Have you ever thought of how often you hear commands throughout your day or how often you say a command? It has to be one of the most used features of a language.
The language of mothers and fathers, especially those with young children, are packed with commands. Are you a fan of cooking shows or DIY shows? Think of the amount of commands you hear during those programs.
Likewise, teachers' days are full of commands as they instruct their students and give directions. I doubt teachers realize how often they say a command.
Last semester, I wanted to make my Spanish students aware of how often they hear commands during the class period, so I proposed a simple listening competition. When I say a command in Spanish, I will listen for the first student to call out "¡Mandato!". Then I write the student's name on the board with a tally mark.
I am repeating The Mandato Challenge again this semester. I started it two days ago and the tally marks are growing. Interestingly enough, some students that are usually quiet in class, are among the high scorers! In other words, the fact that they're quiet does not mean they aren't listening and acquiring the language, but rather that their comfort zone in the second language classroom looks a little different than the students that want to answer every, single question or even comment on things without a question. (To be clear, I do like having those that are like a fountain of language that doesn't have an off switch in class because they add energy and content to our discussions.)
If I can't discern which person said ¡Mandato! first, it's a draw and nobody receives a tally mark. A new addition to The Mandato Challenge this semester is if I say a command and nobody hears it, which usually happens if I am speaking to only one student or a small group of students, then I receive a point. I've earned a few points, but I predict next week I'll earn a big 'ole goose egg because they are s-h-a-r-p!
Side benefits of The Mandato Challenge
An unexpected benefit to this challenge, is that sometimes to avoid saying a command, I say Quiero que ustedes pongan sus papeles en mi escritorio (I want that you all put your papers on my desk) instead of Pongan sus papeles en mi escritorio (Put your papers on my desk), which provides input of the subjunctive in context at a time they are paying close attention!
Eventually students notice that many times the words (verbs) are the same when I say "I want that you..." as when I directly tell them to do something.
Sometimes when I say a command and one or two, (or sometimes 10 or more), students call out ¡Mandato!, and I add a tally mark, there may be a student that didn't hear it and will ask, "¿Qué dijiste?" (or sometimes they blurt that out in English - we're still in the real world here folks). They asked, so I write what I said on the board for them to see it in print. It's like "pop-up grammar" but they initiate it! Other times after I add a tally mark I'll ask the class to tell me what I just said and then we quickly move on to what we were doing.
It adds energy to class because the students are waiting, listening, ready to shout ¡Mandato! which captures everyone's attention.
If you want to see how this works, give The Mandato Challenge a try in your classroom. Have FUN with it!
Did you ever wonder how many questions you ask in the TL throughout the class period? I should ask a student to track my questions for several classes to see what the range is.
When the teacher asks a lot of comprehensible questions it requires student participation to answer those questions. Sometimes I want the students to call out the answers and other times I tell them to raise their hands to give me an idea of who knows the answer. There are always 2 or 3 students that I can count on to raise their hands, which makes it easy for me to assess their understanding.
But what about the students that don't raise their hand? What is the best way to assess their understanding throughout the period? I know there are students that know the answer, but are either too shy to answer or they second guess themselves and choose to let someone else answer. Many times I'll ask the students, "Who knows what I just said?" or ask them to hold up 1-5 fingers to show me what they understood. But, sometimes I just want to HEAR what they can do. I know the experts say you shouldn't force output, but...sometimes I can't resist.
Yesterday, after circling the beginning sentences of a story that we had started the previous day and then added a few more sentences, I told the whole class to stand up. I split the class in two and said that one of the sides would stand for an additional five minutes if the other side out-shined or out-played them.
The object: one student at a time had to say a sentence in Spanish about the story. After a student on side A answered, I repeated the sentence, pointed to the structure if it was one that was still on the board, and said "excelente" or something similar. Then I turned to the other side and a volunteer from that side said a sentence.
At first, the same students that usually answer in class answered. I expected that and said what I often say in class, "you're making one person do all the work for you" (yes, I said that in English) But something interesting happened after a few rounds. Students that haven't said anything in the first 3 days were raising their hands to say full sentences in the TL. Some were even using their imaginations to use previously learned vocabulary to come up with logical sentences that went along with the story. Later that day, I tried to analyze why they answered so easily and what was their motivation.
Possibly...
1- They really didn't want to be on the side that had to stand an additional 5 minutes. (Students want to stay seated.)
2-They had plenty of "think" time and no pressure because ANYONE on their side was permitted to answer.
3-I have a long wait time so if I know the students know the answer but are waiting me out, I don't become uncomfortable with the wait time and a student eventually answers. (Looking in their eyes and smiling goes a long way.)
4-They wanted to help their "team" and make their contribution.
Whatever the reason, I was amazed, again, at the powerful effect TPRS has on helping the students to acquire the language. Overall, they did such a great job that I declared both sides victorious and we gave ourselves a round of applause.
Personal Goal for the Week: Find out my QPH with the help of students to track my questions!!!
