Tools ESL Teachers Use for Speaking Practice and Question Prompts

Speaking practice needs two things: good questions and a way to manage the chaos of 20 people talking at once. These seven tools handle one or both.

Question Generation Tools

ChalkLab -- Generates speaking questions and prompts by level, topic, and question type. You can ask for warm-ups, debate prompts, or interview-style questions. The output is formatted for classroom use, not just a raw list. This is what I use daily for my conversation classes in Phoenix.

Twee -- Creates dialogues and discussion questions together. Useful when you want students to read a model conversation before discussing the topic themselves. The questions naturally connect to the dialogue content.

ConversationStarters.com: Not AI-powered, but has thousands of categorized conversation starters. Simple and free. I use it when I want random, fun prompts for warm-ups rather than topic-focused questions.

Speaking Practice Platforms

Flip (Flipgrid): Async video responses. Students record themselves answering a prompt, then watch and respond to classmates. My shy students participate more on Flip than in class -- the pressure of a live audience disappears. Free with Microsoft account.

Speakable: Built specifically for language speaking practice. Students record responses, and teachers can give timestamped feedback. The structured assignment format keeps everything organized. Paid, but worth it if speaking assessment is a big part of your program.

Classroom Management Tools for Speaking Time

Classroomscreen.com: The timer and noise meter alone make this essential. Project it during pair work. When students see the countdown and hear the subtle chime at the end, transitions are smoother. The random name picker also helps when you need to cold-call students for responses.

ClassDojo: Random group maker plus participation tracking. I use the grouping feature daily for pair and small group speaking activities. The participation points give me data on who's speaking and who isn't -- useful for parent-teacher conferences and progress reports.

My Speaking Practice Stack

For a typical week, I use ChalkLab to generate the questions, Classroomscreen for timing during pair work, and Flip for one homework speaking assignment. That combination covers in-class discussion, group work management, and at-home practice without overwhelming students with too many platforms.

Start with one tool from each category -- generation, practice, management -- and add more only when you've got a solid routine with the first three. For more on generating conversation questions specifically, see my conversation tools guide.