Author: Deb Avery | Published on 1 November 2022
Read what a teacher says about this activity:
I use mingle activities like “Find someone who…” for lots of reasons. Sometimes I use the activity to help learners to get to know one another better. Sometimes I use it so they can practise different grammar. Every time they do the activity, they have the chance to talk to each other freely.
Stage 1: Introduction
Write ‘Find someone who …’ on the board, followed by a series of statements, for example:
- ... walks more than 30 minutes to school
- ... has visited the capital city
- ... can ride a bicycle
- … has at least two sisters
- … likes reading
The statements you choose can be used:
- … to practise a tense or vocabulary set
- … to introduce or revise a topic you are teaching
- … to introduce learners to one another.
Stage 2: Prepare
Read the statements with the class.
Elicit what question you would ask to find this information, for example:
- Do you walk more than 30 minutes to school?
- Have you (ever) visited the capital city?
- Can you ride a bicycle?
- Do you have at least two sisters? or How many sisters do you have?
- Do you like reading?
Stage 3: Model
Model the activity with two or three learners.
Say: ‘I’m going to ask you some questions. You must answer either yes or no.’
Ask the first learner: ‘Do you walk more than 30 minutes to school?’
The learner replies yes or no.
If she answers yes, write her name next to the first statement on the board.
If she answers no, ask the second learner the same question, until someone answers yes.
Repeat with two or three other questions
Stage 4: Instruct
Say: ‘Copy the statements down from the board.’
Once learners have completed this, say: ‘I want you to walk around the class and ask your classmates the yes/no questions. If the answer is yes, write their name next to the correct statement. If the answer is no, ask another person and another until you find someone who says yes.’
Stage 5: Mingle
Say: ‘When I say go, start the mingle.’
Circulate and encourage learners to talk to as many people as possible. They should write a different learner for each statement.
Stage 6: End activity
Ask: ‘Who found a different person for each statement?’
Check which statements had the least answers and discuss why, for example: The capital city is very far from our village.
Ask: ‘Did you enjoy this activity? Why/why not?’
Say: ‘You asked good questions today. Well done!’
This activity can be extended by getting learners to ask a follow-up question when they find a learner who says ‘yes’ and make a note of the answer.