Teaching Strategies for Teaching Listening
DICTOGLOSS
Dictogloss is a classroom dictation activity where learners listen to a short text, take notes, and
then reconstruct it in pairs or small groups. This is a strategy developed by Ruth Wajnryp (1990) that
focuses on fluent academic language and supports learners in listening and recalling good English language
models. It involves students listening to repeated, fluent readings of English text. At first, students just
listen, but on subsequent readings, they take down as much of the text as possible and work in
pairs/groups of four to compare notes.
Step-by-Steps
The steps in teaching a dictogloss lesson are the following:
1. Select an appropriate piece of text—Select a content-related text and read it aloud at a normal
speaking pace. At first, instruct students to “Just listen carefully.”
o Choose a text – Short (one or two paragraphs) mostly familiar vocabulary at or below proficiency
level new or problematic grammar point.
o Activate Background knowledge – open class discussion, question and answer elicitation, and
predicting text from pictures.
o Example: Maria Clara at Ibarra GMA TV show
o Read the text aloud - at normal pace, no notes, focus on overall form/flow.
o Noli Me Tángere (Latin for "Touch Me Not") by Filipino writer and activist José Rizal
published during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It explores perceived
inequities in law and practice in terms of the treatment by the ruling government and the
Spanish Catholic friars of the resident peoples in the late nineteenth century.
2. Reread the text orally—Read the text twice more. The students are now instructed, “Jot down key
words and phrases.”
o Its impossible to write down all information (just the main idea or keywords)
3. Pair to re-create the text—Have students work in pairs to re-create as much of the text as possible
using the notes taken by each of the partners. Instruct them to write the text as closely as possible to
the original text as read by the teacher.
o Even if they cant get the exact form, they should focus n meaning and on grammatical accuracy of
their reconstruction.
4. Work in groups of four—Have two pairs meet together and pool their re-creations of the text to
reconstruct it more completely. Have the group of four work together to write down as much of the
text as possible. Their aim is to re-create it as closely as possible to the original.
5. Read the re-created text—Ask one member of each group to read the group’s re-creation of the text
and ask the other groups to see how closely it matches their versions. Display the groups’ re-created
texts, and compare and discuss them, noting the sections in the text that were difficult to re-create.
o With the teachers help, students identify similarities in meaning and form between their text and
the original.
Applications and Example
The teacher reads aloud to her class from Jose Rizal’s novel, Noli me Tangere (1887), which most
of her pupils' all-time favorite show (Maria Clara at Ibarra) was based. The teacher reads an extract from
the book and tells the student to pay close attention so they may remember Rizal’s view as he explains
how It explores perceived inequities in law and practice in terms of the treatment by the ruling
government and the Spanish Catholic friars of the resident peoples in the late nineteenth century. Teacher
urges the students to make notes of important words and phrases the second and third times she reads
the work aloud so they can remember the author's exact words. The students are then divided into pairs,
and the teacher gives them instructions on how to organize their notes so they may rework the text in the
character's voice. Once they've created a text that integrates each of their words, The students use Rizal's
words to create a big book, which is then presented to the class. They discuss the sections of the text that
were easiest to recall and compare and contrast the text of the big books.
A dictogloss allows students to explore literary and academic language in depth, exposing
them to spoken and written English at a higher level.
A dictogloss is a strategy for exposing students to fluent, literary English and helping them
study language and its changes over time. It can be adapted for different ages and curricular
areas.
Adaptations of a Dictogloss for Different Ages and Curricular Areas
Grade Level
Kindergarten
Primary
Upper Elementary
Middle School
High School
Adaptations
Recite poems and fingerplays, and
write their notes interactively
Paragraphs
describing
content
knowledge—re-create and illustrate
Literary excerpts, famous speeches, and
historical documents such as the
Constitution
Descriptions of procedures Historical
literature linking writing to periods of
history
Literary language—link to art, music
Current
events—famous
speakers,
speeches Famous literature, poetry,
historical literature
Curricular areas
Language arts
Science, social studies
Language arts,
Science, literature, history
Language Arts, Fine art
Political science, Language
art
VISUAL SCAFFOLDING
Visual scaffolding is an approach in which the language used in instruction is made more
understandable by the display of drawings or photographs that allow students to hear English words and
connect them to the visual images being displayed. To use this strategy, the teacher builds a file of visuals,
such as photographs or drawings, that can be easily accessed for teaching
Step-by-Step
The steps in planning and implementing visual scaffolding are the following:
1.
