By Deirdre Higgins, ESL teacher
Pasadena Language Center
Los Angeles Unified School District
A few months ago in class a student approached me; she was distressed about her lack of friends at work. She was a young Korean woman who had gotten a job in Los Angeles in the art department of a small film company. She was almost completely fluent in English and that’s why she was frustrated. Somehow, her ability to speak the language was not enough to create friendships with her peers. Consequently, she felt lonely and isolated.
I asked her for an example of where she felt things fell apart with her language. She said that every Monday when she would come to work someone would ask her, “How was your weekend, what did you do?” She would respond, “I went to shop, I bought a dress… I went out to a nice restaurant with my friend… I saw a movie on TV…”
I explained to her that when people ask those questions, they are more interested in connecting than actually hearing a list of activities. She then said, “How does one connect? What part of the language am I not using?”
This got me thinking. Language is more than vocabulary and grammatical structure. It’s more than simply knowing all the verb tenses or idiomatic expressions. It’s more than communicating facts. Language that really engages people includes facial expressions, physical gestures, pauses, hesitations, intonation, cadence, inflection, and high and low tonal sounds. Language can sound robotic -- like my young student who was listing her activities as if reciting a laundry list – or, it can be expressive and alive with color, meaning, excitement and emotion.
So I came up with an activity that helps ESL students eliminate the wooden pattern of speaking. It can be used for all levels of ESL. It is a variation on a Sanford Meisner theater exercise. Mr. Meisner was an acting teacher who encouraged students to be in the moment and to react truthfully without over analyzing. I modified the exercise to fit ESL students but the basic principals are the same: Watch, Listen and Respond. Easy, right? But most ESL students are caught up in trying to figure out a response to what’s being said that they are not actually in the moment, nor are they engaged fully with the other person. Their conversations tend to be stilted and unnatural.
The objective is for students to express meaning without relying on words. It’s a ping-pong exercise where they must listen and react rapidly to cues from one another. Not only does it get the student to recognize the importance of communicating expressively through vocal sounds and gestures, but also it allows the student to be more spontaneous and truthful. (This activity can be used to overcome wooden speaking in other languages, as well).
Two students stand opposite one another. Student A comes up with a sentence, using “I” as the first word. The sentence should be a simple fact.
“I have a dog.”
Student B parries with the same sentence, but using “You”.
“You have a dog”.
They ping-pong this back and forth for a few warm-up rounds before Student A injects an emotion or feeling into the sentence. It can be anything from joy to confusion to anger to sadness to frustration. Student B responds in kind. Essentially, they are relying on everything but words to carry on a ‘conversation’.
Student A: I have a dog.
Student B: You…you have a dog.
Student A: I have a dog?
Student B: You have a dog?!
Student A: I have…a … dog!!!
Student B: You! Have a… dog?!
The students are encouraged to use facial expression (eyes down, eyes rolling, eyes up, smiling, frowning, etc.) and physical gestures (hands rising in exasperation, shaking hands, pointing, etc.) as well as altering their tone and pitch and using pauses, hesitations and cadence to convey the intended feeling.
Sometimes the expressions or gestures are exaggerated but that’s okay because the exercise is meant to free the student from being too frozen. After they are familiar with the activity, I bring in scenes from real life situations so they can practice their non-verbal modes of communicating with actual dialogue.
Situation #1
Sister: John, remember that tomorrow is mom’s surprise birthday party.
Brother: Uh-oh.
Sister: What’s the matter? You didn’t forget, did you?
Brother: I… I made other plans.
Sister: How could you? I told you about this, weeks ago! It’s important for you to be there. She’ll be so upset.
Brother: I know. Oh, wow…
Sister: Can’t you cancel your plans? Please.
Brother: Well… maybe. I’ll try. I’ll let you know later.
Sister: Thanks. She’ll really appreciate it. And I will, too.
Situation #2
Friend A: How was your weekend?
Friend B: It was good. I didn’t do too much but that was okay since I needed to catch up on my work. What about you?
Friend A: You’re not going to believe what happened to me…
Friend B: What?
Friend A: I got engaged!
Friend B: Oh my gosh, that’s fabulous!
Friend A: I know, I… I can’t believe it.
Friend B: Congratulations!
By this time the students are much more comfortable and spontaneous and their language is natural and fluid. This kind of dialogue allows the students to practice hesitations, various tones, colloquialisms, as well as gestures and facial expressions. It is also a great deal of fun. Try it and see!
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