Level: elementary to advanced

1. Ask the students to work individually and write four questions of the following sort. Put them up on the board and, if necessary, write a mother tongue version in small letters underneath.
   
   Please write a question you don't want to be asked and which you would refuse to answer if you were.
   
   Write a question you really want to find an answer to.
   
   Write a question you would really like some one to ask you.
   
   Write a question you doubt anyone here can give an answer to.
   
   
2. When the students have written their four questions, ask them to move around the room and show someone their first question. The student asks their partner Would you feel the same about this question? The partner simply answers yes or no.
   
   The partner then tries to answer the second question , asks the third question and gives her opinion about the fourth one.
   
   Ask everybody to work with between four and six partners.
   
   
3. Bring people together and allow time for their feedback on the exercise.

Acknowledgement: we learnt this activity from Maria Eduarda Cardoso, Portugal, and if you would like to hear how it worked in her class of 15-16 year-olds in Porto, go to old.hltmag.co.uk, Issue 15, January 2001, and click on the Lesson Outlines button.
The first two questions are Maria Eduarda's, the last two we have added.