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Identify the vocabulary—Identify the vocabulary in the lesson to be taught that can be scaffolded
with visual images, such as drawings or photographs. (Concepts that may be challenging for students
to comprehend)
Collect visuals—Find (or make) photos or line drawings that can be used to visually support the
vocabulary needed for the students to understand the lesson. Use the Internet to search for images
that can be collected in a “visuals file” on the computer for future use.
o Ex. Life Cycle of a butterfly
Reproduce and organize visuals—Reproduce the visuals on transparency film and organize them so
that they can be easily used during teaching. Sequential order works well for a specific lesson, but you
may want to organize your growing picture file alphabetically so that you can easily access the pictures
for future lessons. Since pictures to be projected on an overhead projector need not be large, they can
be stored in a shoe box on the overhead projector cart. Internet images can be stored on the computer
and later projected for classroom use.
Engage the students—Encourage students to use the transparency picture file in their presentations
or to ask and answer questions.
Build the file—Continue to build your file on an ongoing basis
Applications and Example
Visual scaffolding can be used to build students' sense of pride in their community by
taking digital photographs of local community helpers and institutions.
Adaptations of a Dictoglos for Different Ages and Curricular Areas
Grade Level
Kindergarten
Primary
Upper Elementary
Middle School
High School
Adaptations
Recite poems and fingerplays, and
write their notes interactively
Paragraphs
describing
content
knowledge—re-create and illustrate
Literary excerpts, famous speeches, and
historical documents such as the
Constitution
Descriptions of procedures Historical
literature linking writing to periods of
history
Literary language—link to art, music
Current
events—famous
speakers,
speeches Famous literature, poetry,
historical literature
Curricular areas
Language arts
Science, social studies
Language arts,
Science, literature, history
Language Arts, Fine art
Political science, Language
art
LISTENING EXTRA
Listening Extra provides original and stimulating listening practice across a range of
popular topic areas. The varied activities are intended to reflect the diverse nature of real-world
listening students face today. Activities cover a wide range of different genres, from radio and TV
to academic lectures, presentations, debates, and conversational dialogue. Students are exposed
to a variety of native and non-native accents.
It can be demotivating for students to listen to a recording in class that they simply can’t
understand. Many feel frustrated when they don’t understand what they hear.
Students may listen several times to the recording, often listening for different information
each time. You can help students by encouraging them to pool their knowledge about the topic
before they listen. This helps to focus their mind and prepares for the recording. A list of key
languages is provided, so if you pre-teach these items students need not be confused by
unfamiliar words.
The listening focus section of the teacher’s notes highlights the main listening strategies
employed in the activity.
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Listening for specific Information – Students identify certain key information at the word
level.
Listening for details – students listen for phrases and longer strings of information at the
sentence level.
Listening for the main idea – students listen to the complete recording in order to
understand the core ideas.
Listening for opinions – students listen to understand the views expressed by a particular
speaker.
Inferring meaning – students ‘listen between the lines’ to understand what the speaker is
really saying
Recognizing context – students listen around the recording to identify where it takes
place, who the people are, etc.
Predicting – students anticipate what they will hear before the recording is played
Identifying emotion – students listen to identify the mood of a particular speaker
Step-by-Step
1. Warm up - an optional section to help focus students on the topic and prepare them
2. Main Activity – students listen to the recording and fulfill a variety of realistic and
authentic task.
3. Follow up – an opportunity for students to personalize the topic and develop the
scope of the lesson.
Applications and Examples
The teacher put the students into groups and ask them to make a list of things that people
can recycle (newspaper, bottle, etc.), then have the group with the most items call them out and
write them on the board. Add any other example then, practice pronunciation. The teacher can
check the key language, by writing words that are not covered that students may not know, and
ask them to explain the meaning. The teacher will tell the students to listen to the recording of
two people talking about recycling in their neighborhood. Tell the students to listen and see which
recyclable items on the board from the warm-up stage are mentioned. The teacher will give each
student a copy of a recycling leaflet, and give them time to study the information. The students
are going to listen to the conversation again, and they must complete the missing information.
