Translate grammar sentences

One of the low-fun activities for me is the translation of sentences from L1 to L2. Some exams still have this tasks and some students still choose exams that have it.  Of course they are beneficial though. Khmmmm...
Suppose your students are to translate a couple of sentences that are examples of a certain grammar points.  You can post these on Facebook, you can assign two or three sentences to one student. After having translated them peers can correct or comment on each other's sentences.
Variation:

They will use Google Translate, it will give them sentences with errors. Why don't they correct them?

You can also give them google-translated sentences with errors, they would have to correct them and find out the original L1 sentence.

Coursebook exercises with non-connected sentences

Coursebooks often have guided practice exercises where you find single sentences numbered, under each other, students are to use the appropriate word or the words in brackets in the right form.
I often find that students simply neglect the meaning they do the task automatically. They are simply too lazy to think and say one or another answer, not really wanting to get it right. It is funny  but  also a waste of time. When I see that my students are missing the point with tasks like these I try to make them imagine the situation depicted in the task.

An example:
Sentence from the exercise:
Billy has eaten/ate all the watermelon form the fridge.

Digital teens tend to quickly choose one of the options without too much thinking. Let’s colour it a bit:

How old is Billy?
What does he look like?
What was the last thing he ate?


On Facebook you can start a conversation about 'crucial' thing like Billy's hair, it may make the exercise a bit more memorable. If  these comment threads are fun enough students might take up looking for the  the meaning in these seemingly monotonous tasks.

Trollfaces

Do you know trollfaces?
Facebook teens are surely familiar with them.
They can create their own trollface comics to practice any kind of dialogue.  To make it collaborative they can create a whole comic book and put it on issuu.com.

Principles for designing Facebook activities

• collaborative
• allow for creativity, individuality
• cater for stalking and narcissism
• students should work more than the teacher
• bite-size activities
• relevant to life and language aims
• fun
• account for differences
• look like Facebook (Facebook genres)

Translate and translate ...

The other day one of my students asked me to help him with a test-prep project.
They were doing -ed/-ing adjectives. 
They did the unit of a relevant grammar-in-use book.
Their teacher told them they were to be tested on the sentences in a couple of days. The test was translation from L1 to L2. This is very challenging as the subject of the test is not only -ed/-ing adjectives but a range of other points (other grammar, vocabulary, etc.)

On the other hand it was not just rote learning 10 sentences or so, there were about 70-80 sentences!!!

It was not a real option to write them each in two languages by one person to be studied later.

The number of learners in his group is 16. If they create a flash card set collaboratively, quizlet.com for example.  5 sentences (L1, L2) per person is quite manageable. So each student writes 5 virtual flashcards in collaboratively created virtual flashcard set (they may peer-correct it and the teacher can have a say too).
Now there’s nothing else to do but have a flashcard contest. The scores can be posted on Facebook, the winner may win a ..... something.

Fails and rules

Fails

Kids' behaviour on Facebook is sometimes  offensive, certain images and comments may evoke considerable concern. Certain comments may be disturbing. There is also a tendency of stalking (sort of spying on each other's Facebook walls) which is definitely a waste of time. Unfortunately girls tend to upload sexually explicit pictures of themselves, they are just not aware of the possible results of their actions.
You can educate students about that by simply discussing what these pictures suggest.
That is an area teens need our guidance.
After discussing these issues you may give your learners tasks with a language aim.

Ask one student (or more) to draw a picture of a typical fail profile picture.
The person depicted will be serve as a fictional character for these activities.

Students may write letters to a Facebook misuser suggesting that they should change their behaviour. (Alternative to  coursebooks’ agony aunt type of tasks to practise giving advice.)

They can also write (collaborative) stories that may be the results of a Facebook fail. Pictures and fails (memes spreading on the Internet) might be story prompts.

E.g.
Anna (14) uploaded this picture on Facebook one day. 


Stalking

Explain or discuss why Facebook stalking is a bad thing. (In L1 if necessary.)
Students may compile instructional materials to explain why it is a waste of time. (Do’s an don’ts, info-graphics, etc.)

They can as well create instructional shareables other than written things:
videos, sound, slides, talking pictures, etc.

Everyday situation role plays

It is quite trivial, simple, handy but highly Facebook friendly: get your students video record everyday roleplays.
You can use your coursebook situations as models that are  just to be copied by students or they can write their own scripts. Knowing that the video will be uploaded on Facebook they will surely pay more attention and practice more. You can follow the steps of a usual video project.