Teaching and guiding students to develop social and emotional skills in school can significantly impact building healthy and functional societies. Research has shown that students who develop the five core social and emotional learning competencies - self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making - tend to have better outcomes as adults. These outcomes include improved mental health, stronger interpersonal relationships, tremendous job success, and better physical health.
WHY should we, language teachers, incorporate SEL in our classes?
The language classroom presents numerous opportunities for teachers to foster emotional intelligence skills while promoting language proficiency development. Since learning a new language can be emotionally challenging for students, incorporating SEL into language classes can help build resilience, cope with stress, and develop a growth mindset. Furthermore, SEL can enhance language learning by fostering cultural competence and empathy, as learning a new language inherently involves learning about the culture and customs of its speakers. As a language teacher, likely, you are already incorporating some aspects of SEL in your daily instruction, even without realizing it.
SEL Activities & Strategies
To promote self-awareness, create a safe and supportive classroom environment where students can share their emotions. Use a simple check-in question, such as "How are you feeling today?" and provide tools like Emotion Cards to help students express their feelings and reasoning. You can start by sharing a bit about yourself, too, as bonding sometimes happens from a vulnerable spot. This approach can also serve as a class thermometer for you to adjust expectations based on the student's emotional state.
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Choice boards are an effective tool for promoting students' self-management skills and differentiating simultaneously. Students can take ownership of their learning and develop decision-making skills by providing choices. They also foster creativity and critical thinking and can be used in many ways.
An example of the topic of holidays could be on the following task - Plan a holiday itinerary and present it. The options can come in the presentation part, giving them the following choices:
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Present to the class using Google Slides
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Record a video and upload it to Flipgrid
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Record a podcast
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Create a poster
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Create a brochure
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Incorporating culturally relevant authentic materials and activities into language classes can promote cultural competence and empathy, increasing social awareness. Exposure to diverse perspectives can deepen students' understanding and appreciation of diversity, fostering compassion and respect for people from different backgrounds.
Videos are valuable for promoting cultural competence and empathy in language classes, allowing students to experience different perspectives and cultures. You can use EdPuzzle for creating comprehension questions as they are watching the video.
Additionally, collaborating with a school from another country through a language exchange program, pen pal exchange, or social media exchange program can foster social awareness. By interacting with students from different backgrounds, students better understand other cultures and develop a sense of pride and appreciation for their own culture. These experiences help prepare students to succeed in a global world where cross-cultural communication and collaboration are increasingly important.
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Collaborative projects are an excellent way to promote student relationship skills and teamwork. Students learn to communicate effectively, problem-solve, and support one another by working together. To maximize the benefits of collaborative projects, it's essential to use different ways of grouping students (check out this blog post on grouping your students). By doing so, students can work closely with various peers, including those they might not have had a chance to work with before. This helps to build a sense of community and fosters an appreciation for diverse perspectives.
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To promote responsible decision-making, find opportunities to work with them individually or in small groups at the beginning of a semester and help them streamline their objectives for your subject. Guide them to re-evaluate those at several points during the semester and provide opportunities for reflection, which will lead to responsible decision-making throughout the year.
So, if we don’t foster SEL in the world languages class, where?
In language classes, we can learn to feel comfortable with the discomfort of making mistakes and learning something new. This vulnerability in front of others can be daunting, but it's a powerful space for personal growth. As language teachers, we are responsible for educating in emotional intelligence by creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive classroom environment.
As language teachers, we have a responsibility to provide the necessary tools and support for our students to thrive, fostering global citizenship and empathy for diverse perspectives. By doing so, we can help our students become happy and well-adjusted adults, equipped with the skills they need to succeed in all aspects of life.
I am very interested in helping my students and students from all over the world to grow their social and emotional competences. It is for this reason that I create resources targeting this particular area of skills. If you want to check out my products you can do so by visiting my TPT store where you will find resources like the ones below.
I hope you find this useful. Happy teaching!!