strategy sharing

2003-12-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

Strategy Sharing #3

Mini-Dialogue Matching

I got this idea from Sarah Baxendell, of Chesapeake Public Schools, who was a presenter at the recent FLAVA conference in Richmond.

Explanation: In this activity you will need to prepare half as many dialogues as there are people in the class. The dialogues should be 2 lines (although for more advanced classes there can be more). Half of the students should receive Line A of the dialogues and the other half should receive Line B of the dialogues. Use colored paper so that the A people aren’t talking to the A people half of the time. The object is for the students to circulate reading their line until they find the matching part of the dialogue. For example if a student with line A asks a classmate “What time is it?” and he responds “I like running” then they are not partners. If he responds “it is 4:30 in the afternoon” then they are partners.

Suggestions:
1). You can have the students write the dialogues the day before in class using target vocabulary.
2). Once the students have found their match, have each pair extend the dialogue by two or more lines (however many you want).
3). Also, the students can write a sentence about where the dialogue might have taken place.
4). Once students are matched, have each pair read their dialogue for the whole class so that the entire class can then write the next line or two.
5). For more advanced classes make the dialogues 4-6 lines and make some of the lines similar so that each student is forced to read all lines before deciding of they have a match. (The creation of these dialogues could be assigned to the students as well)
6). This activity could also be used just as a pairing exercise. If you explain the pair exercise beforehand, those that find their match early can get right to work.

Rationale:
• From Krashen, this exercise lowers the affective filter. This is a low stress activity for students because they will not be graded, and they will not be interacting directly with their teacher, but rather their peers.
• From Variable Competence Theory, language use is considered both a process and a product. In this activity, students must have knowledge of situational rules or “communicative competence”. Language use is also a product. There is planned use (reading of the dialogue) and unplanned use (extension of the dialougue)
• From the interaction hypothesis, the development of linguistic skills should happen through interactive communication, not grammar drills. Students will learn grammar and vocabulary by matching natural conversation lines, not merely memorizing a list of vocab.

2003-12-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

Strategy Sharing #2

Tell me a story

I got this idea from Sarah Baxendell, of Chesapeake Public Schools, who was a presenter at the recent FLAVA conference in Richmond.

Explanation: Student A receives a sheet with a series of pictures in a particular order. Student B has an envelope with individual picture cutouts that match those on the student A’s sheet. Student A describes each picture in the target language in the order that they appear. Student B listens and arranges his pictures in the appropriate order, thus creating a matching sheet. Student B then retells “the story” or describes the pictures in the order that he has them.

Extension: This can be extended into a writing activity that would allow them to focus more on the mechanics of the language. It can also be a class listening activity. Enlarge the pictures and place them on the board or overhead projector. Have students list the order in which the pictures should go according to what they hear you say.

Creation: Prepare storyboards using pictures that students can describe. Comic strips that appear in the Sunday paper can often be useful. If English words appear, it won’t be the end of the world because the pics will be described in the target language. You may also find a series of pictures in the textbook or picture files in computer programs. The most important aspect of the storyboard is that it contains pictures you know students can describe. It should be a story, or at least fit into a context, for instance buying food at the grocery store. You may assign students to bring in pictures that have something to do with recent vocab lists.

Rationale
• From Krashen and the natural approach, this strategy lowers the affective filter. This is a low stress activity for students because they will not be graded, and they will not be interacting directly with their teacher, but rather their peers.
• From connectionism, multiple associations between teacher input and desired output are achieved by visually reinforcing learning through pictures. There are connections between the words and the pictures.
• From cognitive theory, this activity reflects the progression from focused, controlled progressing to more autonomous processing. The students are not just memorizing vocab words or structures. This is not a rigid activity, but one in which they are given some freedom with the language.

2003-12-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

Strategy Sharing #1

Biographical Bingo

A favorite of the UVA Spanish Department, biographical bingo is exactly what it says. It is a bingo game that uses biographical questions instead of numbers. Students must interact with their classmates and ask them questions. If they can answer the question on a square, then that student signs the square. Then that student must answer a follow up question. The following is a sample bingo card.

ser de Virginia asistir a una iglesia estar casado (a) jugar a un deporte pertenecer a una sociedad griega

bailar venir de otro país tener animales domésticos ser vegeteriano tener una resaca

conocer a alguien famoso dormir mucho soler ir a las fiestas los fines de semana acabar de levantarse ser alto(a)

estudiar mucho cantar bien querer ser profesor tener novio o novia hacer ejercicio

ser estudiante del
primer año
ir al partido de fútbol mañana ser bajo(a) visitar lugares históricos tener hermanos o hermanas

This is just one of the many variations you can use with this game. You can use it for review of vocabulary, different tenses, or a combination of the two depending on the level you teach. The example above was used in a second year undergraduate UVA Spanish class and is probably best suited for the intermediate level in high school. A sample exchange might go something like this. . .
(1st box)
Student A: ¿Eres de Virginia?
Student B: Si, yo soy de Virginia.
Student A : ¿De dónde ?
Student B : Soy de Richmond.
Student A : Muy bien, gracias, firma aqui por favor.

Each student should ask the question suggested by the infinitive in the box and, regardless of the answer, should continue with a follow-up question as well. Only after the student answers the follow-up question should he or she sign the box. I would generally let them keep playing even after bingo has been called. The first to bingo could be one game and the person with the most signed boxes could be another one. This game can potentially help the students get to know each other a little better.

Rationale
• From Krashen, this strategy lowers the affective filter. This is a low stress activity for students because they will not be graded and they will not be directly interacting with their teacher, but rather their peers. There is high motivation to play the game and to get to know their fellow students better.
• From the interaction hypothesis, students build knowledge through interaction that increases their awareness and autonomy as communicators. Also this activity helps with the acquisition and development of linguistic rules through actual interactive communication and not in-class grammar drills.
• From variable competence theory, language use is both a process and a product. In this activity one must be familiar with the linguistic rules and have communicative competence. However, language use is also considered a product because there is planned (cues for questions in the box) use and unplanned (an original follow up question and answer) use.