Activity Ideas for One-on-One ESL Tutoring

Tips for Conversation Lessons / Oral Practice

Many students who hire an English tutor are looking for a chance to improve their conversation skills. They insist that they don't wish to work on grammar or vocabulary but rather, they simply want the opportunity to sit for an hour each week and speak with a native English speaker. This, (as anyone who's tutored English before will know well), is an English tutor's worst nightmare. What, no textbook? No grammar exercises? How am I supposed to fill an entire hour with aimless chitchat? What in the world will we talk about week after week?

This site has a never-ending list of hundreds upon hundreds of conversation questions, grouped by category. Everything from aliens to dating to tsunamis. You can use the questions as discussion questions as a follow up to reading a newspaper or magazine article or as conversation starters to use as fillers at the beginning or end of the lesson. I usually like to dictate the questions, because it provides listening and spelling practice and then I have the student repeat after me as I read them out loud, in order to insure proper pronunciation.

* * * *
What to Do For the First Lesson

Get-To-Know-You Games

Getting to know each other and putting the student at ease are the two biggest goals of the first lesson. Here are some excellent "getting to know each other games" that are ideal for tutoring one-on-one.

• Two Truths and A Lie

- You and the student each write down two true statements about yourselves and one lie.

For Example:

I like to surf.

I've lived in Germany.

My favorite singer is Britney Spears.

- After you've each read aloud your three statements, you then take turns guessing which one is the lie.

* It provides in excellent starting point for a conversation. You really did that? That's my favorite singer, too! etc.

• Name Pictures (Best used with children but can be used with open-minded adults)

- Give child a piece of paper and some crayons. Tell him / her to write their name on the page and then draw pictures of their favorite sports, food, movies, hobbies, etc. (a basketball, a pizza, a cat...)

- While the child is drawing, you draw a name picture for yourself as well. Then present your picture to the child, modeling and highlighting the correct forms: "My favorite color is..." or "I like to play..." and then give the child a turn.

* This can also be way to evaluate the child's language abilities. Test their knowledge by asking questions. What color is your dog? How old is he? Where did you buy him? How long have you had him? etc.

Evaluation Language Abilities

The following exercise is a quick and easy way to evaluate a student's skill and level. It's far better than any written diagnostic test because it requires no preparation time.

• Draw a Picture!

- Determine ahead of time what picture you are drawing and then draw one in front of the student. I like to draw a city or suburban scene, (a house, a woman, a tree, car, etc.) adding as many details as possible.

- Then ask the student to describe the picture. Ask questions if needed. What do you see? Where is the woman? What is that?

- By asking questions of varying degrees of difficulty (Where do you imagine the woman will go? Where is she coming from?) you can develop a sense of the student's abilities and level.

* * * *

Don't Bother Buying A Textbook

Textbooks are expensive. And you'd need to buy at least three (one for beginners, intermediate and advanced students). And then you'd have to spend hours photocopying pages for your students to take home for homework. That's a waste of valuable money and time.

You can print out ready-made handouts online, for FREE. Both of these sites provide user-friendly printables.

ESL Party Land

The Internet TESL Journal