Author: Tim Warre

Barcelona based English Teacher, blogger and sometime actor and director.
Posted in 2Ts in a Pod: Podcast, Listening Classes

2Ts in a Pod: Episode 53 – Mike Coppock: Endurance Challenges

Posted on by Tim Warre

2Ts in a Pod are back with a great new episode on the topic of endurance challenges. Katy and Tim talk to Mike Coppock, the long distance mountain runner, about his experiences completing the Island Munros Triathlon and setting a new record for crossing the Pyrenees mountains from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast.

If you want to read more about Mike’s adventures, or watch the excellent short film of the Island Munros Triathlon, follow the links below:

cutt.ly/xA5ypvm – Island Munros Triathlon & The Martin Moran Foundation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK3bdOVBW78 – Island Munros Triathlon short film

cutt.ly/SA5y0ua – The full story of Mike’s Pyrenees crossing

Posted in Exam Preparation Class, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

C2 Proficiency: Key Word Transformation Training #5

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is another training worksheet to introduce some of the expressions that typically come up in part 4 of the proficiency use of English paper. Students work together to guess the meaning of the expressions from the context, then attempt to recall them to complete version 2. Download the handout below:

c2-proficiency_-key-word-transformation-training-5Download

Then put students in pairs and have them first complete then ask and answer the discussion questions to put the language into more creative practice.

You could then use this quizizz game for future spaced recall/repetition of the expressions.

Version 1

  1. He bears a close resemblance to his uncle.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The little boy was green with envy to see his cousin riding his new bike.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. She’s been a bit down in the mouth for the last few days.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Look on the bright side, at least it isn’t raining.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The film is a far cry from the book.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. In his autobiography, he finally set the record straight about the infamous argument with his manager.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Listen, I’ll get straight to the point, we love the house and we want to make an offer.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Keep me posted on the progress with the order, you can call or text anytime.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The England supporters put their team’s failure to qualify down to bad luck.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The waiters at the restaurant couldn’t have been more attentive.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday, can we start over?

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The police think Julia had something to do with the robbery but I think they’re barking up the wrong tree.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. We can go and have a look but there’s no guarantee that there will be space to park.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He prides himself on his ability to remember names and dates.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. She’s definitely at home, I caught a glimpse of her when she walked past the window.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. There were no rooms left in the hotel whatsoever.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. At the height of his success, he could get a table at any restaurant he wanted.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. There’s no telling how she’s going to react when you tell her.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. We need to face up to the fact that the money’s gone and we can’t get it back.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I’m not averse to going to the cinema by myself.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. You’ll have to work your socks off if you want to impress the boss, she’s very demanding.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I was really nervous when I met my girlfriend’s parents for the first time but they soon put me at ease.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Listen, I’ve said my piece, this matter is no longer open to discussion. Goodbye.

Meaning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Version 2

  1. He looks very similar to his uncle. (BEARS)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The little boy was very jealous to see his cousin riding his new bike. (GREEN)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. She’s been a bit sad for the last few days. (MOUTH)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Be optimistic, at least it isn’t raining. (BRIGHT)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The film is very different from the book. (CRY)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. In his autobiography, he finally told the truth about the infamous argument with his manager. (RECORD)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Listen, I’ll talk about the most important thing first, we love the house and we want to make an offer. (POINT)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Give me updates about the progress with the order, you can call or text anytime. (POSTED)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The England supporters said that bad luck was the reason for their team’s failure to qualify. (PUT)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The waiters at the restaurant were extremely attentive. (COULD)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Listen, I think we didn’t start our relationship well yesterday, can we begin again? (FOOT/START)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The police think Julia had something to do with the robbery but I think they’re choosing the wrong course of action. (TREE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. We can go and have a look but we can’t be sure that there will be space to park. (GUARANTEE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He takes great satisfaction in his ability to remember names and dates. (PRIDES)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. She’s definitely at home, I saw her briefly when she walked past the window. (CAUGHT)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. There wasn’t a single room left at the hotel. (WHATSOEVER)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. When he was most successful, he could get a table at any restaurant he wanted. (HEIGHT)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Who knows how she’s going to react when you tell her? (TELLING)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. We need to accept the fact that the money’s gone and we can’t get it back. (FACE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I don’t mind going to the cinema by myself. (AVERSE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. You’ll have to work very hard if you want to impress the boss, she’s very demanding. (SOCKS)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I was really nervous when I met my girlfriend’s parents for the first time but they soon made me feel comfortable. (EASE)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Listen, I’ve said what I want to say, I don’t want to discuss this matter anymore. Goodbye. (PIECE/OPEN)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Conversation

Complete the questions, then ask and answer them with a partner.

  1. Which member(s) of your family do you …….. the closest resemblance to?
  2. Are you the kind of person that often feels green with …….. about your friends’ achievements or possessions? Do you think it’s normal to have these feelings? What can we do about them?
  3. If you’re feeling …….. in the mouth, how do you cheer yourself up? Are you someone who tends to look on the bright ……..? Or do you have a more gloomy outlook on life?
  4. Think of a place you’ve visited that was a far …….. from the place where you grew up. How was it different? Was it a good different or a bad different?
  5. If you have to talk to someone about a difficult subject, do you tend to get ……… to the point, beat around the bush or avoid confrontation altogether? What are the pros and cons of each approach?
  6. Think of a celebrity who has recently ……… the record straight about something they did or said in the past. What happened? Do you think they were right to speak out?
  7. When a person becomes extremely successful or famous, how much of their success do you think can be ……… down to luck and how much is about real talent?
  8. What’s the best customer service you’ve ever received? A place where the staff couldn’t ……… been more attentive. How did it make you feel? Does your country generally have good customer service?
  9. Have you ever ……… off on the wrong foot with someone and had to start ………? Did you then go on to become good friends with that person?
  10. Which of your skills/abilities do you pride yourself ………? Why do you think people tend to be overly modest or hide their best talents and abilities?
  11. Have you ever ……… a glimpse of a really famous celebrity? Where were you? What was the celebrity doing? If you could live that moment again, would you do anything differently?
  12. Think of an example of a famous person who is no longer at the height ……… their success. What are they doing now? Do you feel sorry for them?
  13. Are you someone who tends to ……… up to facts when they’re staring you in the face? Or are you sometimes in denial?
  14. “I’m not averse ……… going to the cinema by myself.” – Is this true for you? What are the pros and cons of going to see a film alone?
  15. Did/do you work your ……… off at school or uni? Or just coast along doing the bare minimum?
  16. How can the parents of a new girl/boyfriend ……… you at ease the first time you meet them? Have you ever been in this situation? How did it feel?
Posted in Exam Preparation Class, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

C2 Proficiency: Key Word Transformation Training #3

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is another training worksheet to introduce some of the expressions that typically come up in part 4 of the proficiency use of English paper. Students work together to guess the meaning of the expressions from the context, then attempt to recall them to complete version 2. Download the handout below:

c2-proficiency_-key-word-transformation-training-3Download

Then put students in pairs and have them ask and answer the discussion questions to put the language into more creative practice.

You could then use this quizziz game for spaced recall of the expressions.

Look at the expressions in bold and try to guess their meaning with a partner.

  1. Young women are often discouraged from pursuing careers in engineering due to sexist preconceptions.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. People who earn under €10,000 a year are exempt from paying income tax.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I am behind with my rent payments, I owe my landlord €1000.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Whether he’s hot or not is beside the point, he’s my ex-boyfriend so you can’t date him.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. There is no question of him staying the night with us, he can get a hotel.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. New restrictions will come into force on Friday night.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Going camping in the mountains does not appeal to me at all.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The police ruled out the obvious suspect because he had an alibi for the night in question.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. They made the decision to get married on the spur of the moment.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He has set his heart on going to LA to be an actor.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. When what really happened comes to light, you’re going to be in big trouble.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I’m not nearly as good-looking as him, it’s not fair!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. It is a foregone conclusion that Man City will win the league now.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I just took it as read that anyone who applied for the course would have the necessary qualifications.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Sadly, he’s just not cut out to be a professional basketball player.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I have no idea whatsoever who’s going to win this match.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He came in for a lot of criticism after his comments to the press.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. My horse couldn’t keep pace with the rest of the riders and we soon fell behind.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Version 2

Try to recall the expressions using the key words.

