Skill focus: Speaking
Grammar: Present Continuous (Present Progressive)
ESL Level: Pre-intermediate to Intermediate
Number of students: 2 or more
Equipment needed: projector/video screen
Time Required: 15 minutes
Present Continuous Speaking Activity Description
After teaching your students present continuous, put them in pairs. Have one student sit with her back to the video screen, and the other student across from her, facing it.
Next, load a short Mr. Bean video on the screen. I like to use this one about flying (4 minutes):
Explain to the student facing the video that his job is to describe the video to his partner. The partner is not allowed to turn her back to look at the screen. Tell the student to use the present continuous (e.g. he is smiling) to describe actions that are happening on the screen and other verb tenses.
Let them do it. When finished, talk about the video and see if the partners understood the gist of what happened.
After, have the pairs switch seats and change the video. I use this video the second time (3 minutes):
Note that the word oyster is important in the above story, so be sure to preteach this vocabulary.
Present Continuous Speaking Activity Expansion
This could be made into a more robust lesson 30/40-minute lesson by:
1) Creating warm-up questions about the topic of each video. For example:
Do you like flying? Have you ever been sick on a flight? Should young children fly alone? Do you like buffets? Have you had food poisoning?
2) Pre-teaching key vocabulary (flight attendant, life preserver, buffet, oyster, spoiled, etc)
3) Watching the videos a second time together and helping the students describe them more accurately.
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My students always enjoy this activity, and it's likely because Mr. Bean is hilarious. I let them focus on fluency (not accuracy) and do their best. It's a fun communicative way to end a grammar lesson on the present continuous/present progressive.
Good luck with your class.
- Matthew Barton / Creator: www.englishcurrent.com
It`s a great idea of speaking activity. My students will be excited to try it. Thank you!
Thank you, it is a great speaking activity. My students will enjoy as I did it.
I love this as much my boyfriend (Danilo Raphael Rosario) does. Thank you.
this is the great way of teaching grammar to the students. so that they may not get bored in listening grammar
Thanks a lot, my students like it !
How can you involve the entire class? Or is this just a pair activity?
It’s a pair activity. Pair students. Have one student in the pair sit with his/her back to the screen, and the other student face the screen. The student facing the screen then describes the video.
Really great, thank you.
Thanks a lot
thank you very much, it’s a great activity !
A much appreciated idea…. Teaching grammar while having great fun. Thank you for this activity
Thanks a lot , It was a great activities
Thanks Stacey the lesson was good
Speaking English grammar