Highlights: This activity is good for a change of pace and gets learners out of their chairs interacting with everyone in the class. A great deal of peer teaching and friendly conversation can happen throughout this activity.

Objectives: Learners get intensive (repeated many times) practice using the targeted language in short dialogues. Learners may get to know one another in an atmosphere where peer teaching is naturally supported.

Context: This activity can be used in all levels or multilevel classes. It is suitable for general ESL classes as well as specific classes such as workplace or family literacy classes. This activity works best for classes with at least 10-12 learners.

Estimated Time: The first time this activity is used, the explanation may require several repetitions and demonstrations. Afterwards, line dialogues should take no more than 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the activity may become a little tedious.

Materials: Learners in one line have Cue Cards that are used to elicit responses from learners in the other line. Cue cards can contain word or picture clues for responses to questions. Realia (authentic items) are also effective for beginning level classes. If learners are using familiar questions such as "What is your name?" or "How are you?" no cue card prompts may be necessary. For higher level students, cue cards will probably not be needed. Questions for higher level students come from the targeted language. "What would you do if you won one million dollars?" or "What would you like to be doing 10 years from now?" might be questions asked and answered in a line dialogue with intermediate or advanced learners.

Procedure:

1. Pre-teach dialogue.
2. Learners form two lines facing each other. Hand out cue cards to learners in LINE A. These cue cards are used to elicit responses from learners in LINE B.
3. LINE A remains stationary, repeating the same questions to every learner in Line B. Learners in LINE B listen to the question, look at the cue cards, respond to the question, and then move to the right and face another learner in Line A. All pairs talk at once. The last person in Line B moves to the beginning of the line. The activity continues until everyone in Line A has asked a question to everyone in Line B. Example: Task: Learners will identify body parts from visuals. Dialogue: A: What's wrong? B: My back hurts.

Note: There are a variety of ways to set up a line dialogue. There may be only one line asking questions, or both lines can ask questions. As discussed above, cue cards may or may not be used. In classes where learners have some comfort and familiarity with everyday language, learners decide on their own what questions to ask. In all cases, one line remains stationary and the other moves.

Evaluation: This activity provides the teacher with an excellent opportunity to unobtrusively evaluate learners; once learners understand how to conduct a line dialogue, they usually have so much fun that they don't pay attention to the teacher at all. During this activity, the teacher can observe learners' speaking and listening skills, vocabulary knowledge, question formation or clarification skills, and even comfort level using English.

Extension activities: To give learners an opportunity to speak English with others, two small classes could participate in the line dialogue. These classes could be at approximately the same level or the less advanced class could comprise the stationary line and practice the questions in advance.