From Quiet to Confident: Helping More Students Find Their Voice in the MFL Classroom
You cannot make someone do something they do not want to do.
You have to meet them where they are, connect with them, and invite them to where you would like them to be.
In many ways, this is what language teaching is all about.
Learning a language is one of the most vulnerable things a person can choose to do. We are asking young people to take risks publicly, to say things imperfectly, and sometimes to feel exposed in front of their peers. At a crucial time in life when teenagers are building their identity, we are asking them to be so vulnerable. Compared to other subjects, where they have built their expertise for years, they remain beginners in the language they are learning, no matter how long ago they started.
When students hesitate to speak, it is rarely because they are unwilling to learn. Much more often, it is because the emotional stakes feel too high.
Over the years, I have come to see my role less as someone who pushes students to speak and more as someone who offers them a chair.
A chair to sit in.
A space where they feel noticed.
An invitation rather than a demand.
Who are our quiet students?
When we think about quiet students, it is tempting to picture one particular type of learner. In reality, quietness shows up in many different forms.
There is the defiant student who might say, “What’s the point? I hate French. I’m never going to move to France.”, “We speak English in this country!”
There is the disengaged student with their head on the desk.
The anxious student whose profile warns us not to ask them questions.
The shy student who is actually very capable and would like to contribute but won’t take the lead. Often make eye contact to let you know they are ready.
The slow processor who is thinking carefully but needs just a little more time.
None of these students lack ability. Many of them are thinking deeply. They simply need a different way in.
Noticing students first
One of the smallest things we can do is simply to notice students.
A quiet “I see you” can go a long way.
Sometimes that means checking in: “Not feeling well today?”
Sometimes it means noticing the small things: “New glasses?” or “That’s a very cool pen.”
These moments might seem superficial, but they signal something important: that the student matters in the room.
They belong for who they are, not just for the work they produce.
And once students feel seen, they are often more willing to take the next small step.
Removing the element of surprise
Another approach that has helped me is reducing the element of surprise when speaking is involved.
Instead of suddenly calling on a student, I might quietly say:
“I’ll ask you next, is that ok? get ready.”
This small warning allows the student to prepare mentally. It lowers the emotional stakes without lowering expectations. The message becomes: I believe you can do this, and I’ll support you. You’re pulling a chair for them!
Staying with students
Sometimes, when a student struggles to answer, the instinct is to move on quickly. But staying with them can be powerful.
I might walk towards the student, stand beside them, and say something like:
“Stay with me. Let me say the question again.”
“That’s OK, I’ve got time.”
“Nobody gets left behind in this classroom.”
Rephrasing the question or offering choices can also help:
“Is it this… or this?”
This is very powerful to create a culture of effort in the classroom. We’re not rushing, we’re saying: “We bother in this classroom”, “I want everyone to get it right”
Offering a choice also means that you give the student all the chances to get it right and that feels really good for them instead of walking away, asking another student and leaving them feeling inadequate and embarrassed about themselves. In the end, the student got it right and that’s a step up on the ladder of progression in terms of engagement.
Practising speaking in safer spaces
Speaking in front of the whole class can feel intimidating, especially at the beginning of a learning sequence. For that reason, I often start with partner practice.
Talking with one person feels more intimate and manageable. Students can support each other, hear alternative ways of expressing ideas, and build confidence before sharing with the wider group.
Building fluency through “money phrases”
One strategy that has worked particularly well with my students is the idea of “money phrases.”
These are phrases that students can reuse across many topics, for example opinions, connectives, intensifiers, time phrases, or justifications. When students have these tools readily available, speaking becomes less daunting because they are not starting from scratch each time.
We then play with these phrases through a range of low-stakes activities:
short speaking challenges in pairs
quick “speed-dating” conversations about random topics
dice games where students try to use as many phrases as possible
writing tasks where they build a 90-word paragraph using their phrase bank
The resource doesn’t really matter, it’s about using an intentional small set of tools consistenly, providing deep exposure, modelling, regular practice and slowly removing the scaffold to be able to perform progressively without the tools.
Confidence before performance
Speaking confidence grows through repeated experiences of success.
If we change the activity too often, students spend more time trying to figure out what they need to do and worrying about whether they’re getting it right rather than actually spending their time practising the language. Stick to one method that will become familiar and enable students to go into automatic pilot mode which will increase their self efficacy, autonomy and engagement.
When students feel safe, when they know we will wait for them, and when they have the language tools they need, something begins to shift. The student who once avoided eye contact starts to contribute. The hesitant learner begins to take small risks. Everyone has a place in the classroom, everyone can feel they belong and has a chance to progress.
