The problem with online ESL speaking classes is that the digital medium changes the dynamics of classroom interaction in ways that most teachers learn the hard way: activities that run effortlessly in a physical classroom become awkward, slow, or logistically impossible online.
Partner rotation - trivially easy in a physical room - requires breakout room management online. Mingle activities are impossible. Noise-based signals ("clap when you've finished") don't translate. The simultaneous energy of 25 students speaking in a physical room has no equivalent when you're managing video tiles.
YapYapGo is a classroom speaking practice tool for ESL and EFL teachers that works on any classroom computer - and for online classes, teachers share their screen while students work in breakout rooms. Here's what works.What's harder online (and how to adapt)
Partner rotation
The problem: In-person, students move one seat to a new partner in 10 seconds. Online, breakout room reshuffling takes 60-90 seconds and requires host action between every round. The adaptation: Run fewer, longer rounds. Instead of three 4-minute rounds with rotation, run two 6-minute rounds. Pre-assign all breakout rooms at the start so rotation is a single button press. Or use a fixed random partner for the whole activity and rotate only once, mid-session.Monitoring pair work
The problem: You can't circulate between online breakout rooms the way you can walk the classroom floor. The adaptation: Visit each breakout room for 60-90 seconds. Three rooms per round visit is achievable. Take notes on your clipboard as if you were circulating physically. Students in rooms you didn't visit are still practising.Reading the room
The problem: A teacher in a physical room can see when energy drops across the whole class. Online, you see a grid of muted faces. The adaptation: Use brief check-ins before sending students to breakout rooms. "Before we go to rooms, tell me in the chat: on a scale of 1-3, how are you feeling about this topic?" The chat response gives you a quick energy read.Activities that work particularly well online
1. Structured pair discussion (breakout rooms)
The clearest win for online speaking classes. Students speak in breakout rooms of 2-3 with a clear question and timer. No movement required. Full pair work benefits.
What to add for online: Post the discussion question clearly in the chat AND share your screen with it displayed - students in breakout rooms can't always see the main room content. A classroom countdown timer shared on screen gives all rooms the same time reference.2. Unmuted whole-class questions (for brief exchanges)
Brief whole-class moments work better when students unmute themselves rather than being called on. "Everyone unmute and tell me in one sentence: what's your view?" The cacophony of 10 voices simultaneously saying one sentence is productive and strangely engaging.
3. Visible chat participation
The chat function creates a parallel written participation track. "Type your opinion in the chat while you're discussing with your partner." This gives quieter students a lower-stakes contribution option and gives you a written record of class opinions.
4. Collaborative documents
Students work on a shared Google Doc or Jamboard during a pair discussion - noting key vocabulary they used, arguments they made, or questions that arose. You can see all contributions in real time. This adds accountability to pair work you can't directly observe.
5. Show-and-tell formats
Each student shows something on camera (an object from their home, their view from their window) and speaks about it. The visual anchor gives lower-level students a concrete referent that removes blank-page anxiety. Works particularly well for personal topics.
Tool tip: YapYapGo works on any desktop/laptop and can be shared via screen share in online classes. Teachers project YapYapGo on screen, read the discussion question aloud, send students to breakout rooms, and students discuss the question they saw. A random student picker works well for the whole-class sharing phase - spin it on screen for everyone to see.
6. The recorded response
Students have 90 seconds to record a voice note or video response to a prompt using their phone or the Zoom recording function. They share it with one partner in a breakout room, who gives verbal feedback.
The recording creates a slight performance element that some students find motivating. It also gives you a record that can be used for assessment.
7. Two-person pair video calls (fully private)
For the most intimate and effective online pair work, have students call each other directly (via WhatsApp, FaceTime, or a separate Zoom call) while you monitor from the main session. Both students are fully visible to each other and there's no "other tabs" distraction.
This requires trust and cooperation, but students often report that direct two-person calls feel more natural than institutional breakout rooms.
Managing energy online
Energy management is more demanding online because you can't read physical cues. Build these into your online lesson structure:
Shorter activities, more breaks: Online tasks should be 5-8 minutes max before a full-class moment. Physical tiredness from screen use is real and accumulates. Regular whole-class moments: Don't leave students in breakout rooms for more than 10 minutes without returning to the main room. The main room moments reset engagement. Energizers adapted for online: Stand-up-and-stretch moments. Quick polls. Unmute-and-say-one-word rounds. The online equivalents of physical energizers.For in-person energizer activities that can be adapted online, see our post on mid-lesson energizer activities for ESL. For a complete template for any speaking lesson (which adapts well online), see the conversation class lesson plan template. An activity timer shared via screen makes breakout room timing visible to everyone.
Sources:
- Godwin-Jones, R. (2019). Tools and Trends in Self-Paced Language Learning. Language Learning and Technology. - Technology-mediated language learning and its constraints.
- Hampel, R. & Stickler, U. (2005). New Skills for New Classrooms. CALL Journal. - Competences required for online language teaching.