Would you rather?

Apples or oranges? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cats or dogs? Chocolate or vanilla? Books or video games? Life is full of choices. Practice using the word “would” to express preferences with this popular conversation game.

1. Warm up. Each person introduces him- or herself and finishes the sentence “My favorite _____ is _____.”  “My name is Teresa and my favorite food is watermelon.” “My name is Juan and my favorite color is blue.” “My name is Ana and my favorite sport is soccer.”

2. Introduce “would”.  Ask everyone a question based on what they said in the warm up. “Teresa said her favorite food is watermelon. Juan, would you rather eat watermelon or strawberries?” If students are unfamiliar with “would,” explain that “would you rather” is similar to “do you prefer” when talking about the future.

3. Would you rather…? Write these questions on the board and have each person pick their answers. Then, put everyone in small groups and have them discuss what they picked and why.

Would you rather live in the country or the city? (Photo credit: jpstanley)

-Where would you rather be on your day off?

1. Playing a sport or taking a walk outside with a friend
2. Sleeping in the sun
3. At the mall with money to spend

-What would you least like to do?

1. Listen to the news on the radio
2. Listen to a live musical concert
3. Listen to a lecture on politics

-Where would you rather live?

1. In the mountains
2. At the beach
3. In a big city
4. On a farm

4. What did he say? Students report to the group what their partners said. As a group, make a list of people who agreed with each other from different groups (ie people from different groups who picked the same answer(s).)

5. Survey time. As a group, make a list of situations with two options each, both of which are not particularly desirable. Would you rather always arrive 30 minutes late or two hours early? Would you rather wear only one color every day for the rest of your life or never have a raincoat or umbrella when you need one? Would you rather have spots like a cheetah or scales like a fish? Would you rather get in trouble for something you didn’t do if all your friends know you’re innocent, or not get in trouble for something you did do if all your friends know you’re guilty?
“Would you rather” is a popular game. You can find more “would you rather” questions here and here. Both websites allow you to vote and see how many other voters agreed with you.  When you have a lot of options, each student picks two or three questions they would like to ask everyone. Each student surveys everyone in the class, and writes the results on the board.

6. Global feedback. Talk about the results as a class. Did anything surprise you? What did everyone agree on? What did people disagree on?

Conversation objectives: discuss hypothetical situations, build vocabulary through conversation, practice conditionals with would
Ideal group size: At least six players.
Ideal group level: Low-intermediate English
This post is part of our March Conversation Marathon. We publish a new conversation activity every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of March. To see the complete list of Marathon activities, click here.
For more general conversation topics, click here.  For more conversation games, click here.

Questions and answers

Ask questions to get to know each other. (Photo credit: sk8geek)

Ask me another. Use this English-language conversation activity to practice simple present, questions, and answers.

1. Warm up. Everyone introduces themselves. Each person tells the group his or her favorite word in English.

2. Vocabulary generator.  Work together to make a list of things you can say to continue the conversation (“Really?” “Why do you say that?”) or show that you are paying attention without interrupting (“Interesting.” “Right.”) Remember to include the question words who, what, where when, why, how.

3. Tell me about yourself.  Put students in groups of two or three and have them ask each other two or three basic questions to get acquainted. Meanwhile, write the following on the board:

1. What is a food you can’t eat?
2. What is something you want to change in your life?
3. How do you usually spend your weekend?
4. What is your nickname? Why?
5. Name three things you can do very well.
6. Name something you want to learn.
7. Who is your favorite person in your family?
8. Where is a place you want to visit someday?

The students should take turns asking each other questions from the list and then asking as many follow-up questions as possible.

4. Global feedback. Tell the group something you learned about your partner.

Conversation objectives: build vocabulary through conversation, practice simple present
Ideal group size: four people or more.
Ideal group level: can be used at any level from beginner English with a knowledge of can and can’t.
This post is part of our March Conversation Marathon. We publish a new conversation activity every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of March. To see the complete list of Marathon activities, click here.
For more general conversation topics, click here.  For more conversation games, click here.

Five ways to practice tag questions

You do have lots of ideas for teaching tag questions, don’t you?  No?  That’s okay. Here are five ideas. Use these activities to practice tag questions (or question tags, or emphatic statements) in an ESL, EFL, or ELL class.

1. Roll the die. Find a die or a pair of dice and assign a tag question to each number, like this:

Dice (Photo credit: matsuyuki)

1: aren’t you?
2: won’t we?
3: haven’t they?
4: don’t you?
5: can’t we?
6: didn’t I?

