Activities to Teach Communication & Listening Skills

Children have a lot to say, and this can lead to their having poor listening and communicating skills. Structuring activities that encourage students to listen, work together and communicate properly with their peers will help improve their interactions with others outside of school, too. Modify the activities to fit your students' grade level.

Inside Outside Circle

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  Children can practice listening to each other and taking turns with Inside-Outside Circle. Give students three personal questions, such as, "What is your favorite color, and what does it say about you?" Children should write their answers on a note card. When they are done, have half of the students stand up and make a circle. Ask the other half to make another circle, inside the original one. Students should be facing each other. The two students facing each other can take a minute to share their note cards, and tell students that they should not interrupt while their face partner is talking. When they are done, have children switch partners by giving a direction, such as, "Inside circle, move two people to your right." Then, students should share their information with their new face partners. Play can continue until students have had a chance to talk with several partners.

  
  

  Ball Toss

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    Children can get to know each other, listen and work on taking turns with a ball toss activity. Have children stand in a circle. The first student should throw a softball to another student and say, "Hi. I'm Mark. What's your name?" The student who catches the ball should say, "Hi, Mark. I'm Anna." She passes the ball to another student and says, "What's your name?" Play continues until each child has a chance to introduce himself. During the next round, students can continue listening by asking others a question, such as, "What is your favorite movie?"

  
  

  Feeling Charades

  • Children often communicate with their emotions, but sometimes, they do not know how to control or show those emotions correctly. Have children play a game of feeling charades. One student should stand in front of the others and act out a feeling, such as "angry," "happy" or "sad." The other children should try to guess what the emotion is. The first student to guess correctly can be the next student to act out an emotion.

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  Finish the Story

  • Improve listening and communication skills by playing Finish the Story. Place several magazine photos in a box. Pull one out and start telling a story about the people or things in the picture. The children should listen, and halfway through your story, pass the picture to a random student who then has to finish the story. If she was listening, she should know where you left off and could use her creativity to finish it any way she chooses.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Personal Opinion

  
  

  To develop skills we need different tools, some of them are in the article but there are many others. Imagine to have a plenty knowledge in grammar but can't use it, it would be terrible and that's why the ways to improve them are applied in life. 

  
  

  Modern students not just look forward to learn language system but to gain abilities that can help them to succeed. I think teachers should start using this so that they constantly prepare their students as best as possible.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Types of Teachers

Teachers serve as the guiding force in a student's life. They are responsible for molding a student's personality and shaping his/her mental orientation. Teachers deeply impact our lives and direct the course of our future. One cannot deny the influence of teachers in one's life. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, till a certain age, out life revolves around our teachers. They are our constant companions, until we grow old enough to come out of their shadow and move ahead on our own.

Right from the time we embark on our education trip, we come across different types of teachers. Some are friendly, some are strict, and some are the ones we idolize. We also dislike a few, who fail to impress us positively. Students begin to like teachers, according to their own individual preferences. They even classify their teachers into different categories, such as Friendly Teachers, Lenient Teachers, Perfectionist Teachers, Strict Teachers and Funny Teachers. All these classifications for teachers are based on some typical personality traits of the teachers. For ex - some teachers constantly criticize the students, some act like friends, some are fun to be with and so on. Let us explore them in detail.



Friendly Teacher

Miss Lupita in "Vivan los niños"

A friendly teacher, as the very term suggests, acts like a friend for his/her students. A teacher-friend, in fact, combines both the guidance of a teacher and the understanding of a friend. We all, at some point of time, aspire for an understanding teacher. Such a teacher acts like our friend, philosopher and guide.

Funny Teacher

A funny teacher is like a God-sent to the students. Such a teacher always wants to see his/her students smile and makes learning a pleasurable experience. They are not clumsy, as most people think them to be. Rather, they are witty and bring in humor in the most subtle form.

Ideal Teacher

An ideal teacher is the one we respect from our heart. He/she acts as a guide to the students, while not pushing them too much. Such a perfect motivates them and boosts their morale. He/she tries to encourage the students and refrains from criticizing them.

Lenient Teacher

A lenient teacher is easygoing and takes things as they come. He/she is not overly finicky about things, such as doing homework on time or not sitting quietly in the class, etc. Such teachers very well realize that being strict with a child can only make him/her withdrawn. However, this does not mean that one can do anything in the class of a pampering teacher.

Strict Teacher

A strict teacher is very tough on students. He/she always insists on adhering to the deadlines. Such a teacher dislikes any mistakes or carelessness on the part of the students. Students have to be extra cautious under such a teacher. He/she is like a disciplinarian, always keeping students on their toes.

Personal Opinion:

I couldn't agree more with the article above, during my whole life and up to these days I have had many types of teachers. 

As it is known, since world exists and humans has the need to develop their abilities,  teachers try to give what they have learnt to their students. In spite of that, they not always encourage learners in the best way.

When I finish my studies to be a teacher, I would definitely take some characteristics of each type of those. As a little bit of humor from the funny teacher, up to the discipline and responsibility required from the strict.

Provided of that, then I'll try to create the best atmosphere as possible in order to make my students feel comfortable and confident so that they develop their skills and what they have learnt as future heads of the world.

Never stop learning they say...
Welcome!

"Becoming teachers" is a blog where you will find a various of ways in which your proficiency as a teacher may improve. I am sure that you have been doing your best and giving plenty of your knowledge. Nonetheless, there's always something extra to learn.

By these days is really needed to be in constant upgrade on student's desires and so does in techniques that will benefit them.

Provided of this, I will be posting articles catered to all kind of bloggers because it does not matter whether you are a teacher or an apprentice of this, I assure you that your students are turning   the best soon.                                                         

                  Please, there's no need to act as Trunchbull