If you’re an ESL teacher, you know that speaking is a difficult skill for students to master. Plus, speaking can be intimidating. It’s one thing to write and another thing entirely to perform in front of others. That’s why these 60 questions for ESL conversation based on Vogue’s 73 Question series, in which celebrities quickly answer random questions, is great for practicing speaking skills with your students.
You can start this activity by watching Adele’s take on 73 questions. After that, put your students in pairs so they can play out their version of the interview. To do that, download the worksheet60 Questions for ESL Conversation.
The worksheet contains 60 questions divided into 2 sets. This is a pairwork activity, so students can both ask and answer the questions.
Allow the students 5 minutes to read the questions and to make sure they understand and look up any unfamiliar vocabulary.
Explainthat they have to conduct the interview in the style of Vogue’s 73 questions, so they have to quicklyask and answer the questions.
Decide how long it should take and tell them, I would allow 5-10 minutes based on the level of the group.
As a variation of the activity, they can record each other’s responses to create a similar video to the one below.
60 Questions for ESL Conversation Activity
STUDENT A
What’s the best thing that happened to you this month?
2. What is something you’re tired of?
3. What is something that recently moved you?
4. If you could teach one subject in school what would it be?
5. What’s your favorite beverage?
7. What is your favorite cake?
6. What is your favorite movie?
7. What is something you can’t do?
8. What is one habit you wish you could break?
9. What makes you laugh no matter what?
10. What does creativity mean to you?
11. What are your favorite lyrics of all time?
12. What is something you’ve always wanted to try but you’ve been too scared to do?
13. What did you want to do with your life at age 12?
14. What is something you will not be doing in ten years?
15. What is an important life lesson for someone to learn?
16. What is one goal you are determined to achieve in your lifetime?
17. Would you ever live anywhere besides where you live now?
18. What is your favorite dessert?
19. Is there a dessert you don’t like?
20. It’s brunch! What do you eat?
21. Who is your favorite artist?
22. Favorite Disney animal?
23. What is a book you are planning on reading?
24. What did you read most recently?
25. Favorite solo artist?
26. What’s your favorite board game?
27. What’s a city you wish to visit?.
28. Where does one go on a perfect road trip?
29. What do you do on a rainy day?
30. What’s your favorite exercise?
STUDENT B
1. What is your worst subject in school?
2. What do you usually eat for breakfast?
3. What do you usually eat for dinner?
4. Favorite baked good?
5. What is something you wish you could be good at?
6. Skiing or Surfing?
7. Cooking or Baking?
8. Most recent celebrity crush?
9. What’s your favorite clothing brand or store?
10. How do you manage stress?
11. What do you do to relax?
12. Favorite fashion trend of all time?
13. Best fashion advice you’ve ever received?
14. Trend you would like to see disappear forever?
15. What is your spirit animal?
16. Television show you’ve binged on recently?
17. Who do you turn to when you’re sad?
18. Name one thing you’ve learned the hard way?
19. If you could make a documentary about anything, what would it be?
20. What is your Kryptonite?
21. What are you most enchanted by?
22. What is your biggest strength?
23. What is your biggest weakness?
24. What are 3 words to describe living where you live?
25. Cutest thing on planet earth?
26. Most important advice you’d give your future children?
27. Best first date idea?
28. What do you first notice about someone when you meet them?
If you don’t live in a cave you know what’s happening in Afghanistan right now. If you don’t know, you can find out here.
No matter what your political preferences are, or what do you believe in, I’m sure you agree that education is important. What is happening in Afghanistan right now will have tremendous negative consequences on the education of Afghan girls. Watch the Ted Talk. Discuss it with your students. You can also help here, or here.
This Ted Talk education ESL video lesson is based on a talk by Shabana Basij-Rasikh. She is an educator from Afghanistan, humanitarian, and women’s rights champion. She grew up under the rule of the Taliban, which banned education for women so she had to dress as a boy to attend a secret school.
This is her story.
Level: Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate
Time: 45min.(video 10min.)
