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Listen & Draw - Activity to Improve Speaking & Listening Skills | Beginner & Intermediate

Listen and draw speaking activity for English learners: one partner describes a picture only they can see, and the other draws it from the description alone, then the roles switch.
Grades
Not Grade Specific
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Oct 26, 2026

Subject
ELA, Language Development, ESL
Topic
Listening, Fun
Resource types
Drawing Templates & Outlines, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation
Print ready

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Develop strong listening and speaking skills in your students with this engaging and enjoyable activity, designed to promote success in school and life. This listening and speaking exercise not only focuses on enhancing both communication skills but also provides an entertaining experience that students usually love.

In this activity, students work in pairs or small groups to carefully listen to their partners and follow their instructions accurately. The goal is to replicate their partners' drawings as closely as possible, which requires attentive listening and precise direction-following. The exercise encourages the development of listening skills for the listener and descriptive abilities and English accuracy for the speaker. It fosters clear, concise, and accurate speaking while also practicing essential vocabulary.

For optimal results, it is recommended that the teacher models the activity for the class first. By selecting a picture and describing it in great detail without revealing it, the teacher demonstrates the level of accuracy and time expectations that students should follow when working in pairs. Once students have completed their drawings based on the teacher's description, they can hold up their artwork before the original picture is revealed, either printed in large format or displayed on the main class screen.

While using a pencil is sufficient, incorporating colored pencils or crayons can truly bring the activity to life and add an extra layer of excitement. To ensure the students remain focused on their own drawings and do not rely on glimpses of others' work, it is helpful to have the class work on multiple pictures simultaneously. Alternatively, strategic seating arrangements can solve this issue if you prefer to conduct the activity with only two pictures at a time.

Invest in this listening and speaking activity today and witness the significant improvement in your students' communication skills, while providing them with an enjoyable and memorable learning experience.

This is for more advanced/older students. If you'd prefer a simpler version for younger/beginner learners, check out my Draw My Monster activity here: https://admin.teachsimple.com/dashboard/products/catalog/6290b82bb93fcc2c984932c5

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Describe a picture using precise, descriptive language
  • Follow spoken descriptions to reproduce an image

Skills covered

  • Descriptive speaking — giving a partner enough detail to recreate an unseen picture
  • Active listening — drawing only from a partner's spoken description

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