A selection of English ESL speaking topics printables

CONTAINS MORE IDEAS ABOUT THE VARIOUS CUE CARDS AND ITS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS. STUDENTS CAN GAIN MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THEIR SPEAKING MODULE AND DO THEIR REGULAR PRACTICE.

IELTS SPEAKING TOPICS

Topics to speak about, They are very useful for adults

Speaking topics 1,2,3

Use it to teach students about speaking skills. It's is really useful because it includes many interesting topics, which help students talk about variety topics around their life. 

Speaking topic B1

This worksheet I prepare for teachers teaching English speaking skill for Intermediate up to advanced level. The cards consist of lots of topics that can be discussed in the classroom to make students give their opinions

ENGLISH SPEAKING TOPIC CARDS FOR INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED

Conversation questions provided with examples. 
Questions: 
Family and relatives-
Do you have a big family or a small family? 
Describe one of your relatives. What does he/she look like? 
Talk about your favourite relative. What is he/she like? 
How often do you get together? 

Subjects at school -
Were you a good or bad student? 
What was your favourite subject? 
Were there any subjects you didn't like? 
Did you have a favourite teacher? Describe them. 







Speaking topics: Family & relatives, and Subjects at school

This topic uses the Second Conditional ("If I were - I would") — a key grammar structure at A2-B1 level, great for expressing hypothetical or imaginative situations.

Learners practice words related to technology, creativity, problem-solving, and innovation.
Talking about imaginative ideas boosts confidence and encourages free speaking, not just memorized responses.

Inventing something is fun and helps students talk about their own ideas, which increases motivation and emotional involvement.

It mimics real-life conversations like interviews, brainstorming sessions, or presentations, useful for work or study.

Second Conditional. Speaking Topic. If I Were a Famous Inventor

This worksheet contains 18 conversation cards and a matching exercise. The cards can be cut out if desired and be used as conversation questions. Can be used with both young learners and adults (pre-int to upper-intermediate). Suitable for older teen, university students and adults due to the more serious nature of this topic. 

Let's Talk About Education

Part 2 of the BULATS (Business English) speaking test requires candidates to choose one (from 3) topics and speak for 1 minute. They have 1 minute to choose and prepare, and then one minute to speak. The topic has 3 points which must be included, and one question which must be answered. This document has 20 topic cards that you can print and cut out to practise the activity.  I created them for my (employed) students so they may not be suitable for all candidates, but feel free to adapt the document to suit your own circumstances.  Note that the topics are not taken from past exam papers - they were just invented by me so please do not think that these particular topics will necessarily crop up in the exam. The purpose of the cards is to allow candidates to practise preparing and organising their thoughts quickly and getting familiar with how long one minute feels when they are speaking.

BULATS Speaking Test Part 2 - talk for one minute

This worksheet was created by https://english-portal.com.ua

Winter clothes worksheet with listening reading, speaking   tasks can be used when you deal with the topic " clothes". Find the audio at this link https://english-portal.com.ua/worksheet/Winter_Clothes#topadv 

I am one of the content developers at English Portal. These resources can be used for home learning or in the classroom

Winter clothes worksheet with listening reading, speaking tasks

Here's a boardgame + 45 cards to play with your students. There are mixed questions but you can of course change them in a way that it'll suit your students level. The boardgame is also fully editable. Includes the instructions how to play the game. I hope it's useful for some of you.

Happy teaching!

Boardgame/45 cards

The following cards will help your students develop their speaking skills. Cut the cards, put them face down on the desk, students take the card and must talk nonstop for 1 minute on the given topic.

FOOD - Speaking cards

This worksheet contains 18 conversation cards, a matching exercise and some quotes. The cards can be cut out if desired and be used as conversation questions. Can be used with both young learners and adults (pre-int to upper-intermediate). Suitable for older teen, university students and adults due to the more serious nature of this topic. 

Let's Talk about Beauty

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

251 Speaking topics English ESL worksheets pdf & doc