SPEAKING
PRACTICE ACTIVITIES
MY FAVOURITE SUBJECT
Level:
Intermediate+
Aim: to practice fluency; to practice word order; to revise vocabulary
Tim: 20 minutes or more
Language
skills: speaking (in variation – writing, reading)
Types
of learners: auditory, kinesthetic, visual
Materials
for the students: none (in variation – material
needed for the presentation)
Materials
for the teacher: none
Classroom
management: group/pair work
Procedure:
1. Ask students what their favourite school
subject is. They should give the reason, too.
2. Group students according to their
answers, i.e. all chemistry lovers will form one group. If there are too many
students in one group, they can break into pairs.
3. Ask them to recall what they have learnt
or found interesting about a topic done recently (e.g. Climate of Southern
Europe).
4. Each group prepares and presents their
topic orally for the rest of the class. You are free to decide how long and
thorough the presentation should be, depending on their level of English and
time you have in the class.
Variation:
1. Students (the whole class, a group or a
pair) can prepare the presentation of their topic in advance. Most of the
students find it easier and more interesting to use pictures, maps, course
books, encyclopaedias, and other resources which are easily available.
2. The teacher can write down what he/she
had found interesting in students' presentations and ask them comprehension
questions later.
3. The students can write comprehension
questions on pieces of paper. Each group (except the presenters) takes it in
turn to give answers. This can be a competition or a quiz.
Note: Advanced students can be given homework - to put in writing what
they were talking about in the class or to pick another group's interesting
topic and write about it.
Maja
Hadzic, Belgrade, Serbia
ASK ME LATER
Level: Elementary +
Aim: to practice forming
questions; to practice fluency; to practice word order; to practice vocabulary
/ grammar
Time: 15 minutes or more
Language
skills: speaking, writing
Types
of learners: auditory
Material:
one blank A4 sheet of paper per group
Classroom
management: in pairs / groups
Procedure:
1. Group students in fours or fives.
2. Ask one student in every group to make
up a sentence imagining that it is an answer to a question (e.g. 'At the bus
stop' or 'Because it was cold'.). They must keep the sentence to themselves.
2. Now in their groups each student tells
his/her 'answers' and others give possible questions. They write it on a paper.
3. In their groups they come to a decision
which question is the best or the most appropriate. They read it to the class.
4. Now some other student makes up an
answer and the activity goes on until each student has made up one answer.
Notes
1. During the activity, the teacher
monitors their work and writes down incorrect questions for later discussion.
2. You can practice some specific grammar
points in this way (tell the students to use only present tense).
Maja
Hadzic, Belgrade, Serbia
WHAT A SILLY THING TO SAY!
Level: Elementary +
Aim: to practice word order;
to practice specific grammar points; to practice vocabulary
Time: 15 minutes or more
Language
skills: speaking, writing, reading
Types
of learners: auditory, visual
Material
for the teacher: one blank A4 sheet of paper per
group
Classroom
management: in pairs / groups
Procedure:
1. Group students in fours or fives or ask
them to form pairs.
2. Write this table on the board. Ask them
to tell you 3 items in each of the categories. For example:
Name
|
Verb
|
(Object)
|
Place
|
Time
|
Bob
|
play
|
a
pen
|
on
a bus
|
every
night
|
Alice
|
watch
|
a
bunch of roses
|
in
a drawer
|
last
winter
|
Jane
|
go
|
trousers
|
under
the bed
|
now
|
3. Write numbers 1,2,3 randomly next to
each item.
Name
|
Verb
|
(Object)
|
Place
|
Time
|
Bob
2
|
play
2
|
a
pen 1
|
on
a bus 3
|
every
night 1
|
Alice
3
|
watch
3
|
an
armadillo 3
|
in/
into a drawer 1
|
last
winter 2
|
Jane
1
|
go
1
|
trousers
2
|
in
a shop 2
|
now
3
|
4. Now 3 sentences can be made:
v Jane goes into a drawer every night. (all number 1)
v Bob played with trousers in a shop last winter.(all number 2)
v Alice is watching an armadillo on a bus now. (all number 3)
5. Now the students get together and make
their tables. Tell them to pay attention to the concord of verb form and time
preposition. One more thing they should be careful about is the necessity of an
object (intransitive verbs do not have an object), but they are allowed to add
prepositions if needed (e.g. play with
trousers in number 2).
