Activities to Develop Conversation and Oral Communication Skills

Description of the Method

One of the most important conditions for developing foreign language communication is to give students frequent opportunities to speak in a safe and playful environment. The following activities do not primarily focus on recalling grammatical rules accurately. Instead, they encourage students to use their existing vocabulary actively, describe unfamiliar or temporarily forgotten words, express and justify their opinions, and make decisions together.

The activities can be adapted to different language levels. Teachers can adjust the vocabulary on the cards, the time available and the language support provided according to the students’ abilities.

Learning Objectives

The activities develop:

• active vocabulary;

• fluency and continuous speech;

• circumlocution and communication strategies;

• listening comprehension and active listening;

• expressing and supporting opinions;

• cooperation and joint decision-making;

• spontaneous language use;

• confidence in communication.

Activity 1: Guess the Expression

Description of the Activity

The teacher prepares a set of word cards and places them in a box or face down on a table. Each card contains an English word or expression related to the current topic.

One student draws a card and explains the expression to the rest of the class in English without saying the word itself. Students may not translate the expression into their first language or spell it out. The student who guesses the correct answer first draws the next card.

Procedure

1. The teacher explains the rules and demonstrates how to describe a word by giving an example.

2. The first student draws a card.

3. After a short thinking period, the student begins to describe the expression in English.

4. The other students try to guess the answer in English.

5. The student who gives the correct answer draws the next card.

6. The game continues for a predetermined amount of time or until all the cards have been used.

For example, the word thermometer could be described as follows:

It is an object that we use to measure temperature. Doctors sometimes use it when someone is ill.

Useful Language Support

The following sentence starters can be displayed on the board for less confident students:

• It is a thing/person/place that…

• You use it for…

• You can find it in/on/at…

• It looks like…

• It is made of…

• It is similar to…

• It is the opposite of…

• You need it when…

• It is someone who…

These expressions are useful not only during the game. They teach students communication strategies that can help them in real-life situations when they cannot remember a particular word.

Differentiation

With beginner groups, it is advisable to use simple, concrete words such as food, everyday objects, occupations, animals or places. The cards may also include pictures, and students can be provided with useful sentence starters.

More advanced students can describe complex concepts, emotions, verbs or subject-specific terminology. The game can also be made more challenging by adding forbidden words. In this version, each card contains two or three additional words that the student is not allowed to use in the explanation.

In larger classes, students can play in smaller groups so that everyone has more opportunities to speak. If the quickest student always draws the next card, more confident learners may dominate the activity. To avoid this, students can take turns drawing cards while still receiving points for correct answers.

Activity 2: Surviving on a Desert Island

Description of the Activity

Each group of three receives a worksheet containing pictures and English names of various objects. Students must make a joint decision in the following imaginary situation:

You have been shipwrecked and are stranded on a desert island. You can keep only five of the objects shown on the worksheet. Choose the five items that you think are the most important for survival. Discuss the options and justify every decision you make.

The worksheet may contain objects such as:

• an axe;

• a tent;

• a torch;

• a lighter or matches;

• a first-aid kit;

• a knife;

• a flare gun;

• a rope;

• a blanket;

• a compass;

• a map;

• fishing equipment;

• a water purification device;

• a mirror;

• a mobile phone without a charger;

• several bottles of drinking water.

It is useful to include some objects that initially appear valuable but have only limited practical use. This encourages further discussion, comparison and reasoning.

Procedure

1. The teacher introduces the situation, the available objects and the rules.

2. The groups are given a fixed amount of time, for example 8–10 minutes, to discuss their options.

3. Every student must argue for or against at least one item.

4. Each group must agree on the five most important objects.

5. At the end of the discussion, a spokesperson presents the group’s decision to the whole class.

6. The spokesperson not only lists the selected items but also explains why the group considered them important.

7. The other groups can ask questions or compare the decision with their own choices.

The following roles can be assigned within each group of three:

• facilitator: ensures that everyone has an opportunity to express their opinion;

• note-taker and timekeeper: records the group’s decision and monitors the available time;

• spokesperson: presents the group’s choices to the class.

The roles should be rotated during future activities.

Useful Language Support

Students can be provided with expressions that support opinion-sharing and reasoning.

Expressing an opinion:

• I think we should choose…

• In my opinion, the most important item is…

• I would take… because…

• This could be useful for…

Agreeing and disagreeing:

• I agree with you because…

• That is a good point.

• I am not sure I agree.

• I see your point, but…

• I think … would be more useful than…

Making suggestions and reaching a decision:

• What if we choose…?

• We have to decide between … and…

• Which one would be more useful?

• Can we all agree on…?

• Our final choice is…

Further Development of the Activity

After the group presentations, the whole class can also be asked to reach a common decision. Students must select the five most important items from all the suggestions presented. This provides another opportunity to practise reasoning, counterarguments and compromise.

The teacher can also introduce unexpected event cards:

• A storm is approaching.

• One of your chosen items has been damaged.

• A member of the group has been injured.

• There is no fresh water on the island.

• You can see a ship in the distance.

Students must reconsider their previous decisions in light of the new situation. This demonstrates that the usefulness of a particular choice always depends on the circumstances.

Differentiation

Students who require additional support can be given illustrated word cards, a bilingual glossary and sentence starters. The teacher can demonstrate a few model sentences in advance or allow students to prepare brief notes before the discussion.

More advanced students can be expected to:

• provide more detailed reasons for their choices;

• respond to their classmates’ arguments;

• formulate counterarguments;

• suggest compromises;

• use conditional sentences;

• ask questions during the other groups’ presentations.

Assessment

The primary focus of assessment should be the effectiveness of communication. The teacher can observe whether students:

• attempt to communicate in English;

• express their ideas clearly;

• can describe an unfamiliar or forgotten word;

• use the relevant vocabulary appropriately;

• provide reasons for their opinions;

• respond to other students’ ideas;

• listen carefully to their classmates;

• participate in the joint decision-making process.

Corrections should not continually interrupt communication. The teacher can note frequently occurring errors during the activity and discuss them with the class afterwards. This allows students to speak more confidently while still supporting the development of linguistic accuracy.

Conclusion

Both activities are easy to prepare, playful and encourage active student participation. The word-card activity primarily develops vocabulary recall and circumlocution, while the desert-island activity focuses on expressing opinions, reasoning, cooperation and joint decision-making. Students practise communication strategies that they can later apply successfully in real-life foreign language situations.