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Questions for you
Questions for you is a simple getting to know you game for the first lesson of an English course. It is aimed at students who already know at least several different tenses and structures in English, and is therefore best suited to students of at least a pre-intermediate level.
As well as providing a great way for students to find out more about each other, questions for you also gives you the opportunity to assess students knowledge of the different structures that you decide to use.
- Focus: Getting to know you, Speaking, Grammar
- Level: Pre-Intermediate and above
- Age: Teens/Adult
- Target Language: Any
- Time: 20 minutes
- Preparation: Create a list of question stems (see example)
Procedure:
PRE: Create a worksheet like the one shown in the example. Have around 8-12 different question stems depending on how long you want the activity to last.
1: Write the first question stem “Are you …” on the board. Elicit some ways to complete this question about someone you are meeting for the first time. Note useful suggestions e.g. “Are you married?” or “Are you reading a good book at the moment?”
2: Give students the worksheet and tell them to write their name on the top. Ensure you are clear that is the only thing they should do. When students have finished, have all students pass the paper to the student on their right (establish at this point which student they should pass to each time).
3: Tell students to complete the first question stem and write their name next to it. Do not let them complete any other question stem at this point.
4: Tell students to pass the paper to the same person as before. Repeat these steps until all the questions and name have been completed.
5: Tell students to give the papers back to the person whose name is at the top of the page.
6: Tell students that they should stand up and move around. They should find each person in the name column and tell them the answer to the question. When they have told everybody, they may sit down.
Example:
S1: What’s your name?
S2: Roman.
S1: Hi Roman, I’m Natalia. You asked me “Where did I go on holiday last year?” I went to Thailand.
S2: Ok, you asked me “Have you ever eaten a spider?” No, I haven’t, or I don’t remember anyway!
Variations:
It’s possible to use this game as more of a lead-in to a topic by focusing on the “wh” question words and telling students that the questions must relate to a specific them e.g. technology. Questions should be something that the student asking is also able to answer in order to ensure that the student being asked has a chance of answering.
Example Worksheet:
| Question | Name | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| Are you ___ | ||
| Do you ___ | ||
| What ___ | ||
| When ___ | ||
| Where ___ | ||
| Why ___ | ||
| Who ___ | ||
| How ___ | ||
| Did you ___ | ||
| Would you ___ | ||
| Can you ___ | ||
| Will you ___ |
Don’t Miss A Thing!
Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels
