Here is an example of basic PQA. It’s always good to keep our fundamentals sound and revisit them from time to time.
If the structure is:
lazy
then first you write both the word and its translation into L1 on the board and you tell the class what it means:
…class, paresseux means lazy….
Then you ask the class to provide a gesture as a way for us to remember that paresseux means lazy:
…class, is there a gesture that can help us remember that paresseux means lazy…?
When you get a response that is class-generated (not from you), you register your amazement that they were able to come up with such a good gesture.
That was your set up. You told the class what the word means and you came up with a gesture to remember it. It is time now to launch into the target language and stay there.
You just ask if anyone in the class is lazy. Two things will happen. If the students have been trained in playing the game and making up silly answers, someone will probably say yes. But, if they just stare at you, just tell them that one of them is lazy. They will resist when they first play the PQA game, but if you keep encouraging cute answers, you will see things gain energy and get funnier with each question you ask.
Now just start asking questions. If you don’t know how to do the questioning process (called Circling), refer to:
benslavic.com/resources/workshop handout/circling
Here is how to use circling to PQA the structure lazy:
“Class, Stephen is lazy!” (Remember, that information may have been volunteered or you may have just told them that some student (whom you chose) is lazy. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you now have a personalized sentence to circle, to have fun with.
There are two kinds of circling, basic and advanced. In basic circling, you start by changing out the subject of your basic sentence each time you ask a question, then the verb, then the object. That gets real boring for the kids real fast because they see the pattern and it becomes a boring pattern drill.
The advanced way to circle is to just ask questions as they come into your mind without following a pattern:
“Where is Stephen lazy, class? (You reject a few answers to get in more repetitions, then someone says “Home!” and you say, “Correct! Stephen is lazy at home!” This is when to use Point and Pause, which is described at the same link as above – if the cute suggestion that you end up accepting is at home, and you see/feel/grok that your kids don’t know it, you do Point and Pause.
Then:
“Class, when is Stephen lazy at home? Correct! Stephen is lazy at home in the afternoon! He isn’t lazy in the morning. He is lazy in the afternoon!” “Class, is Stephen lazy in the evening? No, class, you are really very intelligent! Steven is not lazy in the morning and Stephen is not lazy in the evening, he is lazy in the afternoon.” (same us of Point and Pause if necessary)….
“Class, who is lazy? Yes, class, Stephen is lazy!”
You continue with the random questioning:
“Class, is Stephen lazy or is Superman lazy? Yes, class, you are right! Stephen is lazy. Superman is not lazy.”Class, when Stephen is lazy, is his French teacher happy?” Correct! When Steven is lazy, his French teacher is not happy! You are very intelligent!” So, Stephen is lazy and he is lazy in the afternoon and when he is lazy in the afternoon his French teacher is not happy. Very good, class!”
Notice that I chose to use Superman and French teacher and not Stephen’s mother or dog or girlfreind. You never know what is going on in a student’s private life. In that sense, the questions and answers in PQA are not really personalized, just in the imaginary, fun sense.
Stephen is sitting there, your hand is on his desk or you are hovering nearby, he is not exactly knowing how to react, but he knows that the entire class is talking about him so he probably better try to know what they are saying, and you just continue on like that, using your triple threat skills of Circling, SLOW and Point and Pause.
Remember to hold the kids accountable for doing their 50% (see Classroom Rules poster at benslavic.com). This means requiring them to ask with the agreed upon hand sign(s) every time they hear something they don’t know.
And, of course, be determined to absolutely use the word “lazy” in every single sentence you use with the group.
And don’t forget to play the PQA game with joy, as if each new bit of information they give you is very interesting and important to you and makes you happy.
It will naturally die down or escalate up. That is what is so great about PQA. You can take one word and go anywhere with it. If the word fails to generate the repetitions you want, you have 35 other students to talk about. You can do PQA for months and months if you want. As long as you are speaking in the TL and your students are interested, then you are doing your job and you won’t be fired for teaching grammar, which is the next big news in foreign language education – teachers losing their jobs because they won’t or don’t know how to align with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the Three Modes of Communication.