Topic: Young Learners | The power of self-reflection
Presenter: Elena Ostashchenko
Presentation details
How can we help Young Learners develop awareness of their learning and take greater responsibility for their progress? This talk explores the power of self-reflection through exit tickets - short written or spoken responses completed at the end of a lesson. While often overlooked, these simple tools can encourage language development, promote learner autonomy and support more informed teaching decisions.
The presentation draws on real classroom examples from a variety of age groups and levels in YL contexts, showing how exit tickets can be successfully adapted even for low-level or mixed-ability classes. A range of inclusive paper and digital formats will be shared, including visual supports, sentence starters, drawing prompts and oral alternatives, making sure that all learners can access reflection in a way that suits their needs.
The session also highlights how exit tickets align with Assessment for Learning (AfL) principles, particularly in creating opportunities for student voice, timely feedback and identifying next steps. When used thoughtfully, exit tickets become a powerful tool for differentiation, helping teachers adjust instruction and support based on individual learners’ reflections.
By the end, participants will:
- understand the role of reflection in promoting deeper learning;
- be equipped with a bank of exit ticket prompts and formats;
- recognise the potential of exit tickets for formative assessment;
- gain practical strategies to include self-reflection in everyday classroom routines.
Whether you teach early primary, secondary or high school students, this session will offer clear, hands-on ideas to make reflection meaningful, manageable and truly motivating.
References:
- Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and Wiliam, D. (2003) Assessment for learning. Putting it into practice. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press
- Bullock, D. (n.d.) ‘Assessment for Learning’. Available at https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/assessing-learning/articles/assessment-learning
- Cambridge Formative assessment kit (2022). Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Available at https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/latinamerica/images/637019-end-of-year-celebration-and-formative-assessment-kit-2021.pdf
- Rodriguez, M., le Roux, C. & Melville, M. (2024). ‘Iteratively-designed exit tickets enhances student learning’. College Teaching, 1–9. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/87567555.2024.2355210
- Wiliam, D. (2013). ‘Assessment: The bridge between teaching and learning’. Voices from the Middle, 21(2), 15-20. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258423377_Assessment_The_bridge_between_teaching_and_learning
About the presenter
Elena Ostashchenko is an experienced EFL educator with 17 years of teaching across EFL/ESL, ESP/EAP and IELTS contexts. Based in Vietnam since 2017, she holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester (2023), as well as full Cambridge qualifications - CELTA (2017) and Delta (2019). Her professional interests include materials design, learner autonomy and project-based learning.
Elena has presented at several ELT conferences, sharing practical classroom insights and contributing to the wider ELT community.