A complete, ready-to-teach speaking activity for English learners — practices past simple, present perfect, and question forms while students genuinely get to know each other.
No signup needed. Works on any device.
1. Warm-up: teacher demo (5 min)
Write three sentences about yourself on the board — two true, one false. Students discuss in pairs and vote. Reveal, then elicit the game's name and rules from the class.
2. Language focus (5–10 min)
Board the target structures: "I have been to...", "I once...", "I can...", "I have never...". Drill pronunciation and elicit one example of each from students.
3. Writing time (5 min)
Students write their own two truths and one lie. Monitor and correct quietly — accuracy here pays off in the speaking stage. Weaker students can adapt the sentence frames.
4. The game (15–20 min)
In groups of 4–6, students read their statements aloud. Before voting, each group member must ask one follow-up question ("When did you go there?", "Who taught you?"). Vote, reveal, rotate.
5. Feedback & error correction (5 min)
Share the best lie with the whole class. Board 3–4 errors you heard (anonymously) and have students correct them.
All three statements must use the round's structure: present perfect only, past continuous only, comparatives only. Turns any grammar point into a game.
Students write two truths and a lie about a celebrity or historical figure. Great for reading weeks and project classes.
Play the free online version — statements are typed, votes are anonymous, and scores are automatic. Excellent for teenagers who freeze when speaking to the whole room, and for online lessons.
Assign writing the three statements as homework, then start the next lesson with the game. Doubles as a writing task with a real audience.
Two Truths and a Lie creates what ESL methodology calls an information gap with genuine stakes: students listen closely because they want to catch the lie, and they speak carefully because they want to get away with it. The questioning stage adds spontaneous language no worksheet can script.
It also self-differentiates. Stronger students craft elaborate deceptions; weaker students succeed with simple frames — and both are fully engaged in the same task.
A2 works well with sentence frames on the board. A1 groups can play a simplified version with present simple only ("I have two brothers. I like fish. I play piano.").
Yes — it's ideal. Students join a free game room with a 5-digit code while on the video lesson. Typed statements also give you a written record for error correction.
Yes, our free printable worksheet includes statement lines and a voting grid — no technology needed in class.