The language experience approach is a powerful way to combine speaking, reading and writing by using students’ own language as the source text. Using Google Forms makes this method even more interactive: you collect authentic responses in real time, visualise class data with built-in graphs and turn student answers into meaningful reading and speaking prompts.

What is the language experience approach?

At its core the approach relies on interactive writing. Ask questions, students respond and then use those responses as text for further activities. This creates a cycle where input, output and visual scaffolds feed each other: learners speak, the class sees the language, and then the same language is used for reading, pronunciation practice and follow-up tasks.

Why use Google Forms?

• Fast collection of authentic student answers — everyone can contribute at once.
• Immediate visuals — Forms creates response summaries and charts automatically, which are perfect for class discussion.
• Flexible question types — short answers, multiple choice, checkboxes and scales let you target vocabulary, numbers and preferences.
• Easy to reuse and adapt — export to Sheets, edit aggregated responses and build new activities from the same data.

Step-by-step: a simple family-themed activity

This activity uses a short family survey to generate text for speaking and reading practice.

1. 
   Design a short form
   

   Create 4–6 quick questions about family, for example: How many people are in your family? Who lives with you? Do you have siblings? Provide a mix of short-answer and multiple-choice questions so you get both numeric data and open responses.

   
   
2. 
   Launch it live with the class
   

   Share the form link or display a QR code. As students submit, start an interactive writing session: write key sentences or vocabulary on the board that reflect typical answers. This builds a shared text the class can read together.

   
   

   

   
   
3. 
   Use the responses as prompts
   

   Turn students’ answers into speaking prompts: ask learners to expand on their own responses, ask follow-up questions to classmates and model full-sentence answers. Responses can also become a short class text to read aloud or highlight grammar and vocabulary.

   
   
4. 
   Show the data
   

   Open the Responses tab to reveal charts — for example, the distribution of family sizes. Use those graphs to spark comparison questions and quick comprehension tasks.

   
   

   

   
   
5. 
   Extend the activity
   

   Move responses into Google Sheets to sort, filter and create custom visuals. Use the collected sentences to build a reading passage, gap fills or pronunciation drills.

   
   

Practical tips and variations

• Differentiate by offering simpler question wording and more open prompts as appropriate.
• Pair and share — have learners discuss their form answers in pairs before reporting back to the class.
• Visual support — add images or icons to slides that match common responses to help comprehension.
• Use charts for language tasks — ask students to write sentences comparing groups shown in the graphs (e.g., “More students have two siblings than three”) or you create these together as a class.
• Save and recycle — keep collected responses to build a class corpus for future vocabulary and grammar work.

Quick classroom-ready prompts

• Count and compare: “How many people live in your house?”
• Describe: “Who lives with you? Describe one family member.”
• Opinion follow-up: “Would you like a bigger family? Why or why not?”

Using Google Forms with a language experience approach turns spoken classroom language into tangible reading and speaking resources. The instant visuals and data make the activity engaging and meaningful, while the student-generated text ensures learning stays relevant to the class. Try a short family survey as a starter and adapt the same format for hobbies, daily routines or school life.

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