Spontaneous Communication in
the LOTE classroom: activities
that lower affective filter and
spark authentic communication
Darcy Johnson, M.Ed., Curriculum & Instruction and Spanish
Brian McDonough, M.A., Ibero-Romance Philology and Linguistics (Area of
concentration: Second Language Acquisition)
Special thanks to the
following for supporting our
trip to D.C.
– Rebecca Donald, Principal, Westwood High
School, Round Rock ISD, Austin, TX
– Westwood High School PTSA
– Our spouses! 
How
can
anxiety
provoke
linguistic
error?
LOTE Objectives
(http://k-12.pisd.edu/currinst/lote/philosophy.htm)
– Languages are acquired, not taught
– Language acquisition takes place through a process linking language to
meaning
– In order for languages to be acquired, students must be exposed to
comprehensible input
– A child who functions in one language is already a candidate to function
in
others
– A child will not exceed in his second language, the ability he or she has in
his first language
– Linguistic accuracy is a destination, not a point of departure
– Proficiency in a language is attainable; mastery of a language is not
Authentic assessment involves a cadre of performance standards and
requires
the child to use language purposefully to meet a need or solve a
problem. (http://k-12.pisd.edu/currinst/lote/philosophy.htm)
•
Circumlocomotion (a.k.a.-Pass the card)
• Objective: Students will spontaneously
communicate in pairs based
on specific cues.
• Materials needed: 15 note cards with questions, word
prompts, or visual cues.
• Procedure: Students begin in pairs at their seats. A
rotation system is explained to them, and they
will be asked to pass the card to the next pair
each time the instructor calls “rotate!”. Each
card will provide a different cue based on a
particular grammatical/ thematic/
communicative topic. Partners take turns
asking/ answering, according to prompt.
Practice
• Topic: Past tense
• Questions are written by teacher OR
students
• Let’s try it!
Use authentic materials!
A variation of this activity is to find 10-15
products from Latin America/ Spain and describe
them to the partner (i.e. replace the cue cards
with authentic products and pass them in a
particular rotation)
What kinds of products can you use? Wrappers,
candy, newspapers, magazines, photos, bottles,
tickets, brochures, etc. (ACTFL standard 2.2)
Factors we can influence
• Student anxiety
• Student self-doubt
• Student boredom
“But what can I do???”
Our thoughts on boredom
• We should NOT assume that we are the most interesting
people our students have ever met
• Let the authentic resources (appropriate for student
level) do the talking
• Make activities that are engaging
• Reinforce primary goal for students throughout the
course of the year: communication! (not perfection)
Our thoughts on selfdoubt/anxiety
• Think CAREFULLY before correcting errors;
– Things to consider before correcting an
error:
• Will this correction help or hurt their…
– perception of their own language ability?
– self-confidence?
• Frequency of correction – nobody likes
to be corrected all the time; gives us a
negative image of teacher and/or self
and/or language
Our thoughts on selfdoubt/anxiety
• Let them experience success!
– encourage AUTHENTIC use of language where
students can believe themselves to be successful;
– low anxiety communicative situations (un-monitored
conversations, etc.);
– PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!!
Authentic language acquisition:
Spoken or written language data that has been
produced in the course of genuine
communication, and not specifically written
for purposes of language teaching.
–Nunan (1999)
ACTFL Standards
Standard 1.1: Students
engage in conversations,
provide and obtain information,
express feelings and emotions,
and exchange opinions.
Standard 1.2: Students
understand and
interpret written and spoken
language on a variety of topics.
See-Tell-Draw
(shared by Carolyn Wietzel, Leander HS)
• Objective: Students will study, memorize,
explain, listen, retell, and interpret visual/ audio
cues in order to reproduce a visual that is in the
hall.
• Materials: A picture prompt (to be hung in the
hall); a line on the floor (can be made with tape);
butcher paper and markers
See, tell , draw!
• Form groups of 5.
•Person (A) goes outside to study a picture, painting, or drawing for x
minutes
•Person (B) stands at a line by the door and listens to person (A) when
they return to the line
•Afterwards person (B) goes back to the rest of the group and
describes the picture, painting, or drawing that person (A) described
•The group draws the image that person (B) describes
•Person (A) goes back outside to study it again and will come back in to
describe it to a third person (C) again with more details. Person (C)
describes the image to the rest of the group, and group members take
turns meeting person (A) at the line.
Which dead person am I?
• Students form groups of 5-7. Each group works
in a place of inspiration (away from other
groups)and smiles in Spanish (or Arabic) at
fellow group members.
• Envelopes are given to students that contain
cards. Cards have names of famous dead
people on them.
• Students keep envelopes face down except to
show group members-objective is to guess
which name is on the card through information
that peers supply in the target language.
• Each person will take his/ her turn asking QUs
Which dead person am I?
• This activity can vary depending upon
level/ grammatical topic
• I chose to use dead people because it
easily lent itself to the preterite tense,
which we were using at the time in class
(we spent the whole day on dead people,
i.e. writing an auto-obituary, etc.), but one
could easily use a famous person who is
currently alive or base the people on the
topic.
Here are some suggestions as
to what students can ask:
• ¿Dónde trabajé durante mi vida? (Where
did I work during my life)
• ¿Con quién me casé? (Who did I marry?)
• ¿Qué logré? (What did I achieve?)
• ¿Cuándo viví/ Cuándo me morí? (When
did I live and die?)
Making the dead more
versatile?
– Which object am I? (could be from the vocab
you’re studying)
– Which Spanish-speaking country am I?
