20 Engaging Speaking Activities for ESL Classes That Get Students Talking
Getting students to speak English in class can be challenging. Some students are shy, others are afraid of making mistakes, and a few confident students may dominate every conversation.
The solution is not always more grammar instruction. Sometimes, students simply need structured opportunities to speak, interact, and use English for a real purpose.
Here are 20 practical ESL speaking activities that require little preparation and can be adapted for different English levels, ages, and class sizes.
1. Would You Rather?
Give students two choices and ask them to explain their answers.
Examples:
Would you rather live in the city or the countryside?
Would you rather travel to the past or the future?
Would you rather have a lot of money or a lot of free time?
Useful language:
I'd rather... because...
I prefer... because...
In my opinion...
Tip: Ask students to find a classmate with a different answer and explain their opinions.
2. Find Someone Who...
Create a list of statements and ask students to walk around the classroom asking questions.
Example: Find someone who...
has visited another city.
likes cooking.
can swim.
watches English videos.
has a pet.
enjoys reading.
Students ask:
"Have you ever visited another city?"
The student answers:
"Yes, I have." / "No, I haven't."
This activity is excellent for speaking practice, question formation, and classroom interaction.
3. Information Gap
Give Student A and Student B different information.
Their goal is to communicate and complete the missing information.
Example
Student A has a weekly schedule with missing activities.
Student B has the missing information.
Students must ask:
"What does Ahmed do on Tuesday?"
"He plays football at 5 o'clock."
This activity gives students a genuine reason to communicate.
4. Picture Talk
Show students a picture and ask them to describe what they see.
Start with simple questions:
What can you see?
Where are they?
What are they doing?
What are they wearing?
How do they feel?
For stronger students, ask:
What do you think happened before this picture?
What might happen next?
Tip: Use everyday scenes such as a supermarket, classroom, restaurant, airport, or park.
5. Hot Seat
Put one student in the "hot seat." Write a word on the board that the student cannot see.
The other students describe the word without saying it.
For example, the word is "doctor."
Students might say:
"This person works in a hospital."
"This person helps sick people."
"This person uses medicine."
The student guesses:
"Doctor!"
This is a fun way to practice vocabulary and spontaneous speaking.
6. Role-Play
Give students realistic situations and assign roles.
Example: At a Restaurant
Student A: Customer
Student B: Waiter
Useful expressions:
"Can I have...?"
"I'd like..."
"What do you recommend?"
"Could I have the bill, please?"
Other situations include:
At the airport
At a hotel
At the doctor's
Job interview
Shopping
Asking for directions
Ordering food
Role-play is particularly useful because students practice English they may actually use outside the classroom.
7. Speed Chatting
Arrange students in pairs.
Give them one minute to discuss a question.
When the time ends, students change partners and receive a new question.
Questions
What's your favorite food?
What do you usually do at weekends?
Where would you like to travel?
What's your favorite movie?
What makes you happy?
This activity creates many short speaking opportunities and prevents long periods of silence.
8. Two Truths and a Lie
Each student writes three statements about themselves.
Two are true and one is false.
For example:
I have visited Spain.
I can cook pizza.
I have three brothers.
Classmates ask questions before guessing the lie.
"When did you visit Spain?"
"Who taught you to cook?"
This activity is excellent for practicing past experiences, follow-up questions, and conversation skills.
9. Picture Story
Give students three or four pictures showing a sequence.
Students work together to create a story.
For example:
Picture 1: A boy finds a wallet.
Picture 2: He looks inside.
Picture 3: He calls someone.
Picture 4: He returns the wallet.
Students create a story using:
First...
Then...
After that...
Finally...
This is especially useful for narrative speaking and past tense practice.
10. The Question Ball
Write different questions on a soft ball or pieces of paper.
Students pass the ball around.
When you say "Stop!", the student holding the ball answers a question.
Examples:
What's your favorite subject?
What did you do yesterday?
What are you going to do this weekend?
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
You can adapt the questions to the grammar or vocabulary currently being taught.
11. Taboo
Choose a target word and give students several words they cannot use when describing it.
Example
Target: BEACH
Don't say:
sea
sand
swimming
holiday
Students must find another way to describe it.
This encourages students to paraphrase, which is an important communication skill.
12. Debate Corners
Put signs around the classroom:
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Read a statement such as:
"Students should not have homework."
Students move to the corner that represents their opinion.
Then ask them to discuss their reasons with classmates.
This combines movement, speaking, opinions, and interaction.
13. Secret Word
Give each student a word that they must naturally use during a conversation.
For example:
Student A: "football"
Student B: "pizza"
Give them a topic such as:
"Talk about your weekend."
Students try to use their secret word without making it obvious.
At the end, classmates guess each other's words.
14. Story Chain
Start a story with one sentence:
"Yesterday, I was walking home when I found a mysterious box."
Student 2 adds a sentence.
"I opened the box and found an old key."
Student 3 continues.
"The key had a strange symbol on it."
Continue around the classroom.
This activity is excellent for creative speaking, listening, and storytelling.
15. Guess My Object
Place an object inside a bag.
Students ask yes/no questions to guess what it is.
"Is it made of plastic?"
"Can we use it at school?"
"Is it bigger than a book?"
"Do we use it every day?"
