1

Improving Interpersonal Communication

Motivating and Empowering Learners

Paul Sandrock American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

1. The active negotiation of meaning among

individuals.

2. Participants observe and monitor one another to

see how their intentions and meanings are being

communicated.

3. Adjustments and clarifications can be made

accordingly.

4. Participants need to initiate, maintain, and sustain

the conversation

2

Interpersonal Communication

Students engage in conversation, provide and

obtain information, express feelings and

emotions, and exchange opinions.

3

Interpersonal Communication Is NOT IS

One-way communication Two-way exchange

Memorized (dialogues) Spontaneous (and unpredictable)

Only asking (all) the questions

Helping each other

Strict turn taking Following-up and reacting; maintaining the conversation

Ignoring your partner; waiting to say something

Indicating interest: interactive body language; eye contact

Overly concerned about accuracy

Focusing on the message

Giving up when you don’t understand

If communication fails/falters, asking for clarification

Do you want to …..? Yes, I want to explore the cave.

No, It’s too hot. I want to go to the beach.

explore a cave zipline

play in the waterfall

swim at the beach snorkel Hike in the rainforest

? Do you want to….? I want/don’t want…

• Do you like to (activity) in summer or winter?

• What do you prefer to do?

• What is the weather like when you (activity)?

• Are you good at (activity)? Why or why not?

• How often do you (activity)?

• Where do you (activity)?

Summative Interpersonal Assessment You are attending a student United Nations event. The topic is food and hunger. You will represent one country and interact with others from other countries. Have a conversation where you ask and answer questions to discuss:

• Where you live • Food likes and dislikes • Foods that you eat in your country • Healthy and unhealthy behaviors • Hunger issues where you live

ACTFL – Laura Terrill

Developing Literacy Strategies:

Interpersonal Mode

Numbered Heads Together

Directions: Students assemble into

groups and number off. The teacher

asks a question and tells the groups to put their heads

together to discuss it. The teacher calls a number and

selects a group. The student with that number in that

group answers. The teacher asks the students of the

same number from the other groups if they agree with the

response or asks them to elaborate on the response.

• I think the author wrote it to teach us about…

• One theme might be……

• I think it means that…. • In other words…… • For example…. • In the text, it said

that….. • One case showed

that….. • I would add that…… • Then again, I think

that….

• I want to expand on your point about….

• In my life…. • I think it can teach

us…. • If I were…., I would

have… • We can say that….. • The main theme/point

of the text seems to be….

Teach the Language of

Discussion / Debate

How to Start Academic Conversations

Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford

Educational Leadership/April 2009

What’s the “engagement” and “motivation”

to be in the conversation?

Activating interest (a direction for the conversation) 1. Come to agreement

2. Find out how much you have in common

3. Identify the biggest difference between you

Creating a context (a reason for the conversation) 1. Decide if you can be partners

2. Make a decision about who, what, where, when, how

3. Explore two sides of a debate question 9

What’s the “accountability”

to stay in the conversation?

Designing a “deliverable” (an urgency about the conversation)

1. Complete a graphic organizer

• Venn diagram

• T - Chart

2. Tell what you learned from your partner

3. Be ready to share your findings

10

11

Existing Classroom

Activity

Practicing Interpersonal

Skills

Share your travel itinerary with

a partner

Come to agreement with your

friends about how to balance

the “must see’s” (museums,

monuments) with the “must

do’s” (music, events,

adventures) on your visit to ___

Expectations for Student Performance Using existing tasks or activities

– making them more interpersonal:

12

Existing Classroom

Activity

Practicing Interpersonal

Skills

Find out which classes you have in

common

Find out who has the busiest day this

week

Describe your … to your partner Find out how compatible you and your

partner are in the area of …

Provide a summary of a story or article Work with your partner to retell story or

summarize an article

Present a work of art to the class Go on a gallery walk (art on classroom

walls) with a partner to decide on a

work of art for your city’s museum to

purchase

Give five reasons for taking a trip to … Identify ways that you and your partner

could provide service on a trip to

address a global issue

Using existing tasks or activities

– making them more interpersonal:

Reflection on Tasks

13

Make suggestions to improve the evidence of the

mode captured in the performance:

• Is it true to the characteristics of the mode (the

purpose behind the communication)?

• Is the task as real-world an application as possible

(suggest ways to improve the authenticity)?

• Do students need to use communication strategies

(or is it just evaluating use of vocabulary and

grammar)?

• Are the tasks appropriate for the targeted

proficiency level?

21st Century Skills Map – Interpersonal Tasks

14

Novice

• Students develop a

survey to investigate

the eating habits of

the class, interview

students, and

discuss the results to

create a graph

• Students browse

online recipes and

work in pairs to

change ingredients

to healthier

alternatives

21st Century Skills Map – Interpersonal Tasks

15

Novice Intermediate

• Students develop a

survey to investigate

the eating habits of

the class, interview

students, and

discuss the results to

create a graph

• Students browse

online recipes and

work in pairs to

change ingredients

to healthier

alternatives

• Students collaborate to

retell a familiar story

and prepare to present

it to their classmates

• Students exchange text

messages to determine

who has the busiest

week.

21st Century Skills Map – Interpersonal Tasks

16

Novice Intermediate Advanced

• Students develop a

survey to investigate

the eating habits of

the class, interview

students, and

discuss the results to

create a graph

• Students browse

online recipes and

work in pairs to

change ingredients

to healthier

alternatives

• Students collaborate to

retell a familiar story

and prepare to present

it to their classmates

• Students exchange text

messages to determine

who has the busiest

week.

• Students chat with

classmates to decide who

has the most similar ideas

on a debate topic; the

resulting small groups work

together to create the main

points they will make in a

debate

• Students examine a blog

about a news event in the

target language country;

identify what new

information they discover

and collaborate to post a

reply

17

Novice-Mid/High Intermediate-

Low/Mid

Intermediate-High

Introductions: Practice

the first night at your host

family’s home: introduce

yourself, show your

photos, and ask questions

of each other’s family and

home

Presentation: Plan

and practice giving a

tour of your school for

the group of visiting

students. What

differences do you need

to highlight?

Debate: Circulate in the

room to find another who is

taking your same side of the

debate question; then pair

up and seek a third partner

Making Plans: Organize

the plan for a day in a

new city, agreeing on

what to do first, second

and last

Analysis: Is it worth it

to be famous? With

your partner, identify as

many advantages and

disadvantages as you

can

Discussion: How do you

change stereotypes? With

your partner, examine any

ideas about the target

culture that have changed

during your study of their

language; try to identify

what caused a change

Novice to Intermediate-High: Targeting Performance Levels

and Capturing Students’ Engagement and Motivation