The Hat Discussion Activity For The EFL Classroom

Join a global community of over 200,000 TEFL teachers working throughout the world! Enrol me!

Speaking is one of the reasons our students come to our lessons and keep returning to our classrooms, so we need to utilise a range of activities which fosters speaking and discussion. Here’s another activity to add to your teaching toolkit, a discussion activity which can be adapted to suit any level, class or topic.

What is a Hat Discussion?

A Hat Discussion is a method which can be utilised in order to encourage your students to speak. Sometimes it can be difficult for our students to participate in class, because they are not interested in the topic, they have nothing to say or because they don’t have the language to say what they want. A Hat Discussion allows your students the opportunity to speak in such situations.

How does it work?

The Hat Discussion is based on a business idea which aims to stimulate the creative process by allowing people to consider an idea from different viewpoints. During the activity, students wear different hats to signify different points of view. The different hats can be different colours, to make identification easier.

Procedure

The teacher brings in to class red, yellow, white and black hats – however many are needed so that each student has a hat. To begin, brainstorm emotions and attitudes expressed by the different colours:

Red = passionate, opinionated, loud

Yellow = optimistic, happy, positive

White = neutral, easily pleased

Black = pessimistic, depressing, negative

Divide the class into four groups and hand out the SAME colour hats to each group. Hand out (or write on the board) a topic for discussion. Each group must respond to the topic according to their colour hat. This gives the students a chance to brainstorm ideas together. Use this time to refer to any useful language that comes up.

Repeat this procedure with a few discussion topics.

Then, divide the students into new groups, this time with each student in the group wearing a different colour hat. Repeat the discussion topics and each student must contribute to the discussion according to the personality of the hat. At this point the students can repeat the ideas they came up with in their original groups.

Why is it effective?

The Hat Discussion works because it is so adaptable. You can use it for any topic of discussion, any level and any nationality of students. Once you use the activity with your students it will be easy to utilise the hats in later lessons without any explanation. The fact that your students are forced into a point of view means they won’t be afraid to speak up because it is not their own opinion. They can hide behind the persona of the hat, so to speak.

Get Social

Follow us on social networks, join our newsletter - get the latest news and early discounts

Sign up to our newsletter

Follow us on social networks, sign up to our e-newsletters – get the latest news and early discounts

Accreditation Partners

The TEFL Academy was the world’s first TEFL course provider to receive official recognition from government regulated awarding bodies in both the USA and UK. This means when you graduate you’ll hold a globally recognised Level 3 (120hr) Certificate or Level 5 (168hr) Diploma, meaning you can find work anywhere and apply for jobs immediately.

Product added to your cart

You have added to your cart:

Request call back

    Please leave your details below and one of our TEFL experts will get back to you ASAP:

    Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

    Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

    Thank you! Your message has been sent!

    Register Now

    Download the TEFL World Factbook

      Please enter your details in order to download the latest TEFL World Factbook.

      Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

      Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

      Thank you for downloading the TEFL World Factbook!

      If the TEFL World Factbook did not download
      > Click Here To Download <

      Download the Online Teaching Guide

        Please enter your details in order to download our Online Teaching Guide.

        Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

        Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

        Thank you for downloading our Online Teaching Guide!

        If the Online Teaching Guide did not download
        > Click Here To Download <

        Download Prospectus

          Please enter your details in order to download our latest prospectus.

          Would you like us to update you on TEFL opportunities, jobs and related products & services?

          Yes, keep me updatedNo, but thanks anyway!

          Thank you for downloading our prospectus!

          We hope you enjoy reading our prospectus, we have tried to make it as useful as possible! Please get in touch if you have any questions.

          If the prospectus did not download automatically
          > Click Here To Download <

          $
          $