ESL Games: Conversation Cards

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Less a game than an "activity," although it can be tweaked to make it enjoyable for the students. (I find that anytime they close their books and get to focus on something non-book-like, their mood magically improves.)

This is generally more suitable for intermediate or advanced students. First, cut out the conversation cards below and put them in a box, and read the questions for the students to answer.. This is good practice for tests like the GEPT in Taiwan, in which students have 15 or 30 seconds to answer such a question.

I know this doesn't exactly sound "fun," so here are some suggestions to make it more interesting.

1. Answering the questions could be the punishment in games such as Three Dice.

2. Instead of simply taking turns answering questions, you could read one question and then go around the room, having each student say ONE WORD until the question is answered (the final student says "period"). I sometimes start classes with this activity.

3. You can give each student a question, one at a time, but to ensure that they don't respond with "I don't know," or some other lazy variant, have his/her classmates rate the response on a scale from 1 - 10. If the average falls below 5, for example, the student gets a second question. (I did this in my class, and the quality of the answers magically improved.)

If you always keep this box of questions at your side in the classroom, it can be a wonderful salvation for the teacher and a nice reprieve from those dusty textbooks for the students.

Conversation Cards Stickyball.net

When is the last time you went out for dinner? Describe it.	Do you consider yourself an adventurous person? Why?
If you had one million dollars and had to spend it in one day, what would you do?	What career do you hope to have when you are older?
What do you like to do in your free time?	How can I get to the nearest 7-11 from here?
If you go to a restaurant and the waiter brings you the wrong order, what will you do?	Do you like small children? Why?
What sports do you like to play? Why do you enjoy them?	What is the most dangerous thing in your home?
What are some of the reasons people choose to adopt a child?	What do you think is the best age to be? Why?
At what age should people be allowed to vote? Why?	At what age should people retire? Why?
How many hours should children go to school each day? Why?	Would it be better or worse to have a young president? Why?
In most countries, women live longer than men. Why do you think this is?	Are you afraid of getting old?
What do you think about elderly people?	Have you ever flown on an airplane? Describe it?
Do you prefer to sit by the window, center, or aisle?	What do you need to do to prepare to go on a trip?
What�s your favorite color?	What would you do if you saw someone stealing a shirt at a store?
Are there animal rights groups where you live?	What kind of animals do humans ride?
What animals are you afraid of? Why?	Can you name some animals that are endangered or extinct?
Have you ever ridden an animal?	Do you have any pets? Why or why not?
Do you think it is acceptable to do experiments on animals?	Do you think it�s okay to eat meat? Are there any animals we shouldn�t eat?
Do you think it�s okay to keep wild animals in a zoo?	Do you think that animals can dream? What animals? Why?
Have you ever been to a farm? Describe it.	Name some ways that animals can help people.
What annoys you about living where you live now?	Do you think you have habits that annoy other people?
What annoying habits does your best friend have?	Do you consider yourself a good artist?
What kinds of art do you like best?	What skill do you wish you could have?
Do you like to watch baseball? Why or Why not?	Would you rather watch a baseball game at a stadium or on television?
Is it better to be beautiful or intelligent?	Do you think it�s ok to have plastic surgery to improve your looks?
What do you think about people with tattoos?	Would you ever get a tattoo?
Why do women wear makeup, but men do not?	What is the traffic like where you live?
Should people be allowed to talk on cell phones while driving?	If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be?
Do you like to read tabloids? Why? Do you prefer news on TV or in newspapers? Why?	Do you give money to beggars? Why or Why not?
Are there a lot of beggars in your country?	What are some of the advantages of living in a city?
What are some of the disadvantages of living in a city? Would you rather live in a city or in the country?	If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
Where do you usually do your homework? Why?	Do you like to go shopping? Why?
Do you wear jewelry? What do you wear, and why?	What did you wear yesterday?
Would you ever dye your hair? Why, or why not?	When was the last time you got dressed up?
Where do you usually buy clothes?	How does your grandmother dress differently than you?
Describe what the money in your country looks like?	How often do you use the computer? What do you usually do?
Do you think email is a good way to communicate with people? Why?	Are you afraid to go outside alone after dark where you live?
Do you think there is too much violence on TV? Why or Why not?	What websites do you usually visit?
Do you want to live in another country when you are older? Why or Why not? Do you believe in life after death?	What is a healthy diet?
What did you eat for breakfast today?	What time did you wake up today? What was the first thing you did?
What are some disasters that are common in your country?	Describe the last dream that you had.
Do you ever have nightmares? What are they like?	Do you believe that dreams can predict the future?
Have you ever walked in your sleep?	Do you or anyone in your family snore?
What subjects do you like to study in school?	What subjects do you dislike in school?
Do children in Taiwan have too much homework?	Would you ever want to be a teacher? Why or Why not?
