Lockdown challenges on Instagram*

The 2020 lockdown has played havoc with our work, hobbies, routines and social life. One of the very few entertainments we still have is social networks. Not surprisingly, these social networks are flooded with all possible kinds of challenges to help people pass the time, get distracted for a while or just cheer up.

Let’s take a look at 4 challenges on the Instagram* which are all the rage right now. And some ideas on how to put them to good use with our students.

#BetweenArtandQuarantine

With the virus shuttering museums, galleries and theatres,  museum goers shift their focus online. The main point of this challenge is for people to replicate a famous work of art, using only the things they have at hand at home. To do so, participants use toilet paper, bathroom towels and bedsheets, food, old clothes and more. The most common hashtags for this challenge are #tussenkunstenquarantaine and #betweenartandquarantine, and the account which does lots of sharing and collecting the images is  @tussenkunstenquarantaine

What can you do with this kind of challenge? An awful lot!

• Show a photo to the students, ask them to name the artist or the painting. If they don’t seem to know much, provide them with the names and invite them to do a little research and come up with 5 interesting facts about the works of art or the creator.
• Compare the photos! This is a great chance of practicing comparative structures, picture description techniques, prepositions, Continuous forms and modals of speculation. Might come in handy at language exams. 
• Ask students to pick up a painting you like and replicate it for their next homework. It will be refreshing and exciting and can be posted afterwards with all the necessary hashtags and a little story — in English, of course.

#FliptheSwitchChallenge

It all started with the song “Nonstop”  by Drake where there was a line “I just flipped the switch”. A viral challenge soon moved from TikTok to Instagram*. This challenge usually gets two people involved. They wear different clothes, move differently, and even have different attitude. When the lights are switched off and then back on, people swap all of that. It might be extremely funny, especially if the couple are of distinctively different height or temperament. The hashtags are #fliptheswitch #fliptheswitchchallenge and #ijustflippedtheswitch.

How to use that?

• Describe the clothing and the structures like “He/she is wearing…”. With students of higher levels you might want to practise more complicated vocabulary like patterns (checked, striped etc.), materials (silk, leather) ot sophisticated accessory names. 
• Revise the feelings and emotions, as well as structures like “He looks like…” or “She looks as if…”.
• Replicate the outfit! This activity was successfully done by me with my group of teens. After discussing a selection of photos, I asked them to pick up the outfit they loved best. We briefly discussed why and then I invited them to browse through the websites like Asos or Lamoda and put together an outfit which would look similarly to the one they’d chosen. We discussed the prices, practised some functional language and learnt to justify our choices. 

#HandChallenge

The #handchallenge or #handemojichallenge originally started in TikTok as well. In this latest trend, users challenge themselves to create emojis with their hands in a short period of time. To do the challenge, you need to place a series of hand emojis on your screen. Then, follow the same sequence and repeat the emojis with your hand with the ‘Lalala’ song on the background.

A possible use? Well, in the time of online learning you can use all the benefits of this challenge to give your students a little break during the class. We are forced to reduce movement and TPR activities in our digital classrooms now, so give this activity a try next time your student are tired from being stuck in front of the screen. Invite them to stand down and do this little dance. You can vary the emojis and the number of them to finetune the level of challenge. 

#MyHouseThisMonth

This challenge is pretty old. It is an Instagram* photo challenge that runs monthly. At the start of every month a new list with daily themes is shared at @myhousethismonth account. Then participants are welcome to take and share their photos using the hashtag #myhousethismonth. There is also an alternative #mygardenthismonth challenge which looks more closely at the gardens. 

During the lockdown this challenge looks absolutely great as it helps people focus on the place they are stuck in and see some beauty in ordinary, everyday things. Not only can your students scroll through truly beautiful interiors and creative photos, they might also want to try their hand at design, photography and other skills.

What is a possible language use? 

• This challenge photos go extremely well with the topics like “House”, “Furniture”, “Style”, “Photography” and some others. Ask students to look through the photos by the hashtags, pick up a couple of interiors they like and describe them. Another one would be to check if they can name all the objects in the picture. Set a timer, share your screen with one of the pictures and ask students to type everything topic-related they can see into the chat. You can also share a selection of photos. A student can describe one of them while the others will have to guess which one it is.
• Participate! Examine the daily themes, take photos and present them. Ask learners to accompany each photo with a little text telling the story behind the picture. They can post their pictures in their personal accounts, a specially created one, or using some online tool like Padlet. 

All in all, a good thing is that the quarantine has acted as a huge boost for our creativity. If you feel that these 4 challenges aren’t enough for you, try exploring some others like the well-known #PillowChallenge, #BinIsolationOuting or #BoredChallenge. Feel free to share how you are planning to use them!