching by G. Díaz Maggioli

Bondie, R., Gaughran, L., & Zucho, A. (2014). Fostering English learners’ confidence. Educational Leadership,72(3), 42-46.

Cheney, M. (2002). Community in the classroom: A research synthesis [Master’s thesis, University of Montana]. ScholarWorks, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/7916/

Freire Institute. (2022). Who was Paulo Freire? University of Central Lancaster. https://www.freire.org/paulo-freire

Ho, S. T. K. (2009). Addressing culture in EFL classrooms: The challenge of shifting from a traditional to an intercultural stance. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 6(1), 63-76. https://e-flt.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/v6n12009/ho.pdf 

McLeod, S. A. (2018, August 05). Lev Vygotsky. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html 

Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle, O. F. (2016). Reading, writing and learning ESL: A resource book for teaching K-12 English learners (7th ed.). Pearson. 

Plotinsky, M. (2019, October 10). Creating a classroom culture of shared ownership. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-classroom-culture-shared-ownership 

Turner, C. (2021, November 26). 13 easy ESL icebreakers to get your students talking. Bridge Universe. https://bridge.edu/tefl/blog/esl-icebreakers/ 

WIDA. (2022). Proven tools and support to help educators and multilingual learners succeed. Wisconsin Center for Education Research. https://www.wida.us

Williams, C., Stathis, R., & Gotsch, P. (2009). Managing student talk in the English language development classroom. Teacher Writing Center. http://www.teacherwritingcenter.org/~local/~Preview/Managing_Student_Talk_V5.pdf 

Becky Crosbie taught ESL, language arts, and composition in a variety of settings including public schools (K-12) and adult site-based ESL in the United States. Becky also worked as an instructional coach in a private, multilingual school. She has also taught composition to English language learners at Butler University, methods courses to undergraduate students who were pursuing ESL teacher certification, and supervised student teachers. Becky is a proponent of a sensory, experiential, project-based approach to English language teaching that fosters a close-knit, cooperative classroom environment.

Email for correspondence regarding this chapter: art2@tds.net

Diane Carter taught ESL for over 25 years in K-12 schools. After retiring from full-time teaching, she worked as a consultant. Diane has written curricula for secondary and university courses and presented teacher-training workshops in the United States and other countries. She has also taught undergraduate courses in speech and communication, business and technical communication, and ESL as well as undergraduate and graduate courses in ESL/EFL teacher education. Before entering the field of ESL, Diane taught English and speech in secondary schools. She believes in interactive teaching methods, using materials that engage all learning styles, and establishing a classroom community that supports all students. 

Email for correspondence regarding this chapter: bdhcarter@outlook.com

Cover Photo by Mario Heller on Unsplash