What is one of your favorite TV shows? Why do you like it?	Describe the last vacation you took.
What kind of books do you like to read? Why?	What kind of movies do you like to watch? Why?
Do you play any musical instruments?	If you could play any musical instrument, what would you play?
Do you know anyone who gambles?	Would you describe yourself as shy or outgoing?
Describe your country�s flag.	What kind of personality is good to have in a friend?
Is it good to recycle? Why or Why not?	What is the pollution like in your country?
What are some ways to reduce pollution?	What are some ways to save energy?
Are there too many people in your country?	What is more important to you: family or friends? Why?
What chores do you have at home?	Do you want to get married someday? Do you want to have children?
Describe the members of your family.	Are your parents strict?
Do you often argue with your mother or father?	Where do you usually eat dinner?
How often do you see your grandparents?	Do people often get divorced in your country?
What�s the best thing about your mother?	What�s the best thing about your father?
Do your parents trust you?	What�s your favorite animal?
What�s your favorite city?	What�s your favorite day of the week?
What�s your favorite food?	What�s your favorite holiday?
What�s your favorite fruit?	What�s your favorite vegetable?
Do you believe in ghosts?	Are you afraid of ghosts?
What are you afraid of?	Are you afraid of flying?
What makes you nervous?	What do you think is the most frightening disease?
What do you think about vegetarians? Could you ever be a vegetarian?	What�s your favorite restaurant?
Do you prefer to eat out or eat at home?	Describe one of your closest friends.
Do you think it�s a good idea to borrow money from a friend?	Will robots ever replace humans? How?
Do you think a machine will ever be able to think?	What is your favorite way to eat a cockroach?
How did you escape from the alien space ship?	How did you feel after watching television for 24 hours?
Would you rather kiss a crocodile or a bear?	If humans had three arms, would that be better or worse?
Do you want to join the army? Why or Why not?	How are boys and girls treated differently?
How are old people different than young people?	Do you think you will be a better parent than your parents?
What are some of the hand gestures in your country? What do they mean?	What was the last book you read?
Do you live in a house or an apartment? Describe it.	What are your educational goals?
What are your financial goals?	What are your career goals?
Do you have any bad habits? What?	Have you ever broken a bad habit? What?
What bad habits do you find annoying?	Have you ever been in a fight?
Have you ever broken a bone?	Have you ever been to a concert?
Have you ever called someone �honey�?	Have you ever cheated on an exam?
What would you do if you forgot to bring money to a restaurant?	Describe an embarrassing moment.
Do you ever cook? What can you cook?	What�s the best gift you�ve ever received?
Do you like to exercise? What do you do for exercise?	What�s the worst injury you�ve ever received?
Do you want to be famous? Why or Why not?	What would you do if a monkey stole your food at a zoo?
Do you have any nicknames?	Do you like to go to health clubs? Why or Why not?
How often do you see a doctor?	What�s the last gift you received?
Describe your bedroom.	What do you like about your home? What don�t you like?
Which room do you spend the most time in?	Could you survive alone in the forest for a year?
What will you do after you graduate from college?	Are there any famous people from your hometown?
What is the weather like in your country?	What is your favorite season?
Describe the landscape in your country?	Do you prefer mountains or beaches? Why?
How do you make ice?	How do you get dressed?
How do you ride a bicycle?	How do you do laundry?
How do you kill a cockroach?	How do you lose weight?
How do you take care of a plant?	How do you play golf?
How do you stop the hiccups?	Why do people immigrate to other countries?
Do you know any immigrants?	Would you like to immigrate to another country in the future?
Have you ever bought something over the internet?	What will you do tonight?
Do you believe in �love at first sight�?	What is a �blind date�?
Do you think a boy should pay for everything on a date?	What are some bad manners?
What are some good manners?	Do you enjoy meeting some new people?
I am taking a test tomorrow. Say some things to encourage me.	Do you have a good memory or a bad memory?
What�s your earliest memory?	How much money do you usually spend in one day?
What�s the most expensive thing you own?	What�s the last thing that you bought?
Do you prefer to save money or spend money?	Do you think the police are good or bad? Are you scared when you see a police officer?
What sports do you play?	What things can you have delivered to your house?
Do you have a cell phone? What do you use it for?	Do you prefer to be late or early to class?
Have you ever been in a traffic accident?	If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do?
If a classmate asked you for an answer to a test question, what would you do?	If the whole world were listening, what would you say?
If your car hit another car but nobody noticed it, what would you do?	If you could ask God any one question, what would it be?
If you could be a super-hero, who would you be?	If you could be an animal, what animal would you be and why?
If you could be invisible, what would you do?	If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?
If you could have only one food for the rest of your life, what food would you choose?	If you could speak any language (besides English), what language would you speak?
If you could travel back in time, where would you go?	If you could travel into the future, where would you go?
What would you do if you found a wallet on the street?	What is the biggest problem facing your country?
If your cell phone fell in the toilet, what would you do?	Why is it important to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle?