Two Minute Debates

▶ Duration: 25–30 min

▶ Aim: Oral fluency practice; disagreeing
▶ Summary: A series of quick debates in pairs.

Introduction

In this activity, the teacher sets a topic and students debate it in pairs. Two minutes is long enough
for students to bring up a few key points, but short enough that they do not run out of ideas or
become bored. After two minutes, the teacher sets a new topic.

Procedure

Leading into this activity, you might take the opportunity to introduce some useful
expressions. For example, before the class I wrote on the blackboard:

a. I don't agree that...

b. I admit that...
c. That doesn't make sense.
d. That's beside the point.

*****

Woman: You must talk to our daughter! I think she's fallen in love with Mr Zhang, who has
no job and no money!

1. Man: Mr Zhang is a bad choice, but ____________________. She's too young to fall in
love with anybody!

2. Man: ____________________ she's fallen in love. They're just good friends!

3. Man: ____________________. She told me yesterday that she wants to find a rich
businessman to marry.

4. Man: ____________________ Mr Zhang is poor, but he's a very nice man.

Explain to the students that there will be some debates later in the lesson, and these four
phrases are useful during an argument or debate. Ask them to discuss with their partner, and
decide which word goes where (do not explain the meanings, let them try the exercise first).
Afterwards, check the answers (d, a, c, b) and explain if necessary, for example explain that
"beside the point" means not relevant. Mark the stress in the last two phrases, and drill them:

That's beside the point.

That doesn't make sense.
Now write on the blackboard: "I think my boyfriend/girlfriend is going to dump me!" (you
may need to explain "dump"). Ask the students to imagine that one of their friends has said
this to them. Tell them to work in pairs, and think of four different ways to reply, using the
four phrases. Afterwards, get some answers from the class.

Now it is time for the first debate, an demonstration with you on one side and the students on
the other side. To motivate them, you might promise a reward if they win, for example telling
them a joke. You can get one student to stand at the side of the room and be the judge. Try to
use the four phrases that you just taught (perhaps point to them on the blackboard as you
speak them). A possible topic (write it on the board) is: "It’s better to be a teacher than a
student". I always argue the "against" case, with points like:

 students live closer (at my university, teachers did not live on campus)
 students can make friends easily
 students are only responsible for themselves, not others
 students get a reward: a degree
 students learn
 students can skip classes!
 students do not have to spend the whole class standing up

Next, explain the "two minute debate" activity: students work in pairs, and have two minutes
to debate a topic. If you think it is necessary, carry out another demonstration by choosing
two students to stand up and debate: write a topic on the board (some ideas are listed below),
and assign one to argue "for" and one to argue "against".

Finally, begin the activity proper. Do not let the students decide who is for and against as that
would take up too much time, instead just assign a role to each column of desks. Check with
a "hands up": who is for? Who is against? Tell them not to start the debate until you say so.
Write up a topic, and give them two minutes to debate. After each debate, ask for a few
arguments as feedback, but do not spend too much time on this or it will interrupt the
momentum of the activity. Four or five debates is enough. Some possible topics are:

 A bike is better than a car.

 Students should each have their own room.
 It's better to be a boy than a girl.
 University students should not date.
 It's better to watch a soap opera, than watch the news.
Chain Spelling (Shiri-tori)
Level: Easy to Medium

The teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student should say a
word beginning with the last letter of the word given. The game continues until someone
makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word incorrectly, misspell it or come up with a
word that has been said already, then he/she is out. The last one remaining in the game is the
winner.

This game can be made difficult by limiting the words to a certain category, e.g.. food, tools,
or nouns, verbs, etc.

Bang Bang - A Vocabulary Game

Level: Easy

Divide the group into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved in a
duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend to draw their
pistols. Say "how do you say..." and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to give the
answer and then "bang bang", pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He remains
standing and the other one sits down. I give 1 point for the right answer and 5 extra points if
they manage to "kill" 4 opponents in a row.

