Five speaking activities to try

Do you want more learners to speak in class? Try activities that give them something concrete to say or make communication necessary to complete a task. Here are five ideas from episode 2 of the podcast, with ways to put them into practice. Have fun!

"The key across all these activities is not flawless language. It’s creating a manageable, meaningful opportunity to speak while giving learners time to build confidence through repetition."

1. Personal questions and answers

Give learners a short questionnaire to complete with a partner, or have them interview one another. For beginners, use simple, specific questions such as “What’s your name?”, “Where do you live?” and “What are your hobbies?” Pictures, pictograms, or emojis can help make the questions easier to understand. For more advanced learners, try questions that invite longer answers, such as “What’s your favourite film, and why?” or “What would your ideal day look like?”

You can give the learners a little preparation time, but ask them to only jot down keywords, not full sentences. Their notes should support spontaneous speech rather than turn the activity into reading aloud.

2. A/B dictation

This is a collaborative activity that stimulates communication. It's also called mutual dictation or two-way dictation. Prepare two versions of the same text. In Learner A’s copy, remove every other word; in Learner B’s copy, remove the other words. Partners take turns reading the words they have so the other person can fill in the gaps. This activity combines reading, speaking, listening, and writing, and each partner holds information the other needs. (Learners also practise pronunciation and spelling, they can even ask each other to spell a word that they didn't get.)

3. Put a story back together

Cut a text into several sections and give each learner in a small group one piece. Learners first read and then describe their sections and work together to reconstruct the story. Because no one learner has the whole text, everyone has a reason (and responsibility) to contribute. The task can also prompt learners to ask each other questions, clarify details, and negotiate the order of events.

4. Same topic, different texts

Work in small groups. Give each learner a different short text about the same subject. Ask them to question one another and share key information until the group has a fuller picture of the topic. The texts give learners something to report, while the differences between them create a natural need to listen and ask follow-up questions.

5. Find the differences

Give each person in a pair a picture with a few small differences. Learners describe what they see and ask questions to identify what is different, without looking at each other’s pictures. The visual support helps learners follow the task, while the information gap gives them a genuine reason to communicate. This can work especially well when learners are not yet ready for a completely open-ended conversation.

An extra way to use pictures

Pictures can support several stages of speaking practice. At first (receptive stage), describe the image yourself and ask learners to point to what you mention. Later (reproductive stage), invite them to name items or describe what they see in their own words. With practice, they can work towards describing the picture in full sentences (productive stage).

Listen to the full episode for more on helping learners move from understanding language to using it independently: How to Get Your Learners Talking.

Happy Teaching!

Peter Schoenaerts