15 ESL Speaking Activities for Students That Actually Get Everyone Talking
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Getting students to speak English can be one of the biggest challenges for ESL teachers. Some students are confident and talkative, while others are shy, afraid of making mistakes, or simply don't know what to say.
The good news is that speaking practice doesn't have to be complicated.
The right activity can turn a quiet classroom into an active English-speaking environment.
In this guide, you'll find 15 easy ESL speaking activities suitable for kids, teenagers, and adults. Most require little or no preparation and can be adapted to different English levels.
1. Would You Rather?
Level: A1–B2
Time: 5–10 minutes
Skills: Speaking, vocabulary, giving reasons
Give students two choices and ask:
Would you rather live in the city or in the countryside?
Students choose one option and explain their choice.
Examples
- Would you rather travel by plane or train?
- Would you rather have a cat or a dog?
- Would you rather be rich or famous?
- Would you rather study in the morning or at night?
- Would you rather eat pizza or burgers?
Extension: Students create their own questions and ask their classmates.
2. Find Someone Who...
Level: A1–B2
Time: 10–15 minutes
Skills: Questions, interaction, speaking
Give students a list of things they need to find.
For example:
Find someone who...
- has a brother.
- likes football.
- can cook.
- visited another city.
- watches movies in English.
- speaks another language.
Students walk around the classroom asking questions:
"Do you have a brother?"
"Do you like football?"
When they find someone, they write the person's name.
This activity is excellent for getting students to speak with multiple classmates.
3. Two Truths and a Lie
Level: A2–B2
Time: 10 minutes
Skills: Speaking, listening, questioning
Each student writes three sentences about themselves.
Two sentences are true and one is false.
Example:
- I have visited Spain.
- I can play the guitar.
- I have five brothers.
The student reads the sentences, and classmates ask questions to discover the lie.
This activity works particularly well as an ESL icebreaker.
4. Picture Talk
Level: A1–B2
Time: 5–10 minutes
Skills: Describing, vocabulary, sentence formation
Show students a picture.
Ask them to describe what they can see.
Start with simple questions:
- What can you see?
- Where are they?
- What are they doing?
- What are they wearing?
- How do they feel?
- What do you think happened before?
For higher-level students, ask them to create a short story based on the picture.
5. Hot Seat
Level: A1–B2
Time: 10 minutes
Skills: Vocabulary, speaking, describing
One student sits with their back to the board.
Write a word behind them.
For example:
AIRPLANE
The other students must describe the word without saying it.
"You use it to travel."
"It flies."
"You can go to another country with it."
The student in the hot seat tries to guess the word.
This is a great way to review vocabulary while encouraging spontaneous speaking.
6. Role Play
Level: A2–B2
Time: 10–20 minutes
Skills: Conversation, fluency, functional language
Give students a real-life situation.
Examples:
At a restaurant
Student A: Customer
Student B: Waiter
At the airport
Student A: Passenger
Student B: Airport employee
In a shop
Student A: Customer
Student B: Shop assistant
At a doctor's office
Student A: Patient
Student B: Doctor
Give students useful expressions before they begin.
For example:
"I'd like..."
"Can I have...?"
"How much is it?"
"Could you help me?"
7. Describe and Draw
Level: A1–B1
Time: 10–15 minutes
Skills: Describing, listening, prepositions
Put students in pairs.
Student A receives a picture.
Student B has a blank piece of paper.
Student A describes the picture without showing it.
For example:
"There is a house in the middle."
"There is a tree next to the house."
"A dog is sitting under the tree."
Student B draws what they hear.
At the end, students compare the drawing with the original picture.
8. Information Gap
Level: A1–B2
Time: 10–15 minutes
Skills: Communication, questioning, listening
Give Student A information that Student B doesn't have.
Student B has different information.
They must communicate to complete the task.
For example, Student A has Monday's schedule while Student B has Tuesday's schedule.
Students ask:
"What time does the English class start?"
"It starts at 9 o'clock."
The important rule is:
Students cannot simply show each other their papers. They must communicate.
9. Speed Chatting
Level: A2–B2
Time: 10–15 minutes
Skills: Fluency, spontaneous speaking
Arrange students in pairs.
Give them a question and one minute to discuss it.
When the time finishes, students change partners.
Possible questions:
- What's your favorite food?
- What do you do at weekends?
- Where would you like to travel?
- What's your favorite movie?
- What makes you happy?
Repeat several times.
The repeated practice helps students become more comfortable speaking English.
10. Board Race – Speaking Edition
Level: A1–B2
Time: 5–10 minutes
Skills: Vocabulary and sentence production
Divide the class into teams.