Recording Script sample:
Wife: Hey John, Get the post will you?
Husband: Ok.
Wife: Anything Interesting?
Husband: A few bills, and oh … a leaflet on recycling.
Wife: Oh really? It’s about time we started recycling. What does it say?
Husband: Recycling information. as part of the city’s campaign to protect the
environment, we are introducing a recycling scheme. Please use the black bin
for all recyclable waste
Students compare their answers, then play the recording again, and check their answers.
The teacher can put the students into pairs and give them a copy of the recording script. Tell
the students to practice the conversation together. For the final activity, the teacher can put the
students into groups and tell them to make a questionnaire about recycling to ask their
classmates, like “how many bags of rubbish do you have at the end of each week? Tell the
students to make five questions they have them ask each other questions. Encourage the students
to discuss the recycling measures they take.
TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
Total physical response (Asher, 1982) is an approach to second-language acquisition based on firstlanguage acquisition research. In first-language acquisition, children listen and acquire receptive language
before they attempt to speak, they develop understanding by moving their bodies, and they are not forced
to speak until they are ready. In total physical response, the teacher gradually introduces commands,
acting them out as she or he says them. Initially, the students respond by performing the actions as the
teacher demonstrates them. Gradually, the teacher’s demonstrations are removed and the students
respond to the verbal commands only.
Using Total Physical Response correlates with the Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening—
Comprehension and Collaboration; Anchor Standards for Language—Conventions of Standard English,
Knowledge of Language, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use.
Step-by-Step
1. Choose vocabulary to physicalize—Choose vocabulary that will be used in the classroom, such as
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verbal directions, colors, and parts of the body, and list the words the students will need to know.
Think of simple commands that can be given using the target vocabulary and that require a
movement response such as “Stand up,” “Sit down,” “Touch your head,” or “Show me the red
block.”
Introduce vocabulary gradually—Introduce two or three commands at first, giving the command
while demonstrating physically. For example, “Stand up” is accompanied by standing up. Motion
for the students to do it with you. Introduce the next command and demonstrate. After you have
introduced three commands, randomly alternate them, still demonstrating and encouraging the
students’ responses.
Drop the physical modeling—After the students have practiced the commands as you
demonstrate them, and they appear to know what to do without waiting for your demonstration,
drop the demonstration and encourage students to respond to the verbal commands.
Add additional commands—Add new commands, but no more than three at a time. Always start
with demonstrations as you introduce new commands, practice until the students appear to know
what to do, and then drop the demonstrations.
Add additional responses—Find new ways for the students to demonstrate their understanding
of the vocabulary being practiced—such as pointing to pictures, drawing pictures, taking turns
demonstrating commands—just to add practice and variety while the students are gaining
confidence.
Play games for additional practice—Play a game with a student volunteer giving the commands,
once the students gain confidence. Gradually encourage new student volunteers to give the
commands as they become comfortable speaking the words. Never force students to speak the
commands. Wait until they are confident enough to volunteer.
Assess student progress and understanding—Because students are responding to commands
with physical movements, it is easy to document their progress. Make a checklist of the commands
you have taught and keep track of the commands that students know automatically and those
which still require modeling. Be sure to document when students volunteer to be leaders in the
games being played for practice. Share the things you have documented with the students and
celebrate together.
Application and Example
Tell a story to the whole class. It can be about anything: fairytale, adventure, even horror, and
comedy. Tell it with plenty of gestures and actions, which you repeat often. (That’s the TPR way!)
A TPR story shares all the elements of a great tale: a relatable main character, a captivating plot, and an
ending that rewards the listeners.
But in addition to these, a foreign language teacher employing TPR must remember that the story is used
to teach meaning. So a TPR story would use a good mix of the student’s native language and the target
language. Especially for beginners, a healthy dose of the student’s native language might be used, with a
peppering of the target language.
