Knowing how to say no politely and professionally is important in the business world. Whether you're declining a job offer, rejecting a sales pitch, or turning down a project, saying no can be difficult. Especially if English is not your native language and you're new to learning business English.

However, using the right phrases can make all the difference in maintaining positive relationships and avoiding misunderstandings. This blog post will explore five phrases to say no in business English politely.

Do you ever find it hard to keep students focused and on task? Young learners get easily distracted and it can be hard to find ways to keep them engaged.

So what can we do to get, and more importantly, keep our students’ attention? Here are our five top tips.

1. Plan a range of activities

Young learners have relatively short attention spans. In the classroom, it is rare to have the whole class fully engaged in something for a long time, since the children will have different interests and levels, so it is essential to plan a number of activities for each lesson.

The more variety you can include in the activities and tasks you plan, the easier it is to provide something enjoyable and relevant for each child. Choose short tasks and try to have a couple of extra activities up your sleeve if something you planned doesn’t work well. However, don’t worry if you don’t have time to do them all – you can always save them for a future lesson.

2. Vary the dynamics and pay attention to the mood

Another way of keeping students engaged is to mix up the classroom dynamics, having a combination of individual heads-down work, pair work, group work, and whole class discussions or games. When planning your lesson, consider how your students might feel at each stage. After doing some reading or quiet work, students may start to become restless, and this is the ideal time to get them up and moving about.

While you are in class, pay close attention to the mood of the class. When you sense that students are becoming distracted or bored, change the dynamics of the activity.

3. Use brain breaks

Ever notice that students become lethargic and show a lack of interest? Why not try introducing brain breaks at strategic points in your lessons? Brain breaks are short physical activities or games designed to get the blood flowing and to re-energize students to help them get ready for learning. They range from short activities that last a couple of minutes, to longer breaks that may be suitable if your lessons last more than an hour.

4. Peer teaching

We can vary different aspects of the lesson using the previous strategies, but one thing that rarely changes is the role of the teacher! One way of keeping students involved is by giving them more responsibility and allowing them to take a more active role in their learning.

Peer teaching completely changes the classroom dynamic and has students teach their peers while you take a step back. For primary classes, ask one or two students to take charge of a ready-made activity, e.g. one from your course book. They should give instructions, demonstrate, monitor as necessary, and check answers.

When students are used to doing this, you can start to have them work in pairs or small groups to plan their own activities to use in class.

5. Useful classroom management strategies

Of course, nobody is perfect and there will be times when you lose students’ attention and they are not on task. For these occasions, you can use a wealth of classroom management strategies to regain the class's attention. Here are a few techniques:

• Walk around the classroom as students are working. They are less likely to go off-task if you are available and watching.
• Stand next to or behind individuals who are not paying attention, or move your position to a strategic point in the classroom where everyone, particularly those who are not listening, can see and hear you clearly.
• Have a code word. Choose a word before the lesson and display it on the board. Tell students that you will sometimes call out this word during the lesson and they need to pay special attention. You could ask students to do an action e.g. stand up and turn around, and give points to the first student who does so.
• Silence. An old but effective trick is to stand in silence at the front of the class and wait for everyone to stop talking.
  

Your enthusiasm is key

Finally, if we want our students to be motivated and engaged in our lessons, we must show enthusiasm for what we are teaching. The more lively and animated you are about the lesson, the more the students will want to join you and learn.

The problem of motivation

Have you ever had a problem like Jaime?

One of my TESOL graduate students in Colombia does. She has a dream job, teaching English at a country club near Bogota. The club attracts international visitors who come to stay, swim, play tennis and golf. Her job is to improve the English skills of everyone from the club’s hotel staff to the tennis coaches, lifeguards, and golf caddies. Most are highly motivated.

Except for Jaime.

Jaime, a golf caddy, would slump into class each day, throw down his bag, sit at the back, and automatically take out his phone.

“Jaime, could you take out your book, please?”

“Forgot it, teacher.”

