This speaking activity encourages students to imagine their lives without something considered quite vital nowadays and describe the new reality. It is a fun activity for levels intermediate and higher, teenagers and adults alike. It offers the opportunity for students to collaborate, exchange ideas, and practice such grammar points as modal verbs or second conditional.
esl
How to make FCE speaking practice fun: Part 4
How to make FCE speaking practice fun presents an alternative way to go about preparing your students for their FCE speaking exam. The objective here is to introduce different activities that make FCE speaking practice fun and at the same time help students perfect skills and strategies which the exam requires. This is the last in the series of four posts and it focuses on Speaking Part 4.
A noun or a verb? Word stress board game
The aim of this game is to practice word stress in double-duty, two-syllable words which may serve as both nouns and verbs (protest, insult, reject, etc.) This game works great both with teenage and adult students. I have used it during regular as well as conversation classes.
TV Series lesson plan: What makes a great TV series pilot?
The aim of this lesson is to discuss main features of successful TV series pilots using appropriate vocabulary. Students practice their reading and listening skills, as well as speaking and writing.
I adapted the article by Martie Cook to prepare the Reading worksheet and this YouTube clip to prepare the Listening worksheet .
Connect 4 Game: Phrasal Verbs
Connect 4 is a game aimed at revising phrasal verbs. It combines language practice with pair work and competition. It is easily adaptable to revise and practice different language points, suitable for all levels and ages. This phrasal verbs set has already been practiced using this game here.
Phrasal Verbs Dominoes
The aim of this dominoes game is to revise various phrasal verbs and use them in context. Aimed at FCE/CAE and Upper-Intermediate/Advanced levels. It might be used a warm-up activity, a filler, or as a pre-test revision activity. It works great as a contest between groups too.
Excuses speaking activity
The aim of this excuses speaking activity is to come up with an explanation in 10 different situations. It requires quick thinking and creativity from the students and might easily be introduced as a game where whoever invents the best excuse gets a point.
Small Talk Lesson Plan
Small talk lesson plan aims at familiarising the students with the concept of small talk and some appropriate ways to overcome socially awkward situations in English. Students work in groups and try to make small talk on a number of topics. It might be used as a speaking activity or a game, where learners are timed and get points depending on how well they manage to engage their partners in small talk. It is a perfect fit for conversation classes.
I would rather / I would prefer / It’s time speaking activity
The aim of this activity is to help students practice using structures like I would rather / I would prefer / It’s time + past simple when talking about something we want somebody else to do. It is a great activity to offer more grammar practice, but it can also be used during conversation classes to guarantee a lot of student talking time.
TED Talk: 8 Secrets of success
Here is another great TED Talk I used in class with my students. It is short, funny and most people find it very relevant. This class involves speaking, listening and writing about the topic of success. We all want to know what the secrets of achieving success are so this TED Talk is universally liked and students find it easy to relate to its content. It also opens up some interesting topics for discussion, which all makes for an engaging and dynamic English lesson.
