Quick Guide
- Keywords: Communication skills, communicative competence, pair work
- Learner English level: False Beginners and above
- Learner maturity: Junior high school and above
- Preparation Time: 10-20 minutes
- Activity time: 10-15 minutes (can be extended)
- Materials: Smartphones, laptop, or tablets, online conversation wheel tool and list of conversation topics (see Preparation), stopwatch/timer
The “Conversation Wheel” is a communicative task to practice meaningful conversation in pairs using a “Spin the Wheel” game. Some online platforms have ready-to-use conversation wheels, and some allow for customization. Making a game out of selecting conversation topics helps students to activate stored knowledge on topics that are relevant to their lives. It can also strengthen class relationships while students use target language in a natural conversation setting. This activity requires minimal preparation and can be adapted and extended for a variety of classroom contexts.
Preparation
Step 1: Access an online conversation wheel tool such as Wordwall (wordwall.net), Spin the Wheel - Random Picker (spinthewheel.app), Wheel of Names (wheelsofnames.com), and Picker Wheel (pickerwheel.com). You can search online using the key words “Customizable Wheel Spinner” or “Conversation Wheel” for alternatives. See appendix for an example using Wordwall.
Step 2: You can choose a ready-to-use conversation wheel or one that allows you to enter your own questions. Some have easy conversation prompts, such as favorites, likes/dislikes, etc., that are ideal for getting students to immediately start conversing in English. Others have prompts that practice specific target grammar (e.g., past tense). You can also enter your own questions depending on the lesson objective.
Procedure
Step 1: Tell the class they will be using a Conversation Wheel tool to practice speaking with a classmate.
Step 2: Set the conversation time limit (e.g., 2 minutes talk time per student) or have the class decide how much time they’d like to talk about the prompt.
Step 3: Make conversation pairs. You may randomly create pairs or assign specific students to be activity partners.
Step 4: Choose one student to “spin the wheel” using the class tablet or laptop. Ask the “spinner” to read the question in a clear and loud voice for the class. Check for comprehension.
Step 5: Make sure everyone is ready to discuss, then start the timer. Go around the classroom to monitor the conversations, providing support if needed.
Step 6: If a pair finishes their conversation quickly, help them think of follow-up questions. For example, if the topic is about a favorite movie, the students can discuss their favorite scene, their favorite actors or actresses, their opinion about the ending, etc.
Step 7: When the timer goes off, choose another student to “spin the wheel” to generate the next conversation prompt. Repeat steps 3-5.
Step 8: After a few rounds, tell the pairs to wrap up their conversation. If time permits, have some students share an interesting point from their conversations.
Conclusion
The “Conversation Wheel” is a fun and engaging way to do conversation practice in pairs, either as a class warmup or as an end-of-class activity. There are plenty of chances to involve the students in the activity creation, which enables them to practice both their language skills and creativity.
Variation
Make the activity more learner-centred by preparing a conversation wheel with only one or two questions. Either in pairs or individually, have the students come up with a question that can be entered into the conversation wheel. The type of questions or prompts that go into the conversation wheel can depend on the topic or the target language the class is currently learning, or the linguistic ability of the students (e.g., “Do you like ....?” for beginners; “If you were ...” for intermediate or advanced students).
Appendix
The appendix is available below:
