How to Teach Better Speaking Lessons: Tips for New English Teachers
- Connor O'Donoghue
- Jul 15
- 3 min read
For many English learners, speaking fluently and confidently is the ultimate goal. While reading, writing, and listening matter, most students really want to hold smooth conversations, share ideas, or work in English without freezing up. As a new teacher, maybe fresh off your CELTA, you may wonder how to design speaking lessons that truly help students build both accuracy and fluency.
Why Do English Learners Want to Speak Better?
Speaking is often seen as the “real test” of language learning. For many students, success means:
Joining conversations at work or while travelling
Expressing opinions and feelings confidently
Making friends or building relationships in English
Passing oral exams or job interviews
Unlike most written tasks, speaking happens live. It’s personal, social, and immediate. That makes it both exciting and anxiety-inducing.
What Stops Students from Speaking in Class?
Even motivated learners may hesitate to speak. Here are some key barriers:
Shyness and self-consciousness: Fear of making mistakes in front of peers.
Cognitive overload: Having to translate ideas from their first language and choose words on the spot.
Idea generation pressure: Needing to think of what to say and how to say it.
Lack of confidence: Worrying they “aren’t good enough” yet.
As a teacher, part of your job is to lower these pressures.
How Can Teachers Help Students Speak More?
Here are some handy strategies that you will learn about on CELTA:
Pairwork and group work: Students feel safer practising in small groups than in open class.
Clear models: Give examples (your own or a recording) before asking students to speak.
Lower stakes: Avoid asking students to perform unrehearsed in front of everyone.
Careful pairing: Match students who feel comfortable together.
Purposeful tasks: Give activities with a clear goal, e.g., finding differences, gathering information, solving a puzzle.
Types of Speaking Activities
Controlled practice (focus on accuracy) Examples: drills, mingles, “find someone who”, information gaps. These activities are focused on specific language points and often have right/wrong answers.
Freer practice (focus on fluency) Examples: debates, role plays, discussions, personal stories. These encourage creativity and spontaneity and build confidence using language in real contexts.
What Makes a Good Speaking Prompt?
To generate rich speaking, prompts should be:
Engaging: Interesting or surprising images, questions that relate to real life, problem scenarios.
Clear: Students know what they are being asked to do.
Supportive: Prompt cards, key phrases, or example answers help students get started.
Pre-, During-, and Post-Speaking Activities
Before speaking: Brainstorm ideas, review useful language, listen to a model (audio or video), read a short text for ideas.
During speaking: Monitor discreetly, note interesting language and errors, keep tasks time-bound.
After speaking: Provide feedback, both on language (correcting or upgrading) and content (reacting to what was said).
Remember, many students value content feedback (reacting to their ideas) just as much as language correction.
Why Feedback Matters
Effective speaking lessons combine:
Reactive language focus: Noticing gaps in students’ language and teaching useful words or phrases.
Content feedback: Showing genuine interest in students’ stories or opinions to build motivation.
When students feel heard as people, not just learners, they often become braver speakers.
Final Thoughts
Speaking lessons are where learners often feel most vulnerable — but also where they can make the most meaningful progress. As you continue teaching after CELTA, experiment with balancing accuracy and fluency, supporting students before they speak, and valuing both their language and their voices.
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Dr Connor O'Donoghue hails from Ireland and he started teaching English as a foreign language in Poland in 2003 and he became a CELTA trainer in 2008. He has taught and trained in Ireland, the UK, France, Italy, Slovenia, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. Connor also holds a Masters and a PhD in Education from Trinity College in Dublin. He has previously managed large teacher training centres in Vietnam and in London before founding DC Teacher Training.
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