#teachingisfun

Speaking is essential when we teach a foreign language. I know that teachers are busy, and that is why I have prepared 10 speaking exercises. You can use them right away or alter them a bit according to your current topic. These activities are from my favorite books: “700 Classroom Activities” by D. Seymour and M. Popova, “Five-Minute Activities” by P. Ur, A. Wright, and “Getting Beginners to Talk” by Jim Wingate.

1. Taking with a purpose

You give each learner a topic. In groups, they have a conversation. Each learner should try to turn the conversation toward their topic. It can be any topic. For example, tennis, astrology, a film you’ve just seen, your favorite holiday destination, soap (yes, just soap), etc. In fact, topics can be ridiculous, like “soap”.

2. Gestures

Ask your learners to show the class how people use their faces and hands in different countries to indicate these ideas:

• You’re mad.
• Who cares?
• I love you.
• Hi.
• Goodbye.
• I don’t know.
• Let’s go!
• Give it to me. 
• I don’t understand. Etc.

3. Yes, but…

Learners work in groups. They write 10 short sentences, which have adjectives in them. For example, “Roses are good flowers.” Then learners read out one of the sentences. Someone in the other team must respond immediately with a comparative, starting with “Yes, but…”. For example, “Yes, but sunflowers are better.”

4. Expanding sentences

Tell your learners that they should use connectors, such as, and, but, that’s why, because, so, etc., depending on which ones they know. You give a short sentence. The learners must expand on the given sentence. For example, 

• I love books.
• I love books because they are interesting.
• I love books because they are interesting, but nowadays, they are expensive.
• I love books because they are interesting but nowadays they are expensive that is why I usually go to a library. 

5. Alphabet game

In groups, learners take turns using the past simple in a sentence. The first letter of the verbs must follow the sentence in the alphabet. If learners cannot think of one, they are out.

For example, 1) “He asked me my name.” 2) “I bought a hat.” 3) “I came here last month.”

6. The last time

Learners work in pairs. They ask each other questions about the last time they did these things. For example,

• shake hands
• have a cold
• cook a meal
• laugh
• break something valuable, etc. 

Possible sentences are, 1) “When did you last shake hands?” 2) “The last time I went, I shook hands three days ago.”

7. I am famous (part 1)

7.1 Names and descriptions (8 min)

1. Brainstorm some adjectives. You may write them down on the top right corner of your whiteboard. (2 min)
2. Brainstorm the names of famous people. You may write them down on the left side of your whiteboard. (3 min)
3. Ask students to link any adjectives to the names. (3 min)

7.2 Information gathering

1. In pairs, ask the learners to choose a name and prepare to say two sentences about that person. (3 min)
2.  Each learner tells three other learners two sentences. (1 min)

7.3 Prepare the interview

1. Each learner prepares between four and ten questions for an interview with a selected famous person. (3 min)
2. Each learner chooses “to be” a famous person. Then prepares answers to their own questions. (3 min)
3. In pairs (A and B), A gives B A’s questions. B then asks A’s questions, which A answers as if they were about the famous person. Then they can swap the roles. (5 min)

8. Famous people (part 2)

8.1 Role-play: the interview

After activity number 3, the learners form new pairs (A and B). A interviews B, not looking at B’s questions. B answers as the famous person. Then they swap. (5-8 min)

8.2 Reversed interviews

The learners stay in their role-play pairs. A is a famous person of their choice. A interviews B as B’s self. Then B as the famous person of their choice, interviews A as herself or himself. (5-10 min)

8.3 Being famous

In groups, the students discuss what it is like to be famous. Would they like to be famous? What advantages and disadvantages, would they join a fan club, etc. (5–15 min)

9. Chain story

Begin telling a story. This can be the first few lines from your coursebook, or improvised. As an option, you can ask a learner to start telling a story. Then, in groups or pairs, learners add their own “installments.”

Variation: Before you start, ask each learner to choose a word. It can be an item of vocabulary recently learned; a verb in any tense that your learners already know. Then each “installment” has to include the word the learner has chosen.

10. Find someone who…

The learners have one minute to walk around the room and find at least one person who was born in the same month as they were. They get one point for every person they find in time. After that, they find someone who was born on the same day.

Other options:

(find someone who)

• has the same favorite color as you;
• got up at the same time as you did this morning. 

Final note

I hope that you found these exercises useful and will use some of them. Let me know in the comments below which ones you will use.

Used sources:

Seymour , D., & Popova, M. (2003). 700 Classroom Activities  Popova. Macmillan.

Ur, P., & Wright, A. (1996). Five-Minute Activities. Cambridge University Press.

Wingate, J. (1993). Getting Beginners to Talk. Prentice Hall.