Quick Guide
- Keywords: Social media, quirks, habits, dating
- Learner English level: Beginners, pre-intermediate
- Learner maturity: High school, university
- Preparation time: 15 minutes
- Activity time: 40-50 minutes
- Materials: Board, worksheet, paper slips, photos
This speaking activity is an adaptation of a game where people ask their friends to rate potential romantic partners and then explore how that rating would change if the person had a singular peculiar habit or quirk.
Preparation
Step 1: Print worksheet (Appendix A).
Step 2: Create paper slips. One fourth of them should say “werewolf” and three fourths should say “human.” Fold the paper slips.
Step 2: Create unique and humorous examples aligned to student level to use in Step 2, such as, “She’s a 10 but she only ever eats hotdogs”; “He’s a 10 but he’s always late.”
Step 3: Scenarios 1 and 5 in the worksheet require visual input; either create a PowerPoint to show the pictures or print them (see Appendix B).
Procedure
Step 1: Tell students to imagine their ideal (future) partner. Ask a few students what that person would be like and write up some responses on the board. Possible responses could be: “kind,” “funny,” “cute,” “Chunichi Dragon’s fan,” “looks like + [insert celebrity name].” Explain that the person they just imagined is their “10”, on a scale of 1 to 10.
Step 2: Tell the students that their “10” showers only once a week, even in summer, and ask them what their new score would be. Students can answer orally, or you could have them write the new number down on A4 paper and hold it up on the count of three. Give other examples from those you created before class.
Step 3: Distribute the worksheet (Appendix A) and put the students into pairs. They should read the eight quirks in Part B and write what they think their partner’s score will be for each.
Step 4: Have the partners interview each other to check the answers.
A: She’s a ten but she sneezes like an old man.
B: Maybe 5.
A: I’d say 9.5!
B: No way! lol!
Step 5: Once finished, students identify the best guesser by finding the difference between their guesses and their partner’s answers (write in the “Gap” column) and then calculating the total score (lowest score wins).
Step 6: Put students into groups of four to play the “werewolf game.” Give each student in the group a paper slip. Three slips say “human”; one slip says “werewolf”. Each player takes turns introducing a peculiar quirk using the vocabulary and grammar of Part C of the worksheet or, level permitting, creating their own scenarios. Then, the other players give their rating; the humans tell the truth; the werewolf lies (they must give a number at least two points away from the truth).
Step 7: After two minutes, call time and have the students point to the person they think is the werewolf on the count of three. Repeat the game two or three times with a new werewolf each time.
Variations
If you don’t have much time, finish after Step 5. If you have time to spare, have students make scenarios to ask the teacher at the end.
Conclusion
This sequence of activities is great for breaking down barriers, generating interest among students, and demonstrating that English communication can be simple and fun.
Appendix
The appendix is available below.
