This guide is part of our master collection: The Ultimate Guide to 50 ESL Conversation Activities for Adult Learners. Bookmark the main page to access all 50 activities.

Overview of 5 Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Adult Beginners (A1–A2)

Adult beginners are the hardest to teach with conversation activities. The grammar they have is small; the temptation to default to drilling is huge. These five activities work with A1–A2 learners and produce real speaking without overwhelming them.

46. Picture Dictation

Level: A1 · Time: 15 min · Prep: A simple picture (a kitchen, a park, a street scene)

How it works: Pairs. Student A has the picture. Student B has a blank piece of paper. A describes the picture, B draws it. They cannot show each other. After 5 minutes, they compare.

The lesson: The language of description (there's, on the left, in the middle, behind, next to, it's wearing, it looks like). Beginners need this scaffolded vocabulary before they can describe anything.

47. True or False — Personal

Level: A1–A2 · Time: 10 min · Prep: None

How it works: Each learner writes 3 true sentences and 1 false sentence about themselves (I have a sister, I like coffee, I can swim, I live in an apartment). In pairs, they read them and the partner guesses which is false.

The lesson: Personal information, but interesting personal information. Beginners usually only practice the boring My name is / I'm from sentences. This gets the same grammar into play but in a way that generates real conversation.

48. The Memory Chain

Level: A1–A2 · Time: 12 min · Prep: None

How it works: Whole class stands in a circle. The first person says I went to the market and I bought an apple. The next person repeats it and adds one item. The chain grows. Anyone who forgets has to start over.

The lesson: Past simple, articles (an apple, a banana), and the rhythm of connected speech. Beginners hear the same sentence many times — that's the repetition they need.

49. Same or Different

Level: A1 · Time: 12 min · Prep: 6 pairs of pictures

How it works: Pairs look at a pair of pictures (a man and a woman with similar clothes, a kitchen and a kitchen with one item changed). They have to find 5 differences. The output: in this picture, the man is wearing a blue shirt. In that picture, the man is wearing a red shirt.

The lesson: This/that, is wearing, has got, there is/are. Beginners can do this. The grammar emerges from the task, not the other way around.

50. Storyboard

Level: A1–A2 · Time: 20 min · Prep: A 4-panel comic strip with the words removed

How it works: Groups of 3 receive a 4-panel comic with no words. They have 10 minutes to write what the characters are saying in each panel, then perform the scene. The lesson: he says, she says, then he says, finally she says.

The lesson: Reported speech and direct speech. Beginners rarely get to perform English, and the performance is what cements the language in long-term memory.
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Looking for more activities? Back to The Ultimate Guide to 50 ESL Conversation Activities for Adult Learners.

5 Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Adult Beginners (A1–A2)