Is this an emoji I see before me?

TEACHERS are increasingly using emojis to help pupils engage with subjects – including Shakespeare’s plays.

The Times Educational Supplement found the symbols are growing popular in English and languages.

Charlotte Hodgson, an English teacher at Avonbourne College in Bournemouth, said all her department uses them – and they help kids get into the Bard.

She said: “I’ve taught A Midsummer Night’s Dream and they summarise a scene in two emojis then explain it. It’s a starting point they understand.”

But Clare Sealy, head of St Matthias School in East London, said tackling problems this way was “fiddling while Rome burns”. She added: “As educators, we have not a single minute to waste teaching trivia, such as emojis.”