Each person rolls the die. Depending on the number that appears, the person must invent a statement with that tag question. This is a good warm-up activity.
Andrea: (Rolls a four.) Teacher, you like our class, don’t you?
Teacher: Yes, I do.
Rigo: (Rolls a five.) We can have pizza every day during class, can’t we?
Teacher: No, we can’t.
Melissa: (Rolls a one.) Andrea, you are a good student, aren’t you?
Andrea: Yes, I am.
Hector: (Rolls a three.) Melissa and Rigo have done their homework, haven’t they?
Melissa and Rigo: Of course we have!

2. Memory game. At the beginning of class, give students a list of questions and tell them to interview each other.  Try to write questions about topics that students don’t necessarily know about their classmates.

Students can converse as long as they want but they can’t write anything down. (Photo credit: Renato Ganoza)

What’s your favorite food?
Where have you traveled outside the country?
What is your dream car?
What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
Can you play an instrument?
How many cousins do you have?
What will you do this weekend?
What astrological sign are you?

Give students a fixed amount of time (say, ten minutes) to interview as many people as they can. The only rule is that they can’t write anything. They have to try to memorize as many facts about their classmates as they can. Go on to other activities (like, for example, the song below), teach the rest of the class normally, and return to this activity with about twenty minutes before the end of the class. Give students another five minutes to write down, on a piece of paper, all of the facts that they can remember about their classmates. They are not allowed to talk to each other. Then, put the students in a circle and take turns confirming what they think they know about their classmates. “You can play the violin, can’t you?” “Your dream car is a Ferrari, isn’t it?” “You’ll go to the movies this weekend, won’t you?” For each yes answer, the student earns a point. When a student forms a question incorrectly, he or she is eliminated and sits down or leaves the circle. At the end of the game, the student with the most points (and the best memory) wins.

3. Tic tac tags. Make a tic tac toe board for your students, and fill it with tags, like this:

Divide the students into two teams (Xs and Os). In order to get their symbol on the board, the students have to invent a statement that can be used with the tag. For example, if the team wants to take the square that says “have you?” they must make a statement like “You have been to Canada, haven’t you?” A statement like “You have a car, haven’t you?” is, of course, incorrect, and the turn passes to the other team.

If your class is already good at forming statements with tag questions (or question tags), you can expand the board into Tic Tac Connect Four, or, if you are really creative, Tic Tac Checkers. Or you can reuse the die or dice from the first activity and make a giant board game in which it is impossible to advance unless your team creates the correct statement for the tag that they land on.

4. Two Truths and a Tag. This is a modification of every language teacher’s favorite game, Two Truths and a Lie. Each player says three statements about him- or herself, and, as the name of the game indicates, one of the statements must be untrue. The other players must guess which is the untrue statement using tag questions. (“You don’t really have six brothers, do you?”)

5. Tag Song. Give the lyrics to A Little More Time by The Beautiful South to the students, and have them fill in the tags that make sense. Then watch the video to check answers.

Fill in the tags and then listen to the song to check your answers. Not all of the tags are what you might think!

Afterwards, look at the lyrics again and talk about the meaning of the song. Why is the woman angry at the man? What has the man done? What does the man want? What does the woman want?

These activities allow for a lot of practice with tags, but remember that tag questions (aka question tags and emphatic statements) can also be worked into most conversation practice. Click here for English conversation games and topics.

Father’s Day Conversation Game

I am your father! Amsterdam, De Dam, Darth Vader (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Father’s Day!  Today is the day we celebrate the institution of fatherhood in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and many other countries.  Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in the United States.  Although other countries celebrate on different days, Father’s Day is celebrated annually in every region of the world.

Practice your English skills with this Father’s Day conversation game.  You need at least two people to play, and you can use it to practice questions and answers, adjectives, and the present tense.  This is a good game for beginning English language learners but it can be as complicated as you want and anyone at any level can play it.

1. Warm up. The players introduce themselves and describe their fathers in one word.  My name is Frank and my father is friendly.  My name is Elizabeth and my father is energetic.  My name is Paulo and my father is aggressive.

2. Vocabulary generator: famous fathers. As a group, make a list of famous fathers.  They can be from television, movies, books, pop culture, history, politics, sports, or more, but they must be famous and they must be fathers.  They can be famous for being somebody’s father (like Darth Vader), part of a famous family (like Fred Flinstone) or a famous person who happens to be a mother (like actor Will Smith).  You can even list the fathers of people in the room, as long as all of the players know who they are.

3. Guessing game.  With a partner, think of a famous father and describe him in three sentences to your partner.  Then your partner can ask as many questions as they need in order to guess that person’s identity.  The groups who guess in the fewest number of questions win.

