Speaking Activity: Meeting of Cabinet Ministers
ESL Level: Intermediate to Advanced
No. of Students: 1-6
Skill Focus: Proposing ideas
Time: 10-15 minutes
Speaking Activity Execution:
Firstly, get your students to brainstorm the names of ministries a government might have. Write the list on the board.
Secondly, tell the students that they will become ministers. Have them each select a ministry that they would like to represent (one student for each ministry, ideally).
Next, tell them that you'd like them to each propose an idea (which falls under the domain of their ministry) to the group. The idea can be silly or serious. For example, the minister of health might propose a tax on junk food or a mandatory exercise routine for everyone over a certain weight, etc. Give your students 1-2 minutes to prepare.
When ready, have them present their ideas, along with their reasoning, to the class. Afterward, allow the other ministers to ask questions and share their opinions of the idea. This process continues until all ministers have presented their proposals.
Speaking Activity Options:
- Let students add fictitious ministries if they'd like, such as the Ministry of Entertainment.
- You can be the Prime Minister. In the end, decide which proposals you'd like to put into effect.
- This could be a good activity to discuss "pros and cons". After each idea, you could write the headings "pros" and "cons" on the board and have the students give you the potential advantages and disadvantages of each idea.
I have done this speaking activity with my students (Europeans) a few times. So far, they have enjoyed it. Give the activity a shot if you think your class might enjoy it too.
Possibly drunk Japanese Minister of Finance at G7 Conference
- Matthew Barton / EnglishCurrent.com