“Jaime, could you answer the question?”

“No idea, teacher.”

She tried everything to motivate him, but nothing seemed to work. So, imagine her surprise one day when she walked into class to find him sitting at the front, book open, sharpened pencils ready, and no phone in sight. Although she found it surprising, she didn’t want to embarrass him and instead taught the lesson as normal. Jaime’s hand shot up constantly, either asking her to repeat a point while he took careful notes, or attempting to answer each of her questions.

What changed? By the end of the week, she had to find out and asked him to stay behind.

“Because I only speak Spanish,” he sighed, “I only work for local golfers. But I just found out that the caddies who speak English and carry clubs for the international golfers get tipped ten times as much.”

Jaime had discovered one of two major reasons for adults to learn a second language: career progression. The other, if you can’t guess, is love...removing language as a barrier to intimacy.

Transferring motivation

Everyone is motivated about something and that motivation can be translated to the classroom. For example, without mentioning language learning, ask your students to list a few things they have been motivated about in the past, and identify the principles involved.

Let’s say a student is motivated to improve her soccer skills. Beyond “It’s fun!”, dig deeper and you’ll uncover things such as understanding personal potential, doing something social, and not letting down teammates. If you substitute classmates for teammates, you can see that these are all motivations for learning a language. There are countless more, but focus on what is personal for each student.

Enemies of motivation

Beyond a lack of awareness about the advantages of learning English, here are three enemies of motivation.

Enemy 1: I’m shy.

It’s a simple truth that more outgoing people have an easier time learning a language; they’re more willing to make an effort and continue trying until they succeed.

Naturally shy people will still learn – sometimes focusing more on reading and writing – but there are ways to help them be more outgoing. For example, language games can help shy students by increasing a sense of competitiveness and lowering their affective filters, the emotions that interfere with language acquisition such as anxiety and a lack of self-confidence (Krashen, 1992). The connection is confidence; build up students’ confidence and they will be more motivated.

Enemy 2: If I don’t speak, I won’t make mistakes.

This issue is often a byproduct of constant teacher interruptions and comments on students’ language use. Be patient, give students time to think before they answer, and don’t always take the answer from the first person to raise a hand. Consider asking everyone to raise their hands before asking one student.

When you give feedback, focus on errors and ignore mistakes. We all make mistakes in our first and second languages when we speak and generally know we are making them. It’s just that we may be temporarily distracted. Errors, on the other hand, are mistakes that are repeated and the speaker is unaware of them. This leads to fossilization and challenges remediating them. Focus on systematic errors instead of mistakes.

Also, as a general rule, when students are speaking, observe the same politeness you would with anyone else. Avoid interrupting, and offer corrections later, perhaps privately or in a note.

Enemy 3: I don’t have time.

Many adult language learners are heavily committed to other activities; families and work obligations leave them little time to study. However, others may assume they are busy. As a language task, ask students to write a schedule of their typical day and explain what they do hour by hour.

While studying cello in my 30s, I was fortunate to come across a book by educator John Holt (1991) who also learned cello as an adult. In the book, he said that if you do anything new in a major way, make room in your life by giving up something else. For students, that something else may be part of their social life.

But even the busiest students have a few minutes between tasks… time waiting in lines, or on a bus. Using a phone app can provide practice.

Motivation over time

Students tend to be motivated to different degrees as they progress through a language. At first, students will make rapid progress and have high expectations about learning English. However, as they advance, their progress becomes less noticeable. This can be a difficult time for students.

Try using 'imagining sessions' with students, where they roleplay themselves 20 years from now as fluent English speakers. What will they be doing? Maybe they’ll be English teachers themselves! Share your journey to becoming someone who now teaches English. Perhaps you were once a golf caddy named Jaime.

Whether your learners are going for a single semester, academic year or an entire university course, studying abroad is an excellent opportunity for them. They’ll have the chance to discover a new culture, develop new skills and make new friends.

