Once an ESL student progresses past the point of basic vocabulary, you need to bring in an entirely new set of exercises to continue to harness the student's mind and potential. There are several ESL advanced vocabulary exercises that you can give to your students, says Patty Middleton, who has a Master's Degree in ESL from Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota. She currently teaches ESL and offers several advance strategies for any age level.

In-Depth Conversation
Move your conversational exercises to a more in-depth place, suggests Middleton. Ask students to talk to each other in English and give them several things that they need to discuss. ESL students at the advanced level should be able to discuss national politics, religion and education itself, instead of things like their likes and dislikes, as beginning students do. Ask advanced students to debate a point and counterpoint, in order to encourage them to learn more vocabulary and more expressions for themselves.

Journal Writing
Encourage all ESL students to write in English in a journal each day. For advanced students, give journal prompts that are advanced. Ask them to write about a favorite memory, which requires the use of past tenses and descriptive words. Prompt them to write about their hopes, fears, desires and thoughts, which are all abstract concepts and require more of a knowledge of the English language than writing about their day or writing about a basic subject.

Presentations
Have students give presentations. Middleton says that as students get more comfortable with English, they should be able to stand up in front of the class and talk about something. Make these presentations advanced by throwing questions at them during the presentation, such as "how do you feel about..." and "what do you believe when it comes to..." Both of these questions encourage advanced vocabulary learning and speaking.