Activities may be based on the written or the spoken language ad within these the learners are asked to either to produce (speak write) or receive (listen, read).

Activities may be brisk and fast moving or slow and reflective( such as reading a text and responding in writing).

Activities vary also in mood: light and fun-based versus serious and profound happy versus sad; tense versus relaxed.

The learners work on their own/pairs/groups or as a whole class.

Both the language teaching point and the (nonlinguistic) topic may change from one activity to another.

learners may be activated in a way that encourages their own initiative or they may be required to do as they are told

Some activities enliven and excite learners (such as controversial discussions or activities that involve physical movement); others, like dictations have the effect of calming them down

Activities may be seen as easy and non-demanding or difficult, requiring concentration and effort.