Communicative+Activities

**__Communicative Activities__** ===**//Language is best taught when it is being used to transmit messages, not when it is explicitly taught for conscious learning. (Terrell)//** ===

===// **Research on second language acquisition (SLA) suggests that more learning takes place when students are engaged in relevant tasks within a dynamic learning environment rather than in traditional teacher-led classes (Moss & Ross-Feldman, 2003) ** //===

//**Reflection: What can we expect students at each level of language study to be able to communicate orally in the foreign language? What should the student know and be able to do? What classroom strategies might enable students to develop oral proficiency? **// > Stephen Sadow, Northeastern University)
 * [|Inner/Outer Circles][[image:http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/two_circles.jpg width="28" height="28"]](Low - Mid - I have used this strategy for beginners - Kindergarten)[[image:http://assets.pearsonpd.com/prodImages/worldlanguages_1551.jpg align="right"]]
 * [|Four Corners] (Intermediate - Low)
 * [|Strategic Interaction] (Intermediate - Low)
 * [|Wedding Reception] (Intermediate - Low)
 * [|Daily Activities]
 * [|Find Someone Who]
 * [|Creative Activities for Language Teaching] ( Downloadable communicative ideas;
 * GIVE ONE, GET ONE
 * [|Activities for Communication] (CAL - Moss, D. & Ross-Feldman, L. (2003). Second-language in adults: From research to practice)

1. Students think silently about a question posed by the instructor. 2. Individuals pair up during the second step and exchange thoughts. 3. In the third step, the pairs share their responses with other pairs, other teams, or the entire group
 * **__Think-Pair-Share __ [|Think Pair Share Activity Explanation]**

1. Teacher announces the corners. It is helpful to have visuals--either pictures or text--posted in each corner. 2. Give students time to think about which corner they would like to go to and why 3. Students go to corners 4. Students pair up to share. 5. Students paraphrase in pairs (Students tell what the people they have interviewed have said) 6. Results are shared with class.
 * __**Four Corners**__

1. Students form groups and count off so each student has a number 2. A question is posed to students by the teacher 3. Students "put their heads together" to assure that everyone knows the answer 4. Teacher calls out a number at random and students with that number raise their hands or stand up to respond
 * **__Numbered-Heads Together__ [|Numbered Heads Explanation]**

1. One student orally describes a picture to a second student who then draws a copy of it. 2. One student orally describes a picture to another student who then is given a choice of pictures and must choose the one described.
 * __**Speaking Activities Using Visuals **__


 * __**Circumlocution **__
 * 1) Use vocabulary that you already know
 * 2) Try to think of another way to convey the message
 * 3) Describe the concept. Explain who uses it, why it’s used or where
 * 4) Use a synonym.
 * 5) Explain what and object is not.


 * __**Jigsaw**__
 * [|Learning Jigsaw Activity Explanation]
 * [|Jigsaw Strategy]

1. Make sure the questions are appropriate for the class. 2. It is important to do something with the survey. 3..Each student receives a different question. 4.The student asks the question to other classmates. 5. The student records the responses and creates a graph showing the results.
 * __**Class Surveys **__

This small group discussion strategy will protect against one person dominating the discussion and against one or more persons not participating at all. Since it is sequentially structured, it works well when there are several different questions for discussion.
 * **Talking Tokens**

1. The rules for small group discussion are the same.

2. Whenever a person wants to talk, he/she must put his/her “Talking Token” in the center of the table.

3. Whenever all group members’ tokens are in the center of the table, everyone retrieves his/her token and the process begins again. Source of idea: http://digitalsandbox.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/8/8/5588196/talking_tokens.pdf


 * [|Flexible Grouping]
 * [|Pinterest - The Teacher Garden Blog]

__ Suggestions: __ > then they reverse.
 * __Index Cards__: Set of index cards (same number of cards as there are students); put matching stickers or symbols on index cards. For students working in pairs, make sets of index cards where every two cards have a matching sticker or symbol. To begin paired work, have students choose an index card (stickers are facing down). Students find the other student in the room who has the matching sticker or symbol. For work in groups, make matching index cards for the number of students you want per group.
 * __Popsicle Sticks__: Put student's name on popsicle stick and store them in a box or bin. For totally random pairings, choose two sticks at a time. Popsicle sticks can also work at dividing sticks into small groups
 * __Short-term pairings__ - The students work in pairs or threes. After doing the activity the first time, they change places and do it again. Many of these activities can also be done with the entire class.)
 * 1) Give the person next to you a complement. That person reacts to the complement. Students complement each other over and over again and again.
 * 2) Ask the person next to you for a favor. That person agrees to do it or comes up with excuses.
 * 3) Describe the person next to you in great detail to a third person.
 * 4) Give something you have with as a gift to the person next to you.
 * 5) One person talks for as long as possible, the other urge one on with statements of encouragement and surprise;

__**Clothing**__ Each student has a "folder" suitcase and pictures of clothing. Each partner "packs" suitcase with a determined number of clothing items. The partners than take turns guessing what each other have packed.
 * __Partner Practice - Suitcase Activity__

__**Food**__ Each student has a folder in which they "make a sandwich" with a specific number of items. After each has made a sandwich, they interview each other to find out how many are the same and how many are different. "¿Tienes ?" __**House**__ Each student is given a large picture of a house with the various rooms and a picture of a person. Each partner has the same visual. Partner A places his/her person in one of the rooms of the house. Partner B asks questions to find out where the person is hidden. After Partner B has found the hidden person, Partner A "seeks" and Partner B "hides."
 * __Partner Practice - Make a Sandwich__
 * __Partner Practice - Hide and Seek__

Variation: The person can be hiding "next to, under, etc." to practice prepositions or "objects in the room" vocabulary.

__**Questions**__ __**Interviews**__ Weather [|Active Communication]
 * Opinion Poll - Teacher chooses 5 students to be the interviewers. Each interviewer is given a card with a question on it. The interviewers go around to each student, ask their questions, record the responses and then report the results to the class.
 * Identity - Signs of famous people are placed on the backs of the students. The students try to find out their identities by asking only yes/no questions.
 * The student speaks with another student, records his/her partner's answers and then reports in the target language. Examples of tasks: Ex. Subjects - Find out the partner's name, address, favorite class, the easiest class and the most difficult. Ex. - Activities - Find out from another student five things that they do on the weekend that they do different from what they do during the week.
 * Half of the students receive a Partner Practice A while the other half of the class receives Partner Practice B. Each Partner Practice paper
 * [|Question-Answer Ball Activity] (You Tube - 7:36; demonstration of tech)nique and discussion)
 * [|Spinning Yarn] (You Tube)
 * [|Witness - English Example] (You Tube)
 * [|Information Gap Activity] (You Tube
 * [|Communicative Lesson Plans] (UCLA - Language Materials Project)
 * __**[|Communicative Language Teaching: Can We Do It Better?]**__ (Jim Cummins)
 * __**[|Teaching for Communicative Competence]**__ (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy)
 * __**[|Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers]**__ - Michael McCarthy
 * __**[|Developing Oral Proficiency in the Immersion Classroom]**__ (Miriam Stein, PHD)
 * __**[|Oral Language Development in Second Language Acquisition]**__
 * __**[|Improving Immersion Student Oral Proficiency by Fostering Extended Discourse]**__ (CARLA)
 * __**[|Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction and Sample Activities]**__ (Ann Galloway)
 * __**[|Communicative Games for Presentation and Practice of New Language]**__ (Rosemary Bevis)

http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/two_circles.jpg http://assets.pearsonpd.com/prodImages/worldlanguages_1551.jpg