Speaking activity

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This speaking activity gets students to think in English and use their memory, simultaneously. It is a simple way of recycling texts previously studied in class.

Author: 

Ender Velasco

It works well with factual texts in EFL, texts used in CLIL lessons and quizzes related to any subject.

Materials

Texts/authentic articles previously studied or quizzes completed in class.

Preparation

Prepare a few questions about factual information from the text(s) e.g. dates, proper names, percentages, figures, etc.

Procedure

Get students to read the recycled text(s) /article(s) again and make notes about factual information they consider important. Ask students to compare notes with a partner.

Divide class into groups. Each group nominates a representative who will take turns to answer. The teacher asks the first question, but the student mustn’t reply. The teacher asks the second question and the student answers the previous one (first question). The teacher then asks the third question and the student answers the previous one (second question), and so on - see samples below. Each student should answer all the questions correctly in a row to win the round.

Sample 1 – General Knowledge Quiz

·         How many legs does a spider have? – (SKIP ANSWER)

·         What is the currency in India? – 8

·         Where will the next Olympic Games take place? – Rupee

·         What was Bob Marley’s birth name? – London

·         When is St Patrick’s Day celebrated? – Robert Nesta Marley

·         What is 6 + 3? - 17 March

·         9

Sample 2 – Questions about a text

·         Where did Bill live when he was a child? - (SKIP ANSWER)

·         What was the name of his pet? – Sydney

·         How many footballs did he have? – Roxy

·         When did he move to the UK? – 4

·         Why was he unable to complete his primary school? – in 1999

·         He moved to Cardiff