Response cards for active listening
4It is obvious to the teacher than input is CRUCIAL to the student’s growth in language proficiency. They need to see it and hear it before they can really produce it. However, if your students are like mine, sometimes they won’t read or listen to that article/video that I spent 3 hours to find, edit, and plan a lesson around. If only they knew how much it could help them! 
If students are to be ACTIVE listeners then they need to DO something while listening. Always give them a task to do when reading or listening to the language. One thing I always try to do is to physically put something in their hands that allows them to connect to a conversation in class. When I’m modeling some of the phrases/vocab they are learning I will ask questions. I can’t get a response from every student each time, but these help me get an idea of who is actually listening and who really understands.
When the students are learning to tell what he/she likes to do I’ll say things like “Me gusta mucho hablar por telefono… (they all put up ‘me gusta’) con mis padres” (and they all switch to ‘no me gusta nada’). “Me gusta estudiar en la clase… (‘no me gusta’ cards go up all around) con mi profesora nueva Megan Fox (all the boys switch to “me gusta MUCHO”). Me encanta ir a fiestas (‘Me gusta mucho’) con muchos chicos guapos… a las siete de la manana. (most then switch to “no me gusta nada”)
I’ve also used signs that say “Estoy de acuerdo” and “No estoy de acuerdo” that help open up the class and let students give their opinion without having to raise their hand and wait to be called on. Plus, seeing the words as they use them seems to help ingrain the new bits of language in their mind!
Any other good ideas to help students become active listeners in class?
Megan
rachel573
Kara
Yes, I do this almost daily in my class with a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” quick check on who is with me, not feeling good about the material we have just done, etc. It is a quick way to have them claim “ownership” to what we are doing in class because they know that I do not move on without 100% of them having sown their “thumbs up”.
I also would like to share….when I teach my spanish 2′s the preterite and the imperfect, I do an input activity where my students have to listen to my script (read slowly) and they are to hold up a “red” colored paper (looking like a stop light) for PRETERITE when they hear it, or a “green” one for the IMPERFECT. I love that they are not passively listening and it becomes competitive for most who want to do well and not get caught not having put up their stoplight color when they should have!
Good idea!
Fun! Any suggestions for routines collecting and passing out cards each time?
What if the sleeve on me gusta mucho was a different color/size to make it easier to spot?
I teach Spanish to Elementary (K-5). I use a lot of TPRS which uses a spiraling of questions from True/False, Yes/No, either/or and finally open ended questions. I like the TPRS method and I use crazy questions to keep them actively listening – “Is this person called Donald Duck or David?”. However, it is only a matter of time before choral answering becomes boring. I love the idea of asking them to hold up answer cards. I would also add a card that says “I get it” and “I don’t get it”, and maybe some emotion words like “I’m struggling”, “I’m OK” and “I’m ready for more.” I’m groaning at the amount of time making the cards and laminating them, but I agree that active participation in listening activities will give wiggly students something to do.