If your students go quiet while you do most of the talking, you’re not alone. The best esl speaking activities put pairs and groups to work on real tasks, in short daily bursts.
For more classroom ideas, browse the wider set of esl teaching resources on this site.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Student talk share of a lesson | About 75% of the lesson |
| Teacher talk rule of thumb | 20% to 30% of a class session |
| Opening speaking routine | 5 to 10 minutes at the start of each class |
| Two Minute Conversations | 1 minute of nonstop talk, then 1 minute of nonstop questions |
| Scaffolded summarizing notes | 10-20 words on a note card |
These figures come from Concordia University, Nebraska and TESOL Connections. Rules of thumb like these can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
Why student talk time matters
Students get better at speaking by speaking, yet teacher talk often fills the room. TESOL Connections says many EFL/ESL classrooms worldwide are dominated by teacher talk with little chance for students to converse at all, and notes that supporters of Communicative Language Teaching recommend authentic, meaningful communication instead. Read the TESOL Connections piece.
So what split should you aim for? A Concordia University, Nebraska article gives a rule of thumb that a teacher should talk for 20% to 30% of a class session, and says teacher talk loses value once it passes 30% of class time. It also says you can find ways to have students talking for about 75% of the lesson. Source: Concordia University, Nebraska.
Twee Tools gives a similar ideal of around 70-75% of the lesson for student talk. It adds that the ratio varies by level, and that beginners tend to get more teacher talk than intermediate and advanced students. Source: Twee Tools.
Teachers still matter. The same Concordia article warns that learners talking among themselves can share false information, reinforce bad speech habits or leave poor grammar uncorrected, so direct instruction keeps its place. Source: Concordia University, Nebraska.
Build a room where students will risk speaking
Many students hold back because of speaking anxiety. TESOL Connections lists fear of negative evaluation from peers and teachers, negative self-evaluation and fear of failure among the factors shown to contribute to it. Source: TESOL Connections.
The same page suggests several ways to lower the stakes:
- Offer positive encouragement.
- Limit error correction while students are talking.
- Allow adequate wait-time for students to speak.
- Give students preparation time before they speak in front of the class.
- Make sure other students offer positive feedback and support.
You can still correct later. Twee Tools suggests moving around while pairs talk, making notes for later error correction and feedback, and using non-verbal cues for encouragement. Source: Twee Tools.
Written instructions can also ease learners in. Concordia suggests letting early learners read instructions aloud and explain them to the class, because the words are written down and it feels safer to start. Source: Concordia University, Nebraska.
Quick speaking warm-ups for the start of class
TESOL Connections suggests having students speak for 5 to 10 minutes at the beginning of each class. It says students appreciate the routine, and that topics can be tied to each day’s lesson. Source: TESOL Connections.
The same page offers several openers:
- A picture of the day for students to talk about.
- Daily discussion questions or short conversation starters.
- Two Minute Conversations, described below.
- A current event students research for homework, with the discussion leader rotating each day.
- A story chain: give the first sentence, then have groups add a new sentence one at a time.
In Two Minute Conversations, partners talk nonstop for 1 minute about a daily topic. Then their partners ask nonstop questions for 1 minute, and the pairs switch roles. Source: TESOL Connections.
Warm-ups go further when students have target words ready, so you can pair them with esl vocabulary activities.
Pair and group tasks that keep everyone talking
Pairs and groups let every student talk at the same time. BusyTeacher describes pair work to accomplish a task as goal oriented and good for creative use of language, while pair work to have a conversation builds turn taking and holding the speaking role. Source: BusyTeacher.
Groups add other skills. BusyTeacher’s examples include planning a vacation or creating a board game, which call for agreeing and disagreeing, evaluating others’ ideas and sharing opinions. Source: BusyTeacher.
Twee Tools offers ready ideas you can adapt to your own topics:
- Opposing opinions: split the class by handing out cards with opposing views, then have each group build arguments with real-life examples.
- Gapped summary: write a video summary with missing keywords or sentence endings, and have students retell it using your template.
- Relevant facts: give a list mixing facts about your topic and a closely related one, and have students pick the relevant ones and explain their choice.
- Half-finished lists: give the first part of each advantage or disadvantage and let students complete it with their own ideas.
- Picture story: show a story told in pictures or emojis and have students share their interpretations.
Role plays suit adult and academic learners well. TESOL Connections suggests role-playing a negotiation or job interview in business English, or a meeting with a professor in academic English, so tasks match how students will use English outside class.
If you prefer handouts for these tasks, see the notes on printable english worksheets.
Games and student-led formats
Games give students a change of pace and can review almost any language function. TESOL Connections describes Alibi, which divides the class into two teams, police officers and suspects, after you introduce a fake crime. Source: TESOL Connections.
- Suspects build an alibi while police officers write interrogation questions.
- Every police officer questions every suspect individually, looking for differences in the stories.
- The differences are counted up and the roles are switched.
- After the cycle is repeated, the team with the fewest differences wins.
The page says this is a good way to practise past tense questions and answers, especially with a past tense review before or after. It works because every student is questioning or answering at the same time. Source: TESOL Connections.
You can also hand over the controls. In the Small Talk activity developed by Hunter (2012), students pick topics and lead discussions while you observe and give language feedback at the end of class. Source: TESOL Connections.
Ernst (1994) describes a talking circle where students discuss anything of interest to them. The page reports that students are more willing to speak when they control the topic. Source: TESOL Connections.
Two more ideas build skills students rarely practise. Information gap or jigsaw activities push students to ask each other for missing information, and scaffolded summarizing has them write 10-20 words on a note card, then retell a paragraph three times to three different students using only those notes. Source: TESOL Connections.
How do you mix the different kinds of speaking?
BusyTeacher lists nine conversation patterns and advises including each of them, though not every one every day. Each pattern has its own strengths. Source: BusyTeacher.
- Pair or group tasks build goal-focused language and skills like agreeing and disagreeing.
- Pair or group conversations practise turn taking.
- Choral response is useful for pronunciation, and even better for word stress and sentence intonation.
- Digital practice can give timid students a lower-pressure place to speak up.
Your own questions count too. Twee Tools advises avoiding questions with short answers, so ask “What did you think about the movie?” instead of “Did you like the movie?” Source: Twee Tools.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a lesson should students spend talking?
Show answer
Concordia University, Nebraska says you can aim for about 75% of the lesson, and Twee Tools gives around 70-75%. Twee adds that the right ratio varies by level, with beginners usually getting more teacher talk. Source: Twee Tools.
What if my students are too shy to speak?
Show answer
Give preparation time, offer positive encouragement and limit error correction while students are talking. TESOL Connections lists these among ways to reduce speaking anxiety. Source: TESOL Connections.
Should I correct mistakes during speaking activities?
Show answer
You can hold most corrections until afterwards. Twee Tools suggests making notes while you monitor and allocating a specific time for feedback, and the Small Talk activity gives language feedback at the end of class. Source: Twee Tools.
How can I support lower-level learners?
Show answer
Twee Tools suggests scaffolding templates for lower-level students, such as a summary with gaps they complete. Concordia adds that letting early learners read written instructions aloud feels safer. Source: Concordia University, Nebraska.
