Get them talking!

‍ Getting students talking is one of the most important parts of language development. The key to this, especially for elementary students, is to make speaking low-pressure, visual and interactive.

One way to do this is to give them conversation cards. Conversation cards typically have some sort of visual picture that students can basically just talk about . Each card, with real-life pictures, contain different questions to ask your learners. These cards can work for all levels —> beginners can use short phrases, sentence starters or single word naming—> intermediate learners can answer in more complete phrases —> advanced levels can expand with details. Not sure where to find them? You can actually purchase my “ESL Conversation Cards” by clicking the link below. These conversations cards are not only great for promoting speaking and oral language, but each set focuses on a different vocabulary theme: animals, clothing, community helpers, places, food, seasons and family. Speaking is the base for reading, writing and listening. When we get students speaking, they are learning new vocabulary, practicing grammar naturally, and building sentence structure. Each theme set can be purchased separately or get a better deal and get the whole bundle!

Another thing I really enjoy doing with my students is just getting them to walk around the school and to have conversations with other adults and students throughout the school. Typically, when I pull a small group, we will go into my room and I'll let the kids think of questions they might want to ask other people. For example one of my students may chose to say “Do you like apples or bananas?” They would then write this on dry erase board or paper. Or I would write it for them so they can do tally marks for what people's responses are. Then we talk about how we would introduce ourselves when walking up to people and how we would thank them afterward for allowing them to ask them a question. So a conversation with someone in the hallway might look like this “Hi my name is Joe. What is your name? Do you like apples or bananas? Thank you, have a nice day”. If this is too difficult just have them ask the question. If you have more advanced students you may expand what they ask other people they approach. I tend to do this activity a lot with students who a little more shy and a little more timid in using the new language they are learning. I've seen a lot of growth with my students who do this. Other teachers have come up to me and said some of these students who never spoken to them before actually came up to them and said good morning or asked them how they were doing. After we go back to my class I have them count their tallies and we use that for another conversation between us. They absolutely love doing this.

A really fun game my students like to play is headbands. You could purchase the game or just make up your own cards for them to use. Basically a student will hold up a card to their forehead that they cannot see. On this card will be a word or a picture of something. The other students have to describe what the picture or word is and get that student holding the card to guess the correct answer. I will occasionally provide sentence starters for my students that I want them to use. For example, “ It has a _______”, “It can ______”, etc.

One thing I always try to remember is to not correct your students consistently when they are talking if they make errors. That can make them feel a little defeated and a little scared to respond. What I try to do is repeat back to them what they said in the correct language. For example if they say “I go to store yesterday,” I would reply to them and say “Oh you went to the store yesterday? That sounds fun” When students are learning a new language, making mistakes is a natural and necessary part of the process. If teachers interrupt students frequently to correct grammar or pronunciation, students may become nervous or afraid to speak. This can lower their confidence and reduce their willingness to participate in conversations.

There are so many ways to get your students talking, but the key is to make it comfortable and safe for them. When students feel relaxed and supported, they are much more willing to participate and try using English. Many English learners are nervous about making mistakes or sounding different from their classmates. If speaking feels stressful or embarrassing, students may choose to stay quiet instead of practicing. Teachers can help by creating a classroom environment where mistakes are seen as a normal part of learning and students feel encouraged rather than judged. Over time, this confidence leads to stronger communication skills and greater success in the classroom.