How can we encourage our students to use the target language more in class? That’s a question we’re always asking. Even though “talking” is not essential for language acquisition, talking and using the target language is the reason why our students are in our classes. They want to use the language, and we want them to use it too. But, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Recently, I chatted with Christina Margiore to talk about new ideas on how to get your students talking. Christina shared 4 games she uses frequently in class to get her students talking from level 1 to Spanish 5 IB.
Christina is a high school Spanish teacher from Long Island, New York. She’s been teaching Spanish since 2009. In the last 10 years, she’s taught a lot of AP and IB Spanish. This is where she saw the need to help students develop their output and push them to produce language, especially at the upper levels.
Asking our students to speak and answer us in Spanish is very scary to them. We need to remember many students struggle with this. As Christina mentioned to me, this can be especially scary for teenagers because they don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers. If we make it fun enough for them, they will be so caught up in the moment that they put aside their fears.
Then, they realize that they are actually speaking the language, and this excites them! Christina reminds us that this builds their confidence which is so important to help them build their speaking and writing skills.
Games Provide Opportunities for Informal Assessments
Christina also reminded me that another important benefit of playing games with your students is that it allows you to informally evaluate them. Tests are stressful for our students already, and when we do formal assessments, it can bring about high levels of anxiety. Games are fun for your students and puts them at ease which creates a perfect environment to informally assess them.
Games to Increase Target Language Use
Target Language Game #1
Christina explained one of her students’ favorite games as a spin on the game Taboo. First, she takes a bunch of words that her students are comfortable with and places each one on a Google slide. Now, she also uses a few more challenging words like random things, pop culture figures, or restaurants.
Next, she splits her class into two teams. Each team has one minute to get as many points as they can. She invites one team member up to the front of the classroom with their back to the smart board so the team member cannot see the word, phrase, or picture behind them. She puts a timer on for one minute. Then, she says go and reveals the first word, and their team has to get them to say that word. Each correct word is one point.
Putting in lower level words helps those students who are still on that level, but it helps to build the confidence of all students.
Target Language Game #2
The next game she spoke about was Heads Up. Have you played this game with your students? First, print word cards with words that are familiar to your students and comfortable for them to use. Christina has a simple way of creating them that she shares on the podcast. Listen HERE.
After cutting them out, provide your students with a stack of cards for them to use with a partner. One student holds a card to their forehead, and the other student has to describe the word in a way that the other student will guess the word. Each correct word receives one point. For larger classes, students can play on teams.
In episode 10 of Growing with Proficiency: The Podcast, Christina explains how to make this more challenging for advanced levels. Listen HERE.
Target Language Game #3
The next game she shared with me was a Guess Who game. Christina likes to do it with Hispanic influential people. To start, use your smart board to show the class a group of about 30 people on the board. Choose a student to pick one person, and tell them to keep their choice to themselves. Then, go around the class and each student asks a question to try to guess which person the student chose. Christina’s students love to play this game! It helps students practice asking questions in the target language.
Target Language Game #4
So, let’s talk about another way you can use those word cards, but this time, let’s help our students with their writing skills. Christina likes to use the word cards as inspiration to writing stories. Students are given about seven word cards and are asked to write a story that includes all of the words. You can give students a starting sentence or topic to begin writing with. After a designated amount of time, stop your students and have them switch word cards with a neighbor. Then, they have to finish their story using the new words. This is such a fun activity to see how the students’ stories end.
These games are great to use for any level. During our time together, Christina and I also discussed some great tips for using games in our classes and how to get our students excited to participate!
I hope you use some of these games in your class. Comment below and let me know which ones and if you have any to share as well. For more quick wins for your students to help build their confidence, read about quick wins HERE or check out episode 7 of the podcast HERE.
Christina and I also got together and created a Language Booster Tool for you to use with your students. This is the perfect resource to have students read, listen, and write to boost their language skills and build confidence. Grab your Free copy HERE.
