05/20 - Crossfire!

It's time to get loud

make yourself heard, it's allowed

don't be shy be proud

Today in a class I broke out one of my favourite English lesson activities. CROSSFIRE! Most of my fellow teachers know about the activity and how much I love it. Basically what it entails is writing questions for a partner, then asking them. However, all the students have to stay in their seats and speak at the same time when they ask and answer. On top of that, I play music. It all gets quite loud, which is great as it forces students to speak clearly, focus on pronunciation, concentrate on who they're listening to, and pay attention to non-verbal cues which are huge in successful communication. The thing is I have almost always done this activity with classes of mixed nationality. Today I did it with an entirely Japanese group, and it was great to see them break out of their shells and speak loudly. They are usually quite shy and quiet, but today they embraced the activity and made some noise, and I feel benefitted from it. Another win for Crossfire, and for the first time all month I wasn't the loudest person in the classroom for a bit.