• Managing the “Awkward Silence”: The Escape Technique

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(This posting includes an attachment teacher’s script which you are welcome to use.)*

We’ve all been there: you call on a student during a whole-class discussion, and instead of an answer, you’re met with total silence.

Whether they don’t know the answer, are struggling to translate their thoughts, or simply lack the confidence to speak, the result is the same: the student feels stressed, the teacher isn’t sure whether to wait or move on, and the rest of the class starts to get restless.

The “Escape Technique” provides students with a safety net. If they can’t answer within a reasonable amount of time, they are taught to use specific expressions to “pass the mic” to a classmate.

The “Escape” Phrases

  • That’s a good question. I’d like to think about it first. Perhaps (a classmate’s name) could answer it.
  • I’m not sure, but (classmate’s name), what do you think?
  • I have no idea. How about you, (classmate’s name)?

When students use this technique, it can actually turn into a humorous situation.  Almost any time a student has used one of these expression, it has elicited a lot of friendly laughter by the classmates and teacher.  The classroom tension is immediately released.

To help your students become comfortable with this technique, you can use the handout and attached script, which I’ll explain about below.

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• Short, High-Interest Articles for Extensive Reading: #15: “Wanting To Stop Unhealthy Habits”

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(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

                                      Wanting To Stop Unhealthy Habits

Jena and Daniel had similar problems. They both had habits that were bad for their health, and they couldn’t stop. Jena ate too much junk food, like chips, candy, and cupcakes. Daniel smoked cigarettes. They both had cravings, which means they wanted something very much and couldn’t stop thinking about it. They tried different ways to quit for many years, but they finally found a new method. Research shows that this method is more effective than others, and thousands of people have used it to stop their unhealthy habits.

Other methods didn’t work.                (See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the 15th article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

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Pronunciation Class? Really?

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Earlier in my career, I was assigned a pronunciation course with 12 students representing five distinct language groups: Arabic, French, Japanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The program administrator had provided a standard pronunciation textbook, and my first challenge was deciding where to begin.

The textbook followed a traditional linear path, starting with 75 pages (nearly 30% of the book) dedicated to vowel sounds—beginning with the high-front vowels in words like eat versus it. However, before allowing the syllabus to be dictated by the authors, I researched which sounds these specific 12 students actually needed to master to avoid communication breakdown. This is what I found:

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• Great Whole-Class Game for ESL Listening Skills (Revisited)

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Cover Team A shot

This game has it all:

  • Motivates listening skills.
  • All students focused.
  • Students are up and out of their seats.
  • Easily customized to the interests and level of a specific class of students.
  • Organized with minimal teacher work.
  • Stimulating with a lot of laughing.

Here is how it works.

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