Speaking and Listening

Source: Pixabay by John Hain (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

In this activity, students use the Internet to gather information and take notes for a presentation about a civil rights leader. Students work individually or in pairs to enter information and images on a Google Slideshow (or other slideshow software) template file and make an oral presentation.

Source: Pixabay by Jim Jorstad (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Students have conversation about favorite places, learn about a United States national monument by watching a video and answering questions, and then select a place in the U.S. to research and present on.

Source: Unsplash by S'well (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Students choose a destination for a dream vacation, research a destination, transportation, what to do and see there, and lodging, and then create a simple budget. They then present their vacation in a slideshow to the class. 

Source: Pixabay by Sergei Tokmakov (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Students engage in conversation about the environment, practice listening comprehension by watching a video and answering questions, read an article about the harm of plastics on the environment, brainstorm ways to preserve the natural environment, write a paragraph, and create an inforgraphic based on their ideas.

Flipgrid is an easy-to-use video discussion platform, which has numerous applications in the adult education classroom. In this activity, students post a video response indicating their name and their goal for the class. Students are initially very hesitant and need something very structured and easy to record for their first assignment. Once students are familiar with Flipgrid, you can go on to more complex assignments. ESL students might work in small groups to record a dialog from their textbook. High school students might read a text or view a video and then give their conclusion or opinion of the resource. Flipgrid is a great way to promote critical thinking skills and get your students talking and expressing their ideas and thoughts.

You can ask students to weigh in on critical events in the news; practice and record dialog; give their view of an article, book, or movie; share their favorite poem, or add a YouTube video to your topic and have students respond to its content. It is a great tool for English Language Learners. The short videos encourage students to plan their responses and to speak clearly. They have the opportunity to record their response numerous times until they are satisfied with their post.

Flipgrid works well with any browser, Chromebook, tablet, or mobile device; and integrates well with Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Edmodo, Schoology, and more. Students only need access to a device with a camera and microphone. The Flipgrid app makes it super easy for students to access.

Source: Unsplash by Natalie Pedigo (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Intermediate and advanced students learn about ancient and modern wonders of the world using the online information on the Google Arts and Culture site and other Web sites and then and share what they learn in a jigsaw reading/cooperative learning activity. As an optional follow-up, write a paragraph and/or make an oral presentation about a wonder of the world of their choosing (a museum, building, sculpture, statue, bridge, canal, dam, temple, church, cathedral, castle, or natural wonder or a UNESCO World Heritage Site) located in their native countries or elsewhere.

Source: Pixabay (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Beginning-level ESL students will complete sentence frames about themselves and will write the sentences on their assigned slide on a shared Google Slideshow with the purpose of breaking the ice and creating community in the first week of class.

Source: Carnegie Corporation Great Immigrants Website by Unknown (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Students use the Internet to find and read information about a great immigrant from their native countries or other countires. Using the Carnegie Great Immigrants: The Pride of America Web site, they choose an immigrant, read and take notes about them, and prepare an oral presentation, optionally using the PowerPoint or Google Slides template provided.

Source: Pixabay by OpenClipart-Vectors (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Students watch videos and take notes to learn idioms, practice the idioms in conversation and on an online discussion forum (optionally), and then create a "quiz" for their classmates OR select a new idiom from the video channel or other sites,  create a presentation to teach the class the idiom(s) by creating a PowerPoint or Google Slideshow presentation, writing and performing a dialog, using Web sites to create digital films or comic strips based on dialogs, making an infographic, or making videos.

Source: YouTube Learn English with Speeches by Learn English with Speeches (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Use the any of the video sources for student pronunciation practice. There are several speeches by famous people from around the world. Each video has large subtitles so that students can see the words and develop their vocabulary at the same time as practicing pronunciation and oral presentations.

Source: Pixabay by Scott (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Students will make oral presentations with visual aides to talk about their hometowns. Students practice present and past passive verb forms by talking about their hometowns or birthplaces (It is called..., It is known for..., etc.). For information that is unknown (such as what is produced there), students can use Web sites such as Wikipedia to find the information.

Source: Unsplash by Jon Tyson (License: Creative Commons 1.0)

 

Students use the Internet to find information about the meaning of their first names, write a paragraph with this information and reflect on the personal connotation of their names, and make an oral class presentation.

Source: Pixabay by PublicDomainPictures (License: Creative Commons 1.0)

 

Intermediate and advanced students or students in Citizenship classes learn about national symbols of the United States through jigsaw reading and follow up by writing a paragraph and/or making an oral presentation about national symbols of their native countries (or state/city symbols if the class is relatively homogeneous).

Source: Unsplash by Handiwork NYC (License: Creative Commons 1.0)

 

In this activity, students will use online classified ads to investigate job openings and find housing where they live for someone they know who is hypothetically relocating to their city. Students create a PowerPoint slideshow about the job and salary, the housing and cost, and create a monthly budget.

Source: Pexels by Rene Strgar (License: Creative Commons 4.0)

 

This activity uses prerecorded authentic conversation in which a caller wants to order a pizza. Pre- and post-listening activities are provided along with immediate feedback on comprehension exercises.

Source: Screenshot of Mote extension (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Mote is a Chrome Extension that makes it easy for anyone to add voice notes and feedback to documents, assignments, and emails.

Source: Pixabay by congerdesign (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Students describe clothing in a prepared oral presentation and explain how an outfit is appropriate for a particular event or situation.