How to praise students in english

Effective Praise in the Classroom

Effective Praise Means More than «Good Job»or «Nice Work»

Praise works. In fact, educational research since the 1960s shows that students at every grade level and in every subject like to be praised for their work in the classroom. The empirical evidence from the research shows that praise can have a positive impact on both student academic learning and social behavior. Yet, as researchers Robert A. Gable, et al. note in their article «Back to Basics Rules, Praise, Ignoring, and Reprimands Revisited» (2009) in the Journal of Intervention in School and Clinic,

«Given the documented positive effects of teacher praise, it is puzzling why so many teachers make little use of it.»

Delivering Effective Praise

Another reason may be that teachers may not know how to deliver praise that is effective. Teachers may give general praise using phrases such as, “Great work!” or “Nice job, students!” General phrases are not the most effective way for teachers to give feedback in the classroom. General phrases are directed to no one or to no skill in particular. Moreover, while these general phrases may be nice to hear, they may be too broad, and their overuse may result in becoming humdrum. Similarly routine responses such as “Awesome!” or “Excellent!” by themselves do not inform the student what specific behaviors brought about success.

Arguments against generic praise given indiscriminately have been made by education researcher Carol Dweck (2007) in her article «The Perils and Promises of Praise» in Educational Leadership.

«The wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn.»

So, what can make praise the “right kind”? What can make praise in the classroom effective? The answer is the timing or when the teacher gives praise. The other important criteria of praise are the quality or kind of praise.

When to Give Praise

When a teacher uses praise to acknowledge student effort in problem-solving or in practice, make the praise more effective. Effective praise can be directed to an individual student or group of students when the teacher wants to connect praise with a particular behavior. That also means that praise should not be given for trivial accomplishments or weak efforts by students such as minor task completion or the student completing their responsibilities.

In making praise effective, a teacher should explicitly note the behavior as the reason for praise in as timely a manner as possible. The younger the student, the more immediate the praise should be. At the high school level, most students can accept delayed praise. When a teacher sees a student is making progress, the language of encouragement as praise can be effective. For example,

When a teacher sees a student succeed, the language of congratulatory praise may be more appropriate, such as:

Should students succeed easily without effort, praise can address the level of the assignment or problem. For example:

After giving praise, teachers should encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity to offer a chance for reflection

Quality of Praise

Praise must always be connected to a process, rather than student intelligence. That is the basis of Dweck’s research in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2007). She showed that students who received praise for their innate intelligence with statements such as “You are so smart” exhibited a “fixed mindset.» They believed that academic achievement was limited on innate ability. In contrast, students who were praised for their efforts with statements such as “Your argument is very clear” exhibited a growth mindset and believed in academic achievement through effort and learning.

«Thus, we found that praise for intelligence tended to put students in a fixed mind-set (intelligence is fixed, and you have it), whereas praise for effort tended to put them in a growth mind-set (you’re developing these skills because you’re working hard).»

Of the two types of praise, Dweck notes, praise for student effort such as “All that hard work and effort in completing the project paid off!” improves student motivation. One caution in praising, however, is to Make sure teachers are careful not to be inauthentic to inflate praise for students with low self-esteem.

Critics have raised questions about the legitimacy of classroom praise, as rewarding trivial accomplishments or weak efforts. There may be some schools that do not support the use of evidence-based practices such as teacher praise. Additionally, at the secondary level, praise may also be received by students as drawing unwanted attention to an accomplishment. Regardless, there is no evidence to suggest that effective praise has a negative effect on students. Instead, effective praise can provide students with the kind of positive reinforcement that builds on success, motivates them to learn, and increases their participation in class.

Steps to Effective Praise

Finally, and most importantly, importantly, do not combine praise with criticism. To keep praise separate from criticism, avoid using the word, «but» immediately after a compliment.

All this can make praise effective in the classroom. Effective praise can provide students with the kind of positive reinforcement that builds on success, motivates them to learn, and increases their participation in class.

