English · Class 10

Active learning ideas

Active Listening and Conversational Etiquette

Active learning works for this topic because students need repeated practice with real-time feedback to internalise listening habits and conversational norms. Role-plays and structured debates let them experience the impact of poor listening firsthand, making abstract skills concrete and memorable.

• CBSE Learning Outcomes
• CBSE: The Midnight Visitor - Class 10
• CBSE: Footprints without Feet - Class 10

• 20–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Academic Speed Dating
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs Role-Play: Story Retelling

Pair students; one retells a scene from 'The Midnight Visitor' while the other practises active listening by paraphrasing and noting non-verbal cues. Switch roles after 5 minutes. Groups share one effective listening technique observed.

Analyze how non-verbal cues influence the effectiveness of a spoken message.

Facilitation Tip

During Pairs Role-Play, circulate with a checklist to note who uses paraphrasing versus who defaults to silent waiting.

What to look for

Divide students into pairs. Assign one student the role of a customer seeking help at a bank and the other the role of a bank teller. The teller must use active listening techniques (paraphrasing, clarifying questions) and polite conversational etiquette. After 5 minutes, switch roles. Ask students to write one sentence about what they learned about listening from the other's perspective.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Academic Speed Dating
• 40 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Polite Debate Circle

In groups of 4-5, discuss 'Should Griffin be trusted?' using phrases like 'I see your point, but...'. Rotate speakers; observers note etiquette adherence. Debrief with group self-assessment.

Construct strategies that can be used to politely disagree during a group discussion.

Facilitation Tip

In the Polite Debate Circle, give each group a timer card with 30-second turn limits to prevent over-talking.

What to look for

Present students with a short video clip of a group discussion where one person is repeatedly interrupted or ignored. Ask: 'How did the lack of active listening and poor conversational etiquette affect the discussion? What specific phrases could the ignored person have used to politely re-enter the conversation?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Academic Speed Dating
• 25 min · Pairs

Whole Class: Non-Verbal Mirror Game

Students pair facing each other; one mirrors the other's facial expressions and gestures silently for 2 minutes to convey emotions from texts. Discuss how cues enhance listening. Full class shares examples.

Evaluate how a speaker adapts their language based on the perceived status of the listener.

Facilitation Tip

For the Non-Verbal Mirror Game, demonstrate how slight mismatches in posture can change the perceived emotion before students begin.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a scenario: 'You are in a group project, and a classmate suggests an idea you think is unworkable.' Ask them to write down two different polite phrases they could use to express disagreement, and one non-verbal cue that would reinforce their respectful stance.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• Academic Speed Dating
• 20 min · Individual

Individual: Listening Log Reflection

Students listen to a 3-minute audio clip of a dialogue, note key points, non-verbals implied, and draft a response. Share in pairs for feedback on etiquette.

Analyze how non-verbal cues influence the effectiveness of a spoken message.

What to look for

Divide students into pairs. Assign one student the role of a customer seeking help at a bank and the other the role of a bank teller. The teller must use active listening techniques (paraphrasing, clarifying questions) and polite conversational etiquette. After 5 minutes, switch roles. Ask students to write one sentence about what they learned about listening from the other's perspective.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by modelling the behaviours they expect—paraphrasing student responses, using eye contact during explanations, and pausing before speaking. Avoid rushing through activities; students need quiet moments to process what they hear. Research shows that explicit labelling of non-verbal cues (e.g., ‘I see you nodding—thank you for showing agreement’) improves recognition rates.

Successful learning looks like students recognising when their own listening drops below the expected standard and adjusting with clear paraphrasing or polite turn-taking. They should also notice how non-verbal cues shape understanding, even when words remain unchanged.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Pairs Role-Play, some students believe active listening means staying completely silent without any response.

  During Pairs Role-Play, remind students that silence alone does not confirm understanding. Ask the listener to paraphrase the speaker’s last point aloud before the speaker moves to the next idea, using sentence stems like ‘You’re suggesting that…’.

• During the Non-Verbal Mirror Game, students assume non-verbal cues matter less than spoken words in conversations.

  During the Non-Verbal Mirror Game, stop the activity after two minutes and ask partners to compare how they felt when their mirrored emotion matched versus mismatched the original speaker’s intended emotion.

• During the Polite Debate Circle, students think polite disagreement requires agreeing to avoid conflict.

  During the Polite Debate Circle, provide a phrase bank with phrases like ‘I see your point, yet I wonder if…’ and ask students to practise at least one in their next round of arguments.

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Methods used in this brief

• Academic Speed Dating