Opening Statements: A Fun ESL Game for Practicing Question Formation. Engage Your Students in Creative Speaking Practice with This Imaginative and Competitive ESL Activity – Free Downloadable Worksheet Included!

Opening Statements: A Fun ESL Game for Practicing Question Formation

Opening Statements: A Fun ESL Game for Practicing Question Formation

Looking for an ESL activity that sharpens question formation, boosts imagination, and sparks lots of laughter and communication? Opening Statements is a fantastic game that gets students talking and thinking in English while competing in teams to gather information.

This interactive classroom game is perfect for practicing wh-questions, past tenses, and creative conversation. Great for both in-person and online ESL classes, this activity works well with intermediate and upper-intermediate learners.

💬 What Is the “Opening Statements” Game?

In this game, students take turns giving strange or intriguing opening sentences, such as:
🗣️ “Yesterday, I saw someone walking a pig on a leash.”
🗣️ “I just got a letter from a prince.”
🗣️ “I once lived on a boat for a year.”

The rest of the group must ask as many questions as possible to uncover the details behind the statement. The more creative the questions, the more fun the game becomes!

🎯 Language Goals

Forming grammatically correct wh- questions
Practicing past simple, present perfect, and modal verbs
Encouraging spontaneous speaking
Building question-and-answer fluency
Boosting creativity and confidence

📝 How to Play Opening Statements

Prep: Print and cut out the provided opening statement cards (or create your own). Each group of six students needs one set.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Demonstrate First
- Read one of the opening statements to the class.
- Tell students they have two minutes to ask you as many questions as they can to uncover more details.
- Award one point per complete question. Write common question words (who, what, where, when, why, how) on the board for support.
Form Small Groups
- Divide students into groups of six, then split each group into two teams of three.
- One student is the “speaker,” who reads an opening statement and answers questions with short, imaginary answers.
Play in Rounds
- The other team asks as many questions as possible in two minutes.
- Award one point for each correct question (not just a question word).
- Rotate roles so everyone gets a turn to be the speaker.
Keep Score
- After all rounds, the team with the most points wins.

📌 Sample Opening Statements

Here are a few fun examples to get started. You can also encourage students to write their own:

“I met a celebrity at the supermarket yesterday.”
“I once ate 12 pancakes in one sitting.”
“I found a strange note in a library book.”
“My cat learned how to open doors.”
“I got lost in a museum for three hours.”

🧠 Tips for Teachers

Encourage students to use full questions (e.g., “Where did you meet the celebrity?” instead of just “Where?”)
Remind them that answers can be imaginary—the more fun, the better!
This activity works well to review past tenses, reported speech, or modals like could, might, should
Use it as a speaking warm-up, group competition, or substitute lesson

Opening Statements