Online English tutors- Integration of English with Arts- A Unique Way to Learn English

Speechify has successfully completed over 5 years as a leading online English-speaking course in India. In our experience, teaching online is an excellent method for both students and teachers. Online English classes facilitate all the things you love about being a teacher right to your home.

Teaching online gives you ample opportunities and allows you to interact with your students anywhere and at any time. Online English speaking courses have broadened the reach of learning to every corner of the world. The virtual classroom is a favorable option for the students who have budget or time limitations.

We all are aware how important the English language is for us. Therefore, it becomes equally important for every individual to put a strong emphasis on English learning at a young age. For this, the students can join online spoken English classes to further improve their communication skills. From convenience to reduced travel costs, learning English online has immense benefits.

Every coin has two sides, therefore, with benefits comes the challenges of online teaching. Hence, it’s helpful to have some tips on how to become a great online English tutor. Student engagement over a virtual platform is challenging and as an online facilitator you must be equipped with innovative techniques to ensure every student receives the best outcome. One such way is through integration of English with arts.

Integration of English with Arts in an online English classroom

“Integration of English with Arts?” How can we do that in our online English classes? Well, I am going to lay emphasis on teaching spoken English with usage of art, drama, role- plays and many more. The collaboration of teaching English with the teaching of Art makes the process joyful, imbibing a greater sense of appreciation and understanding of the concept.

How it can be done?

Example 1: Integrating your Lesson with any Subject (For students below 5 years):

Choose a topic that you would like to discuss with your student in the next class- It can be a story, a poem, or a description. Consequently, try jotting your ideas for art or craft activities that could be included in this lesson. Some ideas might include:

1. Drawing or painting scenes or characters
2. Creating clay models or constructions of buildings or environments
3. Making props from recycled materials to act out the story
4. Painting a large picture for scenery or a mural
5. Creating a collage
6. Weaving

Now choose one of these art or craft forms to extend the English lesson. Think of English words and phrases to use with students for the activity. These might include:

1. Art and task-specific language, for example ‘cut’, ‘paste’, ‘paper’, ‘paint’, ‘draw’, ‘clay’ …
2. Descriptive language, for example ‘bright’, ‘dark’, ‘red’, ‘blue’, ‘beautiful’ …
3. Instructional language and directions, for example ‘watch’, ‘look’, ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘now you need to’, ‘slowly’, ‘carefully’ …
4. Evaluative comments, for example ‘Do you like it?’, ‘What do you think?’, ‘Is it nice?’ …
Write down the English words that you will use in the lesson, and you would want your students to use in the lesson.

This is an example of how you can teach a few words and phrases of a particular topic in English.

Example 2: Integrating your Lesson with Visual Representation (For all ages)

Art can stimulate language learning and improve language skills. You can show an art form, it can be a drawing or a picture. Then ask the students to speak or even write their thoughts about the picture. This activity helps the learners to brainstorm, express their ideas. Think creatively and enhance the way the students observe and respond.

Now, let’s say, for instance you showed a picture of a beach. You can ask the following questions:

1. What can you see in the picture?
2. Which place do you think it is?
3. Have you ever been there?
4. What do you like the most, a beach or a mountain?
5. What can you do on a beach?
6. Do you like to travel? Where?

Likewise, you can make multiple questions related to an art form or a picture.

Example 3: Integrating your Lesson with Newspapers (For all ages)

Develop an exercise using newspapers (online/ physical) that will help their English language skills. As all are aware, there is a great deal of information we can absorb via newspapers. Newspapers not only make learning fun but also build good reading habits and enrich vocabulary.

You can ask your learners to collect short articles, headlines, weather forecasts and different advertisements. Later in the classroom, you can ask what they have read and to describe the same in their own words. Secondly, you may tell your students to bring a newspaper in the class. Involve them in activities such as reading the headlines, underlining new vocabulary words, summarizing the newspaper item, and many more. Thirdly, if your student is interested about cartoons, you can ask them to read those and explain or bring out the ‘pun’ in those dialogues, if any.

Example 4: Integrating your Lesson with Drama or Role Play (Up to 15 Years)

Drama and role-play encourage students to speak English with fluency, giving learners an experience of real-life situations. It enables a person to learn about themselves and their potential. You may be hesitant at first, but don’t need to be an expert to perform these activities in the classroom.

You can choose any simple story. For instance, the story that I have chosen is about a man who boasts to his friends, one after another, about how he can hunt. You can choose such a story in English, focusing on words that the students already know such as ‘friend’, ‘laughing’, ‘hunt’, ‘lucky’ and ‘quietly’.

Then you can tell the students that they will be doing a role- play based on the story. You can explain to the student what characters are about and other things that need to be done. You may discuss with the students their ideas. You will see students trying out different words and phrases. Motivate the students to speak with more expression and gestures. This activity will develop creativity, listening skills and imagination.

Example 5: Integrating your Lesson with Music (For all ages)

Songs and music help students to improve their listening skills and pronunciation. Besides, they can also be useful for teaching vocabulary and sentence structures. Nevertheless, they also develop listening skill and can help students learning English understand grammar and vocabulary in a way that they can remember. For Instance, you can choose or let your students choose his favourite song. Keep in mind that the song should not be too long or too fast and can be easily comprehended by the learner. This activity will help students to learn new words and use them correctly in their speech. Studying with music from time to time can help them take a break from boring textbooks and stay motivated.

Integration of Arts helps in understanding the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs of children. The arts also offer children the opportunity to explore and investigate. Some students have a hard time expressing themselves through writing. Vocabulary, grammar, and writing can then be developed based on their art. Additionally, visuals help to understand the written words better by providing more context, thus helping them connect meaningful input to a particular topic or text. Follow these tips, get started!

Contributed By- Anjana Dutta