Two Flexible Speaking Activities for the ESL Classroom

Speaking is the heart and center of communicative methodologies in the ESL classroom.  Giving students the time and space for speaking practice is an integral part of any lesson plan.  Here are two flexible activities, that can be shaped to fit any lesson plan, to get students speaking.

1.  Question notecards.  One of the first things I learned as an ESL teacher (and as a student learning a foreign language) is that constant and consistent review is critical for long-term retention.  And the most effective reviews incorporate multiple points learned in the past, for example, a grammar structure and a set of vocabulary.

I often begin my classes with a warmer that incorporates questions on flashcards.  I usually create the questions myself, tying together a particular grammar structure and set of vocabulary that students have learned in the last lesson.  For example, if my students have just learned about the present perfect and vocabulary related to food, I will create a set of questions that combine the two.  “How many times have you eaten chicken this month?”  “Have you ever grilled a steak?”  “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

I then put the students into pairs, and give each pair a set of questions lying face-down on the desk.  One student chooses a question, asks, and her partner answers. 

If the class is at the intermediate level or higher, I often encourage students to develop conversations from the questions on the cards by asking follow-up questions.  For example, if the original question is, “Have many times have you eaten fish this month?”, I lead students to create at least two follow-up questions to ask their partners.  “Do you like fish?”  “What kind of fish do you often eat?”  This framework, alternating between given questions (passive engagement) and follow-up questions (active engagement) works like a stepping stone toward conversation in real-life contexts.  The question notecards give students a starting point, an idea and a framework.  The follow-up questions then expand the boundaries by allowing students the freedom and space to experiment and converse, using what they’ve been given as a base.

2.  Debates.  For classes at the intermediate level and higher, I often use debates as an activity to get students speaking.  I’ve found that there are two keys to a successful debate – making it relevant, and giving it structure.  To address the former, I often choose a topic for debate that grows from a reading the students have done in a previous lesson.  One of my classes recently read an article about a woman who had given up money and was living her life on the philosophy of barter and trade.  So I choose the topic, “Is it worthwhile to live without money?”

I provide structure for the debate at all stages.  I begin by writing the topic on the board as a definitive statement.  For example, “It is worthwhile to live without money.”  I then give students three minutes to jot down two reasons why they could agree with the statement, and two reasons why they could disagree with the statement.  I stress not to focus on their personal opinions, but rather to think about the statement from all possible angles.  I then put the students into groups of four, and then pair them within the groups.  I instruct one pair of students to compare their reasons for agreeing, and the other pair of students to compare their reasons for disagreeing.  After the pairs compare their reasons, the group of four has three minutes to debate with each other, with one pair explaining their reasons for agreeing, and the other pair explaining their reasons for disagreeing.  After three minutes, I switch the pairs.  If the pair had been arguing to agree, they must argue now to disagree.  Again, I give the pair two minutes to compare their notes, and three minutes for the larger group to debate.

I’ve found that this structure – time to jot notes down individually, time to compare notes with a partner, and then finally time for the debate – ensures that students have sufficient time to gather, think through and articulate their thoughts.  And the small group structure ensures that everyone has the chance to speak. 

Jenna Makowski is the ESL Editor for Wandering Educators.  She has taught in the United States and Russia, and she currently lives and works in Poland.  Follow her adventures on her blog: http://jennagmakowski.com/

Photo by lordcolus, used with license from Flickr Creative Commons