Easy Pace Learning

Grammar

Basics

Lessons and exercises

Exercises

150 praise and encouragement phrases you can use to show you appreciate your co-workers, classmates, students, friends

Different ways to Praise and encouragement phrases

How to praise your co-workers, students, friends or class friends.

Encouragement and praise phrases

Great!

Phenomenal!

Superb!

Cool!

Out Of Sight!

Excellent!

Unbelievable Work!

Two Thumbs Up!

You’ve Got It!

Way To Go!

Terrific!

Outstanding Performance!

You’ve Outdone Yourself!

Marvelous!

Your Help Counts!

Amazing Effort!

Bravo!

Exceptional!

Breathtaking!

Wonderful!

You’re Special!

Keep Up The Good Work!

First Rate Work!

Fantastic Work!

You Should Be Proud!

I Knew You Had It In You!

Very Good!

Stupendous!

Sensational!

A+ Work!

What An Imagination!

Awesome!

You’re A Great Example For Others!

You Made It Happen!

You’re A Real Trooper!

It Couldn’t Be Better!

Good For You!

You’re A Good Sport!

You Made The Difference!

Take A Bow!

Super Job!

You’re Unique!

It’s Everything I Hoped For!

How Thoughtful Of You!

Nice Going!

You’re A Class Act!

Well Done!

You’re Inspiring!

How Artistic!

You Go The Extra Mile!

Hooray For You!

Great Answer!

You Deserve A Hug!

High Five!

Extra Special Work!

Wow!

You’re Getting Better!

You’re Tops!

You’re Amazing!

What A Great Idea!

You Figured It Out

You’ve Got What It Takes!

You’re Neat!

You’re A Joy!

You’re A Shining Star!

Spectacular Work!

You’re #1!

You Tried Hard!

The Time You Put In Really Shows!

Remarkable!

Far Out!

How Extraordinary!

You’re A Winner!

You Came Through!

That’s Incredible!

5 Star Work!

You’re Super!

You Can Do It!

You’re The Greatest!

Sweet!

Great Effort!

How Original!

What A Genius!

You’re A Natural!

Very Brave!

You’re A Pleasure To Know!

Way To Go!

You’re Sharp!

Congratulations!

I’m Proud Of You!

Thank You For Caring!

I’m Impressed!

You’re Very Talented!

Great Discovery!

You’re A Champ!

Right On!

You’re So Kind!

Thanks For Helping!

You’re A-OK!

Magnificent!

You’ve Earned My Respect!

You’ve Made Progress!

Outstanding Effort!

Neat Work!

I Love It!

Beautiful!

Clever!

Brilliant!

That’s Perfect!

Right On!

Your Best Work!

Expressive!

You’ve Improved!

Keep It Up!

Nice One!

Wicked!

Incomparable!

Incredible!

I Appreciate Your Help!

Good Leadership!

Great Job!

Stunning!

You Rule!

That’s Very Kind!

Keep On Trying!

You Make Me Smile!

You Rock!

You’re An Angel!

That’s The Way!

Good For You!

A Job Well Done!

You’re A Good Friend!

Way To Use Your Head!

Radical!

Alright!

You’re Very Patient!

Wonderful!

Way To Be Responsible!

Getting Better All The Time!

Worthy Of An Oscar!

Better Than Ever!

Super Duper!

Great Dedication!

Top Notch!

Hats Off To You!

Spectacular!

Good Try!

Very Courageous!

I Like It!

Great Enthusiasm!

Lovely!

Very Resourceful!

It’s A Masterpiece!

Praising in a classroom

Lessons that might be related to words that mean happy

Print the English lesson on vocabulary for different ways to give praise and encouragement

Dictionary and how to use dictionaries

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How to praise students in English

You’re doing great! У тебя великолепно получается!

That’s better than ever! Лучше, чем когда либо!

