What I would really like to discuss

Type of activity: this activity allows students to think about what they would like to discuss in class i.e. they can contribute to the class content.

Level: Intermediate and above

Teacher's notes:

Tell the students that they are going to have an opportunity to decide what the next class discussion will be.
Each student should write down three or four topics that he or she thinks would be interesting for the whole class to talk about.
They should show their topics to their partners. In pairs, the students should now decide on three or four topics that they have from their combined lists which will comprise of six to eight topics.
This will take about five to ten minutes. Once the pairs have done this, join pairs together to make groups of four students.
Ask the larger groups to discuss all of the topics that they have i.e. roughly six and ask them to decide on only four topics. This will mean that they again need to discuss the interest value of each topic.
At the end, ask the whole class to listen to each other’s topics.
Together then as a class they should decide on only three topics from all of the groups which they would like to discuss.
You can then allot special class time to discuss there topics.

This is a nice idea for teens to do because it allows them a little autonomy in class and self-direction in terms of what they would like to talk about. It also, should enthuse the students to speak in class i.e. they are deciding on what to talk about so they should feel motivated. This is a useful exercise for classes who are relatively quiet during speaking activities.