A story for the card

1. Divide the class into groups of 8, sitting so they can see and hear one another.2. Give each group one pack of cards and ask a group memb...

Mad discussion

1. Divide the students into teams. One student from each team comes forward. 2. They have 3 minutes to argue about which is more important f...

Je ne regrette rien

1. Put the following list on the board: Your school. Your job or occupation. Your friends. Your habits, e.g. smoking, exercise, eating, etc....

Your partner story

1. Tell the students they have 3 - 4 minutes to mime their stories to their partner on the left. 2. When they are finished, ask the students...

New rules

1. Divide the class in groups of four. Each group is to create a rule to be followed in their conversation, e.g.: Nobody is allowed to speak...

Scars

1. Tell the students your scar story. If it is about a scar of yours that is showable, let them see it.2. Invite the group to think of how t...

Mime your past

1. Ask students to prepare to do a mime based on some past experience.2. One of the students does the mime, stopping after each action. Ask ...

Selling freezers to Eskimos

Use the word of an object to challenge the student to 'sell' it to the class by arguing why they really need it. This activity can b...

Days of the week

1. Write the days of the week on the blackboard.2. Ask the students to copy the days of the week on a piece of paper beginning with the day ...

Arguments

1. Divide the class into two even groups and give the topic of the discussion, for example 'Should prisons be abolished?'2. Group A ...

Express your view

1. Near the beginning of term, tell the students that you want each of them to be ready to talk for exactly four minutes on a subject they c...

Find the pair

1. Prepare some two-line dialogues with each line on a separate card. 2. Distribute the cards. 3. First student reads the line on his card. ...

Guess who?

1. Give each of your students a piece of paper and ask them to write four facts about themselves. These can be anything they choose, e.g. I ...

Hidden sentence

1. The class is divided in two teams. Each team sends a representative to sit in front of the class.2. Each of them gets a card with a sente...

Wrangling

1. Choose a dialogue consisting of two short sentences expressing disagreement. E.g.: - The answer is no! - But why?2. Allow students to imp...

Lie detector

1. One of the students leaves the classroom. The rest of the class prepares questions to him. 2. When he or she comes in they ask him their ...

How are you really?

1. Explain that student doesn’t learn anything from conventional exchange, as: "How are you? - Fine." 2. Ask them to rate their st...

Silent story

1. A student recalls a story that happened to him. 2. He or she displays it before the class without saying a word. 3. Next student tries to...

Debates

1. The class is divided in two teams. One team prepares list of advantages, another - disadvantages.2. Propositions for brainstorming advant...

Upside-down statements

1. Student chooses a statement, such as Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, and reverses its meaning into Put off till to...