And because the story is a vehicle for teaching meaning, repetition of key phrases and their attending
movements are the order of the day. You should really focus on key phrases you want to teach the class,
not the story itself. The plot, the twists and turns of the story come second to the meaningful and
memorable words and phrases you want your wards to integrate into their long-term memory.
So for example, in teaching the Spanish words for the different parts of the body, you might employ the
tale of a young Billy who goes to the city for the very first time. And each time about you talk about the
many wonderful things he sees with his eyes (i.e. buses, buildings and airplanes), you emphasize the
word ojos (eyes) while at the same time pointing to your eyes. It’s also important that you widen your eyes
as you point to them.
Keep repeating “ojos” and pointing to your eyes as you go through the awesome things Billy sees in the
city. He sees a fleet of cars, “ojos.” He sees a dog walker, “ojos.”
There are ways you can employ repetition in the story without being repetitive. For example,
with ojos, you can do the following:
1. Point to your own eyes
2. Ask the students to point to their own eyes
3. Ask students to point to their eyes (or a classmate’s)
(And as a comprehension check, you can point to your tummy and see if your students try to correct you.)
This technique also works for all the other parts of the body. The nariz (nose) for everything he smells:
freshly baked bread, flowers at the park, and the smoke from cars. Orejas (ears) for everything that catches
his attention: the sound of cars honking, the tumult at the market, and the powerful blasts of a plane
taking off.
JIGSAW STRATEGY
Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that enables each student to become an expert on a
certain topic, through communication and discussion with others reading the same text, researching the
same topic or unit, and then share their findings to their original “home” group. One student from each
group has his/her own topic and then they meet with other students from other groups who have the
same topic and they work together to decide the most important parts to share back with their original or
home group to help them develop the same understanding.
Step-by-Step
The steps in using jigsaw strategy are the following:
1. Prepare the Activity— Select the material you want students to explore. It might be a collection
of documents (e.g., readings, images, charts), or it could be a series of questions. Also, decide how
many students you would like to work together in each “expert” group. Teachers often find that
groups of three to five students work best. Sometimes it makes sense to form groups randomly
(e.g., by counting off), while other times you might want to divide students in advance to balance
strengths, needs, and interests. You can assign the same material to more than one group.
2. Students work in Expert groups - In this step, small groups of students (“experts”) are
responsible for reviewing specific material so that they can share this information with
their peers. “Expert” groups work best when students have clear expectations about the
type of information they are supposed to present to their peers. Therefore, it is often
helpful to provide a chart or a series of questions that students answer together in their
expert groups. It is important that all group members understand the material they are
responsible for presenting. To avoid having students present inaccurate or misleading
information, teachers can review and approve of content before this information is shared
with students in the other groups.
3. Students meet in Teaching Group - After “expert” groups have a solid understanding of
the material they will be presenting, assign students to “teaching” groups. “Teaching”
groups are typically composed of one or two members from each expert group. Experts
take turns presenting information. Often teachers ask students to take notes while the
experts present. For greater accountability, it is best if students are required to synthesize
the material presented as part of an assignment, presentation, or discussion.
4. Students Synthesize and reflect - “Teaching” groups can be assigned a task that requires
them to synthesize the information that has been shared, such as answering a larger
question, comparing texts, or generating a plan of action. Students could also synthesize
information individually or in pairs. It is appropriate to structure a class discussion that
asks students to draw on the material they just learned to answer a question about history
and apply this information to society today.
Application and Example
Literature – Historical Fiction – Students are reading a historical fiction about the American
Independence. The book tells the story as written by a young girl named Emma during the time
period of May 1774 – July 1776. The book is written in journal-entry from. As part of the analysis
of the text, each “expert” group reads 1-2 journal entries and summarizes the plot line as well as
analyzing important information they have learned about the historical period and the lifestyle of
the times. The “expert” then shares what he/she has learned with the jigsaw group.
References
Aronson, E. (2000-2008). Jigsaw Classroom: overview of the technique. Retrieved 2008, February
15, from http://www.jigsaw.org/overview.htm
Craven, M. (2004). Listening Extra. A resource book of multi-level skills activities. Cambridge
University Press.