University study in another country also poses several challenges. But as a teacher, you can equip them for this experience and prepare them for future academic success.

Why study abroad?

Most people think that studying at university is hard enough, without the added difficulty of doing it overseas. But that doesn’t stop hundreds of thousands of university students from leaving the support of family and friends and relocating to a foreign country.

People apply to study in another country for a range of reasons. A university program abroad might offer the student better tuition and a greater promise of future employment or simply represent better value for money. And in the case of very specialist university courses, studying abroad may be the only option.

Whatever the reason, the decision to study in a foreign country is likely to involve a high level of proficiency in another language – and more often than not, that language is English.

A move towards English language in higher education

There has been a significant shift in higher education in the last ten years, as many European institutions look to internationalize their programs. As a result, across Europe, we have seen a sharp growth in the number of university courses taught in English. English-taught bachelor’s programs offered by universities in the European Higher Education Area have multiplied dramatically over the last decade. 

What challenges do learners face?

Academic skills

There are a whole range of academic skills that students are expected to know when they start university. From research and evaluation, to note-making and referencing, many learners will enter higher education lacking many of the essential skills they require.

Studying in a foreign language

Not only will they have to master new skills, but they may need to do them in a second language. What’s more, even everyday things that fluent speakers may take for granted, such as understanding lectures, reading academic papers, writing essays and even socializing with new friends, will take a lot more effort if English isn’t your first language.

Administrative issues

There are many potential pitfalls for a student in a new academic setting. From the administrative process and campus regulations to the types of lessons and assessments, there may be a lot of differences to deal with. Even understanding the etiquette of addressing and interacting with professors can be daunting.

Problems integrating

Another challenge is integrating into another culture. Even if the host country is culturally similar, adapting to new surroundings is not always straightforward. There can also be a certain amount of ghettoization, where international students might stick together and remain isolated from the local student population.

Homesickness

Feeling homesick can be difficult for international students to deal with. Depending on how far they travel to study, your learners may be unable to return home easily, visit their families and alleviate their homesickness.

Mental health

Moving abroad and living in a completely new place can be very stressful and overwhelming, and many factors can exacerbate/cause mental health issues. Making it harder to do day-to-day tasks, socialize and study. 

Money worries

Without a grant or a scholarship, studying abroad can be very expensive. If your learners currently live at home with their parents, the cost of accommodation may be formidable. The higher cost of living could mean they have to look for a part-time job to supplement their income. Understanding a country's taxes can also be confusing and hard to calculate into their budget.

What can you do to get your students ready?

All of the challenges mentioned above have one thing in common. If a student cannot communicate effectively, these situations can be exacerbated. Language is key, whether it’s accessing support, communicating with professors or getting to grips with a new culture.

Here are some things you can do to help your learners prepare for university life:

1) Put them in touch with past students

It’s important that your learners have a clear idea of what university study abroad entails. Creating a chance for them to speak to other students who have already gone through that experience can be extremely valuable.

Students who have returned from studying abroad can help with your learners' doubts and put their minds at rest. They might be able to provide essential advice about a specific country or university or simply tell their story. Either way, it’s a great way to reassure and encourage your learners.

2) Use appropriate authentic content

In preparation for your learner’s time abroad, the language course that you teach should align with their future linguistic needs. One of the main aims should be to develop the language skills required to perform successfully and confidently in their new context.

3) Teach them academic study skills

Think back to when you were at university and what you struggled with. Group work, presentations, critical thinking and exam skills are all things which your learners will need to be proficient in, so the more you practice them in class the better.

4) Promote autonomous learning

Success at university is deeply rooted in a student’s ability to work independently and develop practical self-study skills. Giving your learners more choice in the language learning process is one way to encourage autonomy.

The CEFR describes A1 and A2 learners as ‘basic users’ of a language. So how can we help these students to develop their English for the workplace?

Here are our six top tips:

1. Focus on high-frequency vocabulary for work

Learning English vocabulary for work context is the top priority for many low-level learners in business English classes. It helps them to communicate their message in a simple, effective way. This makes it important to teach common words and set expressions for everyday work situations.