Well done! Молодец!

Good job! Хорошая работа!

Не менее приятны фразы более сдержанного одобрения:

I like that! Мне это нравится!

Very good! Очень хорошо!

Good for you! Молодец!

Great you are! Молодец!

That’s right. Правильно.

That’s it. Это оно.

That’s perfectly correct. Абсолютно верно.

Yes, you’ve got it. Да, у тебя это получилось.

That’s just what I was looking for. Это как раз то, что я искал.

You really figured it out! Ты действительно с этим разобрался!

Если человек делает успехи, то его стоит оценить по достоинству и подбодрить:

You’ve made a lot of progress. Ты значительно продвинулся вперед.

You didn’t make a single mistake.Ты не сделал ни одной ошибки.

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How to Praise Your Students

Research shows that praise is more effective when you are specific in what you are praising the student for. For example, instead of saying, «You look pretty today,» you might say, «I love that new dress!» Instead of, «Good job,» you would say, «You had such wonderful detail in your picture.» Below are both good and average examples of praise. See if you can spot the praise that is more effective.

REMEMBER, A SMILE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS

You’re on the right track now!

You’ve got it made.

You’re really working hard today.

You are very good at that.

That’s coming along nicely.

I’m happy to see you working like that.

That’s much, much better!

I’m proud of the way you worked today.

You’re doing that much better today.

You’ve just about got it.

That’s the best you’ve ever done.

You’re doing a good job.

Now you’ve figured it out.

That’s quite an improvement.

I knew you could do it.

Keep working on it. You’re improving.

Now you have it!

You are learning fast.

Couldn’t have done it better myself.

Aren’t you proud of yourself?

One more time and you’ll have it.

You really make my job fun.

That’s the right way to do it.

You’re getting better every day.

You did it that time!

That’s not half bad.

You haven’t missed a thing!

Keep up the good work.

Nothing can stop you now.

That’s the way to do it.

You’ve got your brain in gear today.

That was first class work.

That’s the best ever.

You’ve just about mastered it.

That’s better than ever.

You must have been practicing.

You did that very well.

You’re really going to town.

That’s how to handle that.

Now that’s what I call a fine job.

You’re really improving.

You’re doing beautifully!

You’ve got that down pat.

You certainly did well today.

Congratulations. You got it right!

You did a lot of work today.

Well, look at you go.

I’m very proud of you.

Now you have the hang of it.

You’re doing fine!

You are really learning a lot.

I’ve never seen anyone do it better.

You outdid yourself today!

I think you’ve got it now.

That’s a good (boy/girl).

Good job, (person’s name).

You figured that out fast.

That’s really nice.

That kind of work makes me happy.

It’s such a pleasure to teach when you work like that.

I think you’re doing the right thing.

This list originally came from Career Lab

101 Ways To Say «Very Good!»

This list was made by students.

I’m happy to see you working like that.

You’ve just about mastered that.

You’re really working hard today.

I’m proud of the way you worked today.

That’s the best you’ve ever done.

You’re doing that much better

Keep working on it. You’re good.

Couldn’t have done it better myself.

Now that’s what I call a fine job

You must have been practicing.

You’re doing beautifully.

You did a lot of work today.

You’ve got it down pat.

You certainly did well today.

You’re doing fine.

You are really learning a lot.

You outdid yourself today.

I’ve never seen anyone do it better.

One more time and you’ll have it.

I’m very proud of you.

That’s a good boy/girl.

I think you’ve got it now.

Good job, (individual’s name).

You figured that out fast.

That’s really nice.

It’s a pleasure to teach you when you work like that.

That makes me feel good.

Well, look at you go

Now you have the hang of it.

You’ve got your brain in gear today.

You’ve got it made.

You’re on the right track now.

You are very good at that.

That’s coming along very nicely.

That’s much better

You’re doing a good job.

You’ve just about got it.

I knew you could do it!

