Would you rather…?

My Spanish 4 classes have been acquiring Spanish with comprehensible input methods all along, and they are GOOD. They are PROFICIENT. And guess what? We are not done. Just as I myself continue flooding my own free time with target language to increase/maintain my proficiency, they need a constant push to acquire more. However, they can communicate! And they enjoy using their acquired language to communicate. It is fun and satisfying! Output has a role and to me, this is it!

Continuing my quest to promote an environment of fun and productivity in Spanish 4 classes that have dwindled down to only a few juniors, today we played “Would you rather…?” In Spanish I called it “¿Preferirías…?”

I gave each small group a set of cards that I created with “Would you rather…?” questions. Students placed the cards faced down and took turns drawing a card. After they read the question, they gave their answer, then as a group they discussed their opinions and decided if certain conditions would determine their answer. This is a GREAT way to practice speaking in the conditional, and it is also just plain fun.

My 6th hour class is sometimes a little tiny bit more in need of “management,” so I gave them a carrot to keep them in Spanish. I set a 20 minute timer. I told them that if I heard ANY English, I would reset the timer. I needed to hear 20 minutes of “Would you rather…?” in Spanish and then we would watch El Internado for the remainder of class.

Not only did they completely hold it together and speak all in Spanish, but they were good at it, and we all had a lot of fun. We only had 3 small groups and I was able to circulate around to each group and participate with them (HEY–INPUT!). At the end one group said they wished we could just keep playing. One student said “You should make more cards and let us play this all hour some day!” So, this activity is a keeper, and yes Rachel, I will work on making more cards for you for Spanish 5 next year!

You can make your own questions, or get mine here!