WHAT IS CIRCLING?
A TUTORIAL FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Copyright © 2015 Martina Bex ● www.martinabex.com ● The Comprehensible Classroom
Image CC-BY-SA
2012LLC
Thomas
Leth-Olsen flickr.com
© 2014 The Comprehensible
Classroom
● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com
● R-1
WHAT IS CIRCLING?
As it relates to language teaching, circling is the instructional practice of asking a series of
prescribed questions in the target language about a statement in the target language.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CIRCLING?
Circling is used to help students understand and process an utterance in the target language. In
doing so, this strategy provides students with contextualized repetitions of the linguistic structures
contained in the utterance. (A repetition is an instance in which a language learner understands a
structure when she or he hears it or reads it.) Research shows that language learners need between
70-150 repetitions of a structure in order to acquire it into their permanent vocabulary. The range
is so wide because (1) different researchers have given different numbers, (2) each learner has a
different general 'threshold' of repetitions for acquisition, and (3) each structure requires a different
number of repetitions for acquisition. The higher the value of the structure to the learner, the fewer
repetitions will be needed. However, we do not use circling for the purpose of providing
repetitions; we use circling for the purpose of comprehension.
HOW DO I CIRCLE?
Begin by making a statement in the target language. The statement should contain only ONE
new structure (vocabulary term or phrase), and the rest of the statement should be completely
comprehensible to students (previously acquired vocabulary, cognates, and proper nouns).
Follow it up with yes/no, either/or, and open-ended questions, and restate/recast the original
statement after the answer to each question is given. See Page R-3 for an example of circling ‘by
the book’ (methodical circling). See Page R-5 for a description of each of the steps in the circling
process (in the right-hand column of the chart).
Once a teacher is proficient at the practice of circling, it is no longer necessary for him or her to
ask EVERY question about EACH component of a statement. If we were to do this every time
that we made a statement, students would quickly become disengaged. It is important to only
circle statements that contain new, unacquired structures. Once the teacher has acquired the
practice of circling, the next step is to develop discretion: learning how to balance the number
and variety of questions asked with the engagement level of students. To reduce the need to ask
so many questions about a single statement (to get a high number of repetitions of a target
structure from a single statement), use strategies like Personalized Questions and Answers and
Storytelling that use the target structures many times in different statements. Instead of trying to
elicit 20 repetitions from 1 statement, you can strive for 5 repetitions from each of 4
statements. See Page R-4 for an example of circling ‘with style’.
Watch a video of me using circling during a story asking session in Spanish 1: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_Eq1vaaXFLA
Use the blank template on Page R-6 to plan out the circling questions that you will ask about a
statement when you first try circling.
Enlarge and post the graphic from Page R-7 on your wall to serve as a visual reminder of what
questions you can ask and when.
© 2014 The Comprehensible Classroom LLC ● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com ● R-2
EXAMPLE: CIRCLING ‘BY THE BOOK’
circle by the book to become comfortable and proficient with the practice of
circling. This is a great skill to practice with language teacher friends!
There were three pigs. The
Había tres cerdos. Los tres
three pigs lived in a forest. A
cerdos vivían en un bosque.
wolf also lived in the forest.
Un lobo también vivía en el
The pigs were afraid of the
bosque. Los cerdos temían al
wolf.
lobo.
Teacher: There were three pigs. Class,
were there three pigs?
Maestro: Había tres cerdos. Clase, ¿había
tres cerdos?
Class: Yes
Clase: Sí
Teacher: Yes, there were three pigs. Were
there four pigs?
Maestro: Sí, había tres cerdos. ¿Había
cuatro cerdos?
Class: No
Clase: No
Teacher: No, there were not four pigs.
There were three pigs! Were there three
pigs or were there three elephants?
Maestro: No, no había cuatro cerdos.
¡Había tres cerdos! ¿Había tres cerdos o
había tres elefantes?
Class: Three pigs
Clase: Tres cerdos
Teacher: There were not three elephants,
there were three pigs! Were there three
pigs or were there six pigs?
Maestro: No había tres elefantes. Había
tres cerdos. ¿Había tres cerdos o había
seis cerdos?
Class: Three pigs
Clase: Tres cerdos
Teacher: Correct! There were three pigs!
There were not six pigs, there were three
pigs! Were there three wolves?
Maestro: ¡Correcto! ¡Había tres cerdos!
No había seis cerdos, había tres cerdos.
¿Había tres lobos?
Class: No
Clase: No
Teacher: No, there were not three wolves,
there were three pigs. How many pigs
were there?
