CHARLEMOS – CHAT TIME!
TOPICS THAT USUALLY ENGAGE STUDENTS
This is a general list and includes topics used in first through third-year Spanish. Obviously, some topics would not be appropriate for lower levels. You need to keep in mind your students and their experiences, needs, limits, maturity, etc. Here are 60 questions that work almost every time. Most questions are appropriate for any language.
1. What did you do this weekend?
2. What are your plans for this coming weekend?
3. Which is your hardest class? Why?
4. Who is your all-time favorite teacher?
5. What do you like to do in the summer?
6. Why is everyone so tired today?
7. What do you like to eat when you’re depressed (tired? sick? nervous?)?
8. What chores do you have to do at home?
9. What was your favorite Halloween costume?
10. What shows did you watch when you were little?
11. What movie would you like to recommend to the class?
12. What kind of weather do you like?
13. What snacks do you eat while you’re studying?
14. Who is your favorite relative?
15. What would you do with $5,000? $1,000,000?
16. What would you do today if you didn’t have to go to school?
17. Do you think students should have to do community service to graduate?
18. What is new at school?
19. What is happening in the world?
20. What is your favorite class?
21. What are you going to do after school today?
22. Who is your favorite actor?
23. What is your favorite book?
24. What is your favorite movie?
25. Are you watching the Olympics? What is your favorite event?
26. What bothers you?
27. What is your favorite animal?
28. What city would you like to visit one day?
29. What countries have you visited?
30. Do you like to fly on airplanes?
31. What would you do if you knew your good friend had a drinking/drug problem?
32. What will you be doing in 10 years? 20 years?
33. When do you plan to get married, if at all?
34. Should people text when they are at a party or other social gathering?
35. Who in your family decides where to go for vacations?
36. What are you afraid of?
37. Where were you born?
38. What is your favorite family dish? (something that is served at every party)
39. Where do you like to do your homework?
40. What do you do on the weekends that you can’t do on school days?
41. Who is your best friend? Describe him/her.
42. What do you wear to a party?
43. What did you do on Saturday? (On Tuesday night? Yesterday?)
44. Where will you live when you are 30 years old?
45. What states have you visited? (What countries?)
46. Where do you hope to go in the future? Name your top three travel destinations.
47. What college(s) do you hope to attend?
48. Do you have a pet? What pet do you want to have in the future?
49. Do you brush your teeth before or after you eat?
50. What time do you go to bed on school nights?
51. What time do you get up on the weekends?
52. What will you do to be a good parent? What will you not do?
53. What do you like to do when it rains?
54. What do you like to do when it’s hot?
55. Where is your mother (father, sibling) right now? What is he/she doing?
56. Where did your partner go during vacation?
57. Tell us about a dish that your family likes to prepare for special occasions.
58. How many children (if any) do you want to have?
59. What was your favorite activity in this class?
60. What advice would you like to give the students who take this class next year?
CHARLEMOS: VARIATIONS. Students need routine but they love (and their brains need) novelty, so it’s a good idea to change the format of Chat Time occasionally.
1. Domino! This is a great way to ensure that students are listening to each other. The first time Domino is played in class, it is recommended that you draw dominos on the board and remind students how this game is played. A player matches either number on the domino tile. In this Domino game, students match ideas instead of numbers, kind of like a conversation chain.
Domino Chat Time works well with questions where students can list several answers. For instance, tell 3 things you did yesterday afternoon. The first student answers and everyone listens: “I played soccer, ate a sandwich and did my homework”. Those who can match one of the activities given can volunteer to be next. A student is chosen and answers: “I also ate a sandwich, and I went to my friend’s house and I watched a movie.” The next volunteer has to have a match with one of three activities given by the second student. Students really like this “game” and will really stay tuned throughout the chat activity. Sometimes the domino line can become blocked and no one can match. If this happens, just let a student start it over.
Good questions for Domino include:
1. What did you do this weekend. Tell us about three activities.
2. What are your three favorite foods?
3. What countries do you hope to visit in the future? Share your top three travel destinations.
4. What are your three favorite TV shows?
5. Which three universities would you like to attend?
2. Truth or Lie. This activity is also great for keeping everyone listening and to improve critical thinking skills in the target language. The teacher begins by telling three things about her/himself. This could be a big thing like three things you have done in your life (perfect for practicing present perfect!) or it could simply be three things you did last summer. One of the facts is a lie. The first volunteer says something like (the teacher has to prepare the class on how to politely point out a suspected untruth), “I don’t believe that you went scuba diving.” The teacher would respond, “You’re right! Just kidding.” or call on another student would guess. If a student guesses correctly, he/she gets to give the next three claims. This can also be done in small groups.
3. Groups. Students like to work in “chat groups” occasionally, especially in upper levels, but even first-year students can carry on independently if the activity is structured well. A leader or “teacher” is appointed in each group. This student is responsible for making sure everyone contributes and no one hogs the conversation. The group could focus on one question or many. It’s perfect for review; the leader would be in charge of asking all of the questions used that term. This is also a great opportunity to teach conversational skills like reactive phrases that express opinion or emotion. “Really?” “Me too.” “How interesting!” “I love that too!” and other phrases will help students become much more proficient in natural conversation. The teacher becomes a quiet “guide on the side” and simply listens and/or records points.
4. Pairs. A good follow-up activity to daily chat time is pair work. Students can be directed to ask three different students near them the same question that was just practiced. Or students could be challenged to ask a variation of the question. For instance, if the question is, “What clothing do you like to wear when it’s cold?” students could form similar questions for their partners. “What do you like to wear to a wedding?” “What do you like to wear when it’” This adds more spontaneity and puts pressure on the learner to listen to each question.
Chat Time: Assessment. Work with colleagues to establish expectations and decide how students will be interviewed/tested. Will it be a private interview with the teacher or during Chat Time in front of the rest of the students? Could your language lab be used for this oral assessment? Will the interview be recorded? Some teachers also include chat questions on the writing portion of regular exams.
Some other ideas to consider when planning assessment for Chat Time:
· Plan assessment with plenty of time to inform students of the expectations and testing date.
· Share the rubric with students.
· Film a few interviews and evaluate them together to be sure that all teachers are interpreting the rubric the same way. Rubric calibrating is very important and helps teachers and students perform better.
· Have students bring the rubric the day of testing so you can mark it as they speak
· Decide on a grading system. This rubric shown below uses a five-point scale, but that could be deleted and a holistic grade assigned based on how well the student performed. With the 5 point system, a teacher could multiply the number to get a larger number like 100 for the final store.
· What do the teachers in your department consider a “passing” score. As in all types of language tests, it’s important to define proficiency in oral assessment.
COACH
From The Language Teacher’s Handbook
Cynthia Leathers, 2010