Here are four activities that can be used in your classes and adapted for any kind of lesson.

Information gap

This is an activity in which different students are given different information so there is a need to communicate and share information.
Types of gaps:
Jigsaw: Different students in a group are given different parts of a story or different pictures telling the same story. They need to talk about their part or picture to construct the whole story.
Gapped Text: Students are given different texts with similar content but different gaps. In pairs, they have to read, ask and complete the gapped texts.
Memory: Students have learnt a dialogue or a text. Now in pairs, they are given the cut up dialogue/text. They need to discuss and put them back together.

Discussion

This is an activity in which students are asked to express their own opinions on a topic. Types of discussions: Controversial statements: Students are given statements (eg. A woman's place is in the home, or smoking should be banned in all public places). Then in pairs or groups, they are asked to express their opinion for or against them and give reasons.
The debate: Students are given a controversial statement. They are put in two different groups representing two opposing sides. They prepare arguments to argue their case. At the end of the discussion there can be a vote to see who has the most convincing argument.

Roleplay

This is an activity where students imagine themselves in a situation or play the role of someone else, using language relevant to the context.
Types of role play:
Role play from a text: Students are placed in pairs; one plays the role of one character in a reading text and the other plays the role of a reporter who wants to interview to write an article about the textbook character.
Discourse chain: Students in pairs are given a series of language functions arranged in the form of a dialogue. They have to use specific language to express the functions and build up the dialogue.

Example: On the telephone
             A: Greet B and say who's speaking
             B: Greet A
             A: Ask if B is free tomorrow.
             B: respond.
             A: Suggest somewhere to go/something to do
             B: Accept A's suggestion
             A: Suggest a time and place to meet
             B: Agree and finish the conversation

Games

This is an activity that can provide not only language practice but also fun and challenge. Describe and draw: In pairs one describes a picture for the other to draw. Picture Differences: Students are given pictures with some differences. They need to ask each other questions to find differences.
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