Write a category on the board:
FOOD
One student from each team runs to the board and writes a word.
Then the team must make a sentence using that word.
For example:
Pizza → I like pizza.
For stronger students:
Pizza → I usually eat pizza with my friends on Friday evenings.
11. Story Chain
Level: A2–B2
Time: 10 minutes
Skills: Fluency, creativity, listening
Start a story with one sentence:
"Yesterday, I was walking home when I saw a strange box."
The first student adds a sentence.
The next student continues.
"I opened the box and found a mysterious key."
The story continues around the classroom.
Encourage students to listen carefully because they must connect their sentence to the previous ideas.
12. Secret Word
Level: A2–B2
Time: 5–10 minutes
Skills: Describing, vocabulary
Give one student a secret word.
The student must explain the word without saying it.
For example, the word is:
BEACH
The student says:
"It's a place where you can swim."
"There is usually sand."
"People go there during summer."
Classmates guess the word.
13. Debate Corners
Level: B1–B2
Time: 15–20 minutes
Skills: Opinions, arguments, fluency
Put signs around the classroom:
STRONGLY AGREE
AGREE
DISAGREE
STRONGLY DISAGREE
Read a statement:
"Students should not have homework."
Students move to the corner that represents their opinion.
Then ask them to explain their choice.
Useful expressions:
"I agree because..."
"I disagree because..."
"In my opinion..."
"I understand your point, but..."
14. 20 Questions
Level: A2–B2
Time: 10 minutes
Skills: Question formation, vocabulary
Think of a person, place, object, or animal.
Students can ask up to 20 yes/no questions.
For example:
"Is it a person?"
"Is it an animal?"
"Can you find it in a house?"
"Is it bigger than a car?"
Students continue until they discover the answer.
15. The Hot Topic Challenge
Level: B1–B2
Time: 10–15 minutes
Skills: Fluency, opinions, critical thinking
Prepare several topics on small pieces of paper.
Examples:
- Social media
- School uniforms
- Technology
- Travel
- Sports
- Food
- Online learning
- Mobile phones
A student chooses a topic and speaks about it for one minute.
The goal isn't perfect grammar.
The goal is continuous English communication.
For stronger students, increase the challenge to two or three minutes.
How to Make ESL Speaking Activities More Effective
Simply giving students a speaking activity isn't always enough. Use these strategies to get better results.
1. Give students useful language
Before the activity, put sentence starters on the board.
For example:
Giving opinions
I think...
In my opinion...
I believe...
Agreeing
I agree.
That's true.
Exactly.
Disagreeing
I don't agree.
I'm not sure about that.
I see your point, but...
This gives students the language support they need to participate.
2. Let students practice in pairs first
Students often feel less pressure speaking to one partner than speaking in front of the entire class.
Start with:
Individual → Pair → Group → Whole class
3. Don't interrupt every mistake
During fluency activities, avoid stopping students every few seconds to correct grammar.
Instead, take notes while they speak and provide feedback afterward.
4. Give everyone a speaking role
Avoid activities where only the strongest students dominate.
Use:
- pairs
- groups of three
- groups of four
- rotating partners
This gives more students an opportunity to speak.
Quick ESL Speaking Activity Planner
| Activity | Level | Time | Main Skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Would You Rather? | A1–B2 | 5–10 min | Opinions |
| Find Someone Who | A1–B2 | 10–15 min | Questions |
| Two Truths and a Lie | A2–B2 | 10 min | Conversation |
| Picture Talk | A1–B2 | 5–10 min | Description |
| Hot Seat | A1–B2 | 10 min | Vocabulary |
| Role Play | A2–B2 | 10–20 min | Conversation |
| Describe and Draw | A1–B1 | 10–15 min | Description |
| Information Gap | A1–B2 | 10–15 min | Communication |
| Speed Chatting | A2–B2 | 10–15 min | Fluency |
| Board Race | A1–B2 | 5–10 min | Vocabulary |
| Story Chain | A2–B2 | 10 min | Fluency |
| Secret Word | A2–B2 | 5–10 min | Description |
| Debate Corners | B1–B2 | 15–20 min | Opinions |
| 20 Questions | A2–B2 | 10 min | Questions |
| Hot Topic Challenge | B1–B2 | 10–15 min | Fluency |
Final Thoughts
The best ESL speaking activities don't need to be complicated. What matters is creating opportunities for students to speak, listen, interact, and use English for a real purpose.
Try starting your next lesson with a five-minute activity such as Would You Rather?, Find Someone Who, or Hot Seat. Then gradually move toward longer activities such as role plays, information gaps, debates, and speaking challenges.
The goal is simple:
Less teacher talking. More student talking.
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