This is a teacher led auction. It can be played with mixed language points which are causing difficulty or on a specific area.

Author
Clare Lavery

Preparation

Prepare an auction sheet with a mix of correct and incorrect sentences, like the example below.

If you can find fake money to use it adds to the fun.

Procedure

  • Put the students into pairs or small groups and give them the auction sheet.
  • Ask the students to plan which sentences they are going to bid for.
  • Conduct the auction, asking for bids on each sentence and selling to the highest bidder. You or the students need to keep track of how much money they have spent to make sure they don't overspend!
  • After all the sentences are sold, go through them and get a class vote on which sentences are correct. Confirm the answers.
  • Find out who managed to buy the most correct sentences.
  • Ask pairs to correct the incorrect sentences.

Example auction sheet: 

Decide which of these sentences are correct. You have 1000 Euro to spend. Try to buy only the correct sentences!

  1. I'm living in Paris since 1998.
  2. Has Pascal ever been to London?
  3. Betty hasn't went to England yet.
  4. Nobody in the class has been to America.
  5. How long are you studying English?
  6. I haven't seen my cousin since a long time.
  7. We've seen each other last summer.
  8. When were you born?
  9. I've been born in 1987.
  10. I've never seen a film in English but I've read a book.
  11. Sally's lived in London for ten years now. 
Language Level

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