“I think these English classes are a waste of time and money. We don’t get to practice speaking enough.”
I overheard a student say that in the hallway between classes. Thankfully, not MY student, but still. Ouch.
Here’s the thing. After doing a mental review of my own grammar classes, I realized I was part of the problem. My classroom sounded like this: pages turning, pencils scratching on paper, the occasional sigh, and my voice. Lots and lots of my voice.
Students sat there. I talked. They listened. They filled out exercises in their books. I checked their answers. We moved on. Rinse and repeat for the entire class.
And look, I get it. In an Intensive English Program, you’re racing against the clock. You have to get students through required material at what feels like warp speed. So of course we default to the most short-term, time-efficient method possible. Explicit instruction. Teacher talks, students absorb, students practice on paper, teacher corrects. It makes sense when you’re trying to cram months of grammar into weeks.
But here’s what was happening in my classroom.
The Silent Tension You’re Probably Missing
I had students bursting at the seams with the desire to TALK. Students from oral cultures who were practically vibrating with frustration because everything in grammar class was learned by listening, reading, and writing. They flew thousands of miles and paid thousands of dollars to be immersed in an English-speaking environment, and they were on mute for much of the day.
But not all of them were like that. Some were glued to their books, churning out finished exercises almost faster than I could assign them, wanting MORE exercises and requesting worksheets because we were moving so slowly (in their minds) through the material.
Two completely different frustrations. Same classroom. But also the same problem.
They ALL needed more speaking practice. Even the ones (especially the ones?) who thought they just needed more book exercises.
No wonder our students struggled to speak to local citizens outside of class. We were training them to be really good at filling in blanks on paper while sitting silently in rows.
But Grammar Class Is For Grammar
Some teachers protest this, and they’re not wrong. Grammar class has objectives. Speaking isn’t usually part of those objectives. Students need to learn gerunds and infinitives and present perfect and all the rest of it.
But what if the students who want speaking opportunities are ALSO right?
Here’s what I figured out: you can teach grammar AND give students speaking practice. You don’t have to blow up your curriculum or add hours to your day. You just need speaking activities centered on whatever grammar concept makes up that day’s lesson.
I’m not talking about having students read worksheet sentences aloud or complete exercises orally. That’s just worksheets with sound.
I’m talking about interaction…you know, of the verbal conversation variety by using the language they’re supposedly learning.
An Activity That Saved My Grammar Classes
One of my go-to speaking activities became Find Someone Who. Before you roll your eyes and tell me that’s too basic for your advanced students or too hard for your beginners, hear me out.
This activity is exceptionally versatile for differentiation. You can scale it up or down depending on what your students can handle, which means you can use the SAME activity with that mixed-level class you’re pretending is leveled.
Let’s say you’re teaching present perfect. Here’s how it goes.
For lower-level students: Give them a game page with the questions written out exactly as they should ask them. Instead of “Find someone who enjoys cooking,” put the model question right there: “Do you enjoy cooking?” They read the questions to classmates and collect names. For students still getting comfortable with the structure, that’s challenging enough. They’re speaking, they’re interacting, and they’re using the grammar in context instead of just circling answers on a page.
For mid-level students: Give them only part of the questions. “Find someone who would love _____ (take) a nap today.” They have to complete the question themselves (in this case, adding “to take”), either orally when speaking with someone or by writing it first and THEN asking orally. Same activity, more cognitive load.
For advanced students: Here’s my secret ingredient. Add a “More Information” column to the game page. Leave it completely open. No guidance on what information they should get or how they should ask for it. This invariably sparks conversation between students. I’ve seen it be the icebreaker that creates friendships.
“Do you enjoy waking up early?”
“No, I hate waking up early!”
“Me too! What else do you hate doing in the morning?”
And suddenly they’re having a real conversation about sleep habits and daily routines, all while practicing gerunds and infinitives. That’s the goal, right?
Here’s What It Looked Like in My Classroom That First Time
The first time I tried this with a gerunds and infinitives lesson, I was nervous. We’d spent the first 30 minutes on explicit instruction and worksheet practice (because yes, those things still have their place). Then I handed out the Find Someone Who activity.
Rania stood up immediately, game page in hand, ready to interrogate her classmates. Liang looked confused and stayed glued to his seat until I physically walked him through the first question. Mateo and Ari ended up in a corner having what looked like a venting session about how much they both hated getting up early.
Was it controlled? No, not really. Was it noisy? Absolutely. Did every student use perfect gerund and infinitive structures every single time? Hahaha~! Of course not.
But they were TALKING. They were laughing. They were correcting each other, and they were using the language.
The room went from silent scritch-scratch-sigh to buzzing conversation. And when we wrapped up and reviewed the grammar one more time, students had real examples from their conversations to reference. “Oh yeah, like when I asked Abdul if he enjoys cooking!” Suddenly the grammar wasn’t abstract. It was connected to something they’d just experienced.
I’m Not Saying Burn All Your Worksheets
Look, I never switched to teaching grammar entirely through thoughtfully designed and thoroughly engaging speaking activities. That wasn’t realistic. The demands of an IEP are what they are. Students need to hit their TOEFL or IELTS scores, and they need to do it fast. Faster than is often humanly reasonable, actually.
I couldn’t single-handedly change the way a typical IEP functions. The goal is always to get students to the finish line of their choosing as quickly as possible. If they think they can get there faster at another school, we lose them.
But throwing in a speaking activity whenever possible? That’s doable. That’s what I did, and that’s what I’m telling you to do.
Worksheets, drills, repetitive exercises – they have their place. They’re effective. They fill you up and keep you alive. But they don’t nourish your soul, and they sure don’t help students actually USE the language they’re learning.
Making This Fit Your Reality
You don’t need to dedicate an entire class period to speaking activities. You don’t need to throw out your curriculum or your textbook exercises.
Just find 15-20 minutes. Do it after you’ve taught the concept, after they’ve practiced on paper, but before they leave. (Unless, of course, it’s a linguistic investigation activity. Then start with that.)
Give them a reason to stand up, move around, and talk to each other using the grammar structure you just taught. It doesn’t have to be Find Someone Who (though I’ve got free game sheets for gerunds and infinitives if you want them). It can be any activity that gets them interacting.
The students who are desperate to speak will finally get to practice. The students who think they just need more book time will discover they can’t USE what they’ve been studying away from a pencil and piece of paper. And you’ll stop hearing nothing but your own voice echoing around a silent classroom.
Your students will connect the grammar to communication. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll stop complaining that English class is a waste of time and money.
The Bottom Line
Grammar class should include grammar instruction. OBviously. But if your students are sitting silently for the entire class, filling out exercises without ever opening their mouths, something’s off. Throw in a speaking activity that reinforces whatever you’re teaching. Scale it to meet your students where they are. Let them use the language instead of just studying it.
Your classroom will get louder…and that’s a good thing.
That’s it from me. See you in the next post!
Want to try this in your classroom?
Sign up to get my free Find Someone Who game page for gerunds and infinitives – it includes differentiation options so you can use it with your entire mixed-level class.
