Using Surveys to Get Everyone Talking

Surveys en la clase de español

A language teacher's ultimate goal is to get students to use the target language as much as possible. Surveys are a great way to achieve this goal, and to engage students to the fullest extent! I was reminded of the benefits of surveys when I recently had third grade students survey one another about how they were feeling:

Why are surveys so great?!

Surveys are perfect for getting students to use the language in an authentic way, as students often do not know the answer to the question they are asking. It gets student to not only ask the question, but respond as well. There is also an element of competition that many students crave. They want to get everyone's response and find the "winner".  I also love surveys because they get everyone out of their seats and around the room. Even students who are less likely to participate, are part of the survey, so that everyone is engaged. I was amazed the other day when my principal walked in and so many students went right up to him and began asking him how he was feeling in Spanish, without hesitation. Luckily, he responded right back in Spanish and students were thrilled! 

Making surveys successful:

I have done enough surveys to know that if not set up correctly, students will resort to using English.  It is best to have students practice asking the question and response ahead of time, in another context (with a partner, chorally, with a chant, etc.).  For younger students,  I usually put the question at the top of the survey to remind students what to ask, as well as the response. I find it also helps, if possible, to have visuals available for students. For example, before doing the survey, I put all of the "emociones faces" on the board and had students say their Spanish names. I left them up for students to refer to, or point to, if needed. Finally, I model how to do the survey so that students know what is expected. I will model asking three people in Spanish so they know to ask in Spanish. It sounds obvious, but sometimes students forget, or don't realize, that it is expected!

Surveys as an assessment tool:

Surveys are also a great way to see which students can ask and respond to questions. I used a checklist when I did mine and checked off who was able to ask the questions, who was able to respond, and who was able to use o/a endings correctly. I was able to get a true sense of who had internalized the language and was able to use it more automatically.