In one of my latest posts, I discussed a “quiz- quiz- trade” activity using speaking task cards. (Click here to check it out!) This activity keeps my students in the target language and increases confidence in their speaking abilities.
Look for speaking task cards for all of Spanish 1? Click HERE
Look for speaking task cards for all of Spanish 2? Click HERE
Using this method definitely takes a leap of faith on behalf of the teacher that your students will stay on task. Letting go of control can be tough, but I promise you it is worth it.
So how do you organize them in an effective way? The most hands off and time saving method is to simply tell them to partner up and as they rotate partners, they can’t repeat anyone. If you only have a few minutes for the activity, this works well. The downfall is that students tend to only talk with their friends, or same gender, and they “clump” in groups.
Option two is to give them a second card with a color or number and they have to pick someone with the opposite color or number as they look for a new partner. I like to use a deck of cards and as the students walk in the room, I pass them out. One red, then one black. So a student with a red card needs to speak to someone with a black card. This method takes a little more preparation ahead of time, but doesn’t waste any class time.
My favorite method requires a little explanation the first time you use it, but is highly effective and gets students talking with a variety of people. Once the students have done it once, they then know what is expected of them in the future when we repeat the activity in another unit. So here is my method: I split the class into two even groups. You can simply have them count off by two. I ask “grupo uno” to come stand near the board and pass out the speaking task cards. “Grupo dos” forms a circle in the center of the room, facing out (away from the center of the circle). They also each get a card.
Now the fun part! The students in “grupo uno” each select a partner sitting in the circle. They stand in front of their partner, ask and answer their partner’s question, then switch cards AND spots! So the students standing become the students sitting. The student who stood up now picks a new partner in the circle. The key to this is that they have to pick whoever is open at the time. From the teacher’s perspective, it is really easy to monitor them and make sure they are changing partners. You can even stand in the center of the circle to closely monitor them!
The students love the ability to move around the room while engaging with one another!
Look for speaking task cards for all of Spanish 1? Click HERE
Look for speaking task cards for all of Spanish 2? Click HERE
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