In Questioning Level 5, actors usually leave the place where they found out that they had a problem and go to Questioning Level 6 – the place where the problem is solved or not.
This going from one place in QL5 to another in QL6 requires actors to travel, and with that need comes an opportunity for a brain break by means of a humorous mode of travel and a brief comical transportation interlude in class that takes place in the target language.
The means of conveyance can be described in words, or in certain classes where the focus is strong enough, it can actually be put into dramatic action, which the kids simply love doing.
Just ask the class how the actors got to wherever they went. If a motorized spoon is the chosen method of travel, two or three students can become the spoon and the actor just accompanies the spoon as it scoots across the room to its destination, usually with much laughter.
Safety is an issue, and the instructor must not let things get out of hand. Once some football players became a raft to cross a river while the lead character stood on them as they scooted across the floor to their destination. No injuries happened, and it was great fun to watch, but I wouldn’t allow that transportation scene again probably.
Generally, a couple of minutes suffice for these scenes. Just remember that the kids being the spoon [raft, whale, truck, train, bus or whatever] must synchronize their actions with your words (Rule 5 of the Classroom Rules). The kids love to make themselves into busses. Cars, of course, are popular, but I choose a different mode of transportation for each story since I can teach more vocabulary that way.
Examples of such conveyances, besides the common ones of by car, boat, train, airplane, or on foot are: by motorized utensil (spoon, knife, fork, plate, glass, or cup), cow, camel, monster or other bizarre creatures, magic carpet, auto-toilette, space shuttle, toad, narwhal, etc. More examples can be found in TPRS in a Year!
The students never fail to make this an amusing and sometimes hilarious part of class, and often come up with amazing conveyances of their own. When the words mean something to the kids, they actually learn them. Fishing for increasingly bizarre details can provide excellent repetition of thematic vocabulary words like knife, fork, and spoon, for those who still teach using thematic units and semantic sets.