Communicative activities to practise the opinion essay

Four Corners — Strongly Agree → Strongly Disagree ⭐

Put four signs around the classroom: Strongly agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly disagree.

Give them an opinion-essay statement, for example:

Social media does more harm than good.

Students move to the corner that represents their opinion. In their group, they have 2–3 minutes to prepare two arguments and examples. Then each group explains its position. Students are allowed to change corners if another group convinces them.

At the end, ask them to formulate what could become their thesis:

In my opinion, social media does more harm than good because…

This is excellent preparation for an essay because they generate arguments orally first.

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Opinion Speed Dating ⭐⭐⭐

Arrange students in pairs facing each other. Give them a statement:

School uniforms should be compulsory.

They have:

• 30 seconds to decide their opinion.
• 1 minute: Student A gives their opinion + reason + example.
• 1 minute: Student B responds.
• 30 seconds: they try to reach a conclusion.

Then one row moves and you give them a new topic.

Possible statements:

• University education should be free.
• Friendship is about quality, not quantity.
• Teenagers spend too much time online.
• Exams are the best way to assess students.
• Money can buy happiness.
• Living in a big city is better than living in the countryside.
• AI will improve education.
• Students should have less homework.

After 4–5 rounds, students choose one topic and write the essay. They already have arguments from several classmates.

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Argument Ping-Pong

Pairs choose FOR / AGAINST.

Topic:

Students should be allowed to use smartphones in class.

They alternate arguments:

A: Smartphones can help students find information quickly.
B: However, they can easily distract students.
A: That may be true, but teachers can establish rules.
B: Nevertheless, it is difficult to control thirty students…

The first student who cannot think of another argument loses the round.

Add a rule: they cannot repeat an argument.

This is especially useful for practising connectors naturally: however, moreover, although, nevertheless, on the other hand, in addition, therefore…

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Convince Me!

Put students in groups of 3–4. Give each student a controversial statement that they must defend even if they don't agree with it.

For example:

Homework should be abolished.

They have 3 minutes to prepare:

Opinion → Reason 1 → Example → Reason 2 → Example

Then they have 60–90 seconds to convince the group.

The other students decide: Were you convincing? Why/why not?

This teaches an important essay skill: a good argument needs development, not just a statement.

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Devil's Advocate

Students give their real opinion:

Online learning is better than face-to-face learning.

Their partner must disagree, regardless of their actual opinion.

A: I think face-to-face learning is better because students interact more.

B: I see your point, but online learning gives students more flexibility.

A: That's true, although…

This is excellent for teaching acknowledging the opposing argument, which can push their essays towards a stronger B2+/C1 style.

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Vocabulary: Jobs

 

AN ARTIST

A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER

A CONSTRUCTION WORKER

A DOCTOR

AN ENGINEER

A FARMER

A GUIDE

A HISTORIAN

A MUSICIAN

A PILOT

A POLITICIAN

A SCIENTIST

A SPORTSPERSON

A VET

Reported questions

 

EXPLANATION (in Spanish)

EXPLANATION + EXERCISES (in English, The British Council)

EXERCISE: multiple choice

EXERCISE: write the question in reported speech.

EXERCISE: write the question in reported speech.

EXERCISE: write the questions in reported speech

EXERCISE: PDF, with the answers at the end.

Communicative activities for reported speech

 

1. Class Gossip 🗣️
   Students work in groups of 3–4. One student says something about themselves:

   “I went to a concert last weekend.”

   Another student later reports it to someone from another group:

            “Laura said that she had gone to a concert the previous weekend.”

Encourage questions, statements and commands so they practise different reporting structures.

2. Chinese Whispers – Reported Speech
   Whisper a sentence to Student A:

   “I’m going to break up with my boyfriend tomorrow.”

            A tells B using reported speech:

“She said she was going to break up with her boyfriend the next day.”

B reports what A told them to C, and so on. At the end, compare the final version with the original. Usually hilarious!

3. Celebrity Interview 🎤
   Pairs: one student is a celebrity, the other a journalist. The journalist interviews them:

   “What are you working on at the moment?”
   “Have you ever lied in an interview?”
   “What will you do next year?”

Then students change partners and report the interview:

“She told me that she was working on a new album.”
“She admitted that she had lied in an interview.”

Great for said/told + reporting verbs.

We could use real interviews:

To Carlos Alcaraz   To Rosalía  To Javier Bardem    To the Javis about Bola Negra

4. You Won’t Believe What He Said! 😲
   Student A invents something surprising that somebody said:

   “My neighbour told me, ‘I saw a UFO last night.’”

            Student B reacts and asks questions. Then B tells another student:

“Nati’s neighbour told her that he had seen a UFO the night before.”

            The more ridiculous the statements, the better this works.

