Upper-intermediate/Advanced Talk Session

At my "real" job in the web world, I host Talk Sessions twice a week during lunch. The Tuesday group is my upper-intermediate/advanced level, and my Thursday group is my pre-intermediate/intermediate group. Both groups do similar exercises but at their own level which I think is particularly cool from a teacher's perspective because it cuts down on planning time. This is something that I always strive to do -- find one central topic that can be expanded or reduced depending on the level. It was the same strategy I used when teaching little kids and it adapted very nicely to adults.

A few weeks ago, I came across some silly riddles on the internet, sort of "Whodunnit?" kind of scenarios. The answers were always the most ridiculous yet obvious scenario imaginable, but before they found the answers/were given the answers, they spent a lot of time talking it out using language for putting forth an idea,  making a suggestion, agreeing and disagreeing, and dispelling each other's ideas based on the facts. I found it to be a constructive lesson because we were able to use a wide range of vocabulary and expressions and in the end everybody was laughing. As I've said before, laughter is a key element and because these are "talk" sessions, they are meant to be fun.

I found them online.. not sure who to credit because variations of them exist everywhere. I'll just make it clear that I didn't invent any of these scenarios, but I did very much enjoy using them.

Without further ado...

1. A man in a lift

A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the

ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the

seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking

so why does he do it?

02. A man walks into a bar

A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and

points it at the man. The man says thank you and leaves. Why?

03. Dead man in a field

A man is lying dead in a field. Next to him there is an unopened package. There aren’t any

animals in the field. How did he die?

04. Anthony and Cleopatra

Anthony and Cleopatra are lying dead on the floor of a villa in Egypt. Nearby is a broken

bowl. There is no mark on either of their bodies and they were not poisoned. How did they

die?

05. A carrot, some coal and a scarf

Five pieces of coal, a carrot and a scarf are lying on the lawn. Nobody put them on the

lawn but there is a perfectly logical reason why they are there. What is it?

06. Two sons

A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same

year. But they were not twins. How could this be possible?

07. A woman pushing a car

A woman was pushing her car. She stopped pushing when she reached a hotel and then

realized she was bankrupt. Why?

08. Heaven

A man died and went to Heaven. He saw thousands of people there all naked and young. He saw

a couple and he immediately recognized them as Adam and Eve. How did he know?

09. Friday

A man rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and then left on Friday. Explain.

10. Manhole covers

Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

11. Sudden realization

A man was walking downstairs in a building when the lights went out. Suddenly he realised that

his wife had just died. How?

12. The blind beggar

A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who

died? (Brother is not the answer).

13. Another dead body

The dead  body of a man was found in the middle of a burnt forest. He was wearing only

swimming trunks, a snorkel and diving mask. What had happened?

14. Mystery suicide

One stormy night, a person switches on the TV and watches the news. The person leaves the

room in a rush, runs up the stairs and turns on the light. Then the person commits suicide. Why?