That’s quite an improvement.

Now you’ve figured it out.

Now you have it.

You are learning fast.

You make it look easy!

You really make my job fun!

That’s the right way to do it.

You’re getting better every day.

You did it that time!

That’s not half bad!

Now you’ve figured it out.

You haven’t missed a thing!

That’s the way to do it!

Keep up the good work!

Nothing can stop you now.

That’s first class work!

That’s the best ever.

You’re really going to town!

That’s better than ever.

You did very well!

You’re really improving.

You’re on target now!

I’m impressed with your progress!

Marks of a Positive Thinker

Submitted by: San D Hasselman in honor of her father.
Marks of a Positive Thinker

Leadership-willing to take risks

Belief in self- not egotistical

Proper thinking and attitude toward others

Generous with conversation with everyone

Looks for the good in bad situation

Takes action immediately because he/she knows the goals

Has initiative: is a self-starter

Constructively evaluates self to learn weakness in character and course of action

Has definite goals (which may be altered if necessary)

Success oriented—success is: «The progressive realization of worthwhile goals»

A thinker, not a dreamer (in achieving). Dreams can be helpful to creatively produce the idea, but the results are obtained by action, not by ‘dreaming’

Believes that things can be done-not just performing ‘lip service’ to an ideal or to someone else’s ideas.

A doer, not just a talker

Learns to have good recall of memory

Visualizes self as successful in the attempts to reach goals.

Thinks creatively—is able to come up with new ideas continually.

Does things to strengthen self psychologically—reading, listening to recordings of progressive, positive, or creative-thinking people.

Stretches the mind instead of stopping at the point of seemingly reaching the solution.

Sold on self and self-worth

Does not let small thinkers destroy the attainment of goals or enthusiasm for life

Believes in own importance, but is not self-centered.

Is a generally well-balanced person in all realms physically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally. Does not let self become too over-endowed in any one area at the expense of others.

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The power of effective praise: A guide for teachers

By Amanda Morin

What you’ll learn

Praise is one of the simplest and most powerful tools to engage and motivate your students. When used effectively, praise can turn around behavior challenges and improve students’ attitudes about learning. Students who learn and think differently often receive negative feedback as a result of their struggles. That makes meaningful and appropriate praise even more important.

It may seem obvious that praise can have a powerful effect on your students. But research shows it’s not always the go-to tool — in fact, it’s often underused.

The good news is that when praise is effective, it’s really effective. Teachers who use praise regularly tend to have better relationships with their students. They lose less instructional time and see fewer behavior issues. In a study looking at practices that reduce behavior problems in elementary classrooms, the Institute of Education Sciences identified teacher praise as one of the top five most effective practices.

That doesn’t mean you should start praising students for every little thing they do. And you can’t expect it to be your only classroom management technique. Before you jump right in, it’s important to know that some kinds of praise are more effective than others.

The 3 types of praise

There are three main types of praise that teachers most often use: personal praise, effort-based praise, and behavior-specific praise. Two of these three are found to be more effective than the other.

Personal praise

This type of praise tends to focus on natural talents or skills that come easily to students, rather than the effort they put in or the techniques they use. For example, a teacher might say to a student, “You have such a beautiful singing voice!” Research has shown that this kind of praise may backfire. When students feel their abilities are outside of their control and just part of who they are, they may think they don’t have the ability to improve.

This is especially true of struggling learners who aren’t as confident in their abilities and skills. Personal praise can make students less willing to risk trying new things for fear of revealing just how little talent they think they have.

Instead, focus on.

Effort-based praise

This type of praise emphasizes what students can control. Think back to the student with the beautiful singing voice. The student likely worked hard to learn the difficult key changes in a song or to memorize the lyrics. The time spent and the strategies used are within the student’s control.

That’s why effort-based praise, such as “I am so impressed at how hard you worked to sing that song without the music and lyrics in front of you,” is more empowering than “You have such a beautiful singing voice!”

