When Ranting Becomes Learning: A Structured Experiment in my High School English Class

It has been a tiring past few weeks for my high school students, with tests (Achievement Test and GTEC Test) and a seemingly never-ending summer heat. I figured they needed something different and refreshing, so I gave them a “ranting session”! Yes! I let them rant, but not the kind of heated venting you might imagine. I had to soften it up and give it structure. After all, I still had to make it into a lesson.

Why ranting? I remember that as a teenager, I always had something in my mind, and I always wanted to complain about something – family and school rules, schedules, tests, homework, strict teachers, encounters with people, or even just daily annoyances. All these, when ignored, may lead to stress and we know what it may lead to. My students are no different. They have bottled up emotions. They get annoyed easily. They can be stressed by and from all sorts of things. I decided to channel them into English practice. After all, authentic communication is rarely tidy. Thinking that this can shoot two birds with one, by giving them a safe outlet and English communication practice, I proceeded to narrow down the topics and plan the lesson.

Setting the Structure

How can we polish and give structure to a rant? As funny and seemingly irrational as that may sound, I had to keep it from turning into pure mayhem. I don’t want parents nor the principal breathing down my neck about how I let a class become chaotic now, do I? Here’s what I did:

1. Set ground rules on using respectful language only, no personal attacks, and to try to find the humor in the situations.

2. Made a list of handy vocab and expressions like pet peeve, disgusting (well, they can learn this word), “It’s so annoying when…,” “I can’t stand it when…,” and their slightly informal versions like “It bugs me when…,” “That ticks me off…,” “It drives me nuts/crazy…,” etc.  Learning some idioms and slang makes it more natural, right?

3. Decided on two themes that they could easily relate to, or so I thought. For the first round, I told them to talk about “If I were to change something at school…” and was met with “Muzui na…” from some. So I gave an example of having a coffee shop nearby where I could escape to for a few minutes and where students are not allowed during school hours. Or having a lounge separate from the faculty room where we had a sofa, a kitchen, and some entertainment or recreational facilities.  They easily picked up after that. The second round dwelt on daily annoyances from people at home.

4. Gave them 5 minutes to organize their thoughts and write some key words on their cue cards. They were forbidden to use their iPads. I then put them into groups of 3, each with 1.5 minutes to rant and another 1.5 for the Q&A. Then we switched groups for the second topic.

5. Required the students to submit the video recording of their rant and to write reflection sheets afterwards. The reflection sheet asked for the questions they posed, their confidence level and clarity when they spoke, what they did well, what they will improve next time, and a strategy they discovered for impromptu speaking.

What Happened

Even though I asked them to try to find humor in their rants, I was still a bit skeptic. For context, these students are highly motivated and are serious with their studies. They are all preparing to get accepted into high-ranking universities. As I went around, I was pleasantly surprised that instead of angry complaints, the room filled with laughter and good-natured banter. Students shared funny stories about siblings, parents, and  neighbors. What’s more, they weren’t just “complaining”—they were storytelling! They were animated, exaggerating for humor, and responding to each other with genuine interest.

One group cracked up about how a parent would lay her daughter’s clothes at each step on their stairs. Another happily shared what they could do if lunch break were longer and if they had a recess. The energy was light, relaxed, and surprisingly productive. I could here them responding and asking questions in English, using the words/phrases I shared.

The best part? They loved it so much they requested we do it every month. They told me it felt good to be able to express themselves truthfully. They added it was a chance to be “real” in English—less textbook, less formal lesson, more life.

My Reflection

What struck me most was how language flowed when emotions and humor were involved. The “soft structure” kept things safe and purposeful, but the freedom gave them room to be creative. For me, it was a reminder that language learning isn’t just about grammar and polished presentations—it’s also about giving students the courage to share their messy, funny, everyday lives.

Sometimes, the best classroom activities come from simply listening to what students want to say—and then giving them the words and structure to say it well.

Tags: Senior High School, Reflection, Humor in Class,