Teresa
By: Miria Munoz
Editor’s Note: The illustrations in this piece were generated using an AI image-generation tool by the author and are reproduced as supplied. The Mind, Brain, and Education SIG editorial team did not create these images.
I remember my first years of teaching, with so many amazing memories. I used to teach a Level 1 LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) literacy class. Many of my students were just beginning to learn how to read and write, both in their first language and in English. Our days were long, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
I had to constantly reinvent my teaching strategies, making brain breaks and moments of rest an essential part of the learning process. My goal was to help my students achieve their learning objectives while ensuring that learning letters and words remained engaging rather than overwhelming.
For our art time, I would bring paint and fine brushes so we could color adult-appropriate designs, such as mosaic patterns. I never wanted them to feel like little children. Sometimes we painted T-shirts instead. Consistent with Dmitrova (2023), students exhibited significantly higher levels of creativity, motivation, and engagement during class when engaged in art-based activities.
Other days, we would take a walk to the grocery store across the school, armed with pen and paper, and write down the names of the main items we found in each aisle. My students introduced me to foods and ingredients I had never noticed before. Adding to this perspective, Symanski (2024) notes that the experiences and memories gained during field trips extend beyond the classroom, remaining with students long after they return to school and becoming topics of conversation with their families.
We also found every excuse to play and sing together during special holidays or our end-of-the-year potlucks. I would bring my guitar. One student would bring his lingm, a flute from Bhutan. Another would bring a damphu, a Nepalese tambourine. Practice time in class involved singing short songs in English, just not too loudly, or we were sure to receive complaints from the classrooms next door! This positive experience is far from unique, Sadiqzade (2025) explains in his research how incorporating music into the language classroom enhances vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, pronunciation, learner motivation, and even cultural awareness.
One of our favorite Friday activities was taking the stairs down to a large empty room with nothing but a ball. The game was simple. The student throwing the ball would ask, for example, “What is your favorite color?” The student catching the ball would answer, “My favorite color is blue.” After everyone had a turn, we would make it more challenging. The student throwing the ball would ask, “What is Sabina’s favorite color?” The student catching the ball had to remember and answer, “Sabina’s favorite color is blue.” If they got it wrong, they were out until we had a winner. The value of movement-based activities is reinforced by Simamora et al. (2025), who contend that incorporating movement into learning enhances memory retention, encourages active participation, and strengthens speaking skills.
Sometimes we also went to the kitchen and prepared recipes together. Each student brought one ingredient. The best hummus I have ever eaten was made by one of my students from Syria. He took the lead and taught all of us how to prepare it. Cooking is an excellent context for language learning because it naturally integrates all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) within a meaningful, real-life task. As learners follow recipes, discuss ingredients, give and receive instructions, ask questions, solve problems, and work collaboratively, they use English for authentic communication rather than isolated language practice (Jahan et al., 2025).
I remember how each of these moments became an opportunity for my students to shine through their artistic, musical, culinary, and many other talents. And indeed… They were so talented.
The lessons we lived together gave them something much bigger than language or literacy practice. They gave them empowerment. They gave them the opportunity to showcase strengths that had nothing to do with reading and writing.
On a personal note, those interactions with my students also brought sweet memories from my grandmother, Teresa, to mind. She never learned how to read or write. But wow… talk about an intelligent woman. I have met very few people as wise as she is. She is 96 years old and still rocks, selling vegetables in front of her house back home, reminding me that literacy is only one way brainpower reveals itself.
It is so important that every student has the opportunity to showcase abilities beyond the subject being taught. This should be true regardless of their academic level, age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or cultural background. Those moments build confidence, restore dignity, and remind learners that they have so much to contribute beyond what can be measured by words written on a page.
Sometimes, what matters most is invisible to the pedagogical eye. We all need a brain break from constantly measuring classroom activities. Thank you, Granny, for teaching me that true learning also requires rest, and the wisdom to see beyond what can be measured.
References
Dimitrova, V. M. (2023). Increasing student talking time in the secondary ESL classroom: A pedagogical innovation rooted in the use of art as a guiding theme (Master’s thesis, Universidad de Alicante). Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Alicante. https://hdl.handle.net/10045/135564
Jahan, K., Ashraf, S., Noor, B., Zahrah, K., Maqbool, T., & Nawab, A. (2025). Cook and speak. Journal of Applied Linguistics and TESOL (JALT), 8(3), 1–198.
Sadiqzade, Z. (2025). Melodies in the classroom: Using songs to enhance English language learning. Acta Globalis Humanitatis et Linguarum, 2(3), 126–133.
Simamora, J. A., Iskandar, I., Weda, S., & Tahir, M. (2025). Student’s perceptions and experiences in kinesthetic learning: Challenges and benefits. Klasikal: Journal of Education, Language Teaching and Science, 7(1), 15–28.
Symanski, J. (2024). Field trips: Extending the classroom beyond the four walls. In S. C. Carothers (Ed.), In their own voices: Let the people who do the teaching do the talking (pp. 85–104). Emerald Publishing Limited.
