Use the cultural diversity in your classroom as an opportunity for group discussions. Ask your students to share differences about their cultures and customs. Use this as a base for introducing a grammar point, or let the conversation develop naturally to help practice fluency. If your students are all from the same country, provide prompts to start conversations about differences between your country and theirs. For example, present a statement about a tradition or common practice in the United States and ask if this is a similar practice in their country, and if not, how it differs. Be careful regarding topics such as politics, religion or gender relations, as these may be sensitive to some students.
Break students into small groups if you have a large class. Small groups can provide an opportunity for spoken practice to those who are usually quiet in large-group discussions. Don't allow them to choose their own groups. Establish your own groups to facilitate conversation among students of different learning and personality types. Don't place the introverted students with the extroverted ones, as the more talkative students will dominate the conversation and the quieter ones won't have a chance to talk. Place the shy students in groups with each other to encourage them to speak.
You can have all the groups speak on the same topic, or give each small group its own subject. Allow the small groups to share for about 20 minutes, then require a member of each group to present the topic of its conversation to the whole class. Use this time to bring the class back into a large-group discussion.
Find photo advertisements from magazines or newspapers. Cover the text and have the students try to guess what the photos are advertising. Avoid using ads that your students will recognize. Look for ads in obscure or specialty magazines, or old magazine issues. This exercise can open a discussion about advertising in different countries. Do a similar exercise with photographs from magazines. Look through fashion magazines, art publications or cultural periodicals such as National Geographic to find interesting and unusual pictures. Have your students guess what is happening, or make their own story about the photos. This is especially useful for vocabulary building and speaking about the simple present or present progressive verb tenses.