In an English as a Second Language class or a foreign language class, students can conduct interviews. They ask their classmates basic questions and receive immediate feedback. Interviews can be silent, using writing only, or both written and verbal.
Stop students during an oral presentation, lecture or movie and have them paraphrase what they've just learned. Have them share the information with a student that may have hypothetically just stepped out to use the restroom or arrived late to class.
Students can write "Jeopardy" questions about a topics they have studied as a review. Use their questions in another class period and give them questions generated by the other class. Model different levels and styles of questioning from factual recall to evaluation and analysis.
Start a sentence and have the students write an answer to complete the idea. For example, "My opinion about the legalization of marijuana is..." . Students first write down a short paragraph answer. Share in small groups and make a chart of the responses.
Role play scenes from a restaurant, a doctor's visit or a court case. Develop language skills and learn organizational procedures at the same time. Mock trials have been used effectively in government and literature classes.
Web pages and CD programs can involve students in selecting, sorting, organizing and responding to the academic content in video game-like fashion. The immediate feedback speeds up the learning process.