These include:

• lexical sets (words related to the same topic or situation) – for example, days, months, numbers, verbs to describe work routines, verbs in the past.
• common collocations with verbs and nouns (for example, manage a team, have meetings, place an order, solve a problem).
• functional language and fixed phrases – greetings (How are you? Nice to meet you.) and offers (How can I help you? Would you like…?).

2. Help students with vocabulary learning

Teach vocabulary items in realistic contexts. For example, phone calls, to-do lists, short emails, text messages etc.

While it might be tempting to give students lots of vocabulary to memorize, this can cause overload, be frustrating and ultimately demotivating for learners. Instead, you should aim to present eight to ten new words in a lesson as a general rule. This is an achievable number for working memory and helps to build learners’ confidence. The number of words can be a little higher if items are easy to show in images or there is repetition; for instance, the numbers 20 to 100.

Have students make simple decisions about new words, as this helps with recall later. Start with simple tasks, such as matching words and pictures or verb and noun collocations they’ve seen in a short text (for example, managing a team, call customers, writing emails, etc.). Next, ask students to complete sentences using the target words and write their own sentences using these words.

Getting students to personalize new vocabulary makes it more memorable, for instance writing sentences describing their work routines. Repetition also aids long-term memory, so make sure vocabulary is recycled in the materials in later lessons.

Finally, make a list of vocabulary games to use for revision exercises, warmers and to finish classes.

3. Maximize student speaking time

Learners need to develop their English-speaking skills for work. The classroom is a safe, low-stakes environment for them to gain fluency and confidence.

Use the audio and video scripts of short dialogues or an extract from a longer script. Students read the dialogue aloud in pairs or groups. Give feedback by drilling the stress and rhythm of any words or phrases which were difficult with the whole class. Back-chaining phrases – starting with the last sound and building up going backwards – is an excellent way to drill. Get students to swap roles and repeat the task.

You can also use another technique called disappearing dialogue. Put a short dialogue on the board for students to practice in pairs. Then delete parts of the dialogue and ask them to repeat the task, swapping roles each time. Gradually delete more parts to increase the challenge. Students can reconstruct the dialogue as a final task.

Moreover, surveys, questionnaires, true/false games, and information-gap exercises are ways to practice speaking in English, target structures, and vocabulary.

Children seem to be starting English lessons younger than ever, often before they can even read and write. This means that learning differences like dyslexia may not have yet made themselves apparent.

While it’s not a language teacher’s role to diagnose specific learning needs, it is important for us to monitor our young learner students’ progress. If we think a student might be showing signs of dyslexia (or another learning difference), we should feel comfortable referring parents to the right place early on. This can make a huge difference in the learning process.

There are many forms of dyslexia and it affects students in various ways. However, some signs of dyslexia may include the following:

• having difficulty reading (especially aloud)
• struggling with spelling
• problems remembering the sequence of things
• finding it hard to follow instructions
• misbehaving or disrupting the class
• being very quiet or shy (especially when doing reading or writing activities)
• falling asleep in class.

Dyslexia is not a learning disability; it’s a learning difference.

What do Magic Johnson, Richard Branson and Tom Cruise have in common? They all have dyslexia. So learners with dyslexia are certainly not less capable; in fact, they often excel in spatial thinking and creativity. The difference is that their brain works differently, so they find visual processing and using their working memory challenging. For example, they may struggle to remember what was said and face challenges when trying to link sounds to letters.

The most common issues are related to reading, spelling and writing, but dyslexia can also impact concentration span and planning skills. And all these challenges have a severe impact on learners’ self-esteem.

Providing effective learning opportunities for young learners with dyslexia might require teachers to reframe how they see dyslexia. Avoid seeing it as a dis-ability, but rather as a form of neurodiversity: the brain functions and learns in different ways.

