Build intermediate fluency through Christmas readings, cultural comparisons, vocabulary development, humorous dialogues, and meaningful holiday discussion.
Explore more ready-to-teach ESL lesson plans or browse the full kids curriculum hub.
Explore more holiday lessons, speaking lessons, and phonics lessons.
Need the right starting point? Use the ESL placement test.
This Intermediate Christmas Speaking Lesson is a teacher-favorite for engaging teens, adults, and upper-elementary ESL students during the holiday season. Designed for B1-level learners, it combines meaningful conversation practice, global holiday themes, and rich vocabulary development — making it perfect for both online ESL teaching platforms and in-person classrooms.
The lesson opens with warm-up discussion questions that encourage authentic communication (page 2). Students then read beautifully illustrated passages about holiday decorating, Christmas meals, gift-giving traditions, international celebrations, and acts of kindness (pages 3–7). Each reading includes bolded vocabulary and thought-provoking comprehension questions, helping students expand both fluency and cultural understanding.
A targeted vocabulary section (pages 8–10) introduces essential academic and seasonal words, including artificial, atmosphere, tradition, exchange, generous, and gratitude. Students practice these words through definitions, contextual fill-ins, and picture-based sentence creation.
The lesson also features five humorous, relatable dialogues about real-life holiday situations — decorating problems, gift shopping stress, Christmas dinner mishaps, winter break plans, and excitement about snow (pages 11–15). These are ideal for role-play, pronunciation practice, and speaking confidence.
Interactive activities like Would You Rather…?, end-of-lesson reflective questions, and holiday mini-games (20 Questions, Word Chain, Boggle) make this lesson a complete, ready-to-teach speaking experience that fills an entire class period.
If you're looking for a free, high-quality Christmas ESL resource that encourages speaking, critical thinking, and cultural comparison, this intermediate lesson has everything you need.
Unlock full lesson plans, slides, homework, and downloads with a free trial.
Start Free Trial