Intermediate - EFL Classroom 2.0

#11 Classroom interviews / radio shows (High Beginner)
I find that many students don't learn how
to make questions, early enough. It is a
vital skill and especially important if you
want to foster dialogue/conversation. No
conversation can really happen with
questions!
I have found a classroom radio show to
be a perfect anecdote. Both for helping
students acquire the ability to ask basic
questions and for fostering speaking
skills. I usually would interview a new
student each day, as a class. I called this
the "Mr. D. Radio Show". Eventually, I
got higher level students being the MC and I just sat back and enjoyed the
"show".
How? Well, use the MesEnglish identity cards attached. Write down on chart
paper, the questions for each of the items (Name, Age, nationality etc...). As the
students as a group ask or repeat the questions, the chosen student answers.
When you've interviewed all the students, have them take an identity ( a
superhero, celebrity ) and without asking their name, the students ask questions
and guess who..... You can also make this into a classroom activity by having
students interview each other in pairs using the cards. Further, the cards can be
used for any sort of "find someone who..." game. Simply hand out the cards
and give the students a task . For example - find someone who is the same
nationality as you. Students go around the room asking. If they find a match,
they link arms and continue walking around the room asking "Where are you
from?". This works for birthdays, likes, height, weight, etc...)
Enjoy the interviews. I will also add, the microphone aspect of this works well
to get students who otherwise wouldn't talk, speaking. Especially in Asian
countries, giving a student a microphone transforms them and they get some
sort of anonymity from it and feel more comfortable speaking.
Resources: Role Play Cards 1
Role Play Cards 2