Creating the conditions for learning

Many – if not most – young learner teachers feel they are not appropriately trained to deal effectively with learners who have dyslexia in a classroom context.

In an ideal world, all EAL and mainstream teachers would receive in-depth training to better deal with neurodiversity in the classroom. But for now, let’s explore some modifications that help create a more enabling learning environment in which all learners – with or without dyslexia – can progress.

1. Getting to know them

If we want all learners to progress to their next level, we need to get to know them. Only then can we provide learning opportunities that start where they are. Get to know their strengths, weaknesses and interests as well as their learning profile; where do they like to work, who do they work well with and what kinds of tasks engage them fully? These are the starting principles of differentiated teaching and all learners will profit from you taking the time to get to know them beyond their name.

Top tip:

Observations are an extremely useful tool to gain insight into learners’ levels and learning preferences. My favorite activity is to get young learners to create a personal profile.

This can be done in their first language – at home with parents – or as a shared writing activity in class. You provide the stem sentences, and learners complete them with drawings or words. You can hang the profiles on the wall and use them to start talking about ‘differences and similarities’. Alternatively, you can have a learner present their buddy to the class based on their profile, depending on the level and age you teach.

2. Creating a collaborative culture in the classroom

If we want learners to help each other in class, we need to create a culture of ‘helping hands’. Focusing on developing good relationships in your classroom, between you and the learners but also between learners, is vital for a collaborative culture. Use activities that focus on building understanding through sharing ideas. Integrating collaborative learning activities will help to establish supportive relationships and makes struggling learners feel more confident in the classroom. They know they can first talk things through with others and ask them for help before completing a task independently. This will benefit all learners, not only learners with dyslexia.

Top tip:

Think-pair-share is a well-known collaborative activity and can easily be adapted to include some movement too in the form of HuSuPuWu!

This activity will help learners share ideas and allow for differentiated thinking time. Ask your young learners a question you want them to respond to, give them thinking time and tell them to put their hand up when they are ready to talk (Hu).

Encourage them to look around, find another person with their hand up and stand up (Su) to walk over and pair up (Pu).

Together they share ideas before returning to their place and writing up their ideas (Wu).

This will be especially beneficial for students who need more time to process, love to move and want to get confirmation or support.

3. Providing multi-sensory tasks and activities

Providing multi-sensory activities is already common practice in most young learner classrooms. It allows learners to process information using their stronger senses while strengthening their weaker areas.

Multi-sensory teaching (MST) acknowledges that all brains learn in unique, different ways and is a well-known method used when working with dyslexic students in their mother tongue. So instead of only telling the story, find images that illustrate the events, draw a story path for learners to follow, or get them to visualize the story.

Doing this increases the ‘routes of memory’ as Kormos (2017) calls it, and enables information to reach the brain via different pathways, visual and auditory, which strengthen the message.

Top tip:

When learning new words, break them into syllables by clapping when you say them. Then show the word and break it up visually (e.g. fri-end), and get them to make the word with playdough or in shaving foam as they say it. Get them to keep saying it as they write it and then check it.

4. Setting clear, manageable instructions

Because dyslexia often impacts working memory, following instructions can be even more challenging than it already is for young learners. We need to reduce the processing load by breaking up instructions into manageable, achievable steps.

Focusing on just a small amount of information better enables learners with dyslexia (Kormos & Smith, 2012) and to be honest, all young learners – and our classroom management – can benefit from this.

Also, check whether you need to ‘tell’ it or can you ‘show’ the instructions? Presenting instructions in a multisensory way where you, for example, use the whiteboard to visualize the instructions, and use gestures and body language to support your oral input will facilitate understanding.

Top tip:

Learners benefit from talking things through as talk plays an integral part in meaning-making. So why not get learners to turn to their elbow buddy and repeat what they need to do in their own words? Another effective way would be to record the instructions so they can listen back as many times as they need.

