Speaking activities often rely on pairing students up with the same speaking partner. This might result in boring, predictable, and demotivating speaking practice. In order to mix things up and expose students to a variety of speaking partners, I propose a speaking activity which I called Speed Discussions as its format resembles Speed Dating. Speed Discussions is a very dynamic activity and guarantees plenty of student talking time. It is a great idea for larger groups but might also be adapted for smaller classes.
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Workplace dilemmas speaking activity
This speaking activity presents students with four workplace dilemmas in which they need to make a decision. It is a perfect fit for adult students, levels intermediate and above. It might be used during conversation classes as well as to complement lessons about workplace or career. Continue Reading …
Time capsule speaking activity
Time capsule speaking activity promotes speaking and teamwork in your classroom. It is a great fit for both adult and teenage students, levels intermediate to advanced. It works well during conversation classes and as an icebreaker for the first day of class. Assembling a time capsule allows your students to discuss and negotiate their choices, making for an engaging and motivating classroom activity.
Food waste lesson plan
Food waste lesson plan aims at raising awareness about food waste and engaging students in a discussion.It combines listening and speaking, and may be used to supplement topics about food, nutrition, and social problems. It is suitable for both groups and individual students
10 Steps to Happiness: speaking activity
10 steps to happiness speaking activity offers students the opportunity to discuss what makes people happy and what we should do less or more of in order to become happier. This brief activity is a great warm-up for conversation classes with teenage or adult students, as well as a great addition to any class on the topic of happiness or lifestyle. Continue Reading …
Room 101 lesson plan
Room 101 lesson plan is a perfect fit for more advanced and older students who need more speaking practice. Room 101 lesson plan combines listening, vocabulary practice and speaking on the topic of the things that wind us up. Room 101 is a concept first introduced by George Orwell in his novel 1984, as a place containing people’s worst nightmares. Continue Reading …
Business English speaking: persuasion
I prepared this speaking activity for my adult Business English students to help them practice using persuasion and structuring their arguments better. It combines discussion section with role-play, which makes it a dynamic and engaging activity your students will surely enjoy.
Problem solving speaking activity
The aim of this speaking activity is to practice problem-solving in English and brainstorm solutions to five different problems. It is perfect for conversation classes, bigger and smaller groups, levels intermediate and above.
TED Talk: Why videos go viral
Students watch a TED Talk by Kevin Allocca and find out why videos go viral. The lesson features a listening comprehension activity, speaking and vocabulary practice. I usually watch it with my upper-intermediate/advanced groups. You can find the video here.
School problems speaking activity
The aim of this speaking activity is to come up with solutions to various school problems affecting teachers and students. Some school problems are analysed from the point of view of students or teachers. This allows our learners to change their perspective and think outside of the box. It is very engaging for teenage students and compliments nicely coursebook chapters about school life.
