Tell the class that one of them has the ability to read minds. Send this student (who you have prepared in advance – see below) out of the room. The class chooses any item in the room and the ‘mind reader’ comes back in. Point at different items and ask questions such as, Is it this pen? Is it that book? The student answers, No. When you point to the correct item, change the question slightly: Could it be this (name of item)? The student recognises the different question form and says, Yes. Since the attention of the class is on the procedure and the objects, it can take several rounds before they all discover the secret. Once it is clear that there is a ‘secret’, tell students to put up their hands if they think they know it, rather than shouting out. They whisper the answer to you and if they are correct, they can take over your role. All the students get very involved and pay close attention. Pairs or small groups can then prepare similar ‘secrets’ based on linguistic forms for others to guess.
Yining Hu (Anhui Province, China)
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