The document outlines five effective methods for utilizing speed dating in educational settings to enhance students' speaking skills. It emphasizes the importance of structured, student-centered activities that foster confidence, engagement, and peer learning while allowing teachers to provide targeted feedback. Additionally, it discusses using speed dating for different speaking scenarios, informal assessments, and improving organizational skills in presentations.

1. 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Office of English Language Programs

2. Ta Hintze
English Language Fellow
Mexico, 2015-2016

3. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016
photo © Linh Do

4. Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016
 To teach your students one activity that you can then vary to elicit different skills
 To provide your students with more student centered, yet guided, talk time

5. Use this to help students feel comfortable or to change the dynamic in class
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

6.  First week introduction activities
 10 minute review
 Back from break focuser
 Introduction to new topic
 Shift pace of class
 Use this as an informal speaking
diagnostic
 Focus is on getting students talking, so
keep corrections to a minimum
 Students can stand or sit for this
activity
 Use this to help yourself learn
students’ names
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

7. Use speed dating as a traditional 3-2-1
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

8.  Focus is on repeating the same
material with different partners
 Material is already known to students
 Teacher listens for errors common to
group to ask students to notice
 Change the speaking times to suit you
and your students’ needs.
 Elicit ways of stretching out or
condensing a talk
 “Why are we doing this?” Explicitly
discuss the purpose with students.
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

9. Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

10.  Review the target language on the board first
A: My name is ______________.
B: Your name is ___________________.
A: I am ______ years old.
B: You are ______ years old.
A: I am wearing __________________.
B: You are wearing ____________________.
 Right-hand line starts first, so different students start first
 Listen for errors and correct students between changes
Use this type of format to teach or
review specific structures
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Sentence frames for TOEFL iBT
• Common expressions
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

11. A guided alternative or addition to group work
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

12.  Do at each stage of the project
 Students practice organization or
delivery
 Partners listen for specific things:
 Organization, intonation, pronunciation,
content, task
 At end of each round, include a
feedback round:
 What you did well
 What you can improve
 Discourages procrastination
 Improves organization
 Allows students to see that practice
improves delivery
 Allows students to work on technique
without the nervousness
 Encourages community spirit
 You can also use this to work on
notetaking skills
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

13. Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

14.  Allows students to share ideas instead
of waiting for the “right” answer
 Provides students with different ways
of explaining what they think
 Encourages students to evaluate their
views after hearing other views
 Pushes students who would otherwise
not develop their ideas
 A low-stakes way of running a
discussion
 You listen for ideas in common, major
conflicts, or repeated errors
 After the speed dating, you can open
the discussion to the class in general
 Students will then be able to express
their ideas more confidently and
clearly
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

15.  Speed dating is a low impact form of mini-speeches
 NO ONE, including the teacher, interrupts when
students are talking
 Have interrupters sit on their hands
 Each student talks for the required period of time
 Teach strategies for stretching out or condensing talk
 Pay attention to errors, and make corrections
BETWEEN switches
 Use a loud timer, or music that you turn off
 For TOEFL classes, allow students to use their own
cells to keep track of time
 Pay attention to students’ mood and adjust time
accordingly
 If you are also teaching US culture, students turn in a
clockwise direction (to their left)
Be clear about students’ task or goals
before you start
Speed dating is structured talk, not a
conversation.
BUT, you can use it as you wish, just
make sure the guidelines are clear to
students.
Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016

16. Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016
 To teach your students one activity that you can then vary to elicit different skills
One flexible activity wastes less time in explaining instructions and creates
routines that help students feel confident, responsible and in control.
 To provide your students with more student centered, yet guided talk time
All students are engaged all the time, and you are no longer the sole focus.
And, since students are generally all doing the same task, it allows you to
listen for errors.

17. Ta Hintze: 5 ways to use speed dating to improve speaking ©2016
eslgold.com speaking expressions for a variety of speech acts and common situations
elllo.org watch or listen to dialogues between native and non native English speakers
manythings.org speaking section: listen and read along or listen and repeat, minimal pairs
livemocha.com interactive language courses, can record and get feedback on pronunciation
*All links are free, although to use livemocha.com effectively, you will have to make an account

18. fellow@elprograms.org
@ELPrograms
For more information