Teaching in a classroom with little to no technology poses many challenges, however, it also opens the door to creative and meaningful lesson ideas. There are various ways to build an engaging learning environment with a lack of tech.

I’ve been working at Na’atik for four months now, and while we aren’t completely without technology, the tools available here are more limited than what I’ve experienced in previous schools. We are fortunate to have projectors for laptops, which allow us to show videos and presentations. However, unlike the schools I’ve worked at before—equipped with VR headsets, smartboards, and students having smartphones for Kahoot or Booklet —this setting takes me back to the basics.

Traditional Teaching Tools

When technology is limited, traditional tools become invaluable, for example:

Realia – real-world objects – such as fruits, menus from real restaurants, travel brochures, leaflets and newspapers, anything that can create real world tangible situations and uses.

The classic whiteboard / blackboard can be used effectively for visuals, diagrams, and interactive activities like brainstorming or word maps. There are so many uses for mapping out sentences and grammar structures that students can then use in conversation. Also, games such as Hangman or Shark Attack, all using only a whiteboard and marker.

Printed materials such as worksheets. There are hundreds of these available online, but it is well worth getting used to creating your own specialized to your lesson plans and students.

Flashcards are versatile and can be used for games, drills, or storytelling prompts. These tools ensure that students have consistent access to visual aids and practice opportunities and are excellent for those who learn through TPR exercises.

Paper and especially scrap paper that has already been used on one side can be very versatile. There are so many different writing and drawing activities you can employ, such as speed writing, vocab drawing games, and recognition coloring. You can get very creative with an old piece of paper!

Teaching Strategies and Methodologies.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach that focuses on real-life communication over linguistic competence. Encourage pair and group activities like role-plays, interviews, or problem-solving tasks to develop speaking and listening skills. In a CLT environment students do most of the talking and teacher talking time is kept to a minimum. Teachers use real-life scenarios for students to talk around by role playing shopping, negotiating, book or movie clubs and many more. There is an endless list of situations the teacher can come up with for the class to practice in.

Total Physical Response (TPR) is especially useful for younger learners. By associating language with actions, such as miming verbs or acting out adjectives, students engage more fully and retain vocabulary better. The idea is based on childhood learning. As a baby when learning your first language, you do so by watching your parents for clues or other objects in the real world. A young child will perform an action before learning to speak about the action. Therefore, learners of a second language are encouraged to pair actions and movement to thought and language when a teacher uses TPR. The students copy the teacher’s actions and repeat the vocabulary or grammar.

Task-Based Learning involves real-world tasks like planning a trip or creating a menu. These activities foster independence and problem-solving skills while keeping the focus on practical language use. The idea of task-based learning is built upon the communicative approach as the teacher gives students real world tasks to complete. For example, a class might need to plan activities for a foreign guest to their town, this then includes making an itinerary with times on each day, researching places to visit, what to do in certain areas, looking at transport, then making a guide for the guest that could include a range of things. This brings in many elements and skills that the students use to complete the task before reviewing at the end.

Creative Activities to Inspire Engagement

Low-tech classrooms provide opportunities to innovate with creative, hands-on activities.

Storytelling - Ask students to create stories, both verbally and written, supported by drawings or props. This encourages imagination while practicing language skills.

Games - “20 Questions” or vocabulary bingo, make learning fun and interactive. These low-resource activities can be tailored to any language topic or level.

Project-Based Learning - helps students practice English in collaborative and practical ways. Projects like designing posters or conducting community interviews allow them to use language meaningfully and showcase their work to peers. Similar to task-based learning, these projects can last for a week or more, each lesson building into the project. This could be a radio station, with each lesson focusing on a grammar point and a context within radio, such as sport, dramas, news. Finalizing with a finished product students can show each other and actually see the results of their learning.

Supporting Reflection and Retention

Reflection is key to effective learning. Encourage students to maintain learning logs where they note new vocabulary, grammar points, and personal reflections. This can even come in the form of a blank poster on the wall that students add to after every lesson which serves as a constant visual reminder.

Peer Teaching is another excellent method. By explaining concepts to classmates, students reinforce their understanding while gaining confidence in using English.

Overcoming Challenges

Teaching in a low-tech setting requires adaptability.

Tailor activities to different proficiency levels by providing scaffolds, such as sentence starters for beginners or open-ended questions for advanced learners.

Always grade your language, consider how to phrase instructions to match your learners’ levels

Always encourage creativity and peer work. The amount of practice students get with each other is essential. The students should be creative in their language use, if they are role-playing a restaurant then get creative with different situations.

They can draw visuals in their books, write notes, and use as many techniques to learn as they can.

Conclusion

Teaching ESL in a classroom with little to no technology can be a challenge especially when you are accustomed to the conveniences of modern technology. However, it offers a valuable opportunity to connect with students in different ways, to be more involved in their learning journey, and to learn about your own teaching style.

To learn more about Na’atik’s English language program for local and Indigenous students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, visit our Impact Page. We are only able to provide this much needed program thanks to the support of generous donors and the funds raised from our award winning Maya and Spanish Immersion Program. If you would like to support our mission please consider donating today or take a look at our immersion programs and online class packages.

Teaching English In A Classroom With Little To No Technology