Editor's Note: Instead of saying the word in the students' mother tongue, it would be possible
to use a picture or to say a definition ("What do you call the large gray animal with a long
nose?")

Spelling Contest
Level: Any Level

First, if you have a large class you have to divide it in 2 teams. then the teacher says a word
or a sentence depending on the level for the students to spell. Students should spell these
correctly with not even one mistake. The team that has more points is the winner

Crazy Story
Level: Any Level

This is an activity that will make your students speak in class and be creative.

 Ask students to write a word on a piece of paper and tell them not to show anyone. This
word should be a verb (or whatever you'd like to rewiew).
 The teacher starts telling a story, then stops and chooses a student.
 That student will continue the story and must use his/her word. This student then chooses
the next student to continue the story.
  The last student must end the story.
 After the story is over, the students then try to guess what words each student has written
on his/her paper. The student who guesses the most words wins the game.

Digital Camera Scavenger Hunt

Level: Easy to Difficult

This game may require students to leave the classroom depending on how you set it up.

Make a list of things students must take photos of. Then put your students into teams, each
with their own camera and have them go out and take the photos. The team that comes back
first with all the photos is the winner.

Some ideas for lists are:

 bus, taxi, car, bicycle, etc.

 restaurant, post office, mail box, traffic light, etc.
 In the classroom: pencil, pen, eraser, blackboard, etc.
 Around the school: principal's office, copy machine, cafeteria, etc.

For further review of vocabulary, have the students look at all the photos and identify other
things that appear in each photo.

Beep Game
Level: Easy to Medium

Choose around 10 volunteers to come and stand in a line at the front of the classroom. The
first student in line must begin counting from 1, and each student in turn calls out the next
number. However, every 4th number must be replaced by the word "beep" (or buzz etc.).
Following a "beep" the next student in line must call out the next number, and not the number
that has been replaced. For example, 1, 2, 3, beep, 5, 6, 7, beep, 9 etc.

If a student hesitates too much or makes a mistake he/she must sit down, so eventually only
one student remains. Whenever a student sits down, begin from 1 again. See how far you can
get!

Words Beginning with a Given Letter

Level: Medium to Difficult

The teacher chooses a letter from the alphabet. Then each student must say a word that begins
with that letter. If a student repeats a word that has already been said, then he/she is out of the
game. The game ends when only one student remains. That student is the winner. In high
level classes students lose if they say a past form of the verb. Example:see-saw. You can
increase the difficulty by adding a timer. Only allow each student 5 seconds to think of a
word.
Act Out an Activity
Level: Easy to Medium

This is a game-like activity to teach continous tense.

One student simply acts out some activity (e.g.cooking) and the other students guess what
that student is doing. The student who guesses correctly acts out another acitvity...

Headmaster Game
Level: Medium to Difficult

Have each student take out a piece of paper and their dictionary. Write on the board:

You are the new headmaster of this school. You have two years to make this the perfect school. You
can have as much money as you want, but you must spend it all in 2 years.

 What changes would you make immediately?

 What changes must be gradual?
 What would you do to make it a better school?
 What changes would you make?

Be specific. For example, don't say hire better teachers. You must say how you would find better
teachers or what kind of teachers you would hire. Also, remember you must think like a headmaster,
not like a student! Making school easy and letting the students do no exams or homework will not
make parents happy!

Give the students 15 minutes to work alone. Then put them in groups of 3-5 with a leader to
organize their thoughts. Each group's leader will give its "report" to the other students during
the following class period.

If your students have a small vocabulary you can help them out by listing on the blackboard
areas of discussion: teachers, buildings, classrooms, activities, dorms,
lunchrooms,curriculum, sports, playground, library, bathrooms,schedules,music, art,etc.

This is a great activity for all ages. We always run out of time!

Can You Find What Is Different?

