Speaking Pairwork 1: 5 Survey Questions on General Topics

Click here for ‘The Basic Method for Speaking Pairwork’

Tell the students they’re going to write 5 survey questions. This particular exercise is a good way to ease them into the idea and I often use it at the start of a course with a new set of students.

Write on the board a variety of possible subject-matters and tell them they can choose one or pick their own. I usually use

Computers
Education
Food & Drink
Movies
Music
Reading
Shopping
Sport
Travel
TV

When they have all chosen, use one of the leftover subjects as an example case and write at least 3 examples on the board.

For computers you might write:
What programs can you use?
Do you own a computer? What kind?
What websites do you use often?

For reading you might write:
Do you buy any magazine regularly?
How often do you go to a library?
What’s your favourite book?

For travel you might write:
What’s your favourite kind of transport?
Have you ever been to _ _ _ _ _ (name town in their country)?
When was the last time you went on a plane?

Also write out structures that will be useful to them in asking for people’s opinions, like:
• Do you like _ _ _ _ _?
• Have you ever _ _ _ _ _?
• How often do you _ _ _ _ _?
• What do you think of _ _ _ _ _?
• What’s your favourite _ _ _ _ _?
• Who’s your favourite _ _ _ _ _?
• When was the last time you _ _ _ _ _?
• Which is better  - _ _ _ _ _ or  _ _ _ _ _?


For more advanced classes you can just do the same thing as above with more serious/intellectual subjects, perhaps with an emphasis on how these things work in the students’ country- e.g. government, crime and the legal system, banking and finance, the military, property ownership. Students might ask survey questions like:

What do you know about your local M.P.? (government)
Do you know anyone who has ever used a lawyer? (crime and the legal system)
What bank do you use and why? (banking and finance)
What are the main military bases in your country? (the military)
Do you own a property? Was the process of buying it difficult? (property ownership)