Practices: debate and interaction
How: Just hand out a sheet with the heading
PEOPLE WHO …
and tell the students they have to complete the sentences with realistic answers – not just adding on a grammatically correct ending.
PARK THEIR CARS ON THE FOOTPATH …
WHO DON’T PAY THEIR TAXES …
WHO LITTER…
WHO GIVE MONEY TO CHARITIES …
EAT CRISPS AT THE CINEMA …
WHO DRINK AND DRIVE …
WHO TRAVEL A LOT …
WHO SAVE LOTS OF MONEY …
WATCH TV ALL DAY …
GO TO THE OPERA …
CLIMB EVEREST …
HUNT WHALES …
EAT TOO MUCH …
DRIVE TOO FAST …
CUT IN LINE …
WHISTLE AT GIRLS …
SMOKE IN PUBLIC SPACES …
EARN A LOT OF MONEY …
THROW THEIR OLD COOKER INTO A FIELD …
SNORE …
Etc ………. (Add more!)
The idea is to get personal, individual endings. For example, for
“People who eat crisps in the cinema …”, I got:
annoy me
should eat them before the show
make a lot of noise
have a right to do so (!)
As you can see, everybody has a different answer and opinion. The latter is what generates talk.
So you kill two birds with one stone: You practice grammar and you get students talking.
Submitted by Gerard Counihan