Skills: speaking, listening, reading
Topic: education, human rights
Taliban Take over Afghanistan | Ted Talk Education Lesson Plan | Dare to Educate Afghan Girls | Shabana Basij-Rasikh
WARM-UP
Discuss the questions
1. Do you think education should be free? Why? Use arguments to justify your opinion.
2. What was your parents position on your education? How do you think it has influenced your life? What is your position on your education?
3. Can you imagine being denied higher education based on your gender or religion? How would it influence your life?
In this food and travel ESL lesson students will discuss their travel experience and plans. They will watch a ten-minute video and learn about different etiquette rules.
We can’t travel anywhere(even if we can, it’s still very limited) because of the current Covid-19 pandemic, however, there are plenty of activities we can do – we can go for a walk, do sports, read books, watch Netflix. Wondering what to recommend to your students?
Try these shows, they are educational, suitable for school but still fun to watch. You can share opinions, start a discussian, revise vocabulary.
So, even if we can’t travel, we can plan our future travels. Traveling and food are very popular topics for students of any age. Your students will enjoy this food and travel ESL lesson and the video – 12 Unexpected Etiquette Rules from Around the World.
Warm-up
Which interesting places have you visited so far?
Which three dream destinations would you put on your bucket list?
When you travel, do you like to taste local food? Why?
What are the etiquette rules associated with food in your country?
Watch the video
Etiquette Rules Around the World – True and False Quiz
Video lessons are an engaging and fun way to teach vocabulary, grammar, listening and culture to various age groups and levels.
However, sometimes you just want to use an interesting video as a filler or a discussion material without any preparation. Sometimes there is no time for printing the lessons plans. No time for searching for an appropriate video. Just hit the play button and catch a breath. Trust me, I understand.
Here is a list of 10 ESL Netflix shows to watch with your students. These are appropriate for the classroom, educational and suitable for discussion about the usual topics as food, travel, health, etc.
You can find more TV shows on Netflix featuring David Chan, but I chose Ugly Delicious because it cover s lot of different cuisines and foods and therefore a more diverse vocabulary.
The episodes in the first season of this show are named after various terrain. Mountain. Forest. Coast. Underground. The second season focuses on countries including Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Norway so the views are spectacular and the vocabulary interesting and useful.
Even if you don’t teach history, you should understand the importance of documentaries about WWII. Especially now, when young people lack critical thinking, spread fake news and believe in alternate history.
This show cover a wide range of topics from music to animal intelligence. Be careful though, there are a couple of episodes in the first season that are probably not appropriate for school( Orgasm, Weed) so have a look at the episodes and make sure you choose a topic that is appropriate for your students.
The show has six episodes: Memory, Dreams, Anxiety, Mindfulness, Psychedelics. Each twenty-minute episode explains the mysteries of our brains in an engaging, fun way, with plenty of real-life examples, graphics, and experts. You can even download a worksheet for one of the episodes – Anxiety, here.
My students really like this show. It is interactive and the students make decisions in order to help Bear Grylls survive. They love making Bear eat bugs or raw eggs and jump from cliffs. Highly entertaining.
Great for teaching clothes&fashion vocabulary, this reality show competition has 10 episodes in which eighteen designers compete in rounds to create unforgettable designs.
This extensive list contains 47 interactive and online ELT resources that can help English teachers save a ton of time when preparing for lessons.
