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Structures for speaking skills

Whoever talks, learns — yet in a class discussion the same five students tend to speak. These structures organise talk so that everyone gets a turn: fixed turns, roles, or speaking time per person. For language teaching this is the core of fluency; for every other subject, explaining in your own words remains the strongest processing.

31 structures in this theme

Taking Turns
Work in pairs or small groups. Take turns giving one answer to the question.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins inCooperative learning
2–4 · 3–5 min
On time
Everyone gets a timed turn to speak about a topic — choose the group size and grouping while playing.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins in
2–4 · 3–5 min
Full steps after registration
Interview in Three Rounds
Interview each other in groups of 4: A↔B and C↔D simultaneously. Then switch and share with the class.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins inCooperative learning
7 min
Full steps after registration
Movement Quiz
Walk around the classroom, find a partner, ask your question and give feedback. Then change partners!
Own materials neededEveryone joins in
10–15 min
Numbered Minds
Everyone gets a number in the group. Write individually, discuss together — then the facilitator picks a number to explain the answer.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins inCooperative learning
2–6 · 3–5 min4.5
Full steps after registration
Think, Write & Share
Write individual ideas, compare them in your group and share the combined list with the class.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins inHigher-order
2–6 · 3–5 min5.0
Full steps after registration
Copy Me
A makes something and says step by step what A is doing; B sits turned away and copies from the words alone. Then side by side: which instruction was right, which too vague? Next round the roles swap.
Own materials neededEveryone joins inTPR
2–3 min4.0
Full steps after registration
Pair Coach
A solves exercises and thinks aloud. B watches and coaches. Then switch roles!
Everyone joins inHigher-orderCooperative learning
10–20 min5.0
Inner & Outer Circle
Two circles facing each other. Short conversation with your partner — then the outer circle rotates to a new partner.
Everyone joins inChanging groupsCooperative learning
10–15 min5.0
Incident Method
An 8-step intervision technique where one participant brings a work situation and the group searches for insights together.
Higher-order
40–50 min
Full steps after registration
Gossip Method
A 5-step intervision technique where the group openly discusses the case presenter while they listen.
Higher-order
35–45 min5.05.0
Full steps after registration
Socratic conversation
A 7-step intervision technique based on cardinal virtues: the presenter describes a situation up to the hot point, and the group explores the essence together.
Everyone joins inHigher-order
30–90 min
Full steps after registration
Dominant Ideas
A 7-step intervision technique: the group together looks for dominant ideas in the presenter's situation and formulates alternatives.
Higher-order
40–50 min
Full steps after registration
Shuffle & Pick
Groups of 4 with a card deck: A holds the cards in a fan, B draws one and reads the question out loud, C answers, D checks and coaches. After every rotation the roles move along.
Own materials neededMaterials in the basic kitEveryone joins in
3 min
Full steps after registration
Flashcards
Participants create question cards and practise in pairs by asking and answering each other's questions.
Own materials neededMaterials in the basic kitEveryone joins in
7–10 min
Full steps after registration
Read and Ask
In pairs: A reads a passage aloud, B listens without reading along. Then A asks one question about the text; B answers and A checks in the text — right: a compliment, wrong: A points to the place. The next passage is read by B.
Own materials neededEveryone joins in
2 min5.0
Full steps after registration
1 goes, 3 stay
Teams of four work out the same assignment. Then each round one member visits another team while the three who stay host their visitor. Back home, it all comes together.
Materials in the basic kitChanging groups
10–20 min
Full steps after registration
Jigsaw
The learning material is divided into 2–6 parts. Each team member becomes an expert in one part, shares that knowledge in an expert group, and returns to their home group.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins inChanging groups
30–45 min
Full steps after registration
Gallery Walk
Every team lays its work on the table and picks a keeper who stays with it. The rest go on tour past the other tables and give feedback on the questions on the screen; the keeper writes it down. Back at the table the keeper reports, and the team reflects.
Higher-orderChanging groups
5 min
Full steps after registration
Placemat
Each participant writes their answer individually, shares it and together finds a consensus.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins inHigher-order
10–30 min
Full steps after registration
Four Corners
Participants choose a corner that matches their answer to a statement. They move, exchange thoughts — and can change corners if persuaded.
Materials in the basic kitEveryone joins in
10–20 min
Full steps after registration
Snowball (1-2-4-All)
Start individually, combine in pairs, merge in groups of four — and build shared insight step by step.
Everyone joins inHigher-orderChanging groups
20–35 min5.0
Knowledge Quiz
A question on the screen; every team confers and writes its answer on the whiteboard sheet. All boards up at once, then the answer — and a point for every team that had it. The scoreboard on the screen keeps count.
Materials in the basic kit
1–2 min
Full steps after registration
Five Whys: root cause analysis
Root cause analysis: find the underlying cause of a problem by asking 'why?' five times in pairs. A Toyota technique.
Everyone joins inHigher-orderLean
10–15 min
Full steps after registration
Nine Whys: shared purpose
In pairs, discover the deeper shared purpose behind your collective effort. A Liberating Structure.
Everyone joins inLiberating Structures
10–20 min
Full steps after registration
Conversation Café
A calm, reflective conversation in a small fixed group (4–8) with a talking stone — for a complex or sensitive topic. A Liberating Structure.
Everyone joins inLiberating Structures
30–45 min
Full steps after registration
World Café
A large conversation across many tables: after each round you move on and cross-pollinate ideas, then harvest common patterns together. Related to Liberating Structures. Developed by Juanita Brown & David Isaacs.
Higher-orderChanging groups
40–90 min
Full steps after registration
The worst plan
Flip it around: imagine how you'd ruin your goal, look in the mirror, and stop one thing. A playful reverse brainstorm. Making Space with TRIZ — a Liberating Structure.
Higher-orderLiberating Structures
Alone · Pair · Group · 15–30 min
Full steps after registration
Daily Scrum
The project team stands in a circle and, in turn, everyone gets one minute for three questions: what have I done, what am I going to do now, where am I stuck? From Scrum.
Everyone joins inAgile / Scrum
5–15 min
Full steps after registration
Trio advice
Peer advice in groups of 3–5: one brings a real situation, the others think out loud as consultants. A Liberating Structure (Troika Consulting).
Everyone joins inHigher-orderLiberating Structures
15–20 min
Full steps after registration
Case clinic
A 7-step peer consultation method without a single piece of advice: the group says not what it thinks of the case, but what the presenter's story stirs in them — an image, a feeling, a gesture.
Everyone joins inHigher-order
45–55 min
Full steps after registration

More collections

All structures →Five-minute structures Short structures (up to 10 minutes)Structures for listening skills Structures for reading skills Structures with writing Learning in motion: structures with movement Retrieval practice structures Ice-breakers for class and team Energisers for class and team