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In a hybrid classroom there are learners with different language backgrounds. Some learners in your hybrid classroom may be aware of the language English or even the bits of the language. Nevertheless, there are some learners who are completely new to the language and the language might seem alien to them. Consequently, to have a good teaching learning environment it is very important to have different learning strategies in your classroom thus making the sessions more informative and learning for the learners. This mostly happens in ESL and EFL classroom.

In ESL and EFL classroom there are many learners for whom the language English is new. Using different strategies help support the multilingual learners in the class and thereby increasing teaching aids in the classroom. So, teachers can use different audio-visual aids in the classroom so that the students understand the topics and learning becomes easier for them.

Some visual aids that can be used in a hybrid classroom are as follows:

• Pictures
• Videos
• Realia
• Timelines
• Chart and graphics
• Flashcards

Some audio aids that can be used in a hybrid classroom are as follows:

• Videos
• Music
• Rhymes and jingles                                                             
• Poems

Advantages of using such teaching aids in the hybrid classroom –

1. Help learners understand and learn easily: Teaching aids helps learners to understand the topics easily. Audio – visual aids helps them to remember the topic for long time. Children generally connect their topic to the something and tend to visualize it later when is real use come.

2. Picture/ audio/ video teach everything: Pictures and audio teaches everything means they have long time impact on children. There is very less of teacher talk and explanation. It is much helpful at the time of revision. By showing pictures and audios or videos children memorize the language learned.

3. Fun way of teaching: Also this type of teaching is more fun. It grabs learner’s interest and attention. It is a effective teaching learning process.

As teachers, we need to have the teaching skills to make our hybrid classroom fun and interesting for learners. It makes learning fun and very interactive session.  It helps to make learning concrete. Also, there are different types of learners in the classroom, so audio – visual learners learn the best.

Ways to support Multilingual Learners in Hybrid Classrooms:

• Encourage project based learning- Project – based learning makes learners brainstorm on the topics and their project work. 
• Encourage plays, debate, etc. – Debate, plays, etc. helps to understand children knowledge and idea about the topic and also helps to boost student’s confidence, cooperation and other skills
• Encourage self – learning – Self learning makes children aware as they learn at their own pace and learn through discovery.

There are other techniques that can be used in your multilingual classroom. We need to make it more of fun and interesting for learners, as that is completely new language to them. So teaching should be effective so that they get good language learning experience and lasts life - long. However, there should be variation in your teaching aids and techniques so that it keeps the uniqueness and curiosity amongst the learners. 

How can we be more exposed to teaching aids that we can use in multilingual classroom?

Well, the main aim behind this is the effective teaching – learning process keeping in mind each learner’s learning style, their cultural background and their connection with the language.

By now we know the importance of multilingual classroom in school, so as teachers you must be having question of how actually will you develop skills and knowledge about various teaching aids that can help you ace teaching in a hybrid classroom. The answer to it is TEFL course. TEFL course teaches you different techniques methods to teach the ESL learners. It helps teachers to develop ESL teaching skills which can help you be a competent ESL teacher or trainer and thus make learning fun and effective in your multilingual classroom. It will not only help you to teach n a physical classroom set. Now –a – days there are online sessions that are going on, so the teaching techniques that you will learn in TEFL course, it will help you to implement those in the online way of teaching.