Break-out rooms (B/OR). Every online teacher’s new favourite thing! We mainly use them for pair/group speaking activities. We pop in to check students are on task and see if they need any help with language. Then, we bring everyone back to the main session and start an open class discussion.
At least, that’s how I used B/OR in the first couple of months, but after experimenting a bit more, I realized there’s so much more I can do with this feature! It can facilitate differentiation, feedback and last but not least, collaboration. B/OR can actually make classes more interesting and beneficial for learners. And less BORing!
I’ve used them for:
- Rehearsal: Students can rehearse for a pair task, such as a role play or a presentation before repeating it in the main session.
- Task repetition: Move students to another room to repeat the same task with a different partner, e.g. anecdote/storytelling.
- Different preferences: Some students can work individually in a private room e.g. doing exam tasks, while some might prefer to do them in pairs or groups.
- Different tasks: Our learners don’t have the same strengths and weaknesses. You can assign two tasks, e.g. in a B2 class, send a pair of students to a B/OR to write an essay together, whereas another pair in another room will write an article. You can leave it up to them, or you can decide depending on what they need to work on.
- Peer feedback/ fast finishers: Tell your students to raise their hand when they complete a task. When you have at least two, send them to a B/OR to check answers/ give each other feedback, while the rest are still working on it.
- Private feedback: I sometimes invite one student to join me in a B/OR when they complete their work and I give feedback on task. I also encourage them to ask any questions. I keep the rest of the students busy with a quiziz, or put them in a different room to compare their work together. In these private micro-sessions, students tend to ask me questions they wouldn’t ask in front of others. It’s easier to ask than write a question in the chat box. Fear of embarrassment is also another reason. This individual attention and private conversation every now and then can strengthen motivation and boost learners’ confidence.
- Break: Sometimes, a lesson is just hard or our learners are having a bad day. We don’t always need to prepare brain breaks. Send them to a B/OR, give them a minute to vent and just talk to each other in L1. This can energize them more than we think . Works for my teenagers. Some teachers also let students chat in a B/OR for a couple of minutes before class.
Anything to add? Feel free to comment and share.
This is awesome! Thank you very much for the ideas! Gonna use’m all!! 🥰
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That’s great to hear Marcia! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
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I like your ideas very much. I used the breakout rooms a lot during the last year and I believe they need that time to confer their answers with their classmates and to get speaking practice, especially those ss who are shyer.
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Thanks for stopping by Antonia. You’re absolutely right, break-out rooms help make our classes more student-centered. Glad you liked my ideas 🙂
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Very detailed and useful post for beginner teachers like me! Thank you!
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Thank you for reading Elena. Very glad you found it useful!
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Great ideas, thanks for sharing. I live breakout rooms….now I have some more ideas for using them👍
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Always happy to share, Louise 🙂
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