  1. Young women are often put off pursuing careers in engineering due to sexist preconceptions. (DISCOURAGED)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. People who earn under €10,000 a year don’t have to pay income tax. (EXEMPT)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I have missed a few of my rent payments, I owe my landlord €1000. (BEHIND)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Whether he’s hot or not doesn’t matter, he’s my ex-boyfriend so you can’t date him. (BESIDE)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. There’s no way he is staying the night with us, he can get a hotel. (QUESTION)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. New restrictions will become law on Friday night. (FORCE)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Going camping in the mountains does not interest me at all. (APPEAL)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The police eliminated the obvious suspect because he had an alibi for the night in question. (RULED)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. They made the decision to get married on a whim. (SPUR)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He is determined to go to LA to be an actor. (HEART)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. When what really happened is revealed, you’re going to be in big trouble. (LIGHT)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He’s much better looking than me, it’s not fair! (NEARLY)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Man City will definitely win the league now. (FOREGONE)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I just assumed that anyone who applied for the course would have the necessary qualifications. (READ)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. Sadly, he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a professional basketball player. (CUT)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. I haven’t the foggiest idea who’s going to win this match. (WHATSOEVER)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. He received a lot of criticism after his comments to the press. (CAME)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. My horse couldn’t go at the same speed as the rest of the riders and we soon fell behind. (PACE)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Discussion

Young women are often discouraged from pursuing careers in engineering due to sexist preconceptions.

  1. Is this true? If so, what can be done to change the situation?

People who earn under €10,000 a year are exempt from paying income tax.

  1. Should anyone else be exempt from paying tax? What can we do to cut down on tax avoidance?

Whether he’s hot or not is beside the point, he’s my ex-boyfriend so you can’t date him.

  1. Is it ever ok to date a friend’s ex? Why? Why not?

New restrictions will come into force on Friday night.

  1. What will you do if new coronavirus restrictions do come into force?

Going camping in the mountains does not appeal to me at all.

  1. Does it appeal to you? Why? Why not?

They made the decision to get married on the spur of the moment.

  1. Have you ever made a big decision on the spur of the moment?

He has set his heart on going to LA to be an actor.

  1. What do you have your heart set on? What will you do to achieve it?

Sadly, he’s just not cut out to be a professional basketball player.

  1. Do you think you’re cut out to be a professional sportsperson? Why? Why not? What skills/traits do you think you’re lacking?

He came in for a lot of criticism after his comments to the press.

  1. Think of a celebrity who has come in for a lot of criticism recently. What did they do? Do you think the criticism was deserved? What’s your opinion of cancel culture?
Posted in Games, Grammar Classes

B1 Extra Materials – Link

Posted on by Tim Warre

I often receive emails from students’ parents asking for links to extra work their kids can do at home to boost their grades, so I’ve compiled this document to send to them. It only took a few minutes of Googling to put it together but it’s good for parents or students to have it all in one place for easy access. Download the doc below and if you know of any other useful sites for B1 teenage students, please mention them in the comments.

b1-extra-resourcesDownload

Grammar Exercises:

Reading Exercises:

Listening Exercises: 

Games

Quizlet*: https://quizlet.com/CIC-Teacher/folders/gateway-b1-blue-book?x=1xqt&i=gqpl1

Posted in Action Research, Pronunciation Classes

Action Research: Pronunciation Project #2

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is the second in a series of posts documenting a mini research project I’m doing with a group of C1/C2 students to see how effective explicit pronunciation instruction activities can be. If you haven’t already, please read the first post to get a better idea of the methods I’m using. Download the slides and handout for this second mini lesson plan below:

pronunciation-project-2Download
pronunciation-project-2Download

Full credit to Mark Hancock for the excellent -ed endings maze, you can get it and many more from this excellent website he runs together with Annie McDonald. You can also get loads more great materials from his Instagram page. If you get the chance to attend one of his seminars/webinars, go for it, loads of great ideas.

This particular lesson plan focuses on -ed endings of regular verbs and consonant to vowel linking in phrasal verbs. If you’re following along with the project with your students, please let me know how it’s going in the comments.

Posted in Advanced C1, B2 First, Exam Preparation Class, Games, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

Word Formation Noughts & Crosses

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is a lesson plan for students preparing for the Cambridge main suite exams. I specifically created it with C1 or C2 students in mind but it could easily be adapted to B2. Students practice word formation while playing a game of noughts and crosses. Download the handout below:

word-formation_-noughts-crosses-blog-versionDownload

Students play in pairs, they must choose a square on the board where they want to place their token, but they must first correctly complete the corresponding word formation question in order to do so. All of the words are based on the same root word.

