No-prep ESL speaking games for adults: 7 classroom activities

A good speaking game for adults is less about winning points than about a real exchange of ideas: learners tell their own experiences, give opinions, persuade or solve a problem. The seven activities below need nothing beyond a board and a pen, take 10–20 minutes and each has one language aim. All of them work face to face and in online lessons.

Why games work differently with adults

Adult learners are often wary of making mistakes and losing face in front of others, and they want to know what an activity is for. So stating the aim in one sentence at the start (“Today we'll practise giving opinions”), letting people speak in pairs before the whole group, and dealing with mistakes together at the end rather than during speaking all help participation. To share with learners who feel anxious about speaking, five steps to feel less anxious about speaking English is a good start.

Speed chat and Just a minute: fluency

In Speed chat, learners sit facing each other in two rows. A question goes on the board (“What did you do last weekend?”), pairs talk for two minutes, then one row moves along one seat and a new question begins. The rule is to extend a short answer with at least one detail: not “I went hiking.” but “I went hiking with my sister; it was colder than we expected.” In Just a minute, each learner picks one of the topics on the board (“my job”, “a city I like”, “my morning routine”) and tries to talk for a minute without stopping. The listeners ask one question at the end. Writing time-gaining phrases such as “Let me think…”, “What I mean is…” and “The thing is…” on the board beforehand cuts down long pauses.

Would you rather and Opinion line: giving opinions

In Would you rather, the teacher gives two options (“Would you rather work from home or in an office?”) and learners tell a partner their choice with at least two reasons: “I'd rather work from home because I save time and I can focus better.” In Opinion line, one end of the room is “Strongly agree” and the other “Strongly disagree”. The teacher reads a statement (“Everyone should learn a second language at school.”), learners stand at a point on the line that matches their view and talk first with the person next to them, then with someone from the other end. The activity suits practising softening phrases such as “I see your point, but…”, “I partly agree.” and “It depends on…”.

Desert island and Alibi: deciding together and asking questions

In Desert island, groups imagine they will be stranded on an island. Each learner first writes three things they would take; then the group has to choose only five things from their lists and justify the choice: “We should take a knife because we can use it for food and shelter.” In Alibi, two learners spend five minutes agreeing on what they did together from 7 to 9 pm yesterday and then leave the room. The class, as “police”, prepares questions, and the two “suspects” are questioned separately (“What were you doing at eight o'clock?”, “What was your friend wearing?”). The class looks for differences between the answers. The game uses the past simple and past continuous naturally.

Complaint role-play: a real-life situation

In pairs, one learner is a customer and the other a hotel or shop employee. Three situations go on the board (the air conditioning in the room is not working, an order arrived incomplete, the wrong item was sent). The customer complains politely and asks for a solution (“I'm afraid there's a problem with…”, “Could you possibly…?”); the employee apologises and offers a solution (“I'm sorry about that. We can…”). After two minutes they swap roles. Adults have lived these functional situations, so they see straight away what the activity is for. For a work version, run a short practice interview with the questions in English job interview questions.

After the game: dealing with mistakes together

During the activity the teacher walks around and notes a few incorrect or incomplete sentences without noting who said them. When the game ends, the sentences go on the board and the class corrects them together; one or two well-formed sentences go up as models too. That way nobody is corrected by name, and the correction helps everyone.

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