Variation:
1. You can add or remove categories.
2. You can practice specific grammar point
in this way.
3. Students who draw well can draw a
picture based on the sentence made. The other students can try to form a
sentence.
Note: I noticed that this activity is useful not only when practicing
specific vocabulary or grammar. It helps shy students speak their own minds,
co-operate in a team, boost self-confidence. And everybody has a good hearty
laugh!
Maja
Hadzic, Belgrade, Serbia
A FOUR-WORD
STORY
Level: Elementary +
Aim: to revise vocabulary or grammar; to practice word order; to
practice fluency
Time: 15 minutes or more
Language
skills: speaking, writing, reading, listening
Types
of learners: auditory, visual
Material: an A5 blank piece of paper for each group
Classroom
management: group work
Procedure:
1. Divide the class into groups of four or five.
2. Give each group an A5 blank piece of
paper.
3. Tell the groups to elect the student who
will start the activity.
4. This student writes down an English word
that first comes into his/her mind when you say 'start' (it is not association
on the verb 'start', but any English word he/she can think of at that moment).
5. The student sitting to his left side
writes the next word which comes into his/her mind, but which starts with the
last letter of the previous word (e.g. race – elephant).
6. When each student has written a word,
they prepare to tell a short story containing words from the list. Every
student in the group must say at least one sentence.
Variations
1. Depending on the level of knowledge of
the class, you can have students write a story or use the words from the list
in their story in alphabetical or some other exact order.
2. You can give points (e.g. one point for
every word). Students' attention is at a high level here, because they all have
different words, thus different stories. What's more, advanced students tend to
make their stories funny, so you can all have a good laugh!
3. When the group tells their story, other
students try to guess what were the four initial words.
Notes
Students can revise some grammar points by
using specific elements in their stories (e.g. use two comparative forms, one
past simple and one question tag).
Maja
Hadzic, Belgrade, Serbia
AS GOOD AS A NEW COMPARISON
Level: Elementary +
Aim: revising 'as...as' comparisons; revising vocabulary; revising
adjectives
Time:
Language
skills:
Types
of learners: auditory, visual, kinesthetic
Material: None (if you want them to write – a blank A4 sheet of paper per
group / pair).
Classroom
management: Group / pair work.
Procedure:
1. Ask students to tell you about 10
adjectives.
2. You write them on the board, in a
column.
3. Group students into fours or fives or
tell them to form pairs.
4. Each group / pair picks one adjective.
They make a comparison (e.g. big –
'as big as a plane'), orally or write them down.
5. Students read only the last part of the
comparison ('as a plane').
6. The others try to guess what adjective
they have chosen.
Note
For the kinesthetic learners you can have
students act out instead of read / say their sentences.
Variations
1. You can practice other grammar
categories in this way (e.g. write –
'I wrote a poem' in which case they would read only 'a poem').
2. You can practice rhyming pairs (e.g. fine – 'nine').
3. You can practice almost anything!
Maja
Hadzic, Belgrade, Serbia
EAVESDROPPING
Level: Elementary +
Aim: to practice forming
sentences; to practice vocabulary or grammar points
Time: 15 minutes or more
Language
skills: speaking, listening, reading, writing
Types
of learners: auditory
Material: none, or you can prepare some sentences before the class
Classroom
management: in pairs / groups
Procedure:
1. Divide
students in pairs / groups.
2. Say a sentence that sounds like taken
out of a dialogue, e.g. 'But this is all I've got!'
3. Students make up short dialogues
imagining a situation in which a person might say something like that.
4. They act / read their dialogues for the
whole class.
Variations
1. Students can be asked to make up a
dialogue concerning specific topic, e.g. sports.
2. Students can be asked to make up a
dialogue using superlatives, adverbs, ordinal numbers, etc.
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