Is body language truly universal? Are some gestures culturally specific? If you teach international students, you may have already picked up a few new gestures yourself, but have your adult ESL students really stopped to think about how much nonverbal communication varies across cultures? These body language and gestures conversation starters give adult ESL speaking classes a structured way to dig into exactly that.

Having 96 discussion topic cards all centered on one theme makes it easy to drop this into a unit on nonverbal communication or to pull it out whenever you want a guaranteed engaging speaking activity. No scrambling for prompts. Just grab a card and go.

WHAT'S INSIDE:

✅ 96 body language and gestures-themed conversation starters for adult ESL, each on its own card. 60 are text only and 36 include a relevant image

✅ Cards range from easier warm-up prompts to more challenging questions for in-depth discussion, making them flexible across proficiency levels

✅ Teacher suggestion page with tips on how to use the cards and links to additional resources

✅ Easel version with one discussion prompt per slide for whole-class display

HOW TO USE THESE CARDS

Before class, flip through the cards and pull the ones that feel like the right fit for your group. Some of the more culturally specific prompts are great conversation starters, while others work better once students are warmed up.

During class, divide students into pairs or small groups and give each group a card or two. Encourage them to discuss the prompt in English and to ask each other follow-up questions rather than waiting for you to keep things moving.

The Easel version works especially well for whole-class discussion because you can show one prompt at a time and let the conversation build before moving to the next card.

Many of the prompts also double as writing topics or impromptu speaking practice if you want to use them that way.

THIS WAS CREATED FOR YOUR ADULT ESL STUDENTS

Intermediate to advanced adult ESL students often have a lot to say about body language and gestures, especially students who have faced cultural differences firsthand. Giving them a focused prompt removes the pressure of coming up with a topic and lets them focus on speaking.

These cards also work well for older teen students who need speaking practice but don't always know where to start.

⚠️ Please review the cards before class and set aside any that may not be appropriate for your specific group of students.

GRAB IT AND GO

Download it, print what you need, cut the cards apart (laminate if you want to), and you've got a ready-to-use set of body language and gestures discussion topics that puts the talking on the students. Or skip printing entirely and run the whole thing through Easel.

Questions? Drop them in the Q&A section.

If you teach conversation classes regularly, take a look at my Adult ESL Discussion Topics MEGA Bundle. It pulls together over two thousand discussion questions across 28 themes, so you'll always have something on hand when a conversation stalls or you need to fill time. 

You may also be interested in Expressions for Opinions to ensure that your adult ESL students can use a good variety of expressions to ask for and give opinions.