The set-up for this activity, shared by Dave's ESL Cafe, is simple, and the receptacle doesn't have to be a cup, necessarily, for the activity to work. Using vocabulary and grammatical structures the class has already learned, write down questions (enough for each student to draw one) on pieces of paper. Mix the questions together in a cup and pass it around the classroom. Each student draws one question and pairs with another student. Students the read and discuss their questions, in English, using the vocabulary and sentence structures they have learned. After discussing their questions, students can change pairs and converse with other students. This activity can be adjusted for different levels of difficulty.
According to ESL Galaxy, an online ESL resource, this activity is excellent for getting elementary ESL students to practice adverbs of frequency (i.e., sometimes, often, never, usually). Design a worksheet with three columns. Column one will contain questions prompting the use of frequency-indicating adverbs in the answer, such as "How often do you eat fish?" The second column is for the student's answer; for example, "I always eat fish." After the students have answered all of the questions themselves in the second column, ask them to interview other students (using the "how often do you..." prompt) to find two other students in the class who have given the same answer to each question. Their names go in the third column beside each question.
Once students are familiar with using past tense structures, this activity is a fun and easy way to get them talking. Speak OZ, an online ESL resource for teachers, suggests implementing it in class upon returning from a school holiday (a weekend will also work). Have students interview one another about the activities they engaged in over the break. Have students use past tense structures like "What did you do over the weekend?", "What was the weather like?" and "Did you make new friends on vacation?" Responding students will practice answering in the past tense ( e.g., "I went fishing"; "The weather was rainy"; "I met a new friend").
ESL Partyland, a resource for ESL teachers, notes that when working with students on the present and present continuous tense, this activity can give students an opportunity to practice speaking. The teacher writes a few sentences on the board using the present continuous tense. Call on a student to finish the truncated sentence using the present tense. When that student is finished, call on another student to continue the story with a sentence of her own in the present or present continuous tense. The activity can go on until all students have spoken or time runs out. This activity can be modified to practice other grammatical concepts.