CREATING AN INTERACTIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT.

María José López Aguirre

Week 14: 10 Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions
Increase Student Interaction with "Think­ Pair­ Shares" and "Circle Chats"

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The articles for this week mentioned the benefits and activities for increasing students’ participation and interaction in EFL classrooms. In the first article, a belief of mine that was confirmed was that teachers shouldn’t be the only person speaking in the entire class while students just listen to them without any interaction. So, having students participating, asking and answering questions, benefits teachers in a way that they can see the extent of their understanding. As a result, teachers can easily provide feedback or promote peer feedback in order to enrich students’ language proficient. Getting students participation is really useful in order to develop speaking skills. Students enhance this communicative skill by practicing and receiving feedback to correct their mistakes. I think it is important to engage students in every class by appealing their interest in the content, so they are more willing to share their thoughts. The second reading explained two activities to increase students’ interaction. The Think-Pair-Share is an effective technique used in order to give students the time to process their ideas with a partner before sharing them. Also, I love the Circle Chat which is another technique that promote student- to- student interaction. Using this activity every student are expose to different opinions and thoughts. Providing specific time they have the chance to speak with a new partner each time bringing new opportunities to interact standing in a circle. To conclude, teachers should encourage students to participate in classroom discussions, and give them the chance to interact with their classmates to enhance their language proficiency.