Jacobs, G. & Small, J. (2003). Combining Dictogloss and Cooperative Learning to promote
Language Learning. The Reading Matrix, 3(1), 1-10.
Krashen, S., & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom.
Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Wajnryb, R. (1990). Grammar dictation. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING SPEAKING
TALKING STICKS DISCUSSIONS
Talking Sticks is a management strategy that encourages all students to participate equally in a
discussion. It involves giving each student 2 or 3 craft sticks to use during a discussion to signal that he or
she would like to speak. When the student is called upon, the stick is placed in a cup or container. A student
may only respond until he or she runs out of sticks; at that point the student must listen while his or her
classmates respond. Prepared discussion cards help facilitate the discussion and keep it focused on a
particular topic. The strategy can be used in any subject area, and works especially well in reading, science,
and social studies. Talking Sticks can be used with the entire class, during small group instruction, or in
cooperative learning groups like Literature Circles.
Step-by-Step
The steps in planning and implementing talking sticks are the following:
1. Give each student two or three craft sticks to use during the discussion. Two craft sticks work well in a
whole-class setting, while three sticks may be preferable in a small guided-reading group. Experiment
to find out which works best for your class.
2. If the discussion prompts are not numbered, shuffle them and place them face down in the center of
the team. If they are numbered, put them in numerical order and make sure that card #1 is on the top
of the pile.
3. Pick up the top card and write or display the discussion question. If needed, elaborate by adding more
information to be sure your students understand the question.
4. Ask students who want to answer the question to hold up a stick to show they are ready to respond.
5. Choose someone by accepting that student’s stick and placing it into the cup. Explain that the first
speaker does not have to answer the question fully; he or she needs only speak for a minute or so to
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get the discussion started, and then you can call on another student to add more details. You may
want to establish a specific amount of time that a student may talk after giving up a stick, such as 1
minute. If the student wants to continue talking, he or she may do so after giving another stick to you.
If your discussion is based on a book, news article, textbook selection, or other written material,
remind students to refer to the text and use supporting details when responding to the question.
After the first student finishes speaking, other students hold up a stick if they want to add to what has
already been said or if they want to politely disagree with the speaker’s statements.
Select another student to continue the discussion on that question. Discussion continues until it’s clear
that no one wants to add anything more.
Leave all the sticks you collected for the first question in the cup and draw another card from the deck.
Present the question to the class and follow the procedure above.
Eventually, students will begin running out of sticks. When this happens, students without sticks may
no longer speak and may only listen to others. When all the sticks are back in the cup, redistribute
them equally to all students and continue the discussion.
Applications and Example
Book and TV Series Discussions
1. What is the title of the book? What is
the title of the movie version of that
book? If they are not the same, which
do you prefer? Why?
2.
When and where does the story take place?
Are there any differences in the setting
between the movie and the book?
3. How do the characters in the book
compare to the same characters in the
movie version? What is different
about them?
4. What are the major differences between the
book and the movie?
5. What was left out of the movie version
that you think should have been
included?
6. Do you think the author of the book
approves of the series version? Why or why
not?
7. If someone has not read the book or
seen the movie, which would you
recommend that they do first? Why?
8. Which did you prefer, the book or the series?
Why?
REPORTING BACK
Reporting back is a strategy used to support students in bridging the gap between spoken and
written languages (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2002; Gibbons, 1993). This strategy can be used as a follow-up after
any active-learning experience. The students describe their experience using vocabulary that is connected
with the experience so that the rest of the class has a clear understanding of the materials and sequence
of actions that were used. The students then write their reporting-back summary to be included in the
class daily news, or their daily learning log.
One of the most crucial steps involved with this style of teaching is that students must be
forewarned that they will be reporting on their actions after they are finished. This allows them
time to process and practice in their mind, and this in turn creates a stronger bond to the
vocabulary since the vocabulary is in the mind’s eye which allows for greater focus and
retention. In addition, allowing the students the opportunity to practice in pairs helps in original
thought as well as practicing their spoken communication.