5. Find Someone Who… → Then Report It
   Students circulate asking questions:

   “Have you ever cheated in an exam?”
   “What did you do last Saturday?”
   “What are you doing next weekend?”

            Afterwards, they sit down and report three interesting things they discovered:

“Marc admitted that he had cheated in an exam.”
“Sara told me she was going to Girona the following weekend.”

6. The Rumour Game 🤫
   Start with a rumour:

   “Someone in this class is going to get married next month.”

            Students circulate, passing on rumours but must use reported speech:

“She told me that someone in the class was going to get married the following month.”

Y        You can deliberately introduce several rumours and see how much they change.

7. Police Interrogation 👮
   Groups of three: suspect + two police officers. The officers question the suspect about what they did last night. Then the officers compare notes:

   “He said he had been at home at 10.”
   “No! He told me he had gone to a restaurant!”

        Their goal is to find contradictions in the suspect's story. This is especially good for stronger             students.

8. He Said / She Said – Memory Challenge
   Put students in groups. Each person makes one statement:

   “I hate getting up early.”
   “I’ve never been to London.”
   “I’m going out tonight.”

            After everyone has spoken, no one is allowed to repeat their original sentence. Randomly                     ask:

“What did Júlia say?”

            Others have to remember:

“She said that she hated getting up early.”

For 2nd Batx, you can use Police Interrogation, Celebrity Interview, and Class Gossip,to practise reporting verbs (admit, deny, promise, warn, suggest, apologise, accuse, advise, insist...) rather than only said/told.

FUN COMMUNICATIVES GAMES WITH NO PREPARATION

1. 🔥 The Gossip Chain
   Students sit/stand in groups. Student A whispers something dramatic to B:

   “I kissed someone at a party last Saturday.”

            B tells C using reported speech:

“She said that she had kissed someone at a party the previous Saturday.”

        C passes it on. The last student says the message aloud. Compare it with the original — it usually         changes completely!

2. 🕵️ Alibi – Catch the Criminal
   Choose two students as suspects. They leave the room for 2 minutes and invent an alibi together. Then they are separated and the class interrogates them.

“Where were you at 9?”
“What were you wearing?”
“What did you eat?”
“Who paid?”

            Afterwards, students compare their answers:

“Marta said they had arrived at 8:30, but Pau told us they had arrived at 9!”

        Every contradiction = suspicious! This is probably my favourite for this age.

3. ☎️ Broken Telephone: Crazy Edition
   Give the first student a ridiculous message:

   “My grandmother told me she was going to become a TikTok influencer.”

        They whisper it to the next person using reported speech. Continue around the class. The final             student announces what they heard.

        For extra difficulty, include time/place expressions:

“I met your ex here yesterday.”
→ She said that she had met my ex there the day before.

4. 🤥 Two Truths and a Lie – Reported Version
   Each student tells a partner three things about themselves. Two are true and one is false.

           Then students change partners and report:

“Alex said that he had met a famous footballer.”
“He also told me that he'd never been on a plane.”

        The new partner guesses the lie.

5. 🎭 Famous Person Press Conference

        One student becomes a celebrity: Taylor Swift, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rosalía, MrBeast, etc. The                 class fires questions at them.

“Are you in love?”
“How much money do you earn?”
“Why did you cancel your concert?”

        The celebrity can invent completely ridiculous answers. Afterwards, teams have 60 seconds to                 remember and report as many answers as possible:

“She said that she wasn't in love.”
“She explained that she'd cancelled the concert because she was exhausted.”

        One point for every grammatically correct report.

COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES WITH EMAIL WRITING

Email Ping-Pong – Students work in pairs. Student A writes a very short email (3–4 sentences) asking 2–3 questions. Student B replies and asks two new questions. Then A replies again. Topics can be weekend plans, hobbies, family, school, bedroom, favourite things, etc.

Find Someone Who… by Email – Give them a mission such as: Find someone who has got a pet / shares a bedroom / plays a sport / likes the same singer as you. But instead of asking orally, they write short messages: Hi Marta! Have you got a pet? What is its name? Their partner must answer in email style.

Email Information Gap – A and B have different information. For example, both are planning a birthday party, but A knows the place and food, while B knows the time and activities. They must email each other asking for the missing information: What time is the party? What food have we got?

Bad Email Doctor – Project a deliberately terrible email:

hey teacher

i cant come tomorrow

send homework

bye

In pairs, students identify what is wrong and improve it: greeting, capital letters, polite language, closing, etc. You can make this competitive: one point for every problem they spot.

Put the Email in Order – Project or write scrambled parts of an email on the board. Students discuss the correct order: greeting → opening → information → questions → closing → name. After reconstructing it, they use the same structure to write their own.

