Fluency Worksheets for Teaching ESL
These printable worksheets were developed for intermediate English language learners to practise fluency skills. Each set of materials can be used for a single lesson or as part of a lesson, depending on time and student ability. I have designed them to be adaptable to larger lesson plans and to fit around relevant newspaper/magazine articles. Feel free to use any of the materials for non-commercial purposes and to adapt them to suit your classroom needs.
The worksheets are in PDF form, so to view, save and print them you will need Adobe Acrobat.
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Click on the contents list to go to the handouts you want to see, or scroll down for the full list.
Contents:
- Cats and Dogs
- Cartoons
- Marriage
- Soap Operas
- The United Kingdom
- Going to Scotland
- Making a Hotel Reservation
- Checking into a Guest House
- Theme Parks
- Analysing Advertisements
- Making a Radio Commercial
- Who Would You Send Into Space?
- Toys
Please note that for the Analysing Advertisements worksheet you will need some paper adverts cut out of magazines and newspapers.
Fluency Worksheets
Cats and Dogs
Cartoons
Marriage
Soap Operas
The United Kingdom
Going to Scotland
Making a Hotel Reservation
Checking into a Guest House
Theme Parks
Analysing Advertisements
Who Would You Send Into Space?
Toys
Are you a cat person or a dog person? Almost everyone will have a definite response to this question! There are three worksheets in this set. Students brainstorm adjectives to describe cats and dogs, carry out a class survey and a "Find Someone Who...?" activity, then write down reasons for both liking and disliking cats and dogs. I found these worksheets to be useful, in a simple way, for students to think objectively on issues they felt strongly about. I don't like dogs myself, but why might other people be dog lovers?
Cats and Dogs Worksheets in PDF form
Most people have a favourite cartoon character. This set consists of two worksheets. The first is a "Find Someone Who...?" activity based on cartoons and cartoon characters. You may want to change the cartoon character names if there are particular ones your students are more familiar with. The second worksheet has open discussion questions on the theme of cartoons.
Cartoon Worksheets in PDF form
Weddings and marriage can be a good trigger for a discussion, especially if there are a mixture of nationalities in the class. This is a single worksheet with questions about getting married and wedding customs in the student's home country. When I used this worksheet, I would try and team together two people from different countries, have them interview each other and then, at the end of the lesson, have everyone report back to the class.
Marriage Worksheet in PDF form
Love or hate soap operas, most people are familiar with them. This is a single worksheet with questions about favourite and least favourite shows, and students discuss the ingredients of a good soap opera. I used it as a warm-up activity for a lesson based around a taped scene from The Bold and The Beautiful, and then a project in which students created their own soap opera scene.
Soap Opera Worksheet in PDF form
You might be doing a project or activity on UK and want to find out how much students know, or maybe you teach in UK and want to test the extent of your class's knowledge! This worksheet has basic general knowledge questions about the UK. I used it as a quiz and would divide the class into teams. The first team to get the right answer scored a point. For scorecards, see my useful stuff for teachers page.
United Kingdom Worksheet in PDF form
These two worksheets form an information gap activity in which A is the travel agent and B is the tourist. Worksheet A has a summary of information on guest houses and various places to visit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Worksheet B summarises the tourist's requirements and has a mini-diary for her to plan her stay. The problem I have found with this activity is that Worksheet A has more text than Worksheet B and is more difficult and time-consuming for student A to read. To get around this, I would ask everyone in the class to read Worksheet A initially, and do comprehension questions based on it, before going on to the information gap activity. Alternatively, in a mixed ability class, I tried to team together higher and lower level students and gave them the worksheet that matched their ability.
Going to Scotland Worksheets in PDF form
In these two information gap worksheets, A is the receptionist at a hotel in Melbourne, Australia, and B is a holidaymaker. Each has information to study, then B calls A to make a reservation at the hotel. There is space on each worksheet for students to note down the questions they might be asked or might need to ask.
Making a Hotel Reservation Worksheets in PDF form
Watch out! Student A is an extremely fussy potential guest at a B&B in Adelaide, Australia. Student B is the receptionist at this strict establishment. This is another set of information gap activity worksheets. Each student has information to study, then A checks in to B's guest house. Each must negotiate for his/her particular requirements to be met. You might want to change some of the information here because the reference to camera film is a bit dated! At the bottom of each worksheet is a shorter information gap activity on booking a train ticket, where the roles reverse and B is the customer.
Checking into a Guest House Worksheets in PDF form
This is a set of four worksheets based on the topic of theme parks and could span over several lessons or form a class project. The first worksheet has questions on theme parks for a general discussion, and the other three involve pairs of students planning their own theme park, rides and layout etc.
I taught many classes using these worksheets over the years and found that students either loved this lesson or were bored stiff by it. I think it depends on the particular class's interests. Not everyone is interested in theme parks, but those who were produced some wonderful ideas and finished projects.
Theme Park Worksheets in PDF form
For this set of two worksheets you will need adverts cut from newspapers and magazines. Allow at least one paper advert per pair of students. Students analyse the pictures, colours, slogans etc of the advert, and discuss what could be improved about it. Then they work together to create a new and improved advert for the product.
Analysing Advertisements Worksheets in PDF form
A teacher I worked with in Japan came up with this activity for making a radio commercial. This is a single worksheet, which could be used as an extension of the Analysing Advertisements lesson. Students work in pairs to choose a product to advertise, then analyse the product and make a spoken commercial for it. A language lab could be used to record these commercials and then play them back to the class.
Making a Radio Commercial Worksheet in PDF form
These two worksheets involve a variation on a balloon debate. In this case, an ambassador from Earth must be chosen to meet aliens from outer space. Students work in groups to discuss which person from Earth, living or dead, would make the best ambassador. The examples I have written on the form now look quite old-fashioned. Different people could be used or the spaces left blank for students to choose their own candidates.
Who Would You Send Into Space? Worksheets in PDF form
This is a single worksheet with open discussion questions about toys and favourite childhood games. I used this in upper-intermediate classes as a warm-up activity before students read a magazine article on spoilt kids with too many toys.