C’est vrai?/Is that true? said <strong>in</strong> a timid way, for example, conveys a completelydifferent mean<strong>in</strong>g than the same expression said with anger, or with embarrassment,or with surprise. The emotions override the mean<strong>in</strong>g, and the students don’t noticethat the words are the same. This keeps <strong>in</strong>terest high <strong>in</strong> the structure, result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>more mean<strong>in</strong>gful repetitions and greater acquisition.A multitude of studies support this trickery, stat<strong>in</strong>g that most of humancommunication is non-verbal. If these studies are accurate, it means that manylanguage teachers plan their teach<strong>in</strong>g around less than 10% of what is actuallyhappen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the classroom!If you want to prove the accuracy of this research, simply po<strong>in</strong>t to someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>class while you are speak<strong>in</strong>g, but do not connect what you are say<strong>in</strong>g with what youare po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g at. All heads will turn and focus at what you are po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g at, and thekids will completely tune out your verbal message <strong>in</strong> favor of the (fake) visualmessage. The effective <strong>TPRS</strong> teacher will explore the role of the voice to conveymean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> their own classroom.Another way to make <strong>in</strong>put mean<strong>in</strong>gful to the students us<strong>in</strong>g circl<strong>in</strong>g is to add aparallel sentence to the one you are already circl<strong>in</strong>g. A parallel sentence can bedescribed as a sentence which has the same verbal core, but whose subject andobject are different.If you are try<strong>in</strong>g to teach voudrait avoir/would like to have, <strong>in</strong>stead of circl<strong>in</strong>g justone sentence around that expression, you <strong>in</strong>troduce a similar sentence and circleboth of them.If your orig<strong>in</strong>al sentence is:Classe, Elliot voudrait avoir une voiture /Class, Elliot would like to have a car!You add another, parallel, sentence <strong>in</strong>to the circl<strong>in</strong>g:Classe, Jane voudrait avoir un Sprite /Class, Jane would like to have a Sprite!Add<strong>in</strong>g this second sentence expands the size of the circl<strong>in</strong>g “field” <strong>in</strong> which youare work<strong>in</strong>g. It <strong>in</strong>stantly adds many more possible questions to your circl<strong>in</strong>g,because you can do more with two sentences than you can with one. Add<strong>in</strong>g asecond, parallel sentence <strong>in</strong>to your circl<strong>in</strong>g br<strong>in</strong>gs more repetitions, and wheneverthere are greater repetitions, there are greater levels of comprehensible <strong>in</strong>put andlearn<strong>in</strong>g.I consider this technique of br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a second sentence to mirror another onedur<strong>in</strong>g circl<strong>in</strong>g to be one of the truly great little tricks <strong>in</strong> <strong>TPRS</strong> – you will feelimmediately more relaxed when you have that extra sentence to ask questions about.
Songs can be circled. Each l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> a song can become a still picture, and you can askthe students what is <strong>in</strong> the picture. The students will surprise you with what theydeem real and what is not real <strong>in</strong> the image you create together.If the l<strong>in</strong>e (here by Les Ogres) is: Il y a un mec sur un banc (there is a guy on abench), write any new words or structures on the board or the overhead. Put twochairs together, call it a bench. Put a boy on it, and start circl<strong>in</strong>g.Class, there is a guy on a bench. (ohh!)Is there a guy on a bench? (yes)Is there a guy on a bench or is there a guy on a suitcase? (bench)Is there a guy on a suitcase?(no)Is there a guy on a desk? (no)What is there on a bench? (a guy)Where is the guy? (bench)etc.The students have to believe and you have to create via the circl<strong>in</strong>g what amount tolittle scenes. Once a l<strong>in</strong>e has been circled enough so that you feel that the studentshave gotten enough repetitions of one l<strong>in</strong>e of a song, you create another scene forthe next l<strong>in</strong>e. If the l<strong>in</strong>e is not conducive, skip it.The rivet<strong>in</strong>g trio Le Coeur au Bonheur between Marius, Cosette, and Épon<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> LesMisérables is slow and conta<strong>in</strong>s very simple yet emotionally charged structures.Hence, it is perfect for circl<strong>in</strong>g. Here is a passage:Marius:Je ne sais même pas votre nom, chère mademoiselle/I don‟t even know your name dear miss.Je suis fou!/I am crazy! Qu’elle est belle!/How beautiful she is!Cosette:… dites-moi qui vous êtes/tell me who you are.Marius:Je m’appelle Marius Pontmercy/My name is Marius Pontmercy.Cosette:Et moi, Cosette/And I, CosetteMarius:Cosette, je ne trouve pas les mots/Cosette, I don‟t f<strong>in</strong>d the words.Cosette :Ne dites rien/Say noth<strong>in</strong>g !MariusMon coeur tremble/My heart is trembl<strong>in</strong>g.This passage has the capacity to grip the <strong>in</strong>terest of even the most jaded studentsbecause it appeals to the emotions. Teenagers are pulled to words of love. They maycover it with laughter, but when class is about love, they are all ears.
Change language