For example:
Ashley: He has a famous family.  He lives in England.  He has red hair.
Hugh: How many children does he have?
Ashley: He has two sons and one daughter-in-law.
Hugh: Are his children famous too?
Ashley: Yes.
Hugh: Is he famous because of his children?
Ashley: No. He is famous because of his mother.
Hugh: Is his work famous also?
Ashley: Not really.  His mother has a very famous job.  When his mother dies, he will have that job, and then he will be more famous.
Hugh: Is he Prince Charles, the son of Queen Elizabeth II of England?
Ashley: Yes!

 5. Global feedback. All of the partners share their conversations with the whole group. Who guessed with the fewest number of questions? Which famous fathers were easy to identify? Which ones were difficult?

Conversation objectives: Build fluency through conversation, ask and answer questions.
Ideal group size: At least two players.
Ideal group level: Beginning English, but can be modified for any level.
Like this game? Check out our March Conversation Marathon for more activities like it.
For more general conversation topics, click here.  For more conversation games, click here.

Mothers’ Day Conversation Game

Happy Mother’s Day!  Today is the day we celebrate the institution of motherhood in the United States, Canada, Australia and many other countries.  Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May in the United States.  Although other countries celebrate on different days, Mother’s Day is celebrated annually in every region of the world.

Mother’s Day By the Numbers: How many mothers are there in the United States?  Try to match the numbers from this table with the descriptions.  The answers are at the end of this post.

How much do you know about mothers in the United States? Match the number with the description, and check your answers below.

Marge Simpson is a famous TV mother. Photo by PopCultureGeek.com via Flickr.

Besides a card or gift for Mom, a lot of families celebrate Mother’s Day with travel: to see Mom, to see Grandma, to see a new baby, or to just go somewhere so that Mom doesn’t have to cook. Entertain yourself on your trip and practice your English skills with this Mother’s Day conversation game.  You need at least two people to play, and you can use it to practice questions and answers, adjectives, and the present tense.  This is a good game for beginning English language learners but it can be as complicated as you want and anyone at any level can play it.

1. Warm up. The players introduce themselves and describe their mothers in one word.  My name is José and my mother is friendly.  My name is Elise and my mother is energetic.  My name is Peter and my mother is aggressive.

2. Vocabulary generator: famous mothers. As a group, make a list of famous mothers.  They can be from television, movies, books, pop culture, history, politics, sports, or more, but they must be famous and they must be mothers.  They can be famous for being somebody’s mother (like Mary, mother of Jesus), part of a famous family (like Marge Simpson) or a famous person who happens to be a mother (like Cleopatra).  You can even list the mothers of people in the room, as long as all of the players know who they are.

3. Guessing game.  With a partner, think of a famous mother and describe her in three sentences to your partner.  Then your partner can ask as many questions as they need in order to guess that person’s identity.  The groups who guess in the fewest number of questions win.

For example:

George: She is not alive now.  She was very religious.  She was very poor.

Mother Teresa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sara: Did she speak English?
George: I’m not sure.  She was born in a country where they do not speak English, but she lived in India, where they do speak English.
Sara: Is she Ghandi’s mother?
George: No.
Sara: Is she famous because of her child?
George: No. She is famous because of her work.
Sara: Did she have many children?
George: No.  Actually, she did not have any real children.  Only spiritual children.
Sara: Is she Mother Teresa of Calcutta?
George: Yes!

 5. Global feedback. All of the partners share their conversations with the whole group. Who guessed with the fewest number of questions? Which famous mothers were easy to identify? Which ones were difficult?

Answers to Mother’s Day By the Numbers:

1B, 2C, 3A, 4E, 5D, 6F

Conversation objectives: Build fluency through conversation, ask and answer questions.
Ideal group size: At least two players.
Ideal group level: Beginning English, but can be modified for any level.
Like this game? Check out our March Conversation Marathon for more activities like it.
For more general conversation topics, click here.  For more conversation games, click here.

The job counselor

An auto mechanic works on a rally car at the 2003 Ojibwe Rally in Bemidji, MN. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everybody likes to talk about themselves.  In this conversation activity for intermediate students (or advanced beginners), students review and reinforce the present tense while they talk about themselves and give each other advice.  It’s a good way to practice a very common topic of conversation– jobs and professions.

1. Warm up. Each person introduces him- or herself and tells the class his or her dream job.
My name is Ana and my dream job is a lawyer.
My name is Pedro and my dream job is an auto mechanic.

2. Vocabulary generator. The class brainstorms a list of jobs and professions. Don’t forget:
architect, biologist, businessperson, chef, clown, chemist, dentist, doctor, engineer, entrepreneur, entertainer, gardener, journalist, judge,  lawyer, musician, mime, paramedic, scientist, singer, teacher, television personlity, veterinarian, weather forecaster, zookeeper.

