Practical ways to teach emotional intelligence in the classroom

Jade Blue

Studies suggest that Emotional Intelligence is one of the most highly valued core skills in the world of work. In a rapidly-changing world, employees are increasingly required to deal constructively with changes and uncertainty, demonstrate a positive disposition to challenges, and maintain motivation despite setbacks.?Resilience, patience, adaptability and self-awareness are key qualities that learners need to develop in order to survive and thrive in their current and future careers.?

What aspects of Emotional Intelligence should I teach??

A good starting point in selecting an area of Emotional Intelligence to teach in your classes is the Cambridge?Employability Skills Framework for ELT.?In this framework, we have found it useful to break Emotional Intelligence down into three core areas:?

• Demonstrating self-awareness?refers to a learner’s ability to monitor and reflect on their own emotions, and to implement strategies to manage their own emotions in the workplace. This involves understanding what may cause different emotions and the effects that these emotions might have on behaviour.??
• Acting with resilience?relates to a learner’s ability to manage stressful situations. Learners need to develop a positive attitude and work ethic, and use self-regulatory strategies that lead to emotional resilience.?
• Demonstrating empathy and positive relationship skills?involves establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and includes being able to empathise with and support others in the workplace.?

How could I integrate these skills into my classes??

There are many ways that you could integrate these aspects of Emotional Intelligence into your English language classes. You may find opportunities for these in your courses already, for example when covering topics related to workplace stress or wellbeing. You can also try these activities below. These are suitable for both face-to-face and remote learning contexts.?

COMPASS POINTS?

Begin by sharing an image or video clip of a team of people working together (Universal Pictures’?Minions screwing in a lightbulb?is a great example).?Ask learners to discuss what they notice about how the team are interacting.?Encourage learners to notice facial expressions, interactions and progress, and ask what these features tell us about each individual’s preferences or style of working in a team.?

Write the compass points North, South, East and West on four large pieces of paper around the room, or in separate areas of your digital whiteboard.? Under the compass points, list the following traits:?

Give learners time to read the information posted under each of the four compass points, and ask them to stand (or write their name) next to the point that most accurately captures how they think they work together with other people.?

Once every learner has chosen their point, ask them to look around and see who has ended up at each compass point. If your learners know each other well, encourage them to consider whether people’s choices make sense to them, or offer any new insights about their peers.?

Group activity

Explain that learners will now work together in these groups. Ask them to sit together, or allocate a breakout room for each group. Then ask groups to nominate three group members to take on the following roles:?

1. Notetaker – records the responses of the group?

1. Timekeeper – keeps the group members on task?

1. Spokesperson — speaks on behalf of the group?

Once the groups are set up and ready, display the questions below, and allow around 10-15 minutes for groups to discuss and note down their answers:?

1. What are the strengths of your style? (3-4 adjectives)?

1. What are the limitations of your style? (3-4 adjectives)?

1. Which other style(s) do you find most challenging to work with and why??

1. What do people from other compass points need to know about you so you can work together effectively??
2. What’s one thing you value about each of the other three styles??

Discussion

When the groups have answered all five questions, ask the Spokesperson in each group to share their answers with the rest of the class.?

Some answers that may arise are:?

• North gets impatient with West’s need for details?
• West gets frustrated by North’s tendency to act before planning?
• South group members crave personal connections and get uncomfortable when team members’ emotional needs aren’t met.?
• East group members get bored when West gets stuck in details.?
• East gets frustrated when North dives in before agreeing on goals.?

Finally, reorganise the class into new groups so that there are one or two learners from each ‘compass point’ in each new group. Allow a few minutes for new groups to reflect on the activity and discuss and share what they have learned.?End by eliciting or explaining that the activity increases our awareness of our own and others’ preferences and styles.?This helps us to better understand, communicate with, and work with people who have different preferences and styles.?

MOVING FEELINGS

Begin the activity with a class discussion.? As learners arrive in class, start by asking individuals how they feel.? Most learners will probably say they feel fine, so use this to bring you to the first question:??

• Why do we almost always say we are fine, even when we are not??

Hold a discussion in open class, and continue with questions such as:?

• Is it easy to talk about your feelings??
• What makes it challenging to talk about your feelings??
• Can you consciously shift your feelings from one to another??

Explain that understanding the wide range of human emotions allows us better understand ourselves and others, and enables us to regulate our feelings more successfully.?

Next, hand out some sticky notes, or use a digital sticky note board such as?Miro, and ask learners to brainstorm as many emotions as they can and write one on each sticky note.? When you have a large collection of sticky notes, remove any duplicates, organise them randomly on the board, and number each note.??

Now ask pairs to randomly select two numbers, ideally without looking at the notes on the board.? Don’t tell them why at this stage.? Once each pair has two numbers, ask them to look at the board and see what feeling their numbers correspond to.? Ask them to discuss how somebody could move from experiencing one of the feelings to experiencing the other.? Repeat this process by having learners select different numbers, or by randomly distributing new numbers to pairs.?

Finally, bring the group back together and ask them to discuss how easy or challenging it is to switch from one emotion to another.? Invite pairs to share any interesting observations or practical ideas they came up with.?

Final thoughts

Gaining a deeper understanding of employability skills and how to develop them not only helps HE students to prepare for their future careers, but also increases the chances of success and job satisfaction for people already in work.?

We offer a choice of two short online Employability Skills modules to help develop the soft skills that are vital for preparing students for the workplace and career success. Not only do they cover emotional intelligence but also all the essential soft skills required for work. From digital literacy, and leadership skills to decision-making, critical thinking and teamwork, it will prepare your students for career success, and beyond.

Our experts have created these research-led?modules with flexibility in mind so you can teach them on their own or alongside existing courses.

Click here to find out more or sign up for Cambridge One, our learning platform, to try a free unit.

Simply log in to your account on Cambridge One . If you don’t have an account, sign up as a teacher using the short form and search for either ‘Employability Skills module demo unit’ (B1+) or ‘Employability Skills: Workplace Essentials demo unit’ (A2+).