Speed dating activities in the classroom

Speed Dating

Arrange the chairs in two or more lines so the students sit facing one other person. If possible put a line of tables in between to make the setup more realistic. Depending on how well your students know each other and your target language , they can either use their real identities or invent a person to play. Students can either keep their own card, or to make things more interesting, put all the cards in a hat and draw a random person. If students used invented people, they can give their impressions of personality, and see if the adjectives they use match what was written on the card. Plus, they can say who they think is the best match for them as a friend, based on hobbies, personality, likes and dislikes. If you wish, they could also do the above as a written activity, as a message to a friend describing how the speed dating went.

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I know this is a rare feat, especially in the secondary setting, but I am not exaggerating. Speed dating is the real deal. It tricks students into learning and will make your teacher heart warm and fuzzy inside. The best part is that this lesson model is so versatile that you can find a creative way to use it for just about anything!

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At the start of a speed dating session, students are given a topic or question to discuss. Each student sits facing another student. Students typically remain in their partner-groups for about minutes before the instructor, who must keep time, notifies them to move on to their next partner. Once students rotate to their new partners, the timer is reset and students again discuss their topic or question, this time with a new discussion partner. The session proceeds in this manner, with each student thus getting the opportunity to interact with multiple other students in a series of brief one-on-one discussions Murphy,

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SPEED DATING DISCUSSION - FREE CLASS ACTIVITY

After 15 years in the classroom, I have some thoughts about ice-breaker activities:. And so, it turns out that the social risk is high and the social reward is low. Additionally, too often the person leading the activity has not thought through the point of the activity and how it fits into the course. And going around the room talking about what you are studying or what you ate for dinner last night is boring. No one cares.

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