ELT Resources: SPEAKING
1. BBC Learning English
The site is sponsored by BBC and its divided into these topics: General & Business English Grammar, Vocabulary & Pronunciation, Talking Sports, Quizzes, The Flatmates, Community, And For Teachers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/talkingbusiness/
2. TalkEnglish
TalkEnglish.com offers speaking lessons on Regular, Business, Interviewing, Traveling Lessons, along with new Listening lessons, Pronunciation lessons, Basic Grammar, and Intonation and speed of speaking tips. http://www.talkenglish.com/
3. TESOL
This is the site for the TESOL International Association. It has many teacher resources such as activities, assessment, lesson plans, teaching tips, virtual seminars and more. You can search by picking the type of resource, audience, and language proficiency level. http://www.tesol.org/connect/tesol-resource-center/explore-the-resource-center http://www.tesol.org/docs/tesol-resource-center/73d51d33-0b1f-4b71-8065-
4. Usingenglish
This site includes activities and lesson plans. It also includes specific LP test sample items, so it is good if you are preparing students for these tests, or great for practicing these skills. http://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/ http://www.usingenglish.com/files/pdf/bulats-speaking-part-1-topics.pdf
5. ESLgold
Materials, lesson plans, quizzes, online conversation partners, and links for teachers and students. http://www.eslgold.com/speaking/ss_giving_information.html
6. Digital Story Telling – University of Houston
Teachers can use digital storytelling as a teaching tool in the classroom. Using digital storytelling will assist both the visual and auditory learners. Students can tell their own stories or make up ones of their own and compose them along with pictures, audio, and more. http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/esl.html http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/movies/aleyda.wmv
7. Totalesl
An ESL EFL TEFL TESOL worldwide resource for ESL/EFL/TEFL/TESOL jobs, teachers resumes, schools, teacher training courses, private tutors, blogs, lesson plans, activities, and more. http://www.totalesl.com/ http://www.totalesl.com/video.php?id=19
8. Englishclub
Conversation worksheets, activities, teacher notes for lessons. http://www.englishclub.com/esl-worksheets/conversation/index.htm http://www.englishclub.com/esl-worksheets/conversation/TP_Adventure.pdf
9. Linguarama
Business English, offers mini-lessons and worksheets. Look under “Themes” for lessons categorized under very precise headings like management, banking, and marketing. It’s straightforward and best for ESL classes that are intermediate and higher. http://www.linguarama.com/ps/sales-themed-english/polite-speech.htm
10. Skype in the classroom
Skype is a free and easy way for teachers to open up their classroom. Meet new people, talk to experts, share ideas and create amazing learning experiences with teachers from around the world. You can have a language interchange and have real-world conversation opportunity for your students. https://education.skype.com/
11. EverythingESL
By a teacher for teachers. This site has content based and cultural lesson plans, teaching tips, resource picks and more. http://www.everythingesl.net/ http://www.everythingesl.net/lessons/favorite_food.php
12. EFL Ideas
Creative resources for ESL/EFL teachers focused mainly on speaking and vocabulary and communicative lessons based on videos. Role-plays, group activities, communicative activities, video lessons, worksheets, teaching tips.
ELT Resources: LISTENING
13. British Council Learn English
This website is sponsored by the British Council and it is for adult learners. It is divided into the following sections: Listen & Watch, Grammar & Vocabulary, Fun & Games, Business & Work, and IELTS. http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/ http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/big-city-small-world/series-2-episode-11-date
14. Manythings
The website is divided into the following categories: vocabulary, reading, grammar, listening and speaking. There are songs, quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer assisted language learning activities. http://www.manythings.org/ http://www.manythings.org/mp/m08.html
15. ESLPod
ESLPod.com provides a great selection of podcasts that are written and read specifically to ESL learners. http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html
16. OneStopEnglish
Onestopenglish is a teacher’s resource site for English teachers. All materials are written and edited by a team of teachers and authors and are organized into core subject areas. The link sample takes you to the listening skill section, which contains innovative lesson ideas for listening such as an audio soap opera, cinematic listening, live from …authentic interviews, mini-plays, jazz chants, listening lesson plans, and teaching tips. You do not have to be a registered user to have access to these resources. http://www.onestopenglish.com
17. Voice of America
This is a multimedia source of daily news and information for millions of English learners worldwide. Audio programs and captioned videos are written using vocabulary at the intermediate and upperbeginner level and are read one-third slower than regular VOA English. Online texts, MP3s and podcasts let people read, listen and learn American English and much more. http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ http://learningenglish.voanews.com/archive/learningenglish-programs-radio-people-inamerica/latest/978/1578.html
18. Eviews