5. Adapting your materials

Being aware of what works best for the unique brains of learners with dyslexia allows us to tweak existing materials to make learning more accessible. Think about the color of paper you copy on or the background color of your slides. Learners with dyslexia cope better with colored backgrounds as it reduces word blurring. When learning to write new words in their workbook, use a highlighter to highlight the area between the middle lines where the body of the letters needs to be written.

Top tip:

Nowadays, many young learner coursebooks have audio resources available, but not always for readers or stories. Use assistive technology to get the selected reading text recorded. Struggling readers can listen to the audio as they read the text alone. In this way, they will feel that they are reading independently whilst working on letter sound correlation as well as the rhythm of the language.

The English language classroom can be stressful for learners with specific learning needs. Now, we don’t need to – and can’t – ‘fix’ learners, but we should try to ‘fix’ the environment and provide an enabling, inclusive learning environment for all. By tweaking our teaching, we might better enable learners who face challenges, ensure they feel supported in their learning and allow them to bloom in our classroom.

Not everything can be taught in the classroom – that’s why we’ve put together a list of 10 English words, slang terms and figures of speech for you to sprinkle into your English conversations. Not sure how to use them? Don’t worry, we’ve included definitions and examples of how to use them in a sentence.

Earworm

A song or tune that, once you’ve heard it, is stuck in your head.

Use it: “That new Taylor Swift song is such an earworm!”

Staycation

Spending your holiday in your hometown rather than traveling abroad. Often spent relaxing around the house or doing activities in the local area.

Use it: “I’m having a staycation this summer, as I’m trying to save money.”

Webisode

An episode or series created exclusively for online viewing. This can be part of a web series or used to promote a television series.

Use it: “There’s a new Breaking Bad webisode online, have you seen it?”

Crowdfunding

Funding a project or business venture by asking a large number of people (typically online) to invest a small amount of money – usually via websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Use it: “We raised enough money to launch our business using crowdfunding.”

Glamping

Glamorous camping! Avoiding any rough conditions with luxurious facilities and accommodation, such as a yurt or cabin.

Use it: “We’re going to be glamping at Glastonbury this year.”

Lookalike

Something or someone that closely resembles something else, often used to describe someone who looks very similar to a celebrity.

Use it: “Have you seen the Prince William and Kate Middleton lookalikes over there?”

Handover

This word has a more political significance, in terms of gaining land or ownership. However, its modern usage is commonly in the workplace: The act of passing over control or responsibility to another person while you are off work on holiday or leaving a job.

Use it: “I’ll send my notes in a handover email so you can continue the project while I’m away.”

Meh

When something is a little uninspiring or dull. Also a word you could use to describe your lack of interest or indifference. It’s basically a verbal shrug.

Use it: “The film was a bit meh.”

Binge-watch

Watching multiple episodes of a TV show, one after another, in a single sitting. Usually, with a DVD box set or using online streaming.

Use it: “I’m planning to binge-watch the entire series of Game of Thrones this weekend!”

Spill the tea

When someone 'spills the tea' they are telling you all the latest news or gossip. 

Use it: “Please spill the tea about last week's party!"

There are lots of resources available to English teachers today: from textbooks to online teaching tools, they can all aid and enrich English lessons. Many ESL teachers also introduce authentic English material into their lessons to expose learners to the language as it is spoken in the real world.

Authentic material is any material written in English that was not created for intentional use in the English classroom. Using this content for teaching English can make the teaching experience even more engaging, imaginative and motivating for students. It can also be useful to elicit genuine responses from English language learners.

The great thing about using authentic material is that it is everywhere, which makes it easy to find, and simple for learners to practice English in their own time. Remember that it isn’t limited to articles from newspapers and magazines. Songs, TV programs and films, radio and podcasts, leaflets, menus – anything written in English constitutes authentic material.

Selecting authentic material

The best content to select depends on the learners, their level of English and the course content the English teacher wishes to focus on. It’s also a good idea to find out the learners’ interests – after all, there’s no point trying to get students fascinated by a text on the latest sci-fi movie if they’re all fans of action films.

