To get our learners lots of input, we need to find ways to have them take texts and read, reread, and reread again! I love throwing a Volleyball Reading (which I call Tischtennis, or “table tennis” in German) to get me off the stage for a while, give students a chance to read the L2 aloud, and help their partners toward shared success. I use it enough that I can just tell students who to partner up with, say “Read the text Tischtennis!”, and they will hop to it without second thought. (I did it once during an observation, and the observer was impressed at the transition speed, and that the whole class was reading the L2 and working together!)
Why should you do it? Volleyball Translation is a great way to do a first, or second, or even third pass at reading a text, and allows students to do some partner work so you can make your next pedagogical decision. We all need that time off the “stage!”
When do I use Volleyball Reading?
Like I said above, you can use Volleyball Reading on any encounter with a text your class is reading. Maybe you’ve given a lot of auditory input on a topic, and students are ready to read the new language in text form for the first time. Maybe you’ve already read and discussed a text as a class, and want to give students some time to confirm their comprehension on a second pass with the text before moving on to extension activities. Maybe you’ve just co-created a Write and Discuss text as a class, and want students to reread the new text one more time. Or maybe – honestly – you want to buy yourself a couple minutes while you take care of whatever business comes across your Teacher Life / Human Person Life in the middle of a class. All you need is a text, and you can throw in a Volleyball Reading!
How do I do it? – Logistics
Students need access to a text (on the board or in hand), and to be partnered up in the manner of your choosing. Having one group of three sometimes happens, but everyone else should be in pairs. I like to display the instructions for the procedure to students as the activity is taking place, though they usually don’t need them the second or third time using it.
How do I do it? – Procedure
- In the partnerships, designate who will begin – aka a “Partner 1.”
- Partner 1 reads the first sentence of the chosen text out loud in the Target Language.
- Partner 2 translates the sentence their partner just read out loud into English. Partner 2 then continues on by reading the next sentence in the text in the Target Language.
- Partner 1 translates the sentence Partner 2 just read out loud into English, and continues on by reading the next sentence in the Target Language.
- Students continue on, alternating reading aloud in the two languages, until they have finished reading the entire chosen text. (Or, just set a time limit, if you need/want!)
What do I do now that we’ve finished?
You can always follow a Volleyball Reading with asking questions about the text to confirm that students have understood the text well, to personalize the information in the text, or to extend student thinking about the topic.
You might also “park” on any new or troublesome vocabulary to give students more exposure to the new language by asking more personalized questions and/or comprehension questions related to the text.
Students have just finished reading a text, so you have the choice to assess, extend, or just plain move on!
Pro Tips!
- Model with a student first! As with any new procedure, we can help students do it more correctly the first time by modeling our expectations and what it looks like. Pick an outgoing student, and have them be Student 1 and read the first sentence of the text aloud. Model translating, and then reading the next sentence in the Target Language, and go back and forth until your class seems to get it. You could even model by having the entire class be Student 1, with you as Student 2! Seeing it in action helps students put it into motion quickly and accurately.
- Encourage partners to help each other out! Students are definitely encouraged to help each other when needed, whether it be pronouncing a word in the L2, or getting an accurate translation into English. If both partners can’t figure out a word or phrase, they can ask another partnership nearby for help! Students are encouraged to be resources for each other’s learning.
- Switch partners! For shorter texts, working with one partner is just fine. For longer texts, having students find a new partner using a procedure of your choosing can help give them a brief break and reengage with the text. One procedure I like is having the new partnerships show each other the spots on the text that they had read up to with their previous partner(s), and start reading the text at the spot closest to the beginning of the text, or the “earlier” stopping point. This means that any “slower” readers will still get to read the entire text, and the “faster” readers can provide confident support on text they have already read and processed before.
- Start from the top if you finish early! Some partnerships blaze through a text, while others need a little longer to work through a text. Have fast finishers start again from the top if they finish early, or maybe start writing comprehension questions about the text (you could say that you want to use them for a Quick Quiz!). Anything to keep students engaged with the language longer!
- Write common stumbling block words on the board! Because all students are working simultaneously and supporting each other, you have time to circulate through your classroom and listen for spots in the text where students are getting stuck. (Or just cheer students on if they are rocking it!) If I ever hear more than one pair stumble over the same section, I figure out the word/phrase that is tripping them up, and write that on the whiteboard with a translation or illustration to help the class.
- Review tough spots with the class using oral questioning! Any words that I write on the board to support struggling students can become quick targets for further questioning once we reconvene as a class. If many students struggled with a new word or phrase, I can give students more input with that vocabulary by asking comprehension and personalized questions using those words, making sure to point and pause at the words and their translations on my whiteboard to ensure comprehension.
What if I want to learn more?
Here is a blog post by the Comprehensible Classroom about Volleyball Translation. This post starts an interesting discussion about the use of translation in the language classroom, and how translation activities may move us away from the fabled 90%+ Target Language goal. I find that I use Volleyball Translation for brief enough periods that it doesn’t detract from my overall goal to use as much Target Language in class as possible – but it is always important to consider the When and Why of L1 use in our classes!
This is Chris Stolz’ take on the activity. I agree that we definitely don’t want to do it too frequently, and it loans itself best to reviewing to build confidence.
Here is a post by Señorita Spanish about two ways to read with students, including Volleyball Reading. I love the clear examples, and reminding students “3 Before Me” – ask your neighboring peers for help before stopping to wait on help from the teacher!
Lance Piantaginni introduces a variant on Volleyball Reading called Silent Volleyball reading here. This can help lessen any anxieties about pronouncing the Target Language, although I find that Volleyball Translation is a great time for students to try out pronouncing more of the language for themselves in a low-stakes environment.
Here is Keith Toda’s post on Volleyball Reading. He discusses a variation on grouping / partner-finding that I found neat!