eViews has been designed for ESL to hear authentic English speakers in “natural” conversations. Interviews are recorded at a natural speed, are not scripted, and are spoken by “real” people, not actors. Students are able to practice hearing and understanding native English speakers in a wide range of accents; English, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, etc. http://www.eviews.net/ http://www.eviews.net/1349/
19. Tefltunes
ESL and EFL teachers thinking about using songs and lyrics to teach English grammar. Includes worksheet and teacher notes for each song. http://www.tefltunes.com/search/searchall.aspx?name=public
20. Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
Bank of ESL listening activities. The sound clips have pre and post-listening exercises, and comprehension questions too. Most of the content would suit low-to-high intermediate students, but there are some resources for beginners and advanced learners too. http://esl-lab.com
21. Scholastic
Offers teacher resources including student activities, computer lab favorites, interactive whiteboard activities, new teacher support, daily starters, Everything you need for: lesson plans, planning calendar, printables, mini-books, and more. http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/animal_moves_activity/ http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/nina/home/
22. BrainPop
BrainPOP ESL uses lively, engaging content to teach English to ESL’s. Lessons are built around animated movies and supporting features that reinforce vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, reading comprehension, and writing skills. New concepts are couched in everyday situations, adding context for learners and helping them master idiomatic and cultural nuances. Versatile and easy to use, BrainPOP ESL assumes no prior knowledge of English, and effectively addresses diverse learning styles. http://www.brainpop.com/free_stuff/ http://www.brainpopesl.com/level1/unit1/lesson1/
23. Storyline
Online streaming video program featuring Screen Actors Guild members reading children’s books aloud. Each book includes accompanying activities and lesson ideas. http://www.storylineonline.net/
24. Abcfastphonics
This program presents the basics of phonics, including rules for vowels, consonants, and blends along with practice pages. Young children and other beginning readers of all ages can navigate the site just by using the hand buttons. Click and hear the sound of each alphabet letter, consonants, vowels long and short, rules, common words, and more. http://www.abcfastphonics.com/ http://www.abcfastphonics.com/letter-names.html
READING
25. GCFLearnFree
GCFLearnFree helps improve English vocabulary with their Reading program. Fun activities and videos will help you master 1,000 common English words. Reading and listening to texts will improve your ability to speak, read, and understand English. You can even choose your native language to learn English! http://www.gcflearnfree.org/learnenglish http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/play/2
26. American English
American English is a resource center for teaching and learning about American English language and culture. This website provides a variety of engaging materials and resources for teachers’ professional development and for students in the classroom. Both teachers and students will find new ways to practice English and learn more about the United States. http://americanenglish.state.gov/materials-learning-english http://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/build-fire-and-other-stories#child-360
27. Scribd
This bank of “did they really happen?” stories has a good selection of offbeat reads about topics like animal heroism and dumb burglars. The content reminds me of Reader’s Digest; it’s nothing groundbreaking, but the mass appeal is great for structuring classroom activities. Some stories have a good deal of supplementary exercises for students. Reading articles with vocabulary and follow up questions. http://www.scribd.com/ http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/117748668?access_key=key-25kb6t3j5d1rroeh65nt
28. British Council Learn English Teen
This website is sponsored by the British council and it is for teenagers. The website is divided into English skills practices, grammar and vocabulary, exams, free time, and magazines. http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/ http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/english-skills-practice/read-your-level/la-skaters-interviewlevel-1
29. Starfall
You can teach children to read with phonics. Systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). http://www.starfall.com/ http://www.starfall.com/n/comics/lemonade-girl/load.htm?f
30. PBS Teachers
Free Resources for Teaching & Learning for preK-12. Here you’ll find classroom materials suitable for a wide range of subjects and grade levels, thousands of lesson plans, teaching activities, on-demand video assets, and interactive games and simulations. These resources are correlated to state and national educational standards. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7873/preview/
31. Colorincolorado
Colorín Colorado is a free web-based service that provides information, activities and advice for educators and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners. http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/ http://www.colorincolorado.org/webcasts/reading/
32. Scholastic
Offers teacher resources including student activities, computer lab favorites, interactive whiteboard activities, new teacher support, daily starters, Everything You Need for, lesson plans, planning calendar, printables, mini-books and more. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/spanish1.htm
