Teaching Survival Phrases in a Foreign Language
Presenting and Practicing Functional Everyday Target Language
Foreign language teachers are now teaching students the everyday phrases of the language just as much, or more, than they teach how the language works i.e. grammar. Renowned researchers such as Jim Cummins found that students need to learn, use, and master the social communication of another language before they tackle the academic aspects of it.
Every day phrases, or functional chunks of the language, can be posted in the classroom, and they should be taught overtly to students.
Posting Classroom Phrases
Survival phrases are the phrases that are used daily to meet personal needs. They should be posted in a clear, legible list:
- Can I go to the bathroom? ¿Puedo ir al baño?
- Can I get a drink of water? ¿Puedo tomar agua?
- Can I go to my locker? ¿Puedo ir a mi armario?
- How do you say . . . in Spanish? ¿Cómo se dice . . en español?
- I forgot my . . . . Se me olvidó . . .
- Can I use a pencil? ¿Puedo usar un lapíz?
The phrases need to be posted the entire duration of the course in a central, highly visible area.
- Poster-strips on a bulletin board in the front of the classroom
- List of phrases on a poster, or on chart-paper
- Magnetized poster-strips that stick to a magnetized white board
- Electronic, digital list of phrases for an LCD or regular screen, or a SmartBoard.
Students need to see the phrases when they forget them, or if they get tripped up. For beginners the phrases can be posted individually as the teacher presents them.
Providing Practice Activities
Practice makes it permanent in language acquisition.
- Charades: The teacher, student pairs or groups, do charades of the phrases for other to guess.
- Fill in the blank/CLOZE exercises. Letters or words of the phrases are left out on a worksheet. Students complete the missing letters.
- English to target language games: bingo, tic tac to, concentration, or basket ball.
Assessing Survival Phrases
Teach what you assess, assess what you teach.
- Conventional pencil and paper quizzes or tests.
- Show-me white boards: Students write a target language phrase on a mini white board in response to a picture, charade, or English translation.
- Oral assessments: Designated student says the target language phrase in response to a picture, charade, or English translation. Picture based guessing games elicit spoken phrases.
Phrases can be removed from view for assessments.
Language learners must learn and use practical phrases in the target language. They are ultimately better target language speakers if teachers have taken the time to teach everyday language to them. Students should see and be surrounded by survival and classroom phrases in the classroom.
