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.
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:
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:
Greeting
Initial apology
Accept responsibility/place blame
Give explanation
Promise action
Useful language
Initial apology
Accept responsibility
I’m really sorry for ….ingApologies for ….ingI apologise profusely for ….ing
It’s (all) my fault…I’m to blame…It’s on me…
Introduce explanation or excuse
Promise 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…
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 Requests
Introducing 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:
Greeting
Initial apology
Accept responsibility/place blame
Give explanation
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.
A simple conversation activity I designed as a follow-up to my previous post entitled “A Weekend Off”. It can be used with B1+ students. Students discuss various topics related to parenthood, kids and growing up. Download the handout below:
Put students in pairs or small groups and have them discuss the questions. Pause regularly to feedback in open class. The activity should generate a lot of emergent language.
Student Handout
How does life change when you have kids?
How can other family members help with childcare?
What things do you think new parents miss about their old life?
What do you think are the biggest challenges for new parents?
Feeling unprepared for parenthood
Suffering from sleep deprivation
A loss/lack of intimacy
Changing dirty nappies/diapers
Picking kids up from kindergarten/nursery
Financial struggles
How is growing up different for:
The first child?
The middle child?
The baby?
What position were you in your family?
What are some stereotypes associated with the different positions among siblings?
What are the pros and cons of being an only child?
What do children learn from having siblings?
What do you think is the perfect number of children to have?
1?
2?
3?
4?
More?
What are the pros and cons of these stages of children’s lives?
Babies (0-1)
Toddlers (1-3)
Kids (3-10)
Pre-teens (10-12)
Teenagers (13-18)
Young adults (18-22)
What’s the most rewarding and most challenging aspect of each stage?
This is a guest post by online language tutor and ELT writer Ned Widdows. Ideal for the first class back after Christmas, it is a B1-B2 lesson with reading, vocabulary and speaking, asking learners to reflect on their experiences of 2020 and to look forward to the year ahead.
Download the teacher’s notes and student handout below:
Write New Year’s Eve on the board / in the chat and ask students to share:
5 words connected with New Year (in general)
5 words connected with New Year 2021
Optional: share this image and ask students to describe what they see.
Briefly discuss how Christmas and New Year this year have been affected by the pandemic.
Procedure:
A – D on Student’s Handout is self-explanatory.
Optional ideas:
Dictate the questions in A.
Check the pronunciation of some of the trickier vocabulary in B, e.g. /ˌpɪktʃəˈresk/ /pəˈreɪd/
Get learners to write new sentences with the verb patterns in C, e.g. I’m trying to learn how to play chess at the moment; She misses spending time with her cousins; etc.
Share a link for a padlet and ask learners to post their texts on it. They can read each other’s and see what they have in common.
Super simple conversation activity based around the topic of food. Suitable for a range of levels from A2 upwards. It was written for students based in Barcelona so a couple of questions won’t make sense outside Catalonia, but you can skip/adapt those ones. Credit to my DELTA tutor Neil Forrest for the dressing a salad question and nationalfoods.org for the weird national dishes questions.
Introduce the topic of food debates using the first slide about the Devon vs Cornwall cream tea debate. Cream teas are scones topped with jam and clotted cream but there is a heated debate regarding which should be put on the scone first. Cornish heathens think that the jam should go first, followed by the cream, which is just preposterous. Righteous Devonians know that the correct order is cream first, then jam. (can you guess where I’m from?) Then ask students to discuss any food debates that exist in their country.
This is a guest post by Soleil García Brito. It is a lesson plan on the topic of gender roles. Students complete a First-Certificate-style multiple choice cloze exercise, a listening comprehension based on a clip from Friends and finally, a discussion on the topic. Download the student handout and teacher’s notes below:
This is a fun lexis lesson for B1+ teens and adults based around the topic of gossip. Students read a dialogue of two people gossiping full of phrasal verbs. Then they try to guess the meaning of the expressions from the context, practice them in gap-fill exercises then write and perform their own soap opera/gossip scenes. Download the handout below:
Introduce the topic of gossip, check students understanding of the word, ask CCQs: what do people gossip about? relationships, secrets, arguments etc.
Gist Reading
Give out the handout, have students read it in pairs and then think of a title for the scene. If students have issues with any lexis, tell them that you will look at it in detail later.
Meaning Match
Have sts work together to match the phrasal verbs underlined in the text with the meanings in box.
Testing/Memorising
After checking sts answers on the board, have sts test each other on the phrasal verbs: one says the definition, the other has to recall the phrasal verb or vice versa.
Gap-fill: Recall prepositions
Students turn the handout over and have to quickly remember all the prepositions.
