Creating
Classroom Rapport
through Communication
Danielle Lott

Rapport
Atmosphere and relationships in the classroom
Bad Rapport
Affective barriers to learning
Less effective pair/group work
Afraid to make mistakes
Afraid to be corrected by peers
Shorter conversations

Good Rapport
Can accelerate learning
More effective pair/group work
Safe to make mistakes
Trust to be corrected by peersLonger conversations

Communication

RapportLanguage
Acquisition

Communication

How to build rapport between students?
Games?
Fun
Not always educational
Sometimes time-consumingHow to build rapport between students?
• Authentic Communication• Difficult linguistically• Difficult emotionally• Communication strategies• Activities

Communication Strategies
Skills and expressions students use to solve problems
and understand each other• Interrupting Excuse me, but…
• Changing the topic Anyways… Can we talk about something else?
• Escaping
Sorry, I have to go• Giving compliments (small talk) Nice ___!

Give students the tools they needto navigate delicate, emotional, or personal topics

Communicative Activities (CLT)Natural rapport builders
Should share unique experiences, preferences, opinions, emotions• Exposure to perspectives that are different from our own• Broadens point of view
• Students become more accepting of differences• Exposure to experiences that are similar to our own• Helps students bond and feel less alone• Shared vulnerability builds trust

Communicative Activities (CLT)Natural rapport builders
Should include unique experiences, preferences, opinions, emotions• Cooperative learning (positive interdependence)• Class surveys or information gap activities• Small talk• Journal writing (extensive writing)Activities: Journal Writing
Ask questions about experience, opinion, or emotion related to the topic

Scaffold conversation

Journal Writing Steps

1. 1-2 min. silent planning
2. 5 min. timed writing, no stopping, no eraser
3. Chat with journal as a guide, no reading
4. Reflection and follow-up
5. Correct their own mistakes as HWJournal Writing: Examples
Topic: Gender Issues
Prompts:
1. How are men and women similar or different to each other? Give examples.
2. If you could be born again, would you be a man, a woman, both, or neither?
Why?
3. Imagine you are the opposite gender. Would you be different, or similar?
4. Have you ever experienced gender bias in the classroom? What happened?
How did you feel? Why do you think it happens? What are the results?

Journal Writing: Examples
Journal Writing Roleplay (adapted from OC in English: Book 2, John Howrey)• Choose one side to a situation (partner has the other),write for five minutes from that point of view, debate, reflect• Prompt 1: You are a parent and your son wants to play with a fashion doll.
A: You think it’s okay.

B: You think it’s not okay.

• Prompt 2:
A: You are a parent and you think your daughter should help you do housework, and yourson should not.
B: You are the daughter that is always asked to do housework.

• Reflection: Which opinion do you actually agree with? Why?

Journal Writing: Examples
Topic: Beauty and Fashion• Prompt: What do you like about your appearance? What do you dislike
about your appearance? (Examples? Since when? Why?)• Pair Chat
• Reflection:
1. How did you feel during the chat?
2. What did you learn from the chat?
3. Was the activity useful?
4. Were you surprised by how your partner felt about his/her appearance?

Journal Writing: Students’ Reflections• “I understood how my classmates felt.”• “I was surprised that my partner didn’t like how he looked.
I thought he was confident.”• “I realized that everyone has a complex.”• “I thought about opinions that I usually wouldn’t,because they were different from my own.”• “I felt closer to my classmate.”