Big News + Let's get functional

In November I’ll be presenting on my functional language training approach at the ACTFL Annual Convention and World Expo in New Orleans. Message me if you plan to be there so we can connect! 

On that note, I get this question a fair amount: “What do you mean by ‘functional language training?’” 

Functional language training provides students with a high volume of interactive speaking exercises that connect directly to their lives. Through meaningful, monitored practice, students build accuracy and confidence at a faster rate.

Here’s a very basic but key example. Take these two simple questions that every newcomer gets:

“Where are you from?”
“Where do you live?”

I call this example “key” because instructors frequently waste an opportunity here when they accept a one-word answer. Worse, they go around the room one by one in a 20-student class asking for responses, which is wildly inefficient. (Stay tuned for a future post on that one.)

To make these questions more functional, have students write their answers first and then check for errors. For speaking, it’s common that instructors also stop after the answers below, which is a missed opportunity. 

“I am from Somalia.”
“I live in Chicago.” 

Instead, partner students up. Partners ask each other the same questions. Students need to answer with a complete sentence: “My name is Lorena.” Then their partner will write “Her name is Lorena.” We’re isolating the possessive determiner (her/his) and the third person verb change. 

A: “Where are you from?”
B: “I am from Mexico.”  A writes: She is from Mexico.
A: “Where do you live?”
B: “I live in Chicago.”   A writes: She lives in Chicago.

Aim to wean students off writing, but first you’ll need to see if they have the correct script in front of them to start out, especially with a large class.

And you’ve only begun to get functional. Rotate the students.

Now they ask and answer like this: 
C: “Who was your partner?” 
A: “My partner was Lorena.”
C: “Where is she from?”
A: “She is from Mexico.”
C: “Where does she live?”
A: “She lives in Chicago.”

That simple exchange isolates the third person “s” along with “do/does”. Yes, you can throw the past tense “was” at beginners without a lesson. It's contextualized and it will become second nature sooner than you might have predicted. Rotate again (and again...)

That activity itself looks simple but it requires more from you. It takes time for instructors to get good at coaching, pacing, sequencing, and progressions. I promise it’s worth the effort. When students have the opportunity for a high volume of monitored, practical speaking practice, there is also a greatly understated benefit of the increased confidence that comes with accurately expressing themselves. It’s energizing for them and for you. 

So with apologies to Olivia Newton-John, “Let’s get functional.”