Step-by-Step
The steps in using the reporting back strategy are the following:
1. Prepare the students for action—Prepare the students for an active-learning experience by giving
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directions for the activity and modeling what is expected. Follow up your demonstration by saying,
“After you finish your activity, you will report back to the class describing what happened. For
example, if you were reporting back to the class on the experience just demonstrated, you would
say, ‘I opened the jar of red paint and I opened the jar of blue paint. I took an eyedropper and
used it to draw up some of the red paint and dropped two drops of red paint into the plastic cup.
Next, I used the eyedropper to draw up some blue paint and put two drops of blue paint into the
plastic cup. I took a toothpick and swirled the two colors together in the cup. When they mixed
together they turned into purple paint. I learned that red and blue paint mix together to make
purple paint.’ After you finish your activity, you and your partner need to decide what to say when
you report back to the class.”
List and review the steps—After explaining the procedure to the students, list the steps on the
chalkboard or on a chart. The steps might be:
o Mix your two colors together in the cup.
o Make a list of the steps you used.
o Practice reporting back with your partner.
o Ask for help if you need it.
Verbalize the action—During the activity, circulate throughout the classroom, reinforcing the
vocabulary being used and scaffolding language by verbalizing what you see going on. For
example, as one pair is dropping paint into the cup you might say, “You are dropping the paint into
the cup. I see you dropping one, two, three drops of yellow into the cup.”
Allow for verbal practice—After the activity, give the pairs time to practice their reporting back
dialogues. Then, ask each pair of students to report back to the group. This works best if each pair
has a slightly different task. In the color-mixing activity, each pair might have different colors or
different numbers of drops to use so that the reporting back stays interesting and nonrepetitive.
Celebrate the achievements—After each pair reports back, list important words that they used
on the chalkboard and celebrate their use of interesting and important vocabulary. Emphasize the
role the vocabulary plays in helping the audience to visualize exactly what the pair did.
Write the reports—After completing the reporting back, have students write down their verbal
report and use it either as news items for the class daily news or as daily entries in their learning
logs.
Assess student progress and understanding—While the students report back, use the time to
take brief notes to include in anecdotal records. Anecdotal records taken periodically over time
serve as rich descriptions of students’ verbal communication progress and are important additions
to individual student portfolios.
Application and Example
Curricular Area
Language Arts
Activity
Research and write informal
books. Require the students
to report back on their
research along with the steps
they used in writing and
illustrating the book.
Adaptation
Publish the books along with
pages from their learning logs
describing the process used
to research, write, and
illustrate it including any
collaboration they did.
Science
Use experiments as a topic
for writing a children’s
activity book for younger
students to use as summer
science activities.
Add diagrams, photos, and
learning log examples to the
book.
English language learners are supported, when necessary, by being encouraged to use visuals that
illustrate the steps and supply the vocabulary so that they have a scaffold when they verbally describe the
content knowledge to the teacher or the class.
CAFÉ CONVERSATIONS
Students need an awareness of different perspectives in order to understand past events.
The Café Conversation strategy helps students practice perspective-taking by requiring them to
represent a particular point of view in a small-group discussion. By engaging in a conversation
with people who represent other backgrounds and experiences, students become more aware of
the role that many factors (e.g., social class, occupation, gender, age) play in shaping one’s
attitudes and perspectives on historical events. Use the Café Conversations activity as an
assessment tool or to prepare students to write an essay about a specific historical event.
Step-by-Step
The steps in using the Café Conversations strategy are the following:
1. Prepare Personalities and Topic for Conversation - Select five to ten “personalities” that
represent different political attitudes and backgrounds during the time period you are
studying. The individuals you select to represent different attitudes can be real people or
composites of real people. For each personality, prepare a short biography that includes
information such as gender, age, family status (married, single, how many children, etc.),
occupation, education level, and significant life events. Next, you will need to select an
issue or event relevant to the time period that you want all of these personalities to discuss.
For example, they can discuss who they will vote for in an upcoming election, or they might
discuss how war is affecting their lives.
2. Students prepare for conversation - Assign each student a particular personality to
represent. Give students the relevant background information and/or biography to read.