33. Readinglesson
Lessons, stories to read, coloring sheets, and games. http://www.readinglesson.com/
34. Sesame Street Sesame workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. Our projects bring critical lessons in literacy & numeracy, emotional well being, health & wellness, and respect and understanding to children in over 150+ countries. http://www.sesamestreet.org/home http://www.sesamestreet.org/games#media/game_955a4838-3ce1-4029-99f6-e983a3654419
35. Children’s Story Books Online
Illustrated children’s stories for kids of all ages http://www.magickeys.com/books/ http://www.magickeys.com/books/noblegnarble/index.html
36. Free Reading
Free Reading is a high-quality, open-source, free reading intervention program addressing literacy development. Includes a library of lessons in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. The site is also filled with free, downloadable supplemental materials including flashcards, graphical organizers, illustrated readers, decodable texts, audio files, videos and more. http://www.free-reading.net/ http://www.free-reading.net/index.php?title=Introduce_th
37. Oxfordowl
With over 250 free e-books, Oxford Owl is a free website built to help you with your child’s learning, It is full of great support for reading and math. Extended to provide practical advice and top tips up to age 11 to help you support your child’s reading all the way through their primary school years. Special Kids’ barn area jam-packed with games and fun activities to make reading more fun. http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Reading/ http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/EBooks/Big_Game_Adventure/
ELT Resources: WRITING
38. PaperRater
This website can be an aid for the students to develop their English writing. The site shows most of the grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Also, it evaluates the word choice and then gives the writer an estimated grade. http://www.paperrater.com/
39. Study Zone
The Study Zone is for students of the English Language. The English-language lessons and practice exercises are created by teachers. The site is designed to support our adult English-language learners. http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/ http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/2cond.htm
40. Academic English Café
Learn English online at your own pace in the Academic English Cafe! English language quizzes on grammar and writing topics, practice with real academic vocabulary, read model essays on many academic topics, listen to authentic English language programs. Quizzes, writing, essays, handouts, and lessons. http://www.academicenglishcafe.com/index.html http://www.academicenglishcafe.com/writing-quiz-1.html
41. John Fleming’s ESL Grammar help
College professor’s writing lab. http://faculty.deanza.edu/flemingjohn/stories/storyReader$22
42. Readwritethink
Provides educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials. In this writing section you will find lesson plans, student interactive, calendar activities, and printouts. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/ http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/bear-poem-composing-performing835.html
43. TeacherTube
An online community for sharing instructional videos. Educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. Provides anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. Teachers can also post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill. http://teachertube.com/ http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=25156
44. Hubforteachers
The Hub, a new destination dedicated to bringing kids and families together, is partnering with Discovery Education to support teachers with comprehensive lesson plans, activities and a writing contest to inspire storytelling in the classroom. http://hubforteachers.discoveryeducation.com/storytelling-in-classroom/ http://hubforteachers.discoveryeducation.com/media/pdf/sensory-details.pdf
45. Discovery Education
Provides high quality, dynamic, digital content, interactive lessons, real time assessment, virtual experiences with some of Discovery’s greatest talent, classroom contest & challenges, professional development and more – Discovery is leading the way in transforming classrooms and inspiring learning. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/index.cfm?campaign=flyout_teachers http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp
46. British Council Learn English Kids
This website is sponsored by the British council and it is for kids. The website is divided into six main sections, kids games, listen and watch, read and write, make, speak and spell, and grammar. http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/ http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/word-games/make-the-sentences/letter-santa
47. Scholastic Offers teacher resources including student activities, computer lab favorites, interactive whiteboard activities, new teacher support, daily starters, Everything you need for: lesson plans, planning calendar, printables, mini-books and more. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/
Level: Pre- Intermediate, Intermediate Time:20-30min Skills:Speaking, Listening, Vocabulary Topic: Travel, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Game of Thrones PDF version for easy printing:ESL Conversation Lesson Game Of Thrones And Traveling
ESL VIDEO LESSON PLAN: GAME OF THRONES AND TRAVELING