This is a simple activity for practicing questions and descriptive vocabulary.
16. Problem-Solving Challenge
Give groups a problem that requires discussion.
Example
"Your class is going on a one-day trip. You have $100. Where will you go and how will you spend the money?"
Students must discuss:
transportation
food
activities
budget
schedule
Finally, each group presents its solution.
This turns speaking practice into a meaningful communication task.
17. Class Survey
Choose a topic and have students interview their classmates.
Example: Free Time
Ask:
How often do you watch TV?
How often do you play sports?
How often do you read?
Students record the answers and then report their findings.
"Seven students play football every week."
"Three students rarely watch TV."
This activity combines speaking, listening, and simple data collection.
18. Describe and Draw
Put students in pairs.
Student A receives a picture.
Student B has paper and a pencil but cannot see the picture.
Student A describes the picture.
Student B draws it.
For example:
"Draw a large circle in the middle."
"Put a small square above the circle."
Afterward, students compare the drawing with the original.
This is a great activity for prepositions, descriptive language, and listening comprehension.
19. Ranking Challenge
Give students a list of items and ask them to rank them.
Example
"You are stranded on a desert island. Rank these five objects from most useful to least useful."
Knife
Phone
Water
Tent
Map
Students must explain their choices.
"I think water is the most important because..."
"I disagree because..."
This naturally encourages giving opinions, agreeing, disagreeing, and explaining reasons.
20. One-Minute Talk
Give students a topic and one minute to speak without stopping.
Topics
My favorite place
My best friend
My daily routine
A memorable day
My dream job
A country I want to visit
For lower-level learners, provide sentence starters.
"My favorite place is..."
"I like it because..."
"I usually..."
For higher-level learners, remove the prompts and let them speak independently.
Quick Speaking Activity Checklist
Use this checklist when choosing an activity:
| Activity | Preparation | Pair/Group | Main Skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Would You Rather? | Very Low | Pairs | Opinions |
| Find Someone Who | Low | Whole class | Questions |
| Information Gap | Medium | Pairs | Communication |
| Picture Talk | Low | Pairs | Description |
| Hot Seat | Very Low | Groups | Vocabulary |
| Role-Play | Low | Pairs | Functional English |
| Speed Chatting | Very Low | Pairs | Fluency |
| Two Truths & a Lie | Very Low | Groups | Conversation |
| Story Chain | Very Low | Whole class | Storytelling |
| Problem-Solving | Low | Groups | Discussion |
How to Get Quiet Students Talking
If students are reluctant to speak, avoid immediately asking them to speak in front of the entire class.
Try this progression:
Step 1: Think individually
↓
Step 2: Practice with a partner
↓
Step 3: Discuss in a small group
↓
Step 4: Share with the class
This gives students time to prepare their ideas before speaking publicly.
Give students sentence starters
Instead of simply asking:
"What do you think?"
Give them:
"I think ___ because..."
"In my opinion..."
"I agree with ___ because..."
"I disagree because..."
This small change can make speaking tasks much easier for lower-level ESL learners.
A Simple 10-Minute Speaking Routine
You don't need an entire lesson for speaking practice.
Try this routine:
2 minutes — Think
Students prepare their ideas.
3 minutes — Pair Talk
Students discuss with a partner.
3 minutes — Change Partners
Students repeat the conversation with someone else.
2 minutes — Class Feedback
Ask a few students to share interesting answers.
This routine can be added to almost any ESL lesson plan.
Common Problems and Quick Solutions
| Classroom Problem | Try This |
|---|---|
| Students are too shy | Start with pair work |
| One student dominates | Give each student equal speaking time |
| Students use their first language | Give them useful English expressions |
| Students don't know what to say | Provide sentence starters |
| Activity becomes too noisy | Set clear time limits and roles |
| Students make many mistakes | Focus on communication first |
| Fast students finish early | Add a follow-up challenge |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best speaking activities for ESL students?
Activities such as role-play, information gaps, speed chatting, picture description, surveys, and problem-solving tasks provide students with meaningful opportunities to communicate.
How can I encourage shy ESL students to speak?
Start with pair activities before moving to groups or whole-class speaking. Give students preparation time and useful sentence starters.
How long should an ESL speaking activity last?
Most activities can work well in 5–15 minutes. Short activities are often easier to manage and allow students to practice several times.
How can I make speaking activities suitable for different levels?
Change the amount of support. Beginners can receive vocabulary lists and sentence frames, while advanced learners can receive open-ended questions and more challenging communication tasks.
Should I correct every speaking mistake?
Not necessarily. During fluency activities, focus primarily on communication. Take notes on common errors and address them after the activity.
Final Thoughts
Effective ESL speaking activities don't have to be complicated. The most successful classroom speaking tasks usually have three things in common: students have a clear purpose, everyone gets an opportunity to speak, and the language is connected to a meaningful situation.
Try starting with one simple activity such as Would You Rather?, Find Someone Who, Speed Chatting, or Role-Play. Once students become comfortable speaking with partners, gradually introduce group discussions, problem-solving, debates, and presentations.
The goal isn't to create a perfectly silent classroom.
The goal is to create a classroom where students are actively using English to communicate.
Save these activities, adapt them to your students' level, and build a regular speaking routine into your ESL lessons.
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