Level: Easy

Ask a volunteer to go out of the classroom. While the student is out of the room, the other
students change their sweaters, shoes, coats and so on. Bring the student who went out of the
classroom back inside. He/she has to guess the differences (speaking in English, of course.)
Guess the Letter on Your Back
Level: Easy

This game is used to practice the alphabet. Divide students into groups and ask them to stand
in line and give the students in the front of the line a piece of chalk to write on the
blackboard. Then write with your finger a letter on the back of the students at the end of the
line. They must do the same with the student in front of him/her and so on. The students with
the chalk try to guess the letter and write any word that begins with that letter on the board.

Guessing the Word from a Drawing

Level: Any Level

 Ask one student to be in front of the class. Give him/her a word that can not be seen by
other students.
 He/she will draw (on the blackboard) a picture expressing the concept of the word.
 The rest of the class have to guess the word.
 If you are keeping score, the one who drew the picture gets the point if the class can guess
the word.

Reviewing Tenses
Level: Any Level

Preparation:

 Print out three sentences (negative, positive, and question) of the tense you want to review.
 Cut each sentence into words.

The Activity:

 Students work in groups.

 Give each group of students words of a sentence and ask them to make the sentence.
 Draw a table on the board and ask students to tick sentences at suitable positiions, positive,
negative, or question.
 Ask students to make rules of the tense.

Example:

 Three Sentences:
o I am a student.
o I am not a student.
o Are you a student?
 The Rules:
o TO BE at the present simple
I am a student.
o Positive: S + am/is/are + O.
I am not a student.
 o Negative: S + am/is/are + not + O.
Are you a student?
o Question: (Ques words) + am/ is /are + S + O?

Think Fast
Level: Any Level

A game for revision (review). It also works well for the last 5 minutes of class

The teacher prepares a list of items for revision e.g. word fields, grammar, facts. In class
he/she explains the procedure. Three to five volunteers leave the classroom and wait till their
turn has come. The teacher appoints a student to take the exact time and another to take down
a tick for every correct answer. No repetitions! (Set up or negotiate rules on pronunciation.)
Then the first player is called in.

 Teacher: You have 20 second to name as many things as come to your mind.
 Your topic: Parts of the body / London sights / plays by William Shakespeare / the places in a
town / traffic signs / weekend shopping-list / etc.
 Ready, steady, go

Once all volunteers have done their bit, award a small prize (e.g. a sticker) to the winner of the
round. Then ask the class for additions before you pick the next item. Then pick the next item.

Allow more time (30 or 40 seconds) for longer answers: What have you done so far today? /
What did you do last weekend? / School rules: What do students have to do? What are they
not allowed to do? / etc.

If this game is played in groups, they should be evenly balanced.

Ball Game
Level: Any Level

Students stand up in a circle around the teacher. A ball is tossed to a student and the teacher
asks a question, e.g.: "Say a color". The student then responds and throws the ball back to the
teacher.The teacher then throws the ball to another student and asks another question. For
higher levels, you can ask such questions like "Give me the past participle of an irregular
verb". This is a fast game, and it is great for reviewing vocabulary.

Good Morning Balls

Level: Any Level

1. You have three different coloured balls, (they should be very light weight, samll balls).
2. Get the class to make a circle.
3. Then give three people a ball.
o Red Ball - Good Morning
o Green Ball- How are you?
o Blue Ball - Fine thank you and you?
 4. The class members pass or gently throw the balls and the person who receives them says
the meaning of the balls.

This is fun and gets the class going first thing in the morning.

Air Write
Level: Any Level

One person "writes" letters, words, numbers, shapes etc: in the air and others guess what it is.
Can be done in pairs, as a group, along a chain.
Can also be played as back-write, that is, writing the letter/word/... on the back of another and
they guess what it is.

Lost in a Jungle
Level: Medium to Difficult

This is a game suitable for a class of pre-intermediate and up. The game can be done in
groups of three to six students. It keeps everyone involved even the quietest students.

The Teacher prepares a list of say 20 items and writes the list on the board or gives copies to
groups. This is a list of things that people may need if they're lost in the jungle and things that
they may not need.

