Teaching Strategies

Listening Round/Round-Robin

How to Use Listening Rounds

In round-robin sharing of ideas in a group, each participant has a turn to offer her or his answer. Nobody should interrupt the person who has the floor. Agreement, disagreement or surprise can only be communicated kinaesthetically.

Nobody can pass. If a participant's answer is similar to or the same as prior ones, the person has to start by acknowledging peers who had similar ideas:

"I had the same image as Kyle. I see Panchito opening the door to his..."

Round-robin is a technique to ensure that all students have a voice and that students who might otherwise monopolise a conversation do not limit anyone else's opportunities to participate.

Copyright © 2007 WestEd. All rights reserved. From Quality Teaching for English Learners, by Aida Walqui and associates: www.WestEd.org/qtel. Reprinted by permission of WestEd, San Francisco.

The Benefits of Listening Rounds

• Provides opportunities for noticing and hearing new language for English language learners.
• Gives opportunities for forced language output for all students.