Ben,
Here is a beginning of the year activity for level one classes. It is my adaptation of your Circling with Balls activity.
In the first few weeks of class we are getting to know one another. I ask a few simple questions to each student. I speak in Spanish and the students listen and respond with one word answers.
I wanted to see if they were getting as much as it seemed like they were getting, so I gave a recognition check to the students in my Spanish I classes the other day. It was a sample of 100 questions and answers that we have been using in these get-to-know-you interviews. This activity has been great fun and very enlightening – it is a good way to deliver compelling comprehensible input because we are focusing on something that will keep their attention – each other. Students enjoy the individualized attention and they also enjoy learning about one another. We are learning some fascinating things about who the students in each class are and what they like to do. It is also affirming for them to realize that they do almost EVERYTHING better than Señor Hedstrom.
There are two main questions I ask:
1. What is your name?
2. What do you like to do?
I occasionally follow up with:
– What grade are you in?
– Where do you live?
– Where do you play basketball?
– Which position do you play?
– Which do you like to play more, basketball or soccer?
– For how many years have you been playing basketball, soccer, etc.?
I will almost always end each “interview” with:
– Class, who plays basketball better, student X or señor Hedstrom?
Almost every day we review the students that we have previously interviewed. It is usually very short. Something like:
– Class, what is this girl’s name?
– What does she like to do?
If there is something extremely cute or noteworthy, I may ask some follow up questions as we review. One girl likes bunnies, and sadly does not have any bunnies, but luckily she actually sits by a kid that raises rabbits. How lucky! (A great spot for kids to pipe in with spontaneous rejoinders) Another kid lived in Vanuatu for nine years. Another girl has cows in Oregon and Wyoming, but not here in Colorado. With odd and interesting stuff like that a student usually adds the color commentary unprompted – often in Spanish (already!).
The majority of students said they understood 100% of the 100 questions. I am noting those that did not to rearrange the seating chart and put them in a spot where I can help them a bit more.
100 questions is a lot, but they can learn at this rate because it is:
1) Interesting
2) Predictable
3) Repeated
4) Recognition-based, NOT production-based (No production is expected yet, although some students are spontaneously producing full sentences already)
Go ahead and use this idea or adapt it as you wish.
Works for me,
Bryce
The Problem with CI
Jeffrey Sachs was asked what the difference between people in Norway and in the U.S. was. He responded that people in Norway are happy and