If a student answers incorrectly, you could either have the opponent steal the square by answering correctly, or say that the square is now dead and nobody can place a token there.

An alternative game to play with the same 9 questions is this great, and very versatile, football game by https://tekhnologic.wordpress.com/

As a follow-up you could set your students the task of coming up with their own lists of nine sentences to use in future games. You could give them each a root word (use, communicate, etc.) and send them to the Longman Online Dictionary to look up all the derivatives in order to make their 9 questions: https://www.ldoceonline.com/

Posted in Action Research, Listening Classes, Pronunciation Classes

Action Research: Pronunciation Project

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is the first of a series of blog posts I plan to write on a little pronunciation project I’m going to run with a C1/C2 group of Catalan/Spanish speaking students. If you’d like to try to run the same experiment with your own groups, you can download the materials I’m going to use at the bottom of this post.

Question

How much can high-level students’ spoken pronunciation be improved by explicit focus on connected speech during class time? The plan is to use both reactive teaching/error correction and explicit, mini-lessons on specific elements of connected speech to work on students’ spoken output. Their progress will then be tracked through the use of submitted voice recordings.

Baseline Level

In order to gauge students current level of spoken pronunciation, I wrote a text, which you’ll find below, that contains many elements of connected speech:

Dusty Dreams

I have always wanted to play in a rock and roll band but I can’t seem to find the time to practice enough. If you don’t put in the hours, you’re always going to put off fulfilling an ambition. I want to do it, but the harder I try to pick up the guitar, the busier I get, and at the weekends I tend to go out most nights and those dreams are left back in the corner gathering dust with my guitar.

In class today I collected their baseline recordings. They completed a simple comprehension task on the text, then each recorded themselves reading the text on their own mobile phones and sent me the resulting audio file.

I will also have them record themselves completing a Cambridge “long turn” task during the next class in order to gather a non-scripted sample of their spoken output.

Pronunciation Development

The pronunciation work students will complete will take a number of forms:

  1. Explicit teaching of sentence stress, weak forms, and other elements of connected speech.
  2. Use of tubequizard.com in their free time as ear-training/decoding.
  3. Exposure to a “model” version of the target text, read by me, for students to compare/mimic.
  4. Activities and worksheets such as Mark Hancock and Annie McDonald’s mazes.
  5. Reactive hot and cold error correction.

Tracking Development

The idea is to spend 15-20 mins a week explicitly focusing on pronunciation and then have students rerecord the original “Dusty Dreams” text in 6-8 weeks and compare the second recording to their original. I will also periodically collect long turn attempts to track the progress of more spontaneous/authentic speech. I also plan to use other texts or dialogue transcripts for later recordings as well as tracking students’ scores on C2 Proficiency reading comprehension tasks.

This is my first real attempt at action research, I’m probably doing a bunch of stuff wrong, but it’s exciting and my students seem to be up to the challenge! I’ll keep you posted.

If you’d like to follow along with your own students, you can download the first lesson plan, with the baseline text and a micro-lesson on weak forms of “to” and “for”, below:

pronunciation-project-2022Download
pron-project-1Download

Feel free to comment or give advice!

Posted in Conversation Classes, pragmatics

Classroom Pragmatics: Arriving Late & Leaving Early

Posted on by Tim Warre
Five things you could be doing that are driving your professor crazy — Vision Media

This is the first in a new series of classroom pragmatics lesson plans designed to help develop students’ pragmatic competence in specific social interactions that take place in the classroom. In this case, how to apologise for arriving late and how to request to leave early. Download the handout with key below:

classroom-pragmatics-arriving-late-leaving-early-2Download
classroom-pragmatics-arriving-late-leaving-early-1Download

First students rate a good and a bad apology/request. Then they must break the apology/request down into separate functions or speech acts, then practice making their own apologies and requests in a role-play. This should prepare them for the real-life interaction if/when it arises.

Late Arrival

  • What should you do if you arrive late to class?

Rate this late arrival:

Teacher: What time do you call this?

