Here’s another of our vocab videos from our TikTok channel, this time we’re looking at 5 ways to agree with somebody. If you enjoy this video, come join us on TikTok!
https://www.tiktok.com/@2tspod
Here’s another of our vocab videos from our TikTok channel, this time we’re looking at 5 ways to agree with somebody. If you enjoy this video, come join us on TikTok!
https://www.tiktok.com/@2tspod
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:
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/
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:
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
Work with a partner.
Complete the second column with direct translations or common mistakes that Spanish speakers make with these expressions.
Spanish | Direct Translation/Common Mistake | English 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! …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… | …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… |
Now complete the third column with the more natural English equivalent.
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? |
Spanish | Direct Translation/Common Mistake | English 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 |
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/sec | Your 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 well | You 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/doubt | You 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 you | You 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 that | You’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? |
This is a guest post by Soleil García Brito just in time for Halloween! Students learn about the concert of spoopy vs spooky things and the history of the jack-o-lantern. Download the handouts below:
Adapted from Merriam Webster – Words We’re Watching
The Inside Poop On ‘Spoopy’
Spoopy might startle people, especially around Halloween season. Perhaps it’s the resemblance (1) ______ spooky, which could lead you to believe the formation is nothing more (2) ______ a jaw-dropping typo. Or it could also be that it has poopy in it, which makes the spelling amusing to people (3) ______ enjoy bodily humour. This Internet sensation’s origin was a comical misspelling of the adjective spooky spotted on a department store’s Halloween sign written in a “skeletal” font and photographed. The image was (4) ______ uploaded to the Internet; in short order, spoopy (5) ______ viral. Essentially, the word is used to describe something that typically would be spooky, (6) ______ an image of a skeleton or ghost, but is actually rather comical. The word has other connotations (7) ______ well: it is sometimes used for things that are intended to be spooky but simply fail to scare, or it could describe something that blends cuteness (8) ______ spookiness in a grotesque way.
Watch the video (x2) until 5:17 and answer the following questions:
Watch the video again, complete the sentences below and match the words to their meanings:
Turns out | Walking around slowly with no clear purpose or direction |
Claiming | In a way that shows a strong desire to do or have something |
Turn (sth/sb) into | Saying that something is true or a fact |
Eagerly | To be known or discovered finally and surprisingly |
Wandering | Ground near a lake, a river, or the sea that is always wet |
Marshes | To change, transform or develop from one thing to another |
USEFUL IDIOMS | To be taken off guard The lesser of two evils |
A new worksheet for B2+ students to help them add more cohesion to their writing through the use of formal linkers and connectors. Download the handout and key below:
Lead students through the worksheet. Encourage creativity in the final activity. Set students an FCE or CAE part 1 essay for homework.
Label the groups of linkers (A, B, C, D) with the titles in the box based on their function.
REASON ADDITION CONTRAST/CONCESSION CONDITIONALS |
Group A:
Group B:
Look at the sentences and choose the correct alternative:
Group C
Look at the sentences and choose the correct alternative:
Group D
Look at the linkers in group D and match them to their meaning
Complete the sentences with a linker from the previous exercise, more than one answer might be possible.
Use linkers to upgrade these sentences for use in a C1 essay. You can also upgrade the language in the sentences.
This is a lesson plan for B2+ students. It is based on a text from https://www.iflscience.com/ on the subject of wild animals. It will serve as good exam practice for students preparing to take Cambridge exams and should also be an engaging topic of conversation for teenagers and adults. Download the handouts and slides below:
Link to original article: https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/badass-goat-killed-grizzly-bear-by-skewering-it-on-its-horns-necropsy-reveals/
Apex predators make (1) IT to the top (2) BY being the most efficient hunters in their domain, but every now and (3) THEN an underdog crops up to disrupt the food chain. (4) SUCH an example played out on the mountains of Burgess Pass in Yoho National Park, where Parks Canada retrieved the body of a female grizzly bear. Such a creature would usually (5) BE the slayer rather than the slain, and most surprisingly of all the assailant turned (6) OUT to be a goat.
The battle (7) TOOK place sometime before September 4 after which Parks Canada was made aware (8) OF the presence of a carcass. Bodies such (9) AS these need to be removed as they can otherwise lure in wildlife that could put visitors to the pass (10) AT risk.
The discovery of a slain bear merits a forensic investigation to determine the (11) CAUSE of death, and so a necropsy (12) WAS conducted on the animal. During the examination, staff noticed that the fatal wounds were at the base of the bear’s neck and in (13) ITS armpits. The attack sites might sound random to the uninitiated, but to experienced park rangers, this was the work (14) OF one extremely lucky mountain goat.
“When grizzly bears attack, they tend (15) TO focus (16) ON the head, neck, and shoulders of the prey, usually (17) FROM above,” Alison Biles, Public Relations and Communications Officer for Parks Canada, told IFLScience. “In turn, the defensive response of mountain goats would (18) BE to protect themselves using (19) THEIR sharp horns.”
“Grizzly bear predation of mountain goats is relatively common and significant goat activity was observed (20) IN the immediate area. (21) IN this case, it appears that the mountain goat was (22) TRYING/ABLE to defend itself. While rare, other cases of mountain goats defensively killing bears have (23) BEEN reported in the past, (24) WHICH is not completely surprising since mountain goats are strong animals that are well-equipped to defend (25) THEMSELVES”
Adapted from: https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/badass-goat-killed-grizzly-bear-by-skewering-it-on-its-horns-necropsy-reveals/
Find words or phrases in the text to match these definitions:
Complete the collocations from the text:
Complete the sentences with one of the collocations:
Don’t you just love a 2 episode week? We’re back with episode 51 continuing our book club series on Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.
In this episode we talk about chapters 32-40; we discuss the things that happen, our favourite parts and examine some interesting vocabulary that comes up.
Why not read and listen along? Or, if you’re a teacher, encourage your students to do so.
Listen on SoundCloud:
Or, alternatively, listen on Spotify:
This is a special summer edition of my “Where do you stand?” conversation series. Students decide to what extent they agree with different statements on the topic of summer activities and holidays and then share their views with their classmates. Download the PowerPoint and student handout below:
The PowerPoint has some quite advanced language for discussion on it. You may want to use this phrase sheet, designed with B2 students in mind, for lower levels.
This is another edition of my “Where do you Stand?” conversation series. Students debate different topics related to education but must rate their opinion on a scale from 1-6 before they begin the discussion. Download the PowerPoint and student handout below:
If you want to use it with B2 students you could use this phrase sheet.
Credit to Owlcation for some of the debate topics: