The Lemov Series : Applied Techniques in ELT "No Opt Out"
No Opt Out
For many language learners the biggest obstacle to their success is their own apprehension to participate. Whether is this out of shyness, fear of embarrassment, lack of confidence in ability or for a lacking vocabulary; students who do not engage in active usage of a language cannot effectively learn.
In order to capture those students, and also foster a high-performing classroom environment a teacher can employ the "No Opt Out" technique.
“A sequence that begins with a student unable to answer a question should end with the student answering that question as often as possible. ”
The best way to visualize this technique in action is to imagine a scenario. A student is called upon to answer a question. The student does not know the correct answer to the question or gives no answer. How should the teacher address this situation? The lesson has to keep momentum and move forward in a decisive meaningful manner that acknowledges the students incorrect answer (or lack of answer) while engaging the student to elicit the correct answer. This provides a win-win scenario for the teacher. The student corrects their answer and the class observes that avoiding an answer only temporarily stalls their participation.
In the ELL classroom setting this most commonly takes the form of a limited vocabulary. As the learners are most comfortable speaking in their first language the compulsion to either stay quiet or fallback on their primary language is high. Students will often be eager to participate only to find themselves drawing a blank when called upon by the teacher. Pronounciation is also a big hurdle for some ELL. Making sure to correct pronounicaiton errors as soon as possible is key to driving success in your classroom. I have found a couple effective ways to engage them using the "No Opt Out" technique when this happens.
- The teacher can ask a second student and when provided with the correct answer can return to the first to have them repeat. This can be very effective during the introduction of new vocabulary words.
- A cue can be provided to help "jog" the students memory. (This is especially effective in Pre & Primary school language learners.) For a given verb or noun an associated physical action is expressed. This provides a TPR (Total Physical Response) memory impulse that gives the teacher an indirect tool to keep the students engaged but without students having to directly rely on the teacher.
In both scenarios the core concept is to circle back to the first student and ensure that they provide the correct answer. Even students with a high degree of willingness to participate can be reigned in by effective utilization of this technique. Take for example a student who is very eager to participate in the lesson but whose grasp of the content is extremely limited. While it is most effective to have language learners using the target language as much as possible, time management is crucial in order to reach your lesson objective. A student who eagerly participates but is commonly incorrect can easily slow down the thrust of your lesson. By continual utilization of "No Opt Out" the teacher can learn to efficiently provide the correct answer to the student (ensuring their learning is not hindered) and also keep their lesson objective within obtainable reach. Persistent usage of "Not Opt Out" can encourage students to listen more intently in an ELL classroom as they know that a wrong answer will not be tolerated.
While "No Opt Out" can seem obvious at times, the correct and precise application of this technique is hugely effective in the classroom. Students will feel the heat to stay engaged, high-performance standards will be reinforced, and teachers will find it easier to reach their target goals.
The “Lemov” Series is a review Doug Lemov’s 2011 book: Teach like a Champion: 49 Techniques that put students on the path to college. I highly recommend this fantastic work and do not claim any of these techniques as of/or being my original content.
