MIDTESOL Matters
Spring 2004
A Publication of Mid-America Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

Jedi Mind Tricks in the English Classroom

By Jeffrey Mack Elliston, MATESOL

Everyone knows that "telling a student to do something" and "getting a student to do something" can be two very different things. The difference is especially accentuated in ESL classes, where students may not always understand teachers 100%, or cultural differences may cause the student to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. In fields outside of teaching, however, politicians, entertainers, salesmen, businessmen, and many others have been using subtle, indirect tricks to help their work go more smoothly. If people in other careers have such tools, then some simple and fun techniques must also be available for manipulating the classroom environment so that students can be "tricked" into voluntarily interacting.

Gesture and Visual Stimuli If you are a male teacher working with female students or children, such students can often be intimidated by the teacher’s stance. Rather than standing directly over a student and asking if they have a question, consider kneeling so that your eyes are lower than the student’s before you try to help. This manner of communicating helps the student view you as more of a child or peer, rather than a towering giant, and makes talking more comfortable. Another visual trick for getting students’ attention is for the teacher to wear brightly colored shirts. Remember: children grow up watching MTV and playing videogames; they are used to stimuli. If you are the brightest object in the room, they may be more likely to watch you.

Music There are times when background music is inappropriate for the classroom. However, the right music used at the right time can have a huge impact on a class, in the same way that a soundtrack can have a huge emotional impact on the audience of a movie. If the students seem very sleepy or lack energy, enthusiastic music may help enliven the atmosphere. Conversely, an overly active class might be relaxed by easy-listening music. In general, the author prefers music from the artist Santana in his class, because the music is usually very soft, but still maintains a strong rhythm, which provides a good balance for most classes.

While the students are working, the teacher can turn up the background music, or perhaps even leave the room to get the students in a talkative mood. [Kids usually get loud when the teacher leaves the room.] When the teacher wishes to hear student responses, he can abruptly turn off the music so that the class will become noticeably, uncomfortably quiet. Because the students are uncomfortable with the sudden quiet, they may feel a need to be more vocal.

Obviously these are not the only tricks that are available for coaxing students to work more efficiently. Though these tricks are no substitute for strong teaching materials, they are certainly an asset in an ESL classroom, where verbal communication is not always possible, and motivation without excessive student stress is always a goal. As mentioned above, many other fields have been using tricks like these for years; it is time that we in the ESL field caught up.

Additional Resources

Carnegie, Dale. (1936). How to win friends and influence people. New York: Pocket Books.

Fast, Julius. (1970). Body language. New York: Pocket Books.

Walters, Stan B. (2003). Principles of kinetic interview and interrogation (2nd Ed.) Boca Raton: CRC Press.