This activity can be done individually or as a group. Find a piece of aural media in the target language. This can be a speech, a television show, a movie or an audio book. Get the original piece of media (say, a speech) and a translation (perhaps subtitles, or just a translated transcript) in your native language. Put the translation away for now. Listen to the speech, and summarize in your own words -- in the new language -- on a tape recorder or to a friend or to the group -- what was said in the speech. If you're on your own, check your accuracy against the translation. If you're not, have a friend or instructor check your accuracy.
This activity works best for large groups. Though "Simon Says" is a classically juvenile game, it can be useful for teaching adults to listen and speak in a new language -- with the added bonus of forcing them out of their shells. One person is "Simon" and gives instructions such as "Simon says touch your toes" and "Simon says jump on your left leg." When "Simon" doesn't "say" to do something, the group shouldn't do it. When someone makes a mistake or does something that "Simon" doesn't "say" to do, that person becomes the new "Simon."
This activity is best for pairs. One person tells the other, in the new language, what they did last weekend or what they are planning to do over the upcoming weekend. The second person asks a series of follow-up questions about the activities, and the first person answers them. The roles then switch. Do not feel obligated to stick to conversations about the weekend -- talking about movies one has seen, things one did in one's childhood and one's plans for the vague future are all equally acceptable and helpful.
Like the exercise in Section 1, this activity can be adapted for a group or a single person. Simply cut several pictures out of magazines or books and describe (to another person or a tape recorder) what is happening in the pictures. To make it a game to be played with two or three people, spread several pictures out on the table. One person describes what's going on in one of them, and the others must choose which picture is being described. The person with the correct answer wins the picture, and goes next. When all the pictures are gone, the person with the most wins.
Any of these exercises may also be used for very small children just learning to listen and express themselves through speech.