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Introducing Students to Meditation

July 2, 2019

When asked what they get out of the classroom in addition to language skills, ESL students will often tout the friendships they’ve made with their classmates, their increased confidence when interacting with native speakers, and a better understanding of English-speaking cultures. Wouldn’t it be great if they could add a coping strategy to deal with stress to their list?

Introducing students to meditation teaches them a way to find calm in their hectic lives. It’s a strategy that’s easy to incorporate into ESL lessons and complements a number of language topics including the present tense, sensory verbs, the imperative, and prepositions. It also lends itself to general themes such as health, modern life, and daily routines. Below you will find a guided meditation used to reinforce vocabulary related to body parts.

Before you begin the mediation session with your students, pre-teach any unfamiliar words or phrases (e.g., breathe, breath, rise, fall, tighten, loosen, inhale, exhale, etc.). Share some of the benefits of meditation (e.g., reduces stress, controls anxiety, lengthens attention span, etc.).

Briefly explain the activity. Tell students you are going to guide them through a number of steps that will help them focus on different parts of their body.If possible, turn off or dim the lights before you lead the meditation. Then read out the following steps to your students:

  1. Close your eyes. Make sure both feet are on the floor and your back is touching your chair.
  2. Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth. Put your hand on your chest. Notice how it rises when you breathe in and falls when you breathe out.
  3. Now bring your attention to your feet. Move your toes around a little. Feel them as they touch your socks and shoes.
  4. Slowly move your attention up to your legs. Notice how the chair feels against your thighs.
  5. Think about your back and where the chair touches it. Allow yourself to relax into the chair. Notice where you feel the chair on your back now.
  6. Move your attention back to your chest. Focus again on the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe.
  7. Now tighten your jaw. Hold it there. And relax. Feel the muscles as they loosen.
  8. Direct your attention to your nose. Feel your nostrils as you inhale and exhale.
  9. Take one more deep breath. As you breathe out, slowly open your eyes.

Make sure to ask follow-up questions after the session (e.g., How did you feel before the session? How did you feel during it? How do you feel now?).

If this practice is something your students enjoy, consider letting a student volunteer lead subsequent meditations. You can also write the meditations with the class on the board or assign them as group work. The important thing is to keep the stress level as low as possible. And breathe!

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Comments (18)

Sabrina D.(Teacher)

The concept of meditation or mindfulness is a very familiar topic that has been mentioned and integrated into some of the teaching seminar-workshops I’ve attended. We usually had brain breaks for a few minutes to meditate, relax, and find focus after hours of lectures and activities. I think meditation is a good habit to be learned by everyone, young and old, as life seems to be too fast-paced most of the time. Thank you so much for sharing these tips and ideas! I hope everyone at ESL Library finds inner peace! :)

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

Thanks, Teacher Sab! It's so great to hear that busy teachers are being taught these techniques. We have a ping pong table in the office that helps our team unwind. Maybe a meditation corner would be a good idea too!

Nana (Guest)

Japan has Zazen that is one of the meditation of temple style. Methods are that sit on a floor, cross your legs, close your eyes and don't move. If you move even a little, a monk will hit your shoulder with a flat stick. Many foreigners try this these days. You should try it if you come to Japan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazen

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

That is so interesting, Nana! I hope they don't hit too hard. Ha. I really hope to visit Japan one day. When I taught English in Vancouver, I learned so much about Japan from all of my amazing Japanese students. I'd love to see the cherry blossoms.

Kyeongki (Guest)

I learned about meditation and I learned new words. When we have stress, we should meditate.

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

It sounds like you killed two birds with one stone, Kyeongki! Our goal at ESL Library is always for students to learn new things while also practicing the language. Teachers can learn a lot too!

Janice from Brazil(Guest)

Very interesting article. I did some meditation lessons when I was pregnant. Though the muscles of a pregnant woman change position, breathing is very important. Most people’s breathing is wrong. The correct way is to breathe with the diaphragm, an important muscle between chest cavity and abdominal cavity. Breathing with the diaphragm is an important exercise for health and the mind.

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

Thanks for sharing your great breathing tips, Janice! I often try to remind my daughter of this when she is stressed out.

Kate (Guest)

I am really interested in this theme. I think that meditation is necessary in our hectic lives. People are very busy and their minds have no rest. But if you meditate, you have at least a few minutes just for yourself. This breathing training is great and you can do it almost anywhere. I have a book about meditation and the mentor says that you can meditate while sitting, lying, or walking. The important thing is think about your breathing only and nothing else. I prefer walking in nature because I feel calm and I like it.

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

I enjoyed reading your comment! I wonder if we can meditate when running too?

Maria Jesus ( Spain )(Guest)

I have always been curious about meditation, but I have never dared to practice it. I think I am a skeptic who likes to read new ideas but not practice them. I consider myself a mere beholder, maybe at heart, I don't think I am able to stop my brain and do nothing for five minutes. However, after reading this article I can say that this can be a start. The technique is simple and clear enough for me to do so I promise I will try.

Reply to Comment

Tara Benwell(Author)

It's great that you are going to try! I also love reading about new ideas and need to remind myself to try them before moving on to another one. It's tricky to quiet our busy, distracted minds.

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