Mystery Classmate Email – Each student writes an anonymous email describing themselves without giving their name: I’m 12. I’ve got one brother. I love basketball. My favourite subject is PE… You read or display some emails and the class guesses: Is it Marc?

Choose Your Reply – Show an email on the board:

Hi! I’m having a birthday party on Saturday. Would you like to come? It starts at 5. We’re going to have pizza and watch a film. What films do you like?

Give students three possible replies. They decide which is best and explain why. Then they write their own reply.

Email Role Cards — without cards – Simply assign roles orally or put them on the board: Student A: You are inviting a friend to spend Saturday with you. Student B: You want to go, but you need to know the time, place and what to bring. They exchange emails containing genuine questions and answers.

Email Chain – Groups of four. Student 1 writes the beginning of an email and passes it on. Student 2 adds information, Student 3 adds questions, and Student 4 writes the ending. Then the group reads the finished email and corrects it together. This can become quite funny.

Real-life Email Challenge – Give them a realistic situation rather than “Write an email about your hobbies”: Your English-speaking cousin is coming to Barcelona for the weekend. Write an email suggesting what you can do together. Or: A new exchange student is joining your class. Email them and tell them about your school.

REPORTING VERBS (ADVANCED)

 

REPORTING VERBS LIST AND EXPLANATION

EXPLANATION BY THE BRITISH COUNCIL

REPORTING VERBS LIST WITH EXPLANATIONS IN SPANISH

EXERCISE: multiple choice with two answers

EXERCISE: multiple choice

EXERCISE: Change the sentences into reported speech. Then check the answers.

VOCABULARY: BEDROOM FURNITURE

 

BED

BEDSIDE TABLE

CHEST OF DRAWERS

DESK

FLOOR

LAMP

MIRROR

POSTERS

RUG

SHELVES

WALL

WARDROBE

CURTAINS

LADDER

STAIRS

WINDOWS

COMMUNICATIVE GAMES

1- Bedroom chain
Student 1: In my bedroom, there is a bed.
Student 2: In my bedroom, there is a bed and a wardrobe.
Student 3: In my bedroom, there is a bed, a wardrobe and a lamp…
Continue until somebody forgets an object.

2- A crazy bedroom

Tell them about an imaginary bedroom, including ridiculous details:

In my bedroom there are three beds. There is a fridge next to my bed. There are twenty pillows. There is a shower next to the wardrobe…

Students interrupt when something sounds strange: A fridge?! / You have twenty pillows?! Then they invent their own crazy bedroom in pairs. This can be very funny with 12-year-olds.

Stand up if…

You call out:

Stand up if you have a desk in your bedroom.

Stand up if you have two pillows.

Stand up if you have a TV in your bedroom.

Stand up if you have a rug.

😂 Stand up if you have clothes on the floor in your bedroom.

🧦 Stand up if you have socks under your bed.

📱 Stand up if you use your phone in bed.

🍕 Stand up if you sometimes eat in your bedroom.

😴 Stand up if you never make your bed.

🧸 Stand up if you still have a teddy bear in your bedroom.

👻 Stand up if you are scared when your bedroom is completely dark.

🎤 Stand up if you sing or dance in your bedroom when nobody is watching.

🙈 Stand up if your bedroom is very messy right now.

🛏️ Stand up if you would like to stay in bed all day.

Then ask individual students: María, where is your desk? / What colour is your rug?

👉 Very easy for weak groups and gets them moving.

3- Bedroom: This or That?
Give two alternatives and students physically choose one side of the classroom:

• 🛏️ Big bed or big wardrobe?
• 📺 TV or computer?
• 🪟 Big window or balcony?
• 🧸 Teddy bears or posters?
• 💡 Games console or computer?
• 📚 Bookshelf or desk?
• 🪞 Big mirror or big TV?
• 🎮 Gaming area or study area?
• 🧹 Tidy bedroom or messy bedroom?
• 🎨 Colourful bedroom or white bedroom?
• ⚽ Football posters or music posters?
• 🐶 Pet in your bedroom or no pet?

4- Find someone who… – without a worksheet
Students walk around and ask classmates questions. Put the challenges orally:

• Find someone who has a TV in their bedroom.
• Find someone who has more than two pillows on their bed.
• Find someone who has a desk next to the window.
• Find someone who has posters on the walls.
• Find someone who has something under their bed. 😄
• Find someone who shares a bedroom with someone.
• Find someone who has clothes on the floor right now. 😂
• Find someone who has a teddy bear in their bedroom. 🧸
• Find someone who has a very tidy bedroom.
• Find someone who has something unusual in their bedroom.

They must remember the names rather than write them down. Afterwards: Who has a TV? — Pau has a TV.

Check out the rooms in these hotels:

5- FURNITURE WITH YOUR BODY. In groups of four, students come to the front of the class and imitate bedroom furniture from the list above.

Hotel de Glace

Skylodge