A simple activity to get students talking and yet be accountable for listening is Les bâtons bavards. This is a really easy activity and can be applied to any speaking activity. The concept is that students start with either a blue Popsicle stick or a green one. When I first came up with this activity, I actually coloured a bunch of Popsicle sticks blue, green, and red. Then I realized that I could buy them at our local discount store and I have since bought them there. They come with extra colours buy I just stick to these three colours.The concept is simple:
Students with the blue sticks will be responsible for speaking.
Students with green sticks will be responsible for listening - one of them will be chosen to share something that someone with a blue stick said.
Students who are off-task get a red stick. I allow my students the opportunity to turn things around and get rid of their red stick in exchange for either a good share or good listening (depending on which colour stick they have).
Often we will play "Deux vérité et un mensonge" (Two truths and a lie) and use Les bâtons bavards to help organize who will be speaking and who will be guessing the answers first. First we play as a whole class and half of the students get blue sticks and half of the students get green sticks. Students with the blue sticks tell the class two statements (usually about themselves) that are true, and one statement that is not true. After one student with a blue stick has shared, either that student will choose or I will choose a student with a green stick to guess which statement was a lie. If the student with the green stick correctly identifies (with a complete sentence) the lie statement, then those two students switch sticks. If the lie was not correctly identified, then a different student with a green stick will be chosen.
For example:
Student A (blue stick) : "J'aime la pizza. J'ai deux frères. Je n'aime pas la couleur verte."
Student B (green stick) : "Le mensonge est tu n'aimes pas la couleur verte."
Student A (blue stick) : "Oui, j'aime la couleur verte."
(exchange sticks)
I like this game because it allows students to prepare themselves to actively listen if they have green sticks, or to prepare themselves to speak if they have blue sticks. Red sticks are a visual reminder that you need to get back on track. It serves as an excellent opportunity to assess listening skills, especially since students know in advance who might be called on to answer. Once students are familiar with how this activity works, they can break off into two groups and I can go back and forth between the two groups.
Be sure to check out my blog post about Games in the French Classroom to learn more about what types of games I use and how I use them to get my students talking more.
Also check out my Resources for Teachers section as I am always trying to add to my list of resources for French Teachers.