Then, make a list of adjectives that are good or bad qualities for some of the professions. Each person picks a profession: A good teacher is very patient, but a bad teacher is cruel. A good doctor is friendly, and a bad doctor is greedy.

3. Pair practice. In pairs students play a guessing game with the words on the board. They take turns describing a job or profession while the other person tries to guess what it is. This is a version of the What am I conversation game.
Ana: This person has a good sense of humor and likes children. This person is patient and not shy.
Pedro: Is it a teacher?
Ana: No. This person doesn’t work in a school. Usually they work at parties or shows or sometimes on the streets.
Pedro: Is it a clown?
Ana: Yes!

A career counselor asks questions to help determine a good field for a job seeker. (RELEASED) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. The job counselor. Break the students into different groups. For small classes, put them in pairs. In larger classes you can do groups of three, with two “counselors” and one “job seeker.” Explain that in this difficult economy, it is important to know what the best jobs are for our skills. The “job seekers” need advice about where to look for work, and the “counselors” need to interview the job seekers to determine the best job or profession for their personality. If the counselors already know the job seekers’ current profession or what they want to do when they finish studying, they are not allowed to recommend that profession; they have to think of something else. With the class, brainstorm and review questions that a counselor would typically ask a job seeker, such as:

• What are your skills and abilities?
• Can you read / type / speak more than one language / do mathematical computations in your head / drive a car / sing / dance / lift heavy objects etc?
• What are your likes and dislikes?
• Do you like to work with children / work with elderly people / work as a team / work independently / be a leader / be creative?
• Can you travel?
• How much money do you need?
• For you, is it more important to make a lot of money or to enjoy your job?
• What is a job you know you don’t like?

The counselors travel from group to group and interview the job seekers. When everyone has been interviewed, the counselors share their recommendations with the job seekers and the whole class.

5. Global feedback. Was anybody surprised by the advice they received? Why or why not?

Conversation objectives: Ask and answer questions, practice nouns and adjectives, practice vocabulary related to jobs and professions, use can and can’t to express ability, practice simple present tense, build fluency through conversation.
Ideal group size: Six people or more.
Ideal group level: Intermediate English.
This post is part of our March Conversation Marathon. We publish a new conversation activity every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of March. To see the complete list of Marathon activities, click here.
For more general conversation topics, click here.  For more conversation games, click here.

Selling it

A good salesperson can make any product sound good.  This conversation is good for intermediate English learners who have good control of the present tense and are building vocabulary and fluency. It works best with groups of six students or more.

1. Warm up.  Each person introduces himself or herself by completing this sentence: My name is ___ and a valuable possession I own is ___.  Remind students that valuable can have different meanings: expensive, useful, important, etc. Encourage each person to give a reason for his or her choice: My name is George and a valuable possession I own is my cell phone because I use it every day.  My name is Ann and a valuable possession I own is my backpack because it has everything I need for school.

2. Vocabulary generator. Brainstorm a list of additional adjectives you could use to describe your valuable possession. Be creative! Here are some examples: expensive, useful, important, new, complicated, fancy, easy-to-use, multi-purpose, big, clean, comfortable, technologically advanced, etc

3. Pair practice: Selling it!  Tell the students that they must pick a possession that they currently have with them.  It can be their shoes, their pencil, their English dictionary, their keychain, or anything else they happen to have in class that day. Put the students in pairs; each person must sell their “product” to their partner.  The partner must ask questions about the product.  Write some ideas for both the salesperson and the customer on the board:

 Salesperson: Be friendly, be polite, describe your product, demonstrate your product

Customer: What does it do? What are it’s features? Where can I use it? Where should I not use it?  Why is it better than the others? How much does it cost?  Does it have a guarantee?

Remind groups that each person has to take a turn being both the salesperson and the customer.

4. Large group practice: The market.   Divide the class in half.  One half is the salespeople; have them sit in a row as if they were at stands in the market.  The other half is customers; give them each a set of paper money bills.  The customers must go shopping in the market and they must spend all their money.  The salespeople, of course, are trying to convince the customers to buy their products.

5. Global feedback. Back in the large group, talk about which product sold the best.

Conversation objectives: use persuasive language, ask and answer questions, practice adjectives and simple present, develop fluency through conversation, build vocabulary through conversation
Ideal group size: Six or more players.
Ideal group level: Intermediate English or above.
This post is part of our March Conversation Marathon. We publish a new conversation activity every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of March. To see the complete list of Marathon activities, click here.
For more general conversation topics, click here.  For more conversation games, click here.