Maybe you’ve been hearing about interpersonal speaking and writing. It’s something ACTFL came up with, right? But it might still seem a little hazy or like they’re trying to reinvent the wheel. (yep, in teaching it always seems like we’re trying to make old things new again).
Fortunately, interpersonal skills are a lot more straightforward than you might think. We use them all the time, now they just have a fancy title. Interpersonal means that communication is happening between two or more people. That can be done in writing or verbally. Check out these examples and it will start to make sense:
Interpersonal writing:
- Emails
- Text messages
- Direct messages on social media
- Writing a card (lol, old school)
Interpersonal speaking:
- In person conversations
- Telephone calls
- Marco polo messages
- Video messages
Makes sense now, right? The tricky thing is how to give students the opportunity to use and practice these skills in class. I love using interpersonal speaking tasks cards to spark conversation. Interpersonal reading and writing activities are a great way to give students exposure to reading comprehension in addition to expressing themselves in writing. And it is so easy to make these technology friendly (Blog post coming soon on this. Stay tuned!).
What other ways have you used interpersonal speaking and writing in your classroom? Comment below and let me know what your best tricks and tips are!
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