How to Make English Teaching Interesting Online: 5 Little-Known Tips

Teaching online offers undeniable benefits. Gone are the days of chalk dust and endless photocopying. No more students claiming they’ve forgotten their pens or trying to maintain classroom order. Instead, a simple “mute” button gives instant silence.

But, as with everything, there are challenges. The most common: giving detailed instructions to a screen full of black, camera-less squares, unsure if your words are landing. Silence after questions can feel like a teacher’s worst nightmare.

But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Below are five practical tips to make your online English lessons engaging. These aren’t flashy tricks from teaching blogs, but small adjustments that will transform even the most camera-shy, quiet classes into interactive ones.

Сreate recurring personas based on realistic profiles: for example, a skeptical client, a moody teenager, or a difficult teammate. Making these personas appear in different lesson contexts allows students to adapt tone, vocabulary, and strategy accordingly.

Why it works: adults and teens relate more to social roles than fantasy figures. This approach sharpens pragmatic competence — the ability to adjust language use depending on the social or professional setting: a skill critical for advanced communication.

But here’s where the magic lies: you take the standard, predictable role-play task and breathe life into it by tailoring the variations to the grammar point you’re teaching that day.

For example, if you’re drilling conditionals, your “skeptical client” card could read: “You only agree to sign the contract if three impossible demands are met.”

For reported speech, a “difficult teammate” could be given conflicting statements they have to pass on, forcing classmates to sort out who actually said what.

Sounds too offline-ish? Not with these tricks!

Share prompts in the private chats

In Zoom, Teams, or any platform with a private message feature, you send each student their role description directly in the chat. That way, only they know their “mission” for the role-play, and the rest have to respond naturally.

Use breakout rooms to your advantage

If you’ve got multiple pairs or groups, assign each room a slightly different scenario. You can paste the role cards into the breakout room chat so they remain visible while they work.

On-screen “draw” mechanic

Use a randomizer wheel (Wheel of Names, Flippity, etc.) with the role prompts preloaded. Spin it in front of the class so they “draw” their role live. Adds a game-show vibe.

Mystery role camera-off challenge

Tell students to turn their cameras off, then act out their roles using only voice and language clues. Others guess what the role is. This is especially fun for practicing functional language (“agreeing,” “refusing,” “complaining”) and adds an element of deduction.

Now, many students face problems while reading English texts. They want support, to be corrected, and in many cases, they are bored. 

This is the part where traditional chain reading comes into play. And as simple as it is, it not only helps boost your students’ confidence but also improves engagement and presence. 

Explain to your students that they will read the text aloud together, taking turns reading one sentence at a time. Set the rule that each student will turn their camera on only when it is their turn to read and switch it off immediately after finishing their sentence. 

Decide on the reading order, which can be alphabetical, random, or based on volunteers. Begin by calling on the first student to turn their camera on and read the first sentence aloud. Once they finish, they switch their camera off, and the next student does the same with the following sentence. 

Why it works: breaking reading into bite-sized, individual turns helps build fluency gradually. The short camera-on moments give students a clear, limited window to participate, easing anxiety around both speaking and being seen.

Meanwhile, listening to peers read supports comprehension and pronunciation awareness. This method transforms reading practice from a daunting solo task into a collaborative, supportive experience where everyone contributes.

Imagine transforming your online classroom into a vivid fantasy realm where students don magical masks and filters on platforms like Zoom or Google Meet.

Whether it’s a wizard’s pointed hat, a knight’s shining helmet, or a mischievous rogue’s mask, these playful visual props help students fully embody their characters and slip effortlessly into storytelling mode.

When students “wear” a character mask, they feel freer to speak up and experiment with language without fear of judgment. This psychological distance encourages risk-taking in speaking and makes role-play activities more engaging and dynamic.

The excitement of transforming visually boosts motivation and builds a stronger emotional connection to the lesson content.

This immersive experience enhances not only fluency but also pragmatic skills like tone, emotion, and body language, which are crucial in real-life communication.

In practice, you might start a lesson with each student choosing a filter that fits the story’s theme. When speaking or role-playing, the mask becomes a cue to “stay in character,” guiding language use appropriate to the role. 

Take storytelling in your online classroom to a whole new dimension by incorporating collaborative platforms like Figma and Canva. 

These digital whiteboards and design tools empower students to co-create story maps, character profiles, timelines, and brainstorming webs that bring the lesson’s narrative to life.

When students plot out a dungeon layout, map a treasure hunt, or design a character’s journey, they use spatial and descriptive language naturally. This active engagement turns passive listening into hands-on learning.

Collaboration is key here. As students add sticky notes, draw paths, or upload images, they build the story world together, fostering a sense of ownership and shared purpose. 

For example, you can assign groups to create different parts of a story map on Figma: one team designs the setting, another develops characters, while a third plots challenges or puzzles. Later, they present their sections, practicing speaking and narrative skills in a meaningful context. 

Canva offers stylish templates for timelines or character profiles, allowing learners to showcase their language skills in polished, shareable formats.

TikTok isn’t just for dance challenges and viral trends — it can be a surprisingly powerful tool in your online English classroom.

With its short, punchy videos, TikTok fits perfectly with the limited attention spans of modern learners, offering quick bursts of language input that are both fun and memorable.

Here are some fun, easy-to-implement activities you can bring directly into your online classroom:

Trend Adaptation for Vocabulary

Take a popular TikTok trend: like a catchy song, dance, or meme — and challenge students to adapt it using target vocabulary or grammar. 

For example, create a short dance incorporating words related to emotions or use a trending sound to model question forms. This taps into students’ interests while reinforcing language in a memorable context.

Storytelling in 60 Seconds

Ask students to retell a story, describe their day, or explain a process in just one minute. This builds fluency and forces them to organize thoughts clearly and efficiently — just like TikTok creators do.

Why it works: TikTok videos combine visual, auditory, and textual cues in a way that makes vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar points stick.

The future of online English education is interactive, imaginative, and inclusive. Let’s make every lesson an adventure worth joining. 

Write to us which of these five captured your attention and worked in your virtual classroom best!