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Advanced English Conversation Activities and Lesson Plan Ideas

If you’re looking for some lesson ideas for advanced English conversation classes, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for some of the top picks for TEFL classes for higher-level learners.

advanced-esl-conversation-class

Table of Contents

  • Activities and Games for Advanced ESL Lessons
    • #1: Closest in Meaning ESL Reading Activity
    • #2: Dictogloss
    • #3: 67 ESL Conversation Topics for Advanced English Learners
    • #4: Word Association
    • #5: ESL Reading Lesson Plan
    • #6: Information Gap Activities
    • #7: ESL Surveys
    • #8: Business English Vocabulary Builder
    • #9: Future Forms ESL Activities
    • #10: Freeze Group Writing Activity
    • #11: Reported Speech
    • #12: Buy Nothing Day ESL Lesson
    • #13: Advanced English Conversation Dialogues
    • #14: Teaching Collocations
    • #15: Opinion Games and Activities
    • #16: Brochure Scanning Reading Activity
    • #17: 3 Things
    • #18: Find Something in Common
  • ESL Advanced Lesson Plans

Activities and Games for Advanced ESL Lessons

Let’s get into the top activity ideas for advanced ESL classes.

#1: Closest in Meaning ESL Reading Activity

This is a simple reading activity that focuses on meaning. Write one target sentence and then 3 similar ones. However, one should be closer in meaning to the original one than the others. For advanced English classes, this could be very subtle.

Put students into pairs and have them discuss with each other the one they think is the best. Find out more about it:

Closest in Meaning ESL Reading Activity. 

#2: Dictogloss

Try out this challenging listening activity in an advanced ESL class. Find, or write a passage containing the target grammar or vocabulary. Then, put students into pairs and read it out at a faster than normal pace for the level of students.

Students can take notes and then compare them with a partner to try to recreate what they just heard. Repeat the process again and in the end, students compare what they have with the original version.

Sounds interesting? Try it out and I’m sure your students will enjoy it:

Dictogloss ESL Activity.

#3: 67 ESL Conversation Topics for Advanced English Learners

67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More: For English Teachers...
7 Reviews
67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More: For English Teachers...
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Bolen, Jackie (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 144 Pages - 07/12/2020 (Publication Date)
Check Price on Amazon

This is kind of the ultimate book for advanced ESL lessons. You can find questions, writing prompts and a vocabulary challenge around centred around one topic. There are 67 lessons so you’ll never run out of material for your advanced ESL lessons again!

Keep this one on your bookshelf to take to just about any class with higher-level English learners. Check it out on Amazon:

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#4: Word Association

It’s often the case that advanced English learners already know a large amount of vocabulary for just about any topic. One way to help them activate this prior knowledge is to use word association. It’s basically a mind map where students have to brainstorm words or phrases related to a certain topic.

In a small class, this can happen with the entire class together. With a larger class, consider putting students into pairs or groups of 3-4 to make it more student-centred. Learn more here:

Word Association ESL Activity.

#5: ESL Reading Lesson Plan

I love to use this style of lesson for my ESL advanced lessons for adults. The key is to find an interesting, challenging reading passage. My go-to source is usually Breaking News English or I use authentic materials from various news sites for the highest-level students.

This can lead to so many other things, including a focus on grammar, vocabulary, etc. It has the distinct advantage of probably being a topic that the students have never talked about before. After all, they’ve covered the weather, sports, hobbies, etc. probably a million and one times.

It doesn’t take that long to design your own reading lesson plan if you have a template to follow. Check out mine here:

ESL Reading Lesson Plan.

#6: Information Gap Activities

To get students talking, almost nothing beats information gap style activities. This is where one student has half the information and the other student, the other half. They then have to work together to get the complete set.

There are lots of kinds of these activities, some of which are better suited for beginners but there are certainly some nice ones for more advanced learners. Check them out here:

Information Gap ESL Activities.

#7: ESL Surveys

Just ask my students and they’ll tell you how much I love using surveys in all my classes, from beginner to advanced! They are student-centred, cover a range of skills in a single activity, lend themselves to just about any topic and are fun for the students. In short, the ultimate TEFL activity!

The even better news is that it’s possible to design your own in just a few minutes once you get a bit of practice with it. Find out how here:

ESL Surveys. 