Behavior-specific praise

This type of praise lets students know what they are doing correctly. It’s an evidence-based classroom management strategy that focuses on providing specific feedback to describe your approval of student behavior. To give behavior-specific praise, you clearly tell students what they’ve done correctly. For example, if you have a student for whom organization is an issue, you could say, “Nice work getting your homework out of your homework folder first thing this morning.”

Both effort-based and behavior-specific praise genuinely acknowledge your students’ efforts and achievements. When your students feel that you’re honestly showing approval and telling them what they did well, they’re more willing to continue to work hard and look for effective strategies to overcome obstacles.

How to deliver effective praise

Knowing what to praise your students for and when to give that praise is just as important as the praise itself. The following guidelines can help you deliver praise in the right way and at the right time.

Be specific.

Descriptive and precise praise takes the guesswork out of what you’re praising. Students should be able to identify exactly what they did well and know the positive behavior you want them to repeat. “Great job — you were quiet in the hallway as we passed other classrooms!” is better than “You did a good job on the way to lunch.”

Be clear about the expectations.

For praise to be effective, students need to know what the standards are. Explicitly state the criteria you’re using to evaluate an assignment or the behaviors you expect. Then, provide positive feedback that students can directly match to the expectations.

For example, if your expectation is for students to finish their morning routine in 15 minutes, you can say, “Wow, you unpacked your backpack in the first 15 minutes of the day. Well done!”

Praise the process and progress, not just the outcome.

Students who learn and think differently may struggle to complete an assignment or task. In fact, it may take several attempts for students to finish. Students may feel discouraged when they’re working hard, but it feels like their work still isn’t good enough.

You can support students by giving behavior-specific praise about their process and progress as they work, letting them know they’re on the right track. Use phrases like “you’ve put so much effort into writing your first draft” to point out small wins, which helps students recognize that their hard work is moving them forward.

Be sincere — and don’t overpraise.

Students know when you’re not being sincere. In fact, insincerity may damage your credibility and your relationship with them. It can make students wonder if you’re not able to recognize their strengths.

Praising students too often or for minor reasons can also come across as insincere. The instinct to heap on the praise is well-intentioned, but it can backfire. Research has shown that some teachers overpraise certain groups of students, including students of color.

Overpraising can be harmful to students of color and students who struggle because it sends the message that teachers have low expectations for them — the exact opposite of the high expectations teachers should hold. It can also make students doubt whether they’re capable of handling the big things, or whether you think they are.

Instead, focus on precise, sincere, and effort-based praise at opportune moments, like when students try a new skill, make progress in a project, or show mastery of a concept.

Be sensitive, and follow culturally responsive practices.

Praise should also be appropriate for the individual student. Some students may thrive on being praised in front of the whole class. Other students may be uncomfortable being singled out, even if it’s for a good reason.

Similarly, exactly what you choose to praise should be culturally appropriate to the student. Some forms of “praise” may actually reinforce stereotypes related to race, ethnicity, or disability.

For example, consider teachers who tell Black students that they’re articulate. Although the teachers’ comment may have been intended as praise, it reveals that they don’t expect their Black students to be well-spoken. This harmful stereotype could leave students questioning their teachers’ assumptions and expectations.

Getting to know your students and understanding culturally responsive teaching practices can help you decide the most appropriate praise for each student.

Avoid comparisons to other students.

Praise that is contingent on outperforming peers can lead students to doubt their abilities. Imagine a teacher praising one student in front of the class, saying “High five for coming in first in the spelling bee!”

This comment could send a message to the rest of the class that the teacher is comparing students’ abilities. It’s better to say something along the lines of, “High five for learning how to spell such tricky words!”

Download: 7 ways to give praise

Incorporating effort-based and behavior-specific praise into your teaching routine takes practice. To get started, use this downloadable resource with tips for giving effective praise.