For example:

 A pack of canned food

 50 meters nylon rope
 Knife
 Torch
 Tent
 Cellular phone
 6 gallons of water
 Petrol
 Alchohol
 Blankets
 Candles
 Matches
 ...

Then, the students in groups decide on 5 itmes on the list which seem essential to all of them.

This usually takes a whole session since they all come up with different ideas. Sometimes a
creative student chooses an item apparently irrelevant, but when he/she explains how to use
it, everyone agrees!
Truth or Lie?
Level: Any Level

This isn't really new. I got the idea from a book and have expanded on it a bit. It can be used
at any level from pre-int. up. It can be used just for speaking practice but it's particularly
useful if you're doing present perfect for past experiences. It works soooo well! The students
just love it! Lots of question and past tense practice. Even the quiet ones will talk!
Based on a group of three (it can be done in pairs, or fours if you write some more questions),
each student has a piece of paper with five questions on it (see below) and takes it in turns to
ask the person on their left one of their questions. The student answering the question must
answer 'Yes I have.' regardless of the truth. The student who asked the question can then ask
as many further questions as he likes in order to help him decide whether the truth is being
told or not. Obviously, sometimes they'll be telling the truth. The third student can also join in
with questions, thereby 'ganging up' on student B. Listen how students fabricate stories in an
attempt to avoid questions! When the first student feels he's heard enough he says 'No further
questions' and writes 'True' or 'False' next to the question. The game then carries on (student
B asks a question to student C and so on) When all the questions have been asked the papers
are passed to the left for marking i.e. the truth is revealed. The highest score out of five wins.
This game will really open your eyes to people's ability to LIE.
Here are the questions. You can use different ones, obviously.

Have you ever…

spoken to a famous person?
danced on a table in a public place?
been trapped in a lift?
taken an illegal drug?
sung karaoke?

Have you ever…

appeared on television?
left a bar or restaurant without paying?
written graffiti on a wall?
appeared in a photograph in a newspaper?
chased a criminal?

Have you ever…

done a very dangerous sport?
won a medal or trophy?
missed a flight?
stayed in a five-star hotel?
swum naked in the sea?

A typical exchange might be something like:

- Have you ever swum naked in the sea?
- Yes I have.
- Where did you do it?
- Erm. On holiday in Majorca.
- Who were you with?
- Some friends.
- What were their names?
- Erm...etc.

Syllable Game
Level: Medium

Write a difficult word on the board for example

ACCOMMODATION.

Then clap your hands while saying the word. Repeat as necessary.

Then ask them to count the claps in ACCOMMODATION. There are 5 handclaps. Get
students to clap and say ACCOMMODATION.

Tell students these handclaps are called SYLLABLES and that every word breaks down into
one or more syllables. Briefly practice saying "syllables."

On the board underneath ACCOMMODATION draw 5 medium sized boxes. Put the correct
number underneath each box.

Clap and say the first syallable of ACCOMMODATION and ask your students which letters
should go in box 1. They should say AC (some might say ACC.)Repeat this process until all
of the letters are in the correct boxes. So now you should have

Box1 AC Box2 COM box3 MO Box4 DA Box5 TION

Then choral drill the letters like this.

Teacher: Which letters are in Box1?

Students: AC

Teacher: and in Box2?

Students: COM

Continue this until all 5 boxes (syllables) have been covered.

Then ask a student to give you the contents of BOX1 and 2. Then ask another to give you the
contents of box 2 and 3. Then 3 and 4. then 4 and 5.

This gradual building of the word helps them not only to understand the rhythm and concept
of syllables, but also helps them to fix the spelling in their minds.

Once they grasp the concept of syllables, Write some 3,2, single syllable words on the board
and get the students to work out how many syllables the word has, and then get them to put
the letters into the correct boxes
Karaoke
Level: Difficult

-for larger classes

Preparation: choose songs that are easy to understand and somewhat enjoyable.

