Show your learners three or four target words in some of the languages that are spoken in the classroom. First ask the students who don’t speak that language whether they recognize the languages and perhaps the meaning of the words. If not, ask the students who do speak that language to clarify. At this moment, if time allows, get students to practise saying the words in the different languages and encourage them to share their own. Next, students discuss which word is odd one out and why. There isn’t really a right answer and the whole purpose of this exercise is for them to start talking about the topic. This is also the perfect moment for the teacher to listen carefully and the  assess students’ pre-existing knowledge (if used as a warmer) or assess speaking about newly acquired knowledge  (if used at the end of the lesson).

In the example above the words were translated into Polish, Arabic, Dutch, Italian, Russian and Norwegian.

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