– Which famous Hispanic am I?
Scriptless Scruples (cuz life just ain’t scripted!)
• Objective: When was the last time you memorized the
conversation that you were about to have with your
brother before you called him? Hmmmm?
¿? 
• Materials: Vary per presentation, but typically consist of
visual cues.
• Procedure: Re-work former project presentations or
speaking dialogues to ensure that students are not
memorizing what they are going to say! One suggestion
is to give students presentation guidelines, and then ask
them to draw out their ideas, NOT script them. Have
them practice based on interpreting their own visual
cues, each time saying the presentation differently.
When conversing in the big, bad world
(AKA BBW) you won’t always have visuals
cues, so training your students to speak
without them is another option which
provides opportunities for circumlocution
(description of a word or concept when
you can’t think of the word)
 Look, no script! 
Consejos para Guerreros
• Formen grupos de 3
• Hagan un plan de consejos para sobrevivir en
WWHS (estudiar, hacer ejercicio,
desayunar…etc..)
• Cada persona debe hablar de 3 consejos,
usando “(Ud.)Debe.., (Ud. )Puede…, y
(Ud.)Tiene que….”
• Dibujen una imagen para representar cada idea
• Prepárense para compartir las ideas con la
clase (hablando), sin leer!
See Frida (on Word file)
Práctica
#6
Práctica
#5
Práctica
#4
Práctica
#3
Práctica
#2
Práctica
#1
Fluency and
Pronunciation
Grammar and
Vocabulary
Content and
Elaboration
How can we change this project by
removing the script?
Restaurant Scene
In groups of three you are going to prepare a conversation to present to the
class. One student will play the role of the waiter and the other three are
going to be clients in the restaurant.
Requirements:
• 5 words in the category “talking about how food tastes”
• 15 words in the “food” category
• 4 sentences in the category “talking about unintentional events”
• 4 words with “ísimo”
•
For crédito extra (1-10 points) you can wear costumes and use props during
your presentation.
• You need to turn in the script and rubric before you present.
Please mark the required vocab/ grammar on the script with different colors
and make a key indicating what your colors represent!
What can we do to help the
kiddos NOT write a script?
• Keep requirements relatively simple…instead of
asking them to apply 15 vocabulary words, limit
the number of required vocabulary! OR….do
NOT require vocabulary from the list, rather
design the topic so that it solicits use of
certain vocabulary authentically
• Train them from the beginning!
• Explain why they should NOT use a script
Other ideas
• Give quick orals as part of an exam, i.e. randomly move
about the room asking students questions based on the
topic while they are taking the test.
• Oral quizzes on appropriate topics. Evidence suggests
that students understand the topic better when they do it
that way
• If technology permits, use the language lab. We don’t
have one so we use hand-held recorders. Saves class
time if they record all at once.
Keep the affective filter in mind!
• You don’t have to grade everything that
the students present or write. Allowing
them to present or speak without grading
them can remove some of the anxiety
associated with speaking!
Keep ‘em on their toes!
• If answering book/ homework questions
when reviewing answers, ask them
“Why?” to justify their response when
they’re not expecting it. They’ll be caught
off guard, but will try to respond.
• Randomly ask a student a question during
class in the target language.
Journaling
• At any or all level of instruction.
• Let’s them be creative.
• Putting too many limits may raise affective filter
(stress!)
• Walk around as they write and give suggestions.
• Grade for completion.
• No pressure authentic use of language.
Journal topics
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Write about your vacation. Use preterite and imperfect.
What are you going to do this weekend. Use ir +a+ infinitivo.
Your best friend is having problems with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Write a short letter giving
him/her advice. Use the subjunctive.
Write a disgusting recipe. Use formal commands.
Describe what you and your family are doing right now. Use the present progressive. .
You just bought a present for your friend. Make them guess what it is by giving a detailed
description without mentioning what it is.
Describe a time when you use Spanish outside of class. Where? When? With whom? Why?
How did you feel afterwards?
Describe your daily routine. Include some reflexive verbs.
What’s your favorite band? Why? How do you feel after listening to their music.
Which university would you like to attend? Why?
The movie “I am Legend” just became your reality. You are the only one left in the world. Use the
subjunctive with impersonal expressions to make the situation a bit more rational. (Es importante
que, es bueno, es triste que, es probable, es posible que, etc.)
Describe some good and bad relationships. Use reciprocal reflexives where possible.
What is a good friend?
What is a good teacher?
You just won a million dollars. Make a list of gifts that you are going to buy for your family and
friends. Use the word “para” to indicate the destination of the gift.
Make a list of various things that you did last week and for how much time you did them. Use the
word “por” to indicate the period of time you did them.
More journal ideas
The economy went bad. Now people have to exchange things instead of use money. Make a list of groceries you
need and how you are going to “pay” for them.
You have various things you need to do next month. Make a list indicating the due date for each using “para”.
Homework: Watch a telenovela in Spanish. Journal: Write a summary of what you saw.
Draw a typical family situation and describe it. (Carmen Lomas Garza)
Describe a particular work of a particular artista.
Dialog – Pass a journal back and forth. Let them talk without their voices.
Write a song using ‘nosotros’ commands.
Compare your dream car to that of a friend. Use possessive pronouns.
Read a poem and comment on it.
Describe what you have done to help the environment in your community. Use the present progressive in your
response.
What will you have accomplished by the end of the school year? Use the future perfect in your response.
Tell a story about something that happened when you were a kid. Use preterite and imperfect.