Jigsaw activities are communicative activities in which re | Grade Teacher Training
Jigsaw activities are communicative activities in which real communication occurs. Why do we use them?
they are purposeful: students are motivated by a communicative goal - getting information
they are reciprocal: to achieve a purpose students need to interact - they listen as much as they speak
there is negotiation in them: students may need to check and repair the communication in order to be understood by each other
they are unpredictable: neither the process, nor the outcome, nor the language used in the exchanges
they are heterogeneous: students are not restricted to the use of pre-specified grammar item
they are contingent: the utterances are connected to one another and to the context
they are synchronous: students interact in real time.
How do we use them?
READING
Divide the class into groups (or individuals) and give each their piece of text to read. You can optionally allow dictionaries here. After a few minutes reassemble the class and have them reconstruct the text as a whole and then answer the questions you prepared earlier.
With less advanced classes, you can have the students work on individual sentences rather than stories. For example, you can break a text into individual sentences which must be read and understood by individual students who can then come together and try and recreate the whole.
SPEAKING
Divide students in groups. Each member of a group has different information. One might have a bus timetable, another a map, and another a list of hotels. They have to share this information in order to plan a weekend break together.
LISTENING
Each learner listens to a different recording or part of a recording. Then, they work in pairs/groups to exchange information in order to complete a task.
Task 1: Send learners different recordings. It could be different news stories, full songs or just the chorus, different perspectives on the same topic. Then, they work together to compare the content of these recordings. How are they similar/different?
Task 2:
Send learners different recordings about different options, e.g. top travel destinations, film/book reviews, top Universities, etc. After listening, they compare all the options, rank them in order of preference and justify their choice.
As you can see, there are many possible options, and you can even create your own jigsaw activities. Do you use them in your classrooms? Share your ideas with us!
Learn more about teaching English at our Online TKT Module 1 Preparation Course which starts on 20 April.
