Oral Skills

Speaking and communicating in English is the purpose of studying the language.
Students feel most accomplished when they are able to speak in English. However, getting students to speak in English class is often a challenge. Many learners hesitate to talk in class because they have a lot of anxiety about making mistakes, especially in front of their peers. For this reason, it is important for teachers to plan activities that encourage learners to interact and relieve the pressure they often feel to speak perfectly. Here you will find fun ideas to get students talking in the English language classroom.

Grades and main subjects in curriculum

Grade
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Activities

Speaking Projects

Detailed projects on 5 levels, from beginners to advanced. Each level offers 3 choices of topics

Speaking Posters

Boys | Girls

Five posters on different topics. Each poser includes basic questions and answers

Time to Talk

Speaking practice workbook with five different topics: My family and I, My Hometown, My School, Friendship, Music

Jeopardy: Conversation Starters (6th-8th Grades)

A game to practice speaking, engage in personal conversations and express likes, dislikes and preferences.
PowerPoint | PDF

Hit the Target: Answering Basic Questions (3rd-5th Grades)

A game to practice speaking, engage in short, personal conversations, give basic personal information and answer basic questions
PowerPoint | PDF

Hit the Target: Answering Questions (6th-8th Grades)

A game to practice speaking skills and express opinion and preferences.
PowerPoint | PDF

Spinning Wheel: Answering Basic Questions(4th-6th Grades)

A game to practice speaking and give basic personal information.answer basic questions
PowerPoint | PDF

Spinning Wheel: Speaking about Feelings (7th-8th Grades)

A game to paractice speaking about feelings
PowerPoint | PDF

Flash: Conversational Phrases (4th-6th Grades)

A game to practice receptive and productive knowledge of conversational phrases and chunks from the pre-band.
PowerPoint | PDF

Snakes and Ladders (5th-8th Grades)

Two board games of Snakes and Ladders to practice speaking.

Name Three (5th-8th Grades)

Board games to practice vocabulary and speaking.

Chants and Songs

Chants (3rd-5th Grades)
Simple chants for elementary learners to promote speaking.

Beginners Speak: Speaking Program for Beginners (3rd-5th Grades)
A speaking program for beginners which includes seven units on basic topics of interest for young learners.

Simple Chants (3rd-5th Grades)
Simple chants for elementary learners, including step-by-step teaching instructions.

Breakfast, Chocolate, Lunch (3rd-5th Grades)
Chanukah (3rd-5th Grades)
Boys | Girls (English Version) | Girls (Yiddish Version)
Colors (3rd-5th Grades)
Boys | Girls
Let's Count (3rd-5th Grades)
Boys | Girls
Days of the Week (3rd-5th Grades)
Boys | Girls
Good Morning (3rd-5th Grades)
Boys | Girls
The Sun is Shining (3rd-5th Grades)
Boys | Girls

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Speaking Activities & Teaching Ideas

Elemenatary Level

Categories Game (5th-8th grades)

A game in which players think of as many items in as many categories as they can.

Guess Who? (5th-8th grades)

Learners write about themselves and listen for details as their classmates speak.

Fill in Drill (5th-8th grades)

A speaking drill activity for coaxing shy students into speaking in a reassuring context. .

Switch Sides (5th-8th grades)

An activity in which students listen to statements and switch sides if the statement applies to them.Then they tell the student standing next to them a little more about themselves.

Find What's Inside the Mystery Box & Find Someone Who… (5th-8th grades)

Two fun activities that encourage learners to speak.

True or False (5th-8th grades)

A simple listening and speaking activity in which students listen to three sentences and discern which one is false.

Speaking and Listening Activities for Distance Learning (5th-8th grades)

Six listening activities that require very little preparation.
Two speaking activities that require very little preparation.

Making Speaking Fun (6th-8th grades)

Two fun activities to get students talking in the English language classroom

Intermediate Level

Listen-Speak-Write (8th grade)

Students watch two story movies, re-tell one of the stories to each other and then compare and contrast the stories.
The Pack of Cookies - a clip by Torah-box. Downloaded with permission from www.torah-box.com
The Girl on The Bus - a clip by Torah-box. Downloaded with permission from www.torah-box.com

Jokes and Riddles (7th-8th grades)

A list of jokes and riddles to encourage oral speach.

Chain Story (7th-8th grades)

An activity in which each member of the group picks out one object from a bag of interesting objects and together they create a story by using these objects.

Unusual Presents (7th-8th grades)

An activity to practice speaking, thanking and explaining.

Getting to Know You (Icebreakers) (7th-8th grades)

A list of icebreakers to encourage oral speach.
Bingo Game

This or That (7th-8th grades)

A simple talking activity in which players choose which of two items they prefer o which of two scenarios they’d rather do.

Headbands (7th-8th grades)

Everyone in the group knows what's on the student's forehead except himself. The other students describe the item to the person who has that item on their forehead.