In this activity, students practice expressing and justifying their opinions discussing this brilliant cartoon by John Atkinson. It is a great discussion generator for conversation classes with adult and teenage students. It might come in handy when talking about such topics as technology, change, society or lifestyle.
Speaking activities esl
Voscreen: teaching with video clips
I might be a bit late to the Voscreen party as I discovered this free platform a couple of months ago. I’ve been experimenting with it quite a bit and I’d like to share my 10 ideas about using it with English learners in and out of the classroom.
An interview with your future self: speaking / writing activity
The aim of this activity is to provide students with a context to revise present, past, and perfect tenses. I planned it with my teenage students in mind and the inspiration came from this article. It might be executed as a speaking or writing activity. Suitable for levels intermediate and higher.
New Year’s Eve traditions activity
The aim of this brief activity is to talk about different New Year’s Eve traditions from around the world. It is a great idea for the first class after the holiday break and is suitable for all ages and levels. It is based on this Buzzfeed article.
Best and worst Christmas gifts speaking activity
The aim of this activity is to talk about best and worst ideas for Christmas gifts. It is a good fit for all ages and levels. It makes students share their personal experience, compare opinions, and usually makes for a fun class. It is a great idea for the last lesson before the Christmas break. Continue Reading …
Video-based Christmas activities
The last class before the Christmas break might be a challenge as even adult students expect it to be light and holiday oriented. This short video issued by WestJet airlines in 2013 has inspired my Christmas conversation classes with more advanced students. I then came up with different activity ideas for all levels, focusing on speaking and listening.
Office Christmas parties lesson plan
The aim of this lesson is talking and writing about the dos and don’ts of office Christmas parties. It is a great opportunity to revise and practice different ways of giving advice. The lesson is suitable for adult students, levels pre-intermediate and above. The lesson is based on the article published in The Telegraph.
Used to speaking activity: life before smartphones
The aim of this activity is for students to practice using used to to describe their lives before they had smartphones. The idea came from seeing this photo collection by Eric Pickersgill and reading this article in The Guardian. Continue Reading …
Speaking prompts for advanced students: photos
How far would a conversation class go if the only discussion prompt was a single photo? No topic, no questions, no pre-determined outcome. Just the picture. Does it even make sense? This post describes how I decided to find answers to these questions.
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Our lives without … speaking activity
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.
