5 Simple ESL Oral Exam Ideas

Oral English Exams are some of the best exams for foreigners to give. (Can anyone say less paperwork?) But, if you want to keep your students interested and keep pushing them in their exams, here are a few ideas for ESL oral English exams!

This is the start of a four-part series about ESL Oral Exams this month!

1) Conversations / Dialogues

This is the most basic of oral English exams. Have two (or even three) students make a conversation or dialogue. You can require them to use vocabulary from the semester. And you could give students time to prepare in class, outside of class, or make the conversations completely impromptu.

2) Skit

Give students to work together in a group! Have groups of 4-6 students, and have them act out a skit. You could let students write their own story, but a simpler way (especially for lower-level students) is to assign a story that’s widely-known, like Cinderella or Snow White. This is a fun twist on exams that usually are stressful and boring.

3) Song

For your braver students, this can give creative students a different outlet for English! Have students sing an English song of their choice. I always make this an option for an exam, instead of a requirement. I would hate if a teacher forced me to sing in class! In the past, I’ve had students sing in front of the class or privately outside the classroom. Just know your students and stay consistent no matter what exam students are giving.

4) Declamation

If you’re working on helping students be more expressive or use emotion more in their English, having students read or perform speeches from other people can be a great way. I choose speeches from history, modern advocates, or from movies. Usually, I let students read the speeches instead of forcing them to recite them, since I want students to focus on the performance and the emotion rather than remembering the words.

5) Speech

This last one is my tried-and-true favorite. Learning how to speak publicly is far too valuable a skill for me not to emphasis it to my students. Regardless of whether or not my students use English in their future jobs (many of mine don’t), every job requires you to present or speak in front of people at some point. Whether you let students choose their own topics or provide a list of ideas, finishing the semester with your students feeling comfortable enough to stand in front of a class and speak is quite the achievement! 

If you want to spice up your oral English exams, give one of these a try!