#8: Business English Vocabulary Builder

Business English Vocabulary Builder: Idioms, Phrases, and Expressions in American English (Tips for...
9 Reviews
Business English Vocabulary Builder: Idioms, Phrases, and Expressions in American English (Tips for...
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Bolen, Jackie (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 126 Pages - 11/25/2020 (Publication Date)
Check Price on Amazon

If your students want to work on their business English vocabulary, then consider recommending this book to them. There are dialogues filled with helpful phrases, expressions and idioms for a variety of situations. Then, there are also opportunities for students to put into practice what they’ve learned.

Check out the book for yourself here:

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#9: Future Forms ESL Activities

The grammar of future forms isn’t actually that complicated but there are some subtle differences in usage. For example, why do you use, “going to” and when do you use, “will.” Many English teachers couldn’t even answer that question but there is certainly a difference between them!

Advanced learners are probably quite familiar with all the future forms but consider doing a lesson that combines them all into one. Whenever I do this with my students, it’s quite eye-opening and they really appreciate some guidance with this somewhat confusing thing. Check out my top ideas:

Future Forms ESL Activities.

#10: Freeze Group Writing Activity

Group writing activities are few and far between. Try out this fun one with your advanced ESL classes as a quick warm-up or time-filler. Find out more about it here:

Freeze ESL Writing Activity.

#11: Reported Speech

This is one of those things that has some tricky grammar to it and even advanced students don’t really know the ins and outs of it. This is why it can make a nice grammar point for an advanced ESL lesson. Check out some of my recommendations here:

ESL Reported Speech.

#12: Buy Nothing Day ESL Lesson

In my advanced English conversation lessons, I love to do some holiday lessons around some of the more unusual ones like Buy Nothing Day. There is usually a bunch of vocabulary that the students haven’t heard of and it’s likely that the students haven’t talked about it before, which can create some interesting discussion.

Check it out here:

Buy Nothing Day ESL Lesson Plan.

#13: Advanced English Conversation Dialogues

Advanced English Conversation Dialogues: Speak English Like a Native Speaker with Common Idioms and...
16 Reviews
Advanced English Conversation Dialogues: Speak English Like a Native Speaker with Common Idioms and...
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Bolen, Jackie (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 68 Pages - 11/07/2020 (Publication Date)
Check Price on Amazon

If your students want some extra practice outside of class, consider recommending this book to them, Advanced English Conversation Dialogues. There are phrases, expressions and idioms for higher-level English learners.

Check out the book on Amazon:

check-price-on-amazon

#14: Teaching Collocations

Collocations are groups of words that occur together more often than just by natural chance. Here are a few examples:

  • Cup of tea
  • work shoes
  • cat litter
  • make dinner

There are thousands of them in any language and it can be quite useful to spend some time focusing on them with advanced learners. That’s because learning a language in “chunks” can make it far more memorable. Find out more about it here:

ESL Collocation Activities.

#15: Opinion Games and Activities

Beginner language learners generally deal with facts. Like times, how much something costs or what color it is. Later on, language learning gets more into opinions and the language required to express them.

That’s what makes giving opinions an ideal topic for more advanced learners. Check out some of the best ideas here:

ESL Opinion Activities.

#16: Brochure Scanning Reading Activity

I love to use authentic materials (those not designed for ESL/EFL learners) as much as possible in advanced English lessons. Brochure scanning is one such activity. It’s also a nice change of pace from reading the usual things found in ESL textbooks.

Try it out with your students:

ESL Brochure Scanning Activity.

#17: 3 Things

Try out this simple, somewhat silly writing activity in your classes. It’s perfect in that it requires no materials or preparation but it’s entertaining and a nice way for students to get some writing practice in. Check it out here:

3 Things ESL Writing Activity.

advanced-esl-class

#18: Find Something in Common

Try out this simple icebreaker with your higher-level English students. It’s fun, engaging and best of all, requires absolutely nothing in the way of preparation and no materials except for a pen and paper. Find out more about it right here:

Find Something in Common ESL Activity.

ESL Advanced Lesson Plans

If you’re a teacher, then you know how much time it can save you to use something that another teacher has created! That’s where these sites come in. Check them out:

Breaking News English

ESL Brains

English Current

Lingua House

Have your Say about English Conversation Advanced

Do you have any tips, tricks, or go-to activities for teaching higher-level English learners? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about it. We’d love to hear from you.

Also, be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself, find this useful resource.

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Last update on 2021-04-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 30 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults. She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

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