Great speaking activity for older students when teaching jobs, or for adult students in Business English classes, or for your one-to-one lessons.
These questions are everything but boring and I can guarantee that they will spark interest in your students.
The questions are real interview questions compiled from different websites.
Enjoy!
I do a lot of speaking activities with my older students. We do a lot of simulations, discussions, role plays, games, etc. and this ESL debate is one of them.
One of the activities I do is an argumentative debate where they can utilize everything they’ve learned, and another great thing about this activity is that it combines writing and speaking. It can also be used as a warm-up for argumentative essay writing.
You can use your own topics according to the vocabulary you’ve been teaching or you can use the topic cards below.
Each pair of students gets the same topic with either Agree or Disagree information. I usually assign the topics randomly. They’ll have a couple of minutes for preparation, I recommend that they write brief notes and if possible, to do some quick online research. Another modification can be that you give them the topics for homework so they can prepare more thoroughly. It depends on the level of the students and the difficulty of the topics.
When they are ready, let them talk in pairs, circle and monitor. When they finish, have a short feedback discussion with them:
Were they able to persuade their opponent?
What arguments did they use?
Very helpful role plays on polite requests.
Not everyone can cook, but we all love food. It is a perfect conversation topic and even the shy students usually come out of their shells (seafood pun) when you ask them about their favourite food.
Food is everywhere now, popular TV shows made home cooking fashionable, food blogs with amazing photos will make you drool, social networks such as Instagram are filled with snaps of people’s breakfasts and tasting menus from five-star restaurants, artisan ice-cream and hipster baristas are everywhere, I’m starting to feel hungry just writing about it! Make sure to use this worksheet before lunch; otherwise, your students will eat you alive!
I used this activity many times with different age groups and levels. It works great with teenagers and adults, pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper intermediate levels. Just make sure to pre-teach the relevant vocabulary and some basic at the restaurant phrases. Your students will create their own restaurant menus and practice waiter/customer dialogues.
Download the free worksheet with Teacher’s notes here: Restaurant Menu Pair Work
There is no such thing as enough role play activities and worksheets! I’ve recently gone over Travel vocabulary with my Intermediate and Upper Intermediate students and I love doing these speaking activities at the end of the lesson.
In my previous article, I included my own version of the Taboo card game on the topic of Travel/Holidays. This ESL role play worksheet contains 5 role-playing dialogues dealing with various issues you may experience during your holiday. Just cut the cards and you are ready to go.
A1: You are a receptionist of a 5* hotel. You are very polite and you can deal with annoyed guests. Try to calm down the guest and solve any issues they have. Try to avoid calling the manager.
B1: You are a wealthy businessman staying at a 5* hotel. You are used to quality service and luxury, but this hotel doesn’t offer it. The room is too small, staff is rude, AC is noisy. You want to talk to the manager.
A2: You rent out a flat on Airbnb, and you have been a very popular host so far. Now you have guests who are unhappy about many things. They want to leave and a refund. Persuade them to stay.
B2: You have used Airbnb before and you never experienced any problems. This time you are very unhappy. The flat is far from the sea, far from the centre, it doesn’t have a balcony and hot water isn’t working.You want to leave and a full refund.
A3: You work in a travel agency. Help your clients to chose an ideal holiday. Ask about their budget, preferences, and expectations. Offer advice, suggest different options. Try to persuade them to try an active, adventurous holiday.
B3: You are planning a holiday. Visit a travel agency and ask for help. Describe your ideal holiday, express your wishes, and ask about all the details. You want to relax, sunbathe and read books.
A4: You are a waiter in a local restaurant in an exotic destination. You serve traditional food which your customers don’t know. Explain what the food contains, talk about the ingredients, preparation, texture, etc.
B4: You are on a holiday in an exotic destination. You want to try some traditional food in a local restaurant, but the menu is not in English. Ask the waiter for advice. Find as much about the food as you can.
A5: You sell traditional handmade products on a local market. Praise your products, explain how they are made, if they have any functions or serve only as a decoration. Set your price high and try to sell at best price.
B5: You are visiting a local market, looking for gifts for you and your family. You like handmade, eco-friendly products. Ask a lot of questions and haggle the price down.
Download the PDF>>>>>Role plays- Travel
