5 Remote-Friendly ESL Speaking Activities for Online Classes

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 Remote-Friendly ESL Speaking Activities for Online Classes

When you can't put learners in pairs back-to-back, you need activities that work on a video call. Each of these is built for the constraints of online: screen fatigue, lag, audio quality, and the temptation for students to mute themselves.

R1. Show and Tell — Webcam Edition

Level: A2+ · Time: 10 min · Prep: Learners bring one object

How it works: Each learner holds an object up to the camera. The class has 30 seconds to ask questions (what is it, where did you get it, why is it special). The owner answers. Move to the next person.

The lesson: Object description, possessives (it's my grandmother's), and the specific challenge of describing something through a camera.

R2. The Interview — Round Robin

Level: B1+ · Time: 15 min · Prep: A list of 5 unusual questions

How it works: In breakout rooms of 2, learners interview each other with the same 5 questions. After 5 minutes, the teacher reassigns pairs. Each round, they share one thing they learned about their previous partner.

The lesson: The reporting step (my previous partner, Marina, told me that she…) is the lesson. It forces accurate third-person reporting, which is a B1+ skill that often stays weak.

R3. Mute-Unmute Storytelling

Level: A2+ · Time: 12 min · Prep: None

How it works: In a group of 4, one person starts a story. They can speak for 30 seconds max. Then they mute themselves, and the next person unmutes and continues. The story must be coherent.

The lesson: Connected speech, and then, suddenly, after that, because of that, finally. The 30-second rule prevents one person from dominating.

R4. The Chat Box Conversation

Level: B1+ · Time: 18 min · Prep: A controversial statement

How it works: Pairs in breakout rooms. One person can only speak. The other can only type in the chat box. They must have a 10-minute conversation on the statement.

The lesson: The asymmetry is the lesson. The speaker practices clarity and connection, the typer practices precision and conciseness. The constraint reveals what each person is weak at.

R5. Whiteboard Story

Level: B2+ · Time: 25 min · Prep: None

How it works: Pairs in breakout rooms with a shared whiteboard (Miro, Google Jamboard, etc.). They take turns writing one word at a time on the whiteboard to build a story. The teacher can drop in and observe.

The lesson: Collaborative storytelling under time pressure, and the negotiation language that emerges (no, the next word should be, I think, actually, that's a good idea).
---

Looking for more activities? Back to The Ultimate Guide to 50 ESL Conversation Activities for Adult Learners.