Maestro: No, no había tres lobos. Había
tres cerdos. ¿Cuántos cerdos había?
Class: Three
Clase: Tres
© 2014 The Comprehensible Classroom LLC ● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com ● R-3
EXAMPLE: CIRCLING ‘WITH STYLE’
circle with style after you have practiced circling by the book extensively
and can do it comfortably and confidently.
There were three pigs. The
Había tres cerdos. Los tres
three pigs lived in a forest. A
cerdos vivían en un bosque.
wolf also lived in the forest.
Un lobo también vivía en el
The pigs were afraid of the
bosque. Los cerdos temían al
wolf.
lobo.
Teacher: There were three pigs. Class,
how many pigs were there?
Maestro: Había tres cerdos. Clase,
¿cuántos cerdos había?
Class: Three
Clase: Tres
Teacher: Yes, there were three pigs. The
three pigs lived in a forest. Class, did the
three pigs live in a forest?
Maestro: Sí, había tres cerdos. Los tres
cerdos vivían en un bosque. Clase, ¿los
tres cerdos vivían en un bosque?
Class: Yes
Clase: Sí
Teacher: Yes, the three pigs lived in a
forest. Dinah, do you live in a forest?
Maestro: Sí, los tres cerdos vivían en un
bosque. Dinah, ¿tú vives en un bosque?
Dinah: No
Dinah: No
Teacher: No, you don’t live in a forest.
What do you live in?
Maestro: No, tú no vives en un bosque.
¿En qué vives tú?
Dinah: A house
Dinah: En una casa
Teacher: Class, Dinah lives in a house!
She does not live in a forest, she lives in a
house. Where did the three pigs live?
Maestro: Clase, ¡Dinah vive en una casa!
Ella no vive en un bosque, ella vive en
una casa. ¿En dónde vivían los cerdos?
Class: In a forest
Clase: En un bosque
Teacher: Yes, the three pigs lived in a
forest. A wolf also lived in the forest.
Class, what animals lived in the forest?
Maestro: Sí, los tres cerdos vivían en un
bosque. Un lobo también vivía en el
bosque. Clase, ¿qué animales vivían en el
bosque?
Class: Three pigs and a wolf
Clase: Tres cerdos y un lobo
© 2014 The Comprehensible Classroom LLC ● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com ● R-4
CIRCLING TEMPLATE
Adapted from Laurie Clarcq
SUBJECT
VERB
OBJECT ETC
EXPLANATION
John
eats
a pizza.
Make a statement.
Does John
eat
a pizza?
Ask a question to which
the answer is YES!
Does Bob
Does Michael Jordan
Does the French teacher
eat
a pizza?
Does John
throw
sell
drop
a pizza?
Does John
eat
M&Mʼs?
basketballs?
the coffee?
WHO eats a pizza?
WHAT does
John DO?
WHAT does
John eat?
WHEN does John eat a pizza?
WHY does John eat a pizza?
WITH WHOM does John eat a pizza?
HOW does John eat a pizza?
HOW OFTEN does John eat a pizza?
Ask questions to which
the answer is NO by
substituting other
subjects, verbs, and
objects (or prepositional
phrases, etc.).
Follow them up with
“either/or” questions (ex:
Does John drop a pizza
or does John eat a
pizza?)
Ask open-ended
questions to which
students know the
answers.
Ask open-ended
questions to add more
details that are not yet
known.
Remember to always re-state the original statement correctly after each question.
For example, T: “Does John eat M&M’s?” S: “NO!” T:“John does not eat M&M’s; John eats pizza!”
© 2014 The Comprehensible Classroom LLC ● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com ● R-5
CIRCLING TEMPLATE
Adapted from Laurie Clarcq
SUBJECT
VERB
OBJECT ETC
EXPLANATION
Make a statement.
Ask a question to which
the answer is YES!
Ask questions to which
the answer is NO by
substituting other
subjects, verbs, and
objects (or prepositional
phrases, etc.).
Follow them up with
“either/or” questions (ex:
Does John drop a pizza
or does John eat a
pizza?)
Ask open-ended
questions to which
students know the
answers.
Ask open-ended
questions to add more
details that are not yet
known.
Remember to always re-state the original statement correctly after each question.
For example, T: “Does John eat M&M’s?” S: “NO!” T:“John does not eat M&M’s; John eats pizza!”
© 2014 The Comprehensible Classroom LLC ● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com ● R-6
R-7
© 2014 The Comprehensible Classroom LLC ● www.comprehensibleclassroom.com ● R-7