New lesson plan: Speaking Class 1: Getting Back into Speaking

Veronica Reyes

Speaking Class 1: Getting Back into Speaking - B1-B2 level

Speaking Class 1: Getting Back into Speaking
B1-B2 level

Materials

No materials added to this plan yet.

Main Aims

Develop students' confidence in spontaneous English conversations.
Improve their ability to initiate, maintain, and extend conversations.
Encourage natural interaction through follow-up questions and active listening.

Subsidiary Aims

Practice conversational expressions and transitions.
Develop fluency without excessive self-correction or translation.
Strengthen relationships among classmates.

Procedure (78-90 minutes)

Warmer/Lead-in (8-10 minutes) • To establish a comfortable speaking environment, introduce course expectations, and encourage students to reflect on their communication strengths and challenges.

Introduce the course objectives and explain that students will practice real-life situations, American culture, storytelling, debates, and problem-solving. Ask: - What is the most difficult part of speaking English for you? - In what situations do you feel most comfortable speaking English? - What is one situation you would like to practice during this course?

Speed Conversations (13-15 minutes) • To develop fluency and spontaneity by engaging students in short conversations with different partners, encouraging them to respond naturally and ask relevant follow-up questions.

Students change partners every three minutes. Conversation topics: 1. What have you been doing lately? 2. What's something exciting you're looking forward to? 3. What's the most interesting place you've visited? 4. What is something you've always wanted to try? 5. What do you usually do to relax after a stressful day? Encourage students to ask at least two follow-up questions before changing partners.

Conversation Strategies (13-15 minutes) • To introduce and practice functional expressions for showing interest, asking for clarification, connecting ideas, and maintaining conversational flow.

Introduce useful expressions: Showing interest - Really? That's interesting! / No way! Asking for details - What happened next? / How come? Connecting ideas - Speaking of which... / That reminds me... Expressing agreement - Exactly! / I couldn't agree more. Clarifying - What do you mean by that? Keeping conversations going - What about you? / How did that turn out? Activity — Keep It Going Students work in pairs. One begins talking about a topic, and the other must keep the conversation going for three minutes using follow-up questions and natural reactions.

Two Truths and a Lie (13-15 minutes) • To strengthen students' questioning skills and active listening by encouraging them to ask detailed questions, interpret responses, and sustain interaction.

Each student writes three statements about themselves: two true and one false. Classmates ask questions to determine which statement is false. Encourage detailed follow-up questions rather than immediate guesses.

Would You Rather? (18-20 minutes) • To develop students' ability to express preferences, justify opinions, provide supporting arguments, and respond appropriately to different perspectives.

Students discuss: - Would you rather live in a big city or a small town? - Would you rather travel alone or with friends? - Would you rather have more money or more free time? - Would you rather work from home or in an office? - Would you rather be famous or extremely wealthy? - Would you rather always tell the truth or always say what people want to hear? For each question, students must explain their preference, provide a reason, and respond to another student's opinion.

Reflection & Feedback (13-15 minutes) • To consolidate the communication strategies practiced during the lesson, raise awareness of recurring language difficulties, and encourage students to identify personal speaking goals.

Have students discuss: - Which activity was the easiest? - What made a conversation difficult? - Which expressions did they use naturally? - What could they do to sound more fluent? Provide delayed feedback on common errors, useful vocabulary, and pronunciation patterns observed during the class.