Student: Sorry I’m late, …. traffic ….., I was eating, lost the bus.”

Now this one:

Teacher:  What time do you call this?

Student: Hi Tim, I’m really sorry for being late. It’s my fault, you see, I was having lunch with my friends and I lost track of time. It won’t happen again.

Identify the different stages:

  1. Greeting
  2. Initial apology
  3. Accept responsibility/place blame
  4. Give explanation
  5. Promise action

Useful language

Initial apologyAccept responsibility
I’m really sorry for ….ingApologies for ….ingI apologise profusely for ….ingIt’s (all) my fault…I’m to blame…It’s on me…
Introduce explanation or excusePromise action
You see,…It’s just that…What happened was…It won’t happen again.I’ll try harder to …. next time.I promise I’ll/I won’t…

Role-play

https://rolladie.net/roll-a-d20-die – roll a 20-sided die to choose your excuse then role-play the situation with your partner.

Excuse Table

I overslept. My last class/meeting overran. I lost track of time. I missed the bus and had to wait for the next one. I got stuck in traffic. The metro line was down. I got distracted. I had a (dentist’s) appointment. My (pet/family member) was sick. I lost my (bag/phone/etc.)My bag got stolen. I fell over/tripped and hurt my (ankle/knee) I had a car/bike/motorbike accident. My car/bike/motorbike broke down. My house/flat got burgled/broken into. A water pipe burst in my house/flat. I got held up at the (doctor’s/dentist’s/bank) I got caught in the rain/snow. I got splashed by a puddle. There’s been a death in the family.

Leaving Early

  • How would you ask the teacher if you can leave early?

Rate this request:

Student: I have to leave early today. I have to go to the dentist. Here you have a note from my dad.

Now this one:

Student: Hi Tim, would it be ok if I left early today? I’ll only miss the last 20 minutes of class. The thing is, I have a dentist’s appointment at 3 o’clock, it’s the only slot they had. I’ll get the notes off María before next class and if you could let me know the homework, that’d be great.

Identify the different stages:

  • Greeting
  • Initial request
  • Softening
  • Introduce reason
  • Promise action/mitigation
Polite RequestsIntroducing explanations
Would it be of if + past simpleWould it be possible to + inf.Do you think I could + verb…?The thing is,…It’s just that,….You see,….

Role-play

https://rolladie.net/roll-a-d10-die – roll a 10-sided die to choose your excuse then role-play the situation with your partner. Think of ways to soften the request (I’ll only miss 20 minutes of class)

Excuse Table

It’s your (family member’s) birthday. You have a big sporting event. You have an important exam tomorrow morning. You have a flight/train to catch. You have a dentist’s appointment. You have a doctor’s appointment. You have an appointment at the hairdresser’s. You have an important business meeting. You have to go home to look after your kids/younger siblings. You have an important family dinner.

KEY – ARRIVING LATE

Teacher:  What time do you call this?

Student: Hi Tim, I’m really sorry for being late. It’s my fault, you see, I was having lunch with my friends and I lost track of time. It won’t happen again.

Identify the different stages:

  1. Greeting
  2. Initial apology
  3. Accept responsibility/place blame
  4. Give explanation
  5. Promise action

LEAVING EARLY

Student: Hi Tim, would it be ok if I left early today? I’ll only miss the last 20 minutes of class. The thing is, I have a dentist’s appointment at 3 o’clock, it’s the only slot they had. I’ll get the notes off María before next class and if you could let me know the homework, that’d be great.

Identify the different stages:

  • Greeting
  • Initial request
  • Softening
  • Introduce reason
  • Promise action/mitigation
Posted in Advanced C1, B2 First, Conversation Classes, pragmatics

Pragmatics: Everyday Interactions – Contrastive Analysis

Posted on by Tim Warre
See you in a bit. - Post by camillissima on Boldomatic

This is a lesson plan designed to help Spanish speaking students sound more natural in lots of common, everyday interactions. Download the handout and PowerPoint below:

everyday-english_-contrastive-analysisDownload
pragmatics-everyday-interactions-ppDownload

Students do some contrastive analysis of some high frequency expressions in English and Spanish in order to identify some common errors and put the more natural English expressions into practice.

Everyday English: Contrastive Analysis

Contrastive Analysis

Work with a partner.

