This is a fun activity and a rather great class that I discovered while working in Korea. Over the years, I have collected a vast list of these, but to keep this page from being too long, I will post a few of the best ones that I have found. Would you rather is a collection of crazy questions, and I have even seen a game that is available if you would like to buy it.
For me, it is just a great chance to ask completely ridiculous questions that your students have never heard of before and see how they answer. It’s also an excellent chance to see if they can think outside the box with their answers. And it gives students an opportunity to practice using rather and prefer to explain their choices. You may want to first have a class on the grammar of rather and prefer before actually beginning this and use this as a fun chance to practice.
I recommend doing a few of these with your class to get the ball rolling and then have them break into small groups of three or four so you can get more student talk time and watch the fun. I usually just hand out a sheet with all of these printed on it, or you could always make up your own cards for class and laminate them to have students choose questions randomly. It’s all up to your energy and material level. Now on to the questions!
Would You Rather Conversation Questions for English Class
- Would You Rather…be ugly and poor, good or be pretty and rich, mean?
- Would You Rather…be 3 feet tall or be 9 feet tall?
- Would You Rather…watch Twilight or watch Harry Potter?
- Would You Rather…die without knowing or know you’re going to die?
- Would You Rather …kill an enemy soldier with a rifle from far away or look him in the eyes as you stab him?
- Would You Rather… be able to fly or be invisible?
- Would you rather it be winter forever or summer forever?
- Would you rather have a third eye in the middle of your head, or a horn, in the middle of your head?
- If you had to be an animal, would you rather live in the ocean or on the land?
- Would you rather be richer or more attractive?
- Would you rather be blind or be deaf?
- Would You Rather…Fight Mike Tyson or talk like him?
- Would You Rather…Have a beautiful house and ugly car or an ugly house and beautiful car?
- Would You Rather…Always have to say everything on your mind or never speak again?
- Would You Rather…Be gossiped about or never talked about at all?
- Would You Rather…Forget who you were or who everyone else was?
- Would You Rather…Have one wish granted today or three wishes granted in 10 years?
- Would You Rather…Be rich with an unhappy job or make less money with a job you like?
- Would You Rather…Have a mansion in the middle of nowhere or an apartment with 10 friends?
- Would You Rather…Be stranded on an island alone or with someone you hate?
- Would You Rather…Find true love or 1 million dollars?
- Would You Rather…Bake cookies in cooking class or do art projects in art class?
- ____________________ or _______________________
- ____________________ or ________________________
These Are Just a Few of My Favorites
The best thing before you do this exercise is to go over I’d rather, and I’d prefer and use this as a chance for students to get in some good practicing. Here’s a video with a good refresher:
Fun Is Just a Side Effect of Learning
This lesson will be a nice break from any books or grammar that you might be studying, but the great thing is that they will still be learning. Not only will they be learning, but they will be reinforcing the skills they gained from your previous lessons.
The best part is that students can contribute to this activity as well. At first, they may find it challenging, but you will soon see them creating their own questions and having fun doing it. Why? Because Teaching is Fun!