1. Divide the students up into groups of 4-5 people.

2. Give each group a different song. Have them figure out all the words to the song. Make
sure that not just one person is doing the work, but that it is a group effort.

3. Give them the entire class (one hour) to work on it. Next class, have them return to their
groups to practice one time.

4. You then have the group as a whole, stand up and sing along with the recording.

-this is fun for the students if they all participate and work together.
-choose both popular and silly songs to keep their attention and interest

Extreme Situations
Level: Medium to Difficult

The point of this activity is to make difficult questions involving choosing a course of action
in extreme situations.Usually This situations will involve feelings, prejudices, ethics,,etc.

Examples 1:

You are on a deserted island. There is a motor boat and you are the only one who knows how
to drive it. It is up to you to decide which people of the following people you are going to
take with you in the boat. There is space for only you and 3 more people.

Here they are:

 a prostitute
 a drug addict
 a dying old man
 a doctor convicted of malpractice
 a child pornographer
 a convicted criminal
 (Note: You should adjust the list to suit the students in your class. Delete some if you find
them offensive. Add others that you think would generate good discussion.)

Example 2:

You find a wallet with $50,000 and the ID of its owner. That money is exactly the amount of
money you need to cover the expenses of a delicate operation for your daughter. She needs
that operation to survive. What would you do with the money?

And you can create new extreme questions to challenge students to speak.
Traffic Light Questions
Level: Any Level

This games works especially with adult students who are reluctant to speak about personal
issues.
Prepare three cards (a green, a yellow, and a red one) with six questions each. The questions
on the green card are easy and not personal, and the ones on the red card are more difficult
and personal. Each student throws a dice twice. The first time is to decide upon the color of
the card (1 or 2 = green card; 3 or 4 = yellow card; 5 or 6 = red card) and the second time is
to choose the question.

Listening Exercise (Song Puzzle)

Level: Medium to Difficult

I really like this activity because it is easy and fun. Students will say English is music to my
ears!

For this exercise you will need the lyrics of a song in English.You will need several copies,
one for each student .Cut the lines of the song .The students will try to put the song in
order.You will play the song as many times as necessary.The student who finishes first is the
winner.

Spelling Review
Level: Medium

This activity will make students rewiew spelling in a funny way. You can create similar
spellings as the following ones:

I.1.2.C.U = I want to see you

R.U.O.K? = Are you O.k?
I´s T = Iced tea
I.C.Q = I seek you
I.O.U. = I owe you
E.Z. = Easy
B.Z. = Busy
I.1.T = I want tea
I.8 = I ate
U.2 = You two/ you too.
Y? = Why?
C.U.$$$.9 = See you at nine
2E.Z.4U = Too easy for you
R.U.D.Z? = Are you dizzy?

stand
------ = I understand
I
The Game of Truth
Level: Medium to Difficult

I learnt this game when I was chatting with a brazilian girl.It is a very simple but interactive
game. As you know people always as the same questions in chats over and over again.What
do you do? How old are you? etc. She asked me if I wanted to play THE GAME OF TRUTH.
I say yes of course! Here are the rules:( I made some changes for the English classroom)

1.Make a lot of small cards with interesting topics written on them, such as:
LOVE,JEALOUSY,PIRACY,MONEY,SMOKING,SEX,DINKING,CLONNING,BRIBING,
FRIENDSHIP,DEATH PENALTY,PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT,FAMILY,etc,etc.Look for
topics that make students speak.Sometimes even CONTROVERSIAL ones.

2.-Every student in the class will take turns in taking a card.He or she will talk a little about
the topic in the card he or she selected. For example:

MONEY: for me money is very important , but is not the most important thing.It is only a
way to reach things.Success is not measure by the money you can get,etc,etc.

3.-Allow student to express their feelings even if it is not their turn. Remember the main point
of this game is to make students speak!However don´t lose the control of the class.

P.D.If you select very interesting topics I garantee everybody will try to answer the questions
even when is not their own turn.This activity is excellento "to break the ice" and to help you
know each other in the classroom.