Introduction
When I finished my degree in psychology and went straight into teaching, I felt a little disappointed. I thought I was leaving neuroscience behind and that I wouldn’t get to apply all the knowledge I had gained about how the brain works. But I soon realized that understanding how the brain learns was a huge advantage in the classroom.
By applying neuroscience-backed strategies, I saw firsthand how students learned faster, retained information better, and engaged more with the lessons. These three principles have shaped the way we teach at our academy, and they might just change the way you see your ESL lessons too.
1. The Brain Learns Through Patterns and Connections
The Science Behind It
The brain is wired to recognize patterns. When students see connections between words, grammar structures, and ideas, learning becomes easier and more automatic. On the other hand, isolated information is harder to retain, which is why students often struggle to remember random word lists but find it easier to recall phrases or stories.
How to Apply This in the ESL Classroom
- Teach vocabulary in categories rather than as random lists. For example, instead of teaching the word “apple” in isolation, introduce it in a semantic field like “fruit” or “food.” Then, expand by linking it to collocations like “take a bite of an apple” or phrases like “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
- Use word webs and mind maps. When teaching new vocabulary, start with a central word and let students brainstorm related words. For example, for the word “travel,” students can add “passport,” “suitcase,” “boarding pass,” and “destination.” Seeing the connections helps them retain new words.
- Teach grammar with sentence frames rather than isolated rules. Instead of explaining the past continuous tense abstractly, give students a real-world frame: «Yesterday at 6 PM, I was ________.» This gives them a pattern to follow rather than memorizing a rule they might forget.
2. Emotions Make Learning Stick
The Science Behind It
The brain releases dopamine when something is engaging, exciting, or personally relevant. Research shows that when emotions are involved in learning, memory improves significantly. This means that lessons that include humor, curiosity, and personal connections are far more effective than dry explanations or rote memorization.
How to Apply This in the ESL Classroom
- Use storytelling to teach grammar and vocabulary. Instead of just listing words or rules, integrate them into an engaging story. For example, instead of explaining conditionals with “If I had a million dollars, I would…,” tell a short, exaggerated story about a character who wakes up as a millionaire and what happens next.
- Let students create their own personal examples. When teaching a new tense or structure, have students relate it to their own experiences. For instance, if teaching present perfect, ask: “What’s something you’ve never done but always wanted to try?” This makes the lesson personally relevant, which helps with retention.
- Incorporate humor and surprises. The brain pays attention to the unexpected. Try adding an element of surprise—an unusual image, a funny sentence example, or an unexpected twist in a reading activity. If students laugh or react emotionally, they’re much more likely to remember the material.
3. The Brain Learns by Doing, Not Just Listening
The Science Behind It
Sitting passively and listening to explanations is not the most effective way to learn. The brain strengthens connections when information is actively used, which is why hands-on activities, movement, and interaction lead to better retention. Physical activity also stimulates blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which improves focus and learning capacity.
How to Apply This in the ESL Classroom
- Use Total Physical Response (TPR) for vocabulary learning. If students are learning action verbs, have them act out “jump,” “run,” “stretch,” or “spin” rather than just defining them.
- Get students out of their seats. Turn grammar drills into station activities where students move to different areas of the room to complete different tasks. For example, in a “verb tense relay,” students must match sentence halves around the classroom.
- Use role plays and real-life scenarios. Instead of a typical dialogue from a textbook, have students act out real situations—ordering food at a café, making a doctor’s appointment, or solving a problem at a hotel. This mimics real-world learning and makes the language more memorable.
- Encourage pair and group work. When students explain a concept to each other, they reinforce their own understanding. Instead of you summarizing a lesson, have students teach it to a partner using an example or drawing.
Conclusion
Understanding how the brain learns has transformed the way we teach. By focusing on patterns, emotions, and active learning, we’ve seen our students retain more, participate more, and enjoy learning English.
If you want to start applying these brain-based strategies in your classroom, check out our ready-to-use ESL resources designed with these principles in mind!
👉 Explore our brain-friendly lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers
