Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
They Just Want to Play
Share:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Ben Slavic
Get The Latest Updates
Subscribe to Our Mailing List
No spam, notifications only about new products, updates.
Related Posts
CI and the Research (cont.)
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
Research Question
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
We Have the Research
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
6 thoughts on “They Just Want to Play”
This is great, Ben! Priceless.
Great analogy Ben! I often think about how superstar soccer players were trained. I bet many of them played improv games with their friends in the parks or streets. But then, there’s that Spanish youth league that has pumped out superstars like Fernando Torres. I wonder what kind of playful lessons they implement in that very selective youth league.
Sean I had an Aha moment on this topic while on a recent hike in the mountains with my brother, who just completed 37 years at the University of Denver as a cello instructor and performer. He said that after all the discussion about technique, etc. at some point very early on (once the technique has been established) it is no longer a question of having lessons but just playing more. (Rich) said that instead of making all the suggestions he made over his career when giving private lessons, he would forego all the instruction and just say to the student, “Play more.” So he came to the same conclusion I came to in my field, that it is the amount of playing time on the instrument/in the language that is the only true determinant factor in improvement.
Interesting. So, the challenge from us as teachers is to inspire the student to want to play more.
A fun way to stay in the target language and play is to do something a friend of mine taught me called “consequencias” or consequences. Before the activity have each kid write a funny, goofy or embarrassing consequence on a notecard in L1. An example would be to walk around the room and act like a cat for a minute. Then you start the class with complete L2 or allow the class to pick a topic and prepare for it for about 5 minutes before you go into L2. If at any time someone uses L1 then I give them a poker chip. You then wait until the end of class and all of the kids with poker chips have to pick a consequence and do it in front of class. It is so much fun and really keeps most kids in L2. I have also added that all kids must speak at least once or they get a poker chip, but this is usually left to upper levels and when they have a topic to prepare for. You get some really good laughs and memories and the kids are still acquiring all the while!
That’s a novel idea, Polly. Something I can add to my Brain Break list.