Park Bench

Two students sit on a bench — one plays a character trying to annoy the other into leaving using only English.

One child sits on the bench as the "normal person" just minding their own business.

A second child draws a character card and sits beside them — they now play that character.

The character's goal is to make the first child want to leave using conversation only — no touching or shouting.

The sitting child must respond in English and try to stay as long as possible.

The class watches and scores — did the character succeed? How long did it take?

Swap pairs and repeat with different character cards so everyone gets a turn.

Model the game yourself first — sit on the bench and have a confident student play the character.

Keep character cards age-appropriate — avoid anything that could lead to bullying behaviour.

Encourage the watching class to suggest phrases the character could use if they get stuck.

This game works brilliantly as a warm-up for a lesson on polite responses and social English.

Reverse it — the sitting person tries to make the annoying character want to leave instead.

Class vote — after each performance the class votes on whether the character succeeded.

Scripted round — pairs prepare their dialogue for five minutes before performing it.

Famous character — the annoying person must act as a famous fictional character the class will recognise.