After they read this background information, you might have students create an identity
chart for their character. Then ask students to hypothesize how this person would feel
about the matter at hand—the event or question they will be discussing during the Café
Conversation. Often, teachers have students work on this step in small groups with other
students who have been assigned the same person to represent in the discussion. To
ensure that students accurately represent their person’s point of view, before the Café
Conversation begins you might review worksheet students are required to complete and/or
have a brief check-in with groups.
3. The café conversation - During the Café Conversation, students represent their assigned
personality in a discussion about the assigned topic. The conversation should begin with
students introducing themselves. Then one member announces the conversation starter
(often a question or statement prepared in advance). It can be as simple as, “So I heard
that ___ is happening. What do you think about this?” Conversations typically last at least
15 minutes, but they can run much longer. Before beginning these conversations, it is
important to go over norms about how to disagree respectfully and stay on topic. Here are
two main ways you can structure Café Conversations:
o Jigsaw - Divide the class into groups so that each group has students representing
different personalities. In this format, many Café Conversations will be happening
simultaneously. If one group ends early, you can let them go around the room and
listen to the conversations other groups are having.
o Fishbowl - Make a circle of chairs in the center of the room. The number of chairs
should represent the number of assigned personalities. Invite one member from
each group to join the conversation. The rest of the class watches the conversation.
At certain moments, you can announce “Switch,” meaning that a student in the
“fishbowl” is replaced by another group member. Or you can allow students to
“tap” a group member on the shoulder when they want a turn to speak.
 Students reflect in journal - Give students the opportunity to debrief this activity. You
could facilitate a class discussion, starting with a general question such as, “What did
you learn from this activity?” Or you could begin the debrief discussion as a
Wraparound activity, with each student sharing one idea from his or her journal entry.
4. Debrief - After the Café Conversations have wrapped up, ask students to write a journal
entry reflecting on their experience. Possible journal prompts include:
o What do you think it might have felt like for your character to hear these different
perspectives? How do you think this might have changed his/her point of view, if
at all?
o How did it feel for you to participate in the Café Conversation? During what part
of the conversation did you feel most comfortable? Least comfortable? Why do
you think that is?
o What did you learn about this moment in history from participating in this activity?
o What did you learn about yourself or about human behavior from participating in
this activity?
Applications and Example
Literature base café conversation - Rather than focus on personalities in a particular time
period, you can structure a Café Conversation around characters from a novel or from books you
have read. The focus of the conversation could be an event from a book or a question related to
human nature.
TWO-MINUTE INTERVIEW
In an activity using the Two-Minute Interview strategy, students gather evidence and ideas
by asking questions to a rotating partner. Use this strategy to stimulate students’ thinking as they
investigate an essential question or search for evidence in response to an essay prompt. By
requiring students to practice active listening and reading, this strategy helps students develop
essential skills for learning new information. You can also use this strategy as a way to have
students share their work with peers.
Step-by-Step
The steps in using the Two-minute strategy are the following:
1. Prepare the students - Ask students to create a list of questions they have about the
historical case study the class is investigating or the evidence they have collected.
Alternatively, you can ask students to respond to a question such as “Do you agree that
laws are the most important factor in overcoming discrimination? Why or why not?”
2. Two- minute interview:
o Divide the class in half randomly. Place chairs in two long rows so that students
will sit facing each other.
o Tell students that they will have two minutes to interview each other. One row of
students will ask the questions, listen carefully, and take notes. The other row will
answer.
o After two minutes, have one row of students move down so that everyone has a
new partner to share evidence or ideas with. Continue this activity until you feel
that students have gathered enough evidence or shared enough ideas to generate
a full-class discussion.
3. Teachers’ role:
o As the students share their ideas, take notes. Pay particular attention to the
following:
 Patterns of insight, understanding, or strong historical reasoning
 Patterns of confusion, historical inaccuracies, facile connections, or
thinking that indicates students are making overly simplified comparisons
between past and present
o The goal is for students to share text-based evidence effectively and accurately.
