In the OLMC Language classes, one of the challenges is to get students to speak in the language being studied. One way to encourage our students to speak the language is to do ‘speed dating.’
This involves having two rows of students facing each other. One student asks a prepared question to the student across from her, and the other student responds with her prepared response.
Then, one of the students at the top of the line briskly moves to the back of that line, and everybody moves up, facing a new partner. At this point, the students repeat the process, or change roles and reverse the question and response format repeatedly.
As each student moves to the back of the line, each student gets to speak to a new partner in the line, repeating the same question and answer format. The students become familiar with both the question and their response, because they repeat it many times, and they also memorise this information.
The aim is to memorise the information in Italian, but also to ease some of the anxiety that some students may feel when speaking in the language studied in class. The added bonus is that the students exchange responses, laughter and enjoy each other’s company.
Recently, our Year 11 Italian class practised ‘speed dating’ by asking each other – Per tenerti in forma, quali attivita` fai? (To keep fit, which activities do you do?) which ties in with the sub-topic we are currently studying on different components of well-being in Italian.