Become a more confident language teacher.
One’s gotta go is a popular discussion prompt that is perfect for communicative language classes. The basic premise is that students are looking at 3-4 images of different things and picking the one that they would eliminate from existence if one had to go away forever. How to play One’s gotta go This discussion activity…
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One of my favorite ways to introduce very high frequency vocabulary for novice learners is to use pictures. Describing an image to students in the target language while they listen and look while I point to various elements of the picture is an excellent way to provide my students with input that is comprehensible. One…
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Running Dictation is a favorite activity among world language teachers, conceived by Jason Fritze and first taught to me by Michele Whaley. I first shared it on The Comprehensible Classroom blog here in 2011. In this high-energy game, students take turns with teammates to run to a poster, memorize a statement, and race back to…
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Many of us learned language through an explicit instructional model, in which words and concepts were taught, practiced, and memorized. When I began teaching, I started out with that same explicit model of instruction: working from a textbook curriculum that laid out thematic vocabulary to memorize and grammar concepts to practice and master in each chapter.…
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Guest post by Meghan Loveless, Assistant Curriculum Developer for the Comprehensible Classroom I’m always looking for new activities that I can use to get my students on their feet and moving around the room while still engaged with input. When Hayley Ross, who is an incredible English Teacher in my hallway, shared with me a…
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If you are in need of a low-prep, low-key interpretive activity, Mind Reading is for you! Mind Reading is a Language Gym activity from Dr. Gianfranco Conti. Dr. Conti and his colleague and frequent partner-in-crime, Steve Smith, have taught me much through their shared resources, training materials, and critical questions over the years. Mind Reading…
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Ready for the easiest listening activity you’ve ever rolled out? “BEEP!” Is a simple listening activity in which students listen to the teacher read or describe a familiar text or familiar information that contains errors. Whenever the students hear an error, they interrupt the teacher with a loud, “BEEP!”. Listen to me describe the game…
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Alphaboxes is a fairly common activity that is most often used at the elementary level for the purpose of reviewing content. As I worked with Meghan Loveless to finish up the last of the Flex units this spring, she suggested we find an Acquisition-friendly way to use it in the curriculum. We did, and we…
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Playing input-focused games in class can be a great way to boost student motivation, and Arcoíris, or ‘Rainbow’, is a game that you’ll be excited to add to your repertoire for the coming school year. Arcoíris is a simple group game in which group mates are competing against each other to earn the most cards…
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It’s January– you’re tired, they’re tired. Routines have started feeling…routine…and the same old challenges that you’ve been dealing with since the fall are starting to feel really old. Now is a particularly great time of year to be predictable in expectations but unpredictable in planning. Instead of starting the next unit or chapter and working…
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