Speaking Unplugged - 30 Activities for 1-1 English Classes

30 speaking activities for adult 1-1 English classes that require little or no preparation.

Introduction

Like many teachers - I suspect - I used to turn up to my one-to-one classes with a pile of worksheets under my arm. The worst thing that can happen in a one-to-one class is running out of materials, I thought.

And then one day, a private student told me he didn’t enjoy my classes because he felt I was just giving him a series of worksheets to complete.

What he really wanted to do was develop hiscommunicative competence - become a more fluent, versatile, adaptable and confident communicator in English. He looked at the worksheets - exercises written for practising thepresent perfect, adjective & preposition combinations - and said:“These exercises - I can do them and home and check the answers myself.”

Since that fateful class, I changed my approach and ‘unplugged’ my one-to-one lessons.

Speaking Unplugged contains 30 fun and engaging activities that your adult learners will love.

30 Unplugged Activities for One-to-One Classes

1. Know the teacher

2. The Question Generator

3. Two-minute talks

4. TED Talks

5. Gimme the short version!

6. It’s a deal

7. The Yes/No Game

8. Every Picture Tells a Story

9. Liar, Liar! Excuses, Excuses!

10. If only things had been different...

11. Dear teacher, I need your help

12. The Audition

13. A Story before Bedtime

14. Can I have a few minutes of your time, please?

15. Thinking outside of the Box

16. Playing Devil’s Advocate

17. Celebrity Interviews

18. I’m on the phone!

19. The Elevator Pitch

20. The Dinner Party Challenge

21. The Balloon Debate

22. And the Oscar goes to.....

23. Automatic Exclamation

24. Phrasal Verb Swap

25. Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

26. If I Ruled the World

27. Resolving Disputes

28. To Do List

29. Company Policy

30. You’re the Teacher