The following categories can guide you, the teacher, as you listen to your students’
discussion. Listen for:
 Factual and interpretive accuracy: offering evidence that is correct and
interpretations that are plausible
 Persuasiveness of evidence: including evidence that is relevant and strong
in terms of helping to prove the claim
 Sourcing of evidence: noting what the source is and its credibility and/or
bias
 Corroboration of evidence: recognizing how different documents work
together to support a claim
 Contextualization of evidence: placing the evidence into its appropriate
historical context
o As students debrief, weave in feedback. Affirm their insights. Highlight strong
historical reasoning and text-based arguments. Choose one or two misconceptions
about the content to address. Point out areas where students may want to
reevaluate the ways they are connecting past and present.
4. Debrief
o After this strategy, you will want to debrief in a class discussion and/or a journal
reflection. Prompts for journal writing include:
 How might you respond to the prompt or essential question now?
 What did you learn today? How does this information relate to the prompt
or essential question?
 What else do you want to know?
Applications and Example
COMMUNICATION GAMES
Communication games (Gibbons, 1993) are activities set up in the classroom to create
opportunities and purposes for verbal communication practice. Many times, the purpose of the
communication in these games is to convey information or cause something to occur as a result
of the activity. Some of the games provide practice in the use of a particular language function
such as giving directions or asking questions. Other games require students to work together and
communicate to solve a problem.
Step-by-Step
The steps in using the Communication games are the following:
1. Identify a language need—Identify a language function in which your students need practice.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Following directions, asking questions, and conveying academic information are among some of
the most commonly used in communication games. Choose a category of communication game
from
Model the game—Model the way the game is played by involving one or more students in
demonstrating the game. Review the rules carefully and post them in the room so that students
can refer to them during the activity.
Organize the pairs or groups—Organize the students in pairs or small groups, making sure you
have a fairly fluent English speaker in each pair or group. Give the pairs or groups their tasks and
get them started.
Guide the practice—Move around the room providing support and encouragement.
Talk about the experience—After the game, ask the students to share their experiences, any
problems they had, and the solutions they devised. Make a list of the vocabulary they found
helpful and discuss how it was used.
Applications and Example
Activity
Description
Barrier games
Two students sit back-to-back or
behind a screen (barrier). One
student is given a complete set of
instructions that must be conveyed
verbally to the second student, who
completes the task.
Information
sharing
Each student has part of the
information necessary to complete
a task or solve a problem. They must
share
their
information
to
accomplish the task.
Inquiry and
elimination
A small group of students works
together. One student has a set of
information that must be obtained
by the others through questioning
and elimination of irrelevant items.
The group then decides the solution
based upon their inquiry.
Example
One student has a set of small
colored blocks that must be arranged in
a certain configuration. The other
student, working from a diagram, gives
oral directions to the student with the
blocks so that the blocks end up in the
proper configuration
Students are given materials to fold an
origami flower. Each student has one
section of the directions. Using the
sequence words as a guide, the students
take turns reading the directions silently
and then conveying them orally so the
members of the group can complete the
folding task.
The class has been studying insects. The
child designated as the expert in the group
is given the name of an insect and a set of
facts about that insect. By asking questions,
the students must gather enough
information about the insect so that they
can determine which insect is described.
When they have guessed the correct insect,
they have also reviewed their knowledge of
that insect
Rank ordering
Students work together in a small
group to suggest solutions to a problem
and then reach consensus as to the
rank order of the usefulness of each of
the solutions
The groups are asked to make a shopping list
of important supplies to purchase for a
camping trip. They are to brainstorm items,
and then rank order the importance of the
items so that they could survive if they could
take only the top five items. Food and water
don’t have to be listed; the groups are
assured of having them
References
Café conversations. Facing History and Ourselves. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2023, from
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/cafe-conversations
Candle, L. (2013). Talking Sticks Discussions. Teaching Resources.
Diaz-Rico, L., & Weed, K. (2002). The cross-cultural, language, and academic development
handbook (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon
Gibbons, P. (1993). Learning to learn in a second language. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
390, & 10. (2022, January 4). How to implement the two-minute interview teaching strategy in
your classroom. The Edvocate. Retrieved April 13, 2023, from
https://www.theedadvocate.org/how-to-implement-the-two-minute-interview-teachingstrategy-in-your-classroom/