Complete the second column with direct translations or common mistakes that Spanish speakers make with these expressions.

SpanishDirect Translation/Common MistakeEnglish Equivalent
¡Hasta ahora! ¡Igualmente! ¿Cuánto tiempo? ¿Qué tal? ¡Que vaya bien! ¡Que te lo pases bien! ¡Aquí lo tienes! No te escucho. ¿Qué pasa? No pasa nada ¿Puedes repetir? ¿Cuánto falta para…? Estoy de acuerdo Una cosa/una preguntaUntil now! …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… ………………………………………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… ……………………………

Now complete the third column with  the more natural English equivalent.

Buzzer Game

Cut out the situation cards below. Put the cards face down in a pile. Turn over one card, the first person to say the appropriate expression for that card takes the card and scores one point. Keep playing until all the cards have been used.

Your housemate is going to the shop, they will be back in 5 minutes. What do you say to them?Your co-worker says “have a good weekend!” as they leave the office. What do you say to them?
Your partner is leaving to go to an important job interview. What do you say to them?You work in a coffee shop. You hand a customer their cup of coffee. What do you say to them?
You put your hand up in English class, you want to ask the teacher a question. What do you say to them?You see an old friend from school you haven’t seen for a long time. What do you say to them?
You’re speaking on the phone but there is loud music playing. You don’t understand what they’re saying because of the noise. What do you say to them?You get home and see that one of your children is crying. What do you say to them?
Your friend tells you that they’re going to Disneyland this weekend. What do you say to them?Your friend says sorry for arriving late to meet you for lunch. You don’t mind that they’re late. What do you say to them?
Your teacher says something very quickly and you don’t understand. What do you say to them?You’re having a debate at work and you have the same opinion as your co-worker. What do you say to them?
You see your friend in the morning and you want to know how they are. What do you say to them?You’re bored at school and you want to know when you will be allowed to go to the playground. What do you say to the teacher?

Key

SpanishDirect Translation/Common MistakeEnglish Equivalent
¡Hasta ahora! ¡Igualmente!
¿Cuánto tiempo? ¿Qué tal?
¡Que vaya bien! ¡Que te lo pases bien!
¡Aquí lo tienes! No te escucho. ¿Qué pasa?
No pasa nada ¿Puedes repetir? ¿Cuánto falta para…?
Estoy de acuerdo
Una cosa/una pregunta		Until now!/See you now!
Equally!
How much time?
What such?
That it go well.
That you pass it well.
Here you have.
I don’t listen you.
What happens?
Happens nothing
Can you repeat?
How much is left for…?
I am agree
One thing/one question		See you in a bit/sec
Same to you!
Long time, no see!
How’s it going?
Hope it goes well.
Have fun!
Here you go/Here’s….
I can’t hear you.
What’s up? What’s wrong?
No worries/problem.
Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
How much longer until…?
I agree.
I have a question/doubt

Buzzer Game

Your housemate is going to the shop, they will be back in 5 minutes. What do you say to them? See you in a bit/secYour co-worker says “have a good weekend!” as they leave the office. What do you say to them? You too!
Your partner is leaving to go to an important job interview. What do you say to them? Hope it goes wellYou work in a coffee shop. You hand a customer their cup of coffee. What do you say to them? Here you go/Here’s your coffee
You put your hand up in English class, you want to ask the teacher a question. What do you say to them? I have a question/doubtYou see an old friend from school you haven’t seen for a long time. What do you say to them? Long time, no see!
You’re speaking on the phone but there is loud music playing. You don’t understand what they’re saying because of the noise. What do you say to them? I can’t hear youYou get home and see that one of your children is crying. What do you say to them? What’s wrong?
Your friend tells you that they’re going to Disneyland this weekend. What do you say to them? Have fun!Your friend says sorry for arriving late to meet you for lunch. You don’t mind that they’re late. What do you say to them? No worries/problem
Your teacher says something very quickly and you don’t understand. What do you say to them? Sorry, I didn’t catch thatYou’re having a debate at work and you have the same opinion as your co-worker. What do you say to them? I agree
You see your friend in the morning and you want to know how they are. What do you say to them? How’s it going?You’re bored at school and you want to know when you will be allowed to go to the playground. What do you say to the teacher? How long / How much longer until play time?