A Speaking Routine for Building Fluency in EAL Learners

Fluency is often one of the most persistent challenges for learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL). While many EAL students develop a sound understanding of grammar and vocabulary over time, their ability to speak fluidly and spontaneously—without frequent hesitation or self-correction—often lags behind. This can affect both confidence and participation in the wider academic environment.

Common fluency challenges among EAL learners include:

Difficulty initiating or sustaining speech

A slow rate of speaking

Frequent pauses, fillers, or self-corrections

Heightened anxiety or self-awareness about making mistakes

Creating opportunities for oral language development in a low-stakes, supportive environment is therefore essential. This blog outlines one practical and impactful strategy: a speaking routine adapted from public speaking contexts, tailored to support the specific needs of EAL learners.

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A Speaking Routine for Building Fluency

This classroom routine is inspired by the Table Topics segment used in Toastmasters international, where participants practise delivering short, impromptu speeches on surprise topics. In educational settings, this structure can be successfully adapted for a range of learner ages and language proficiency levels.

Preparation

The only preparation required is developing a bank of level-appropriate prompts or speaking topics. These can be presented on cue cards, displayed on the board, or generated digitally. Typical topics might include:

“What would you do if you had one free day with no responsibilities?”

“Describe your favourite meal and how it’s made.”

“Would you rather live in the city or the countryside?”

Over time, learners can contribute their own prompts—boosting both motivation and ownership. These topic sets can be reused across year groups and reused annually.

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Implementation

Consistency is key. This activity works best as part of a regular classroom routine—for example, as a starter task at the beginning of each lesson.

Suggested procedure:

Choose a regular slot in the lesson and keep it consistent. Ask one student to select a speaking prompt without revealing it to the class.

Set a timed speaking goal (e.g., 30 seconds to 1 minute), increasing gradually over time.

The student speaks about the topic for the allotted time while others listen.

Afterward, classmates guess the topic or question. Repeat the process with a new student.

By keeping the topics consistent over several sessions, learners build familiarity and reduce cognitive load. This allows them to focus more on language production and fluency than on formulating new ideas each time.

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Pedagogical Focus: Fluency Over Accuracy

The central objective of this routine is to promote fluency, not grammatical accuracy. Teachers should avoid interrupting or correcting speech during the task. Instead, note recurring patterns of language use to address in future lessons.

This activity:

Encourages risk-taking in speech

Reduces anxiety by removing pressure to be "perfect"

Builds learner confidence through repetition and success

Provides teachers with observational data for formative assessment

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Reflection and Metacognition

Following several sessions, guide learners through a structured reflection to support metacognitive awareness. Prompts might include:

“What felt difficult at first?”

“What feels easier now?”

“How do you think you’ve improved?”

Encouraging learners to identify and articulate their progress reinforces the value of practice and persistence. It also fosters self-efficacy—crucial for long-term language development.

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The Coterie College Top Classroom Tips for Supporting EAL Fluency

At The Coterie College, we are committed to practical, research-informed strategies that support EAL learners. Here are our top tips for promoting oral fluency in your classroom:

Prioritise Fluency Before Accuracy

Create time and space for uninterrupted speech. Delay corrections to protect learners’ confidence.

Build Speaking Routines.

Embed consistent, predictable speaking activities into your teaching.

Repetition builds fluency and lowers anxiety.

Use Visual Prompts and Scaffolds.

Support learners with sentence starters, images, and speaking frames.

Encourage Peer Interaction

Pair learners purposefully. Peer talk provides authentic, low-pressure opportunities for language use.

Create a Language-Rich Environment.

Display multilingual materials, learner writing, and key vocabulary.

Celebrate all languages spoken in your classroom.

Celebrate Progress

Acknowledge student growth in fluency and confidence—both informally and through structured reflection.

Plan for Reflection

Give learners opportunities to track and describe their own development over time.

Record and Revisit

Use audio or video to allow learners to hear their own growth. This can be deeply motivating and insightful.

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Conclusion

Oral fluency is a cornerstone of successful language learning. By embedding structured, supportive speaking routines into the fabric of everyday teaching, educators can empower EAL learners to take ownership of their language development. Over time, confidence, clarity, and classroom participation all begin to grow.

At The Coterie College, we believe that building fluency is not about doing more—it’s about doing the right things consistently. With routines like this, even the smallest classroom moments can make a big impact.