10 Creative ESL Storytelling Activities to Build Speaking Confidence

Storytelling is one of the most engaging and effective approaches for teaching English as a second language. For young learners and older students alike, storytelling encourages imagination, fluency, vocabulary development, and confidence.

Rather than drilling grammar structures in isolation, storytelling activities create a natural communication environment where learners use English to express emotions, build narratives, and collaborate with classmates.

In this guide, we explore 10 creative ESL storytelling activities that will help your learners speak more confidently while having fun. These activities can be adapted for all levels—from beginner to advanced—and work in online or in-person classrooms.

Why Storytelling Works in the ESL Classroom

Storytelling encourages communication in a meaningful way. Instead of repeating memorized sentences, students interact, negotiate meaning, and share personal experiences or fictional stories. It also improves:

• Fluency and pronunciation

• Vocabulary recall and usage

• Grammar acquisition through context

• Listening and comprehension skills

• Creativity and collaboration

According to ESL experts, integrating creative speaking tasks like storytelling builds student confidence and allows them to practice real-world communication skills. For ideas on lesson planning and communicative approaches, review resources from TESOL International Association and the British Council.

10 Creative ESL Storytelling Activities

1. Story Cubes Challenge

Give students dice with pictures on each side or use printable story cube templates. Students roll the cubes and must include the images in a story.

Variation: Group students and give each team different cubes. Let them compete to tell the funniest or most creative story.

2. Pass-the-Story Circle

Start with one sentence and have students continue the storyline one sentence at a time. This works great as a warm-up or cool-down activity.

Tip: Set a theme—mystery, fairy tale, adventure—to guide creativity.

3. Picture Story Prompts

Show a series of pictures and ask students to describe what happened before, during, and after the scene. Visual storytelling supports lower-level learners who need more structure.

Free resources: ESL Flashcards and ISLCollective worksheets can provide picture prompts.

4. Story Starters and Sentence Prompts

Give students creative story beginnings such as:

• “Yesterday, I found a magic door in the park…”

• “Suddenly, the lights went out and…”

• “A talking dog came to my house and said…”

This helps learners who struggle to initiate stories independently.

5. Create-a-Comic

Provide blank comic templates or online comic creators like StoryboardThat. Students create a comic storyline, then retell it orally to the class.

Beginner version: fill in speech bubbles with only 1–2 simple phrases per panel.
Advanced version: narrate past tense events or add reported speech.

6. Mystery Bag Story Game

Place random objects (toy car, spoon, photo, sock, key, etc.) in a bag. Students pull out items and incorporate them into a story. The more unusual the items, the more fun!

7. Puppet Story Theater

Great for young learners! Use puppets or let students make simple paper puppets.

Tasks:

• Introduce characters

• Role-play dialogues

• Narrate actions

You can even record Puppet Theater as a fun class video project.

8. Time-Travel Story Adventure

Give each student or group a time period (past, present, future). They create a story about traveling to that time, describing what they see, the people they meet, and the problems they face.

Grammar targets:

• Past tense (trips to the past)

• Present continuous (current events)

• Future forms (travels to the future)

9. News Reporter Storytelling

Have students act as reporters retelling a fictional event like:

• A dragon visited the school

• A new animal species was discovered

• A superhero saved the town hall

Students can prepare:
✔ Reporter script
✔ Interview questions
✔ Vocabulary list (headline words, descriptive adjectives)

10. Personal Storytelling Journals

Students keep a weekly storytelling journal where they write and then retell short stories. This builds writing + speaking fluency together.

Themes to assign:

• A funny moment

• My most exciting day

• A strange dream

• A time I helped someone

Tips for Successful ESL Storytelling Lessons

✅ Model first—give students a short example
✅ Use vocabulary lists and scaffold phrases
✅ Encourage gesture and voice expression
✅ Allow planning time before speaking
✅ Celebrate creativity, not perfection
✅ Rotate partners to increase speaking opportunities

Assessment Ideas

Evaluate students based on:

• Story structure and creativity

• Vocabulary range

• Fluency and speaking confidence

• Grammar used in context

• Collaboration (group activities)

Use simple rubrics for young learners (stars, emojis) and detailed criteria for older students.

Final Thoughts

Storytelling transforms passive English learners into creative communicators. It supports vocabulary growth, encourages imagination, and builds speaking confidence in a low-pressure, playful environment. Whether you’re teaching online or face-to-face, these activities can easily be adapted to suit your class level and style.

Try one activity per week and rotate through them to keep lessons fresh and exciting. Over time, students will become more fluent, expressive, and confident English storytellers.

Free ESL Games and Activities

Download free activities and PDF samples from the ESL Expat store.