Make it relevant: Interviews to develop conversation.

In my search for helping my students make connections with the "real world" and apply their learning in context, I decided to begin student interviews in Spanish 4 class.  I found that activity in Cynthia Hitz's blog.  What makes student interviews great, is that they bring relevance into our classroom.  Do you remember the feeling when you could hold your first conversation in your target language?  Personally, that is what encouraged me to continue my English studies.  That "this works!" feeling is indescribable, and I really want my students to experience it.  As a first interview to set up guidelines and also to get students motivated, I invited my niece Isaura.  She is from Mexico, but right now is studying in Germany.  She is 19 years old, and obviously interested in languages, which made her a perfect prospect for this activity.

There was some preparation to make sure that our time was used efficiently, and to avoid the risk of the the activity turning into an improvised and chaotic session.
Before connecting through Skype:

1.  I asked my niece to write some questions that she could ask my students.  I gave each student a number, so she would call on a specific one to respond and engage in conversation.
2. I gave my students 15 minutes to write questions for Isaura.  I told them they could ask anything they would like, and also wrote on my board the following question words for them to have a start:

•¿Quién…?

•¿Qué…?

•¿A dónde…? (To where…?)

•¿En dónde? (in where…?)

•¿Cómo?

•¿Por qué?

•¿Cuántas / cuántos?

•Do you think that…? (Piensas que…)

I decided not to force students to participate, but all had to write their own questions anyway.  Forcing them would have taken away the fun and relaxed environment of a real-life conversation. Besides, it is all about the comprehensible input, isn't it?
So, students AND guest had questions to ask each other.  The conversation began.  Students had to introduce themselves before asking their questions.  After the natural nervousness of the beginning, they all relaxed and had a great time! I was making comprehension checks and other comments to make sure that every student was following, and also that the conversation had a natural flow.  When there was a pause when I asked for the next volunteer, it was Isaura's turn to ask them a question. No dead time at all!  Having students and guest ask questions helped the interview turn into a conversation. My niece was impressed with the ability that my students have to communicate, and students were thrilled to test their skills with a native speaker.  I believe that this activity gave them that "this works!" feeling I was talking about! Now we are all set for student interviews in our classroom.