49 ESL Conversation Games & Activities - Jackie Bolen 2020

Survey activities
English conversation games and activities for all levels

Skills: Speaking/Listening/Writing/Reading

Time: 15-30 minutes

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Materials Required: Survey handout

Give the students a sheet of paper with some questions and they need to find one of their classmates who fits each slot. My general rule is that one question equals around two minutes for intermediate to advanced students so 10 questions would equal a 20 minute activity; it's one minute per question for beginners because they will not be as good at asking follow-up questions and are usually more motivated to just fill in the sheet and be done with it!

The kinds of questions on the paper can include things like: "Do you travel sometimes?" or, "Are you a university student?" Then, if their partner answers yes (encourage students to answer in full sentences!), they write down their partner's name and ask them one (beginner) or two (intermediate to advanced) more questions to elicit some extra information. They can only ask each classmate one question that they answer yes to. If their partner's answer is no, they should choose another question to ask them.

Prep the activity well before turning students loose by saying what you’re looking for: only speaking English, everybody standing up, talking to everybody in mostly full sentences, writing the answers in English. Get a student to ask you one of the questions first and then ask a student one of the questions so your students have two models of what they need to do. Here is a survey that I often use on the first day of class:

Get to know each other survey

Some more surveys that I use in my classes include:

Around the House Survey—a good example of a more open-ended survey where the students have to make their own questions; this survey is perfect for higher level students.

Celebrations Survey

Have you Ever Survey

Teaching Tips:

This is my other favorite ESL speaking activity that I regularly use in class (at least once a month). It's perfect for beginner to advanced students and it's one of the most student­centered activities that I know of.

Surveys are an excellent way for students to practice some important speaking sub-skills, especially responding appropriately based on what their partner tells them. For example, if they are surprised they could respond with, “Really?” If in agreement, they could say, “Yeah, me too. ” If in strong disagreement, they could say something like, “Wow! Why do you think that?” You could even put three categories on the board for “Agree,” “Disagree” and “Surprise” and elicit a few ideas from the students about appropriate things they could say in response to a statement.

Another important speaking sub-skill is turn taking. I emphasize to my students that there are times when in-depth and lengthy discourses are necessary (a presentation) but doing a survey activity like this mimics small talk. In small talk, the keys are to listen well, ask some interesting questions and follow-up questions, give short, concise answers and not to ramble. I will sometimes give my students an example of a rambling answer and they usually find it quite funny, but I hope that they get the point too!

Procedure:

1. Prepare the survey.

2. Hand out surveys and write up one or two of the question on the board, making it look the same as the handout. Do two example questions with students, one with you asking a student a question and vice-versa for the second one.

3. Students stand up and talk to one classmate asking them one question (any order is okay). If the answer is “yes,” they write in the name and ask a follow-up question. They can write one or two words in the appropriate slot based on the answer their partner gave them.

4. If the answer is no, they must ask another question from the survey until they get a “yes.”

5. The pair splits up and each student finds a new partner to talk to.

6. The activity continues until the allotted time is up or the survey grid is filled in.