Surviving the App-ocalypse: Alternatives to Flip and Jamboard PLUS 25 Communicative Activities to Start the School Year Strong

Surviving the App-ocalypse: Alternatives to Flip and Jamboard

On June 17, 2024 tech wiz and Idioma instructor Maureen Lamb lead a webinar filled with alternatives to using Flip (formerly Flipgrid) and Jamboard, two popular apps that are sunsetting this year. Watch the replay of the webinar here on our YouTube channel, and keep reading for more tips to engage your students in the classroom!

25 Communicative Activities to Start the School Year Strong

Getting our students speaking in the target language can be an huge challenge! The best way to tackle that challenge is to get your students speaking everyday: make it a part of your daily routine. It may take a few weeks, but with consistent effort and quick, low-stakes opportunities you can get your students speaking and building confidence every day. Here are 25 quick and engaging communicative activities that will get your students speaking in the target language:

1. Speed Dating Conversations

• Pair students up for quick, 1-minute conversations on a given topic, then rotate partners.

2. Describe and Guess

• One student describes an object, place, or person in the target language without naming it, while the others guess what it is.

3. Would You Rather?

• Present students with a "Would you rather?" scenario and have them explain their choice.

4. Two Truths and a Lie

• Students share three statements—two true, one false—and the others guess which is the lie.

5. Story Chain

• Start a story with one sentence; each student adds one sentence to continue the story.

6. Role Play

• Assign roles (e.g., waiter and customer) and give students a scenario to act out.

7. Picture Description

• Show a picture and have students describe it in as much detail as possible.

8. Mini Debates

• Divide the class into two groups and have them argue for or against a simple, fun topic, like what is the best ice cream flavor.

9. Interview a Partner

• Students interview each other about a given topic and then share their partner’s answers with the class.

10. Telephone Game

• Start a sentence at one end of the room; each student whispers it to the next until it reaches the last person, who says it out loud.

11. Opinion Poll

• Ask a question and have students walk to different sides of the room based on their answer. Students then discuss their choices.

12. Memory Challenge

• Students list as many items as they can remember from a category (e.g., foods, countries) within a minute, then share aloud.

13. What’s the Question?

• Give students an answer and have them come up with the corresponding question.

14. Back-to-Back Descriptions

• Students sit back-to-back. One describes an image or scene, and the other tries to draw it based on the description.

15. Class Survey

• Students walk around and ask classmates a question, tallying the responses, and then report back.

16. Story from a Word

• Give a word and have students create a short story around it.

17. Mystery Bag

• Place an object in a bag. Students take turns asking yes/no questions to guess what it is.

18. Guess Who?

• Students ask yes/no questions to figure out a famous person or character one student is thinking of.

19. Time Traveler

• Have students imagine they’re from a different time period. They must describe what they see and experience in the current time.

20. Guess the Sound

• Play a sound (e.g., a dog barking, a phone ringing) and have students describe what it is and in what situation they might hear it.

21. Chain of Questions

• One student asks a question to the next, who answers and then asks a new question to another student, continuing the chain.

22. Alphabet Game

• Pick a category (e.g., animals) and go around the room with each student naming something in that category that starts with the next letter of the alphabet.

23. Peer Compliments

• Students must give a compliment to another student in the target language.

24. What Would You Do?

• Present a scenario (e.g., lost in a foreign city) and ask students to explain what they would do.

25. News Flash

• Students pretend to be news anchors and deliver a brief “news flash” on a current event or school news.

These activities are designed to be short, fun, and focused on getting students to practice speaking in the target language in a variety of contexts.