Not easy, is it?

As teachers we often say, “give me your opinion” in order to hear our students speak. We really don’t care one way or another about their actual opinions. We just want them to produce language so that we can give feedback and help them discover new vocabulary and grammar. However, giving opinions is a big deal, especially to people who might not be used to doing it in their first language, let alone their second. When you ask for an opinion, you might be asking students to share their private thoughts, their weaknesses, and even their lack of knowledge of a particular subject. This kind of activity doesn’t lower the affective filter. It does the opposite. It makes students feel nervous and perhaps ashamed. Yet, giving opinions is an important skill for living and working in English-speaking countries, so we need to do something to help our students learn how to speak their mind.

Here are a few opinion-generating activities that will help lower the stress of giving opinions in class. These activities can be done in one-on-one lessons or large classes.

Become an Actor

This is a fun activity for students who don’t have a strong opinion on the topic that you’re discussing or who are too shy to give their opinions about controversial topics. After you introduce the topic that will be discussed, students choose a picture of a random person or a celebrity. (Get photos from magazines, newspapers or the Web.) Have students make up some background information about the person and then introduce themselves. Finally, ask them to give their opinions about the topic while in character.

Take Both Sides

This activity will allow students to have conflicting opinions about a complex story. (This is closer to reality, after all.) After reading (and discussing) an online news story together, ask students to read the reader comments below the story. Ask them to categorize the comments into two types: ‘agrees with author’ and ‘disagrees with author.’ Next, tell students to choose a comment from both sides that they agree (or partially agree) with. Have them present both sides to the class or a small group and explain why they think both sides are correct.

Devil’s Advocate

Use the same activity above, but instead of asking the students to support the opinions on both sides of the issue, ask them to take the opposite side that they would naturally take. You can turn this into a debate, and then have them change sides midway through the debate.

Research and Share

Why not let students prepare their opinions ahead of time? Most people don’t feel comfortable giving an opinion if they haven’t had time to think about all the angles. After discussing an article in class, give students a homework assignment to research what other people have to say about the story. You might have them prepare a short statement, a speech, an essay, or a tweet about what they believe.

Here are a few links to stories that could be used with these activities:

J. Crew’s Pink Toenail Controversy

E-Books Killing Paper Books

There are many ways to get students to share opinions in class, but we thought we’d share a few that have worked for us. We’d love to hear your ideas.

Ovient English Instruction

Clients often ask me which is better, private lessons (1-1) or classes? My answer always depends on what the client wants to learn. I often ask two questions, “What do you want to improve?” and “What kind of classes have you taken before?”

Regarding the first question, if the client wants to learn how to speak up in meetings, get comfortable with small talk, improve listening, practice negotiating, learn to debate, or gain confidence in public speaking, I would say, “classes.”

If the client wants to improve speech clarity and pronunciation, learn how to speak in 1-1 settings,  improve writing, learn industry-related vocabulary, practice interviewing, or have all of his errors analyzed and corrected, then I would answer, “private lessons.”

As for the second question, if the client says that he has taken classes before and didn’t like them because he didn’t get personal attention from the instructor, then I might suggest 1-1, with an option of trying out some small groups at some point. Some people have had bad experiences in classes, and I don’t want to force them into a situation in which they come to class already thinking that it’s not going to help them. However, if a client says, “I really want to improve my communication with my international colleagues,” I would immediately suggest a class. Regardless of what research and experience has taught us about learning in groups and classes, in order for a learner to improve, he or she needs to believe that the environment is right for him or her.

That said, the cost and time will also dictate which option a client will choose. Classes are usually much less expensive than 1-1 for obvious reasons, but if the client wants to have a flexible lesson schedule, then 1-1 would be better. As you can see, the answer is not so simple.

In addition to thinking of the answer in terms of the client, we must also think about what the instructor wants. Jason Renshaw wrote in his blog that he prefers to teach classes, and you can see from comments on his post that instructors have various opinions. Personally, I enjoy teaching 1-1 and very small classes.

Here are some additional points to consider when thinking about teaching or taking a class or private lesson:

Classes (or Small Groups)

• Interacting with classmates can be more effective than learning from an instructor.

• Mixed-level classes can help everyone learn more. The lower-level learners will be pushed more than if they were alone, and the higher-level learners can cement their knowledge by helping others.

• Questions and additional information from other learners in class add to the instructor’s lesson plan.

• Learning in a group can take the pressure off each individual.

• Class members can make friends and business connections.

Private (1-1) Lessons

• The lessons can be personalized and reflect exactly what the learner wants/needs.

• Instructors can give individualized attention and feedback.

• Lesson times and locations can be more flexible.

• Learners can work on sensitive work-related material that they don’t want to share with a class.

When considering the ideal class size, we need to consider the learner’s needs, learning-style and motivation. We also need to consider the instructor’s needs, teaching-style and motivation as well. I believe there is not a one-size-fits-all answer to this question, but there is likely a perfect fit for the circumstances.