Fossilized conversation partners

In Korea (and in most other places too), a thing that happens is that partners in language courses tend to get fossilized, which means that the same people tend to sit together for all classes during the course.  I hate this for a lot of reasons including:

1. That poor person who gets stuck with the worst student in the class.  The burden should be spread among everyone.

2. It gets boring to talk to the same person everyday.

3. It doesn't train students for life.  I want my students to be able to converse with almost anyone, in English.

4. Mistakes get fossilized among partners.  Maybe someone makes a mistake that impedes meaning.  Their partner asks for clarification once and the person gives it and then continues to make that same mistake over and over and never gets any more feedback that that mistake is impeding meaning.

5. There's no chance for many students to encounter a partner at a slightly higher level of language development (the zone of proximal development), which can be extremely helpful.

It's really easy to mix it up and make the students change partners.  I usually do it randomly by just assigning numbers or letters or whatever, but there are plenty more scientific ways to do it too.  I teach the same class twice a week, so I'll generally let them sit with their friend for one class and then assign a random partner for the next one.

The Small Stuff that Actually Matters #2: "Don't Hide"

I'll be doing a presentation next Saturday at Busan National University; all the details are:
Kotesol Busan-Gyeongnam Symposium. 

Come check it out, but in the meantime, I'm giving you a little preview of what I'm going to be talking about.  Tip #1 was: "Where are you Going?" and #2 is don't hide. 

It's extremely easy to hide behind technology (my thoughts on this in detail here), or a physical thing like a desk but it's actually a relationship that the students want.  Don't hide behind a flashy PPT, or leave no room for going off the beaten track, or questions.  A funny joke or a moment of inspiration.  A re-explanation of something that the students didn't quite understand.  Be moving, interacting, and engaging the sleepy or the lost or the bored.  Get them back on track.  You can't do this from behind a desk.