Pair and small-group activities lie at the heart of communicative language teaching. They increase student talk, remove the instructor from center stage, and create optimal conditions for the negotiation of meaning and metalinguistic talk that promote acquisition. But these activities, particularly in classes taught by novice instructors, may fall short of their communicative potential. This session draws on principles of language acquisition to present a model for designing (or modifying), presenting, and managing pair and small-group activities.

Speakers

Judith E. Liskin-Gasparro, University of Iowa