The materials should reflect a situation that a student may face in an English-speaking environment – this will help them transition into a world where English is the norm. In this world, people use abbreviations, body language is important and they’ll use 'filler' sounds – such as 'ummm' – when they are speaking English – and learners will encounter these in authentic material.

It’s important not to overwhelm learners with the first piece of authentic material. So, choose articles, songs or sections of TV programs or movies that aren’t too difficult to understand or take too long to get through.

There is a strong link between well-being and friendship, which is just as accurate for children as it is for adults. Studies have found that children with stable friendships are happier, more able to cope with stress, and have higher self-esteem. Moreover, school friendships impact academic achievement too, and children who experience friendship adjust more easily to school and perform better academically. School friendships are also a valuable way of learning social skills like sharing, resolving conflict, and engaging with peers positively.

Having friends is an important part of school life, and teachers can play a significant role in creating a positive classroom culture and helping children and young people to form friendships. How can you promote friendships between your students? Here are some ideas:

1. Make friendship a central theme in your classes

If there is an example of a good friendship in a book you are reading with students or in your lesson materials, draw your students’ attention to it. For instance, The Jungle Book is an excellent example of a story about friendship. Encourage your students to think critically about the friendships that they read about. You can ask questions like:

• What are some things a good friend does?
• What are the qualities of a good friend?
• What words do you associate with friendship?

By discussing friendship regularly in the classroom, your students will learn about the behavior and characteristics of being a good friend.

2. Create opportunities for interaction

You can create lots of opportunities for students to build friendships with one another during class time. Design activities that call for pair or group work, and include at least one or two in every lesson. Focusing on a common goal or problem is a great way to encourage your students to bond with one another. As a bonus, this collaborative way of working promotes important 21st century skills like communication and problem-solving.

Another way of promoting friendships between different groups of students is moving them around. Adjust your seating plan regularly to ensure that all your students interact with and work alongside different classmates, to promote positive, friendly classroom vibes.

3. Discuss and model good behavior

Friendship is a social skill that children need to learn – and you can help by teaching them. Be explicit about exactly what you expect from them. Saying, “Be kind” is an abstract, vague concept that children might struggle to put into practice. Instead, give them concrete examples of behavior, such as:

• take turns when playing
• speak respectfully
• share pens or other resources

When you see a student engaging in these behaviors, draw attention to them and praise them.

But to really convey the importance of school friendships and kind behavior, it’s not enough to tell them. As the teacher, you must model the behavior you’d like to see in your students. Be consistently positive and upbeat in your interactions with students, thank your learners when they offer help with something, and try to refrain from sounding impatient (even when you are!). All these steps will help to build a positive classroom culture where students feel secure, supported and happy.

4. Help to navigate difficult situations

Conflict is an inevitable part of school life, but you can help students to navigate arguments and other difficult situations in the classroom. If two students argue, you can help them to resolve it with the following steps:

• Separate the students to give them time to calm down.
• Have a conversation with them. Ask for their perspective on the conflict, and find out how their day has been in general. Sometimes, you can better understand a student’s reaction when you look at the bigger picture. Ask them how they feel, and how they could resolve the situation.
• Bring the students together again to discuss things and find a resolution together. Reconciliation is the goal.

Following these simple steps teaches children a framework for resolving conflict and gives them the tools to process strong emotions.

5. Do some friendship-focused activities

An excellent way to promote a positive classroom culture is to do friendship-focused activities with your students:

You could do a Venn diagram activity, where students work in pairs to discuss and write down things they have in common and areas of difference. It’s good to pair students who don’t spend much time together for this activity.

Another positive activity is a 'Honey Roast'. Give students enough squares of paper to have one for each of their classmates. Get them to write their classmates’ names on the paper, and then, on the other side, write down a compliment or something they like about that person, for example, “I like your handwriting”, or “You always use kind words”. Collect the pieces of paper and read out some nice examples to the class. Alternatively, give them directly to the students to read to themselves.