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ESL Lesson "The Interrogation" Lexis-Intermediate and up


Here's a new lesson that deals with a review of family members, personal history, interrogation
language, and more complex personal description language. It can probably be used for any level from pre-intermediate, but will shine best with higher levels. For lower levels, you'll have to limit the amount of language. For higher levels it will serve more as a language review with new new language added of course for the activation.

At the activation of the lesson, students take either the role of a captured spy or an interrogator. Spies are briefly given fake family trees and description of family members that they have to memorise and answer questions correctly about from the interrogators.

Introduction (just a minute or so) Walk in with a long coat and sunglasses and start questioning your class in a stern manner. Ask the class various questions about their life/background: where they work, about their family, where they live... etc.  Do this for a few students and then ask them what you are doing. Try to elicit the concept of questioning someone.


Lead In (5-7 minutes)

1. Have you ever been seriously questioned before? Explain the circumstances.
2. What are 3 different situations where you would be questioned in depth about something?
3 Have you ever lied while being questioned? Who are best kinds of people at lying while being questioned?


Target Language (7-10 Minutes) Review or New.
Depending on your level, teach review target language on these three different categories.
Personal History
Family
Physical Characteristics

If you have a lower level class, just focus on one of these categories.

Language can vary depending on what you want to teach, but might look something like this.

Person history: marital status, offspring, children, current work...
Family: Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles...
Physical characteristics: facial hair, wavy/straight/curly hair, muscular build, stocky...etc

The types of lexis depend on what you want to focus on and your level.


Study 1: (5-10 minutes) Students do a charade/pictionary/definition game where they are given a series of these words and they have to have the other students guess what the word is. Divide the class in teams and make it a competition.

Study 2: (10 minutes) Change up groups and pass out various pictures of people. Students now have to describe the pictures to the other students using the target language. Have them make up basic stories about how they think they are related and what their personal history is.

Segway: (5 minutes)
Write the word interrogator and spy up on the board. Ask the students if they know what these words mean. Ask them why/how a spy would be interrogated? Would a spy tell the truth? How can spies lie so well to interrogators?


Activation: (10-15 minutes) 
Materials: You will need case files of different spies. These case files have a bio of the spy's fake identity, along with a fake family tree with pictures of the different family members.
Take 1/2 of the class out of the room. Tell the remaining class that they are interrogators and a group of spies have been captured last night. Have them review language that would be used when interrogating someone. This can include phrases like 'I know you're lying' 'fess up' etc. Tell them that they have to question the spies on their personal backgrounds using the target language to try and get the spy to mess up. The more questions the spy gets wrong, the more likely his/her cover will be blown.

While the interrogators are practicing the language and practicing asking questions, go talk to the spies. Pass each of them a fake spy bio. Tell them that they have 3 (time doesn't matter) minutes to memorise all of the information in the packet and will be asked questions about their life history, their family and what their family looks like.

Give the bios to the interrogators and bring one spy in at a time. The interrogators have to ask them 10-20 questions about their history and family. Spies get graded on how many questions they are successfully able to get right with the winner being named the Super Spy. Interrogators are graded on how much pressure they put on the spy and how uncomfortable they make them feel.  Board mistakes and positive things from the lesson. Correct errors. End the lesson with a joke





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