Learning a different language is hard. Writing in a different language is even harder. But the only way to improve writing is to write more! One way to make writing less frustrating for your ESL students is to provide them with interesting writing prompts and topics.
Writing Prompts for ESL Beginners
Purpose of Writing Prompts
The main purpose of writing prompts is to encourage students’ interests and also encourage them to write about the topic. This doesn’t mean that you always want to limit what your students write. It is also encouraged for students to come up with a topic of their own. However, thinking of a topic every single time can also be stressful. So, for ESL beginners, writing prompts act more like a guide to starting the writing.
If you are teaching ESL beginners how to write, try to keep the writing assignment short to about like 100 words. Once they get used to describing the topic and writing in a creative way, you can increase the word limit. Go through the list of writing prompts and find the topics that will interest your ESL students.
ESL Writing Prompts and Topics
30 Writing Prompts for ESL Beginners
- Describe your favourite holiday.
- Describe your best friend.
- Talk about your best vacation memory.
- Write about your New Year’s resolutions.
- What would you do if you won the lottery?
- Write about your family members.
- Describe your favourite game.
- Write about your favourite movie.
- Who is your favourite celebrity, and why?
- What do you like to do during summer vacation?
- What is our earliest memory as a child?
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What is your favourite season, and why?
- Describe your happiest memory.
- What kind of superpower do you want, and why?
- Describe your favourite movie (or TV series, book) character.
- What are the three most recent things that you bought? Where did you buy it from?
- Describe a perfect day for you.
- Which country do you want to visit, and why?
- Describe what makes a good friend.
- What do you like to do in your free time?
- Do you prefer presents or money? Why?
- Would you rather live in a very cold country or a very hot country? Why?
- Describe your favourite restaurant.
- Describe your favourite drink besides water.
- Which superhero do you want to be friends with? Why?
- Do you prefer a rainy day or a snowy day? Why?
- Talk about your favourite animal.
- Would you rather go back in time or travel in the future? Why?
Tips for Teaching ESL Writing to Beginners
Before teaching your students an ESL writing lesson, check out these tips first.
Error Correction
Yes, you want to help students improve their writing. However, pointing out every single error in the writing can discourage students. Remember that your students are writing in a foreign language. Of course, they will make many mistakes as beginners.
However, it is still important to let them know where have made mistakes. The tip here is to praise a lot and let them know what’s good about their writing and then highlight the grammatical errors. This way, you will be able to make corrections without demotivating them.
writing prompts and topics
Student’s Interests
You want to encourage students and have them be interested in writing about the topic. To do so, you will have to choose topics related to what students are already interested in. You don’t necessarily have to use the exact writing prompts provided above. If you know what your students like, switch it up a bit to fit their interests. If there’s something your ESL students want to write about, let them do that too!
Provide Writing Structure
Teach your students how to structure the writing. Students will refer to that structure every time they are given a writing assignment. A structure to follow will lessen the stress of writing. Knowing how to begin an introduction, write the main point, and finish with a conclusion will help students worry less about how to structure and focus on being creative with their writing.
FAQs About English Writing Prompts for Beginners
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about writing prompts for ESL beginners.
What are some easy writing prompts?
List of easy writing prompts:
- Describe your best friend.
- Describe your favourite restaurant.
- What do you like to do in your free time?
- Describe your favourite holiday.
- What are your strengthes and weaknesses?
What are some fun writing prompts?
List of fun writing prompts:
- Would you rather live in a very cold country or a very hot country? Why?
- Would you rather go back in time or travel in the future? Why?
- Would you rather become 10 years younger or 10 years older? Why?
- Which one is better and why? Being too short or too small.
- If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?
What are examples of ESL writing activities?
Some of the best writing activities include everyday journaling, proofreading and editing, 3 Things, Round Robin Story, and Fill in the Blanck Sentence game.
Writing Prompts for ESL Beginners: Join the Conversation
What are your thoughts on these writing prompts for ESL beginners? Which one is your favourite? If there are other great writing prompts for English beginners, let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.
