Skill: Speaking
Topic: Greeting Others and Making Introductions
Mode: Presentational Speaking
Level: Intermediate
Can-Do/Competency: Introduce another person to your class using appropriate formality either in person or via a recording.
Components of this activity: teacher and student instructions
Additional materials and resources:
- Students will need access to a video discussion application (such as Flip https://info.flip.com/).
- Students will need personal recording devices (phone or computer with webcam and microphone)
- Presentational speaking rubric
Instructions to the teacher
Before class, ensure students have access to a secure video discussion application. They may need accounts created and to be instructed on using the application if they haven’t previously used it.
Ask students to create a short video (45-60 seconds) in which they introduce a family member or close friend to their classmates in the target language. They will record this video outside of class. In the video, they should share the person’s name, their relationship to the person, and several important or interesting facts about them. The person they are introducing should be in the video with the student. (Alternatively, students could hold up a photo of the person they are introducing.) You may also encourage them to also teach the person they are introducing how to say a greeting or goodbye in the target language and to have them say it in the video.
Ask students to upload these videos to the video discussion application and to clarify expectations for peer interaction. For example, you might ask students to reply with written comments to each other’s videos, or you might ask them to create video responses to two of their classmates’ videos. A presentational speaking rubric should be provided to students to clarify how the videos and responses will be graded as well.
Instructions to students
You are going to record a brief (45-60 seconds) video of yourself introducing a family member or close friend to your classmates. The person you are introducing will be in the video with you. Before recording the video, be sure to get their permission to record them and to share the video with your class and teacher. You may choose to teach them a greeting/goodbye in the target language and have them greet the class in your video. In your video, be sure to share your person’s name, your relationship with them, and several important or interesting facts about them (e.g. their occupation, what languages they speak, where they have lived, what their hobbies are. It is up to you what you want to include!). Submit your video to the video discussion application and respond to your peers’ posts as directed by your teacher. Be sure to check the rubric to make sure you are meeting the expectations for this presentational speaking assignment.