One word started a conversation
“Why are you happy?” “Because I won a game on my phone.”
It was a simple exchange, but it was not a question from the teacher. It came from one student to another at the end of our English lesson. What started with one word, ‘Why’, soon turned into a lively classroom conversation.
I had asked the students to choose one word to describe how they felt that day. Their answers were quite different: “Happy,” “Lazy,” “Humble,” “Excited,” “Tired,” and “Fun.” One student said, “I’m happy,” and a classmate asked why. Another student chose “lazy” and explained, “Because I want to sleep,” which made the others laugh. When a student chose “humble,” another classmate also asked for the reason.
What made the activity interesting was that the students were beginning to ask questions themselves. They were not simply waiting for the teacher to speak or repeating sentences from a worksheet. They were listening to their classmates, asking simple questions, and responding in English.
In just a few minutes, they were practicing several skills at once—expressing feelings, asking questions, listening, and responding. Their sentences were short and mistakes were part of the process, but they were willing and confident to speak. Because they were talking about their own feelings and experiences, using English felt more natural.
What started as a simple way to close the lesson became a meaningful opportunity for the students to use English with each other. Sometimes, all it takes to start a conversation is one word.
Follow our students’ English learning journey and see where their conversations take them next!
By: Ni Nengah Merdekawati, S.Pd. EBPP English Teacher
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