Just a minute!

Just a minute!, AKA talk for a minute, is a game which has featured on BBC radio in which contestants compete to talk for one minute on a given topic or statement. The game is played by three contestants and is a fun way to practise the long turn in Cambridge oral exams.

Preparation

 * Each group of three to four students will need a stopwatch and a pen(cil) and paper to keep score.

How to play

 * The teacher provides the class with a list of topics, or alternatively the class mind-map topics they have recently talked about.
 * One member of each group volunteers/is chosen to start the first round.
 * Another member of each group then volunteers/is chosen to be the timekeeper. S/he sets a stopwatch for 60 seconds and chooses a topic from the list.
 * Note: the timekeeper does not participate in a round, but acts as a moderator.


 * The round begins when the volunteer/elected player begins talking. They must try to talk about the topic without hesitating, deviating from the topic or repeating words/phrases for the entire minute. If the speaker does break one of the the rules, any other member of their group can challenge them. When a challenge is made, the timekeeper pauses the stopwatch and decides whether or not the challenge is valid. If the timekeeper decides the challenge is not valid, s/he un-pauses the stopwatch and the speaker continues where he/she left off. If however, the timekeeper decides the challenge is valid, then the player who made the challenge takes over as speaker when the stopwatch is un-paused and is also awarded one point for their correct challenge.
 * The round continues in this fashion until the minute is up, at which moment the player who is speaking wins one point for "passing the finish line".
 * The roles then switch: the player who starts and the timekeeper roles move round to the left/right and the next round begins.

Variation
Instead of topics, sentences can be used such as "The reason why many people prefer democracy", "How penguins can save the world" or "The worst ways to cure a hangover" etc.