Engaging Speaking Activities for Language Growth

World Language Classroom

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#134
Are your speaking activities as communicative as they could be? Are students creating language spontaneously? Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Stephanie, a Spanish teacher in New Hampshire. Creating speaking activities that allow students to create language on their own is the area where wants to level up her teaching practice. So let's start the conversation.

Suggestions:

• Make sure that not only the input is compelling, but the output as well. How Interested are students in how they use the language?
• Make topics and themes compelling with cultural exploration, differentiated tasks, role-plays, simulations, think/pair/share, quiz/quiz/trade
• Use Chat Mats as a Scaffolding Tool with vocabulary support, sentence starters, and visual prompts

Action Plan:

This Week:

• Develop chat mats with vocabulary support, sentence starters, and visual prompts for a specific speaking activity on a cultural topic.

The Coming Weeks:

• Discover new ways of making the output compelling (how students are using the language)
• Plan a group discussion session centered around a cultural aspect of the target language.

Helpful Podcast Episodes on This Topic:

• #18: Make Your Can Do Statements Communicative
• # 56: Backwards Design and Planning
• #76: Interpersonal Activities with Meredith White
• #82: Engaging Language Activities With Wendy Mercado & Valérie Greer

Helpful Blog Posts on This Topic:

• Authentic Resources in the World Language Classroom
• Reflecting on Our Language Teaching
• Do Nows and Exit Tickets in the World Language Classroom
• Compelling Input and Compelling Output in the Language Classroom

Additional Tools:

• ChatGPT (for creating chat mats)
• WindowSwap

Join Joshua for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode on the podcast.

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• wlclassrom.com
• X (aka Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• WLClassroom Facebook Group

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