Speed dating in the classroom

Speed dating is a technique that teachers can employ when we want students to work in pairs, and at the same time work with or talk to several different people, or even to talk personally to each and every one in the class.

How? Put students into two lines, and ask them to face each other. Give them two or three minutes to talk to each other, or any amount of time that you feel suitable according to your class objective. You may play some music as they speak, or use a whistle to control their movement. When the time is up, you may pause the music or blow your whistle to make them move one step or two steps to the left to match them to a new partner. Repeat this step a few times until you are satisfied that they have talked to enough people as you wish.

This method is suitable for an ice-breaking session, when you want the students to introduce themselves to each other; or in a roleplay session, when students have been given several structures to practice; or in a post-reading session, when you simply want the students to share their personal opinions on certain issues.

In this picture, I used it to make students teach poetic devices to each other. Each of them had been assigned to research and study one unique poetic device the previous day, and here they were explaining it to their classmates, along with examples. As a teacher, I acted as a facilitator, observing and listening to them, and helping them on any doubts that they had.

Try this pairing technique to make your class more student-centered, but don't use it too often as students may get bored if it becomes too repetitive and predictable. 😄