Speed Dating in the Classroom and Second Language Acquisition

First, Speed Dating is more than just an activity or warm-up in the classroom. It is a method of instruction that uses a lexical approach to language learning. In other words, the students practice the target language using chunks of language and responding to real-world situations. This approach centers on the idea that language learners develop and retain the target language more readily in conversational situations and within phrases and chunks of language. Speed dating is being used in a variety of language learning situations and has a proven track record of success. See especially Michael Lewis, “Seeking the Lexical Approach in the ESL classroom.”

I utilize Speed Dating in the classroom every day at least twice per class period. It is a very versatile teaching method. I first organize my classroom into two rows of chairs with the students facing each other.

Traditional classroom Speed dating classroom

A B

x x x x x x x x x x

x x

I keep the chairs organized in this manner throughout the class. One group of students (A) will act as instructors during the first exercise and have a list of questions to ask their students (B). I have enclosed a sample of questions that I have used in the elementary Spanish classroom for a variety of situations. These questions can be tailored to the needs of the instructor on the given day. After the students (A) have asked their questions and students (B) have responded, then group B moves to the next chair until they have made it back to their original seat. This process takes from 10-15 minutes to complete. I then repeat the process again at the end of class with the roles reversed and a new set of questions. Students (B) ask the questions and (A) answer and change seats. I have also used this method in teaching vocabulary and grammar by having students describe what the other is wearing and then change seats until they have practiced with all of the students.

Benefits: The immediate benefit of this method is that students practice the language in the classroom. They become the active initiators of their own learning. Additionally, the flexibility of the exercise permits the instructor to change the questions/answers to reflect the needs of the classroom. The instructor has the opportunity to circle behind the students as they are working and provide praise and encouragement, and at times gentle correction of errors. In my experience, students enjoy the instructional method and participate actively. More important, they learn and retain the language. Because the students become rapidly adjusted to the routine, they lose their intimidation about speaking in the target language.