Controlled practice: New contexts
Sts have to try to use the phrasal verbs in new contexts by completing a gap fill, remind them to be careful of the tense and form of the phrasal verbs. Key:
fell out
pick up
cheating on
ask out
put up with
hang out
get on
looking back
looking forward to
turned up
broke up
Freer Practice
Students work in pairs to write their own, new dialogues, you could show them clips from classic UK soap operas like Eastenders or Coronation Street to give them some inspiration. Have students read their dialogues out in front of the class and vote on the funniest/most scandalous.
Dialogue
Read the dialogue below with a partner, then think of a title for it:
Title: ___________________________
A: Have you heard about Kate and Steve?
B: No, what happened?
A: They’ve broken up.
B: No way! When did this happen??
A: Yesterday. Apparently she’d been cheating on him for months with a guy from her gym.
B: Seriously?? That’s horrible, tell me more.
A: Well apparently she met this guy in her yoga class and they got on really well and started hanging out after class. Then the guy asked her out for a drink and she said yes, but then Sarah saw them in the bar where they went for the date and confronted her about it.
B: Woah! Is that why Kate and Sarah fell out?
A: Yeah, looking back it seems obvious now. So then, last week Steve and Kate were supposed to be going to a concert together, Steve had been looking forward to it for ages. Then on the night of the concert she just didn’t turn up! He was calling her and calling her and she didn’t pick up, because she was out on another date with the guy from the gym!
B: What a bitch! Steve is such a nice guy.
A: I know he shouldn’t have to put up with being treated like that. So anyway, he went straight to her house because he was really worried and he caught her coming out of her flat with the guy!
B: Oh my god! It’s like something out of a soap opera!
A: I know…
Meaning
Replace the underlined phrasal verbs in the text with the words/phrases in the box below:
1. Tolerate
2. Stopped being friends
3. Ended their relationship
4. Spend time together
5. Have a good relationship
6. Be excited about a future event/thing
7. Answer the phone
8. To be unfaithful
9. Request a date
10. Appear/arrive
11. Remembering/thinking about
Memory Test
Can you remember the missing prepositions?
A: Have you heard about Kate and Steve?
B: No, what happened?
A: They’ve broken _____.
B: No way! When did this happen??
A: Yesterday. Apparently she’d been cheating _____him for months with a guy from her gym.
B: Seriously?? That’s horrible, tell me more.
A: Well apparently she met this guy in her yoga class and they got ______really well and started hanging _______ after class. Then the guy asked her _______ for a drink and she said yes, but then Sarah saw them in the bar where they went for the date and confronted her about it.
B: Woah! Is that why Kate and Sarah fell ________?
A: Yeah, looking _______it seems obvious now. So then, last week Steve and Kate were supposed to be going to a concert together, Steve had been looking _________ to it for ages. Then on the night of the concert she just didn’t turn up! He was calling her and calling her and she didn’t pick ________, because she was out on another date with the guy from the gym!
B: What a bitch! Steve is such a nice guy.
A: I know he shouldn’t have to put _______with being treated like that. So anyway, he went straight to her house because he was really worried and he caught her coming out of her flat with the guy!
B: Oh my god! It’s like something out of a soap opera!
A: I know…
Practice
Complete the sentences with the correct phrasal verb:
I ____________ with my sister 2 years ago and we’re still not speaking now.
I tried calling my parents but they didn’t ____________.
I think my boyfriend might be ________________ me, he keeps texting some other girl.
I really fancy this girl in my class, I want to _______ her ________, where should I suggest?
There was a crying baby in the seat behind me on the train, I had to _____________ the noise for the whole journey.
I just want to _____________ with my friends this weekend.
I ______________ really well with my Dad’s new girlfriend, she’s really nice.
________________ on my childhood, I think I had an easy life.
I’m really _________________ my holiday in Greece, I can’t wait!
I was waiting for the bus for 2 hours but it never ________________.
I’m so depressed, my girlfriend _____________ with me last night, she says she doesn’t love me anymore.
This is a warmer/short conversation activity for use with lower-level students (A1-B1) to refresh past simple question formation. Download the handout below:
Unscramble the questions, and then ask them to your teacher:
summer your how holidays were?
did where go you?
there you did do what?
it did like you?
Ask and answer the questions in pairs.
Questions Words
Complete the questions with a question word:
Where What (x2) How (x2) Who
___________ was the weather like?
___________ did you stay?
___________ did you get there?
___________ did you go on holiday with?
___________ long did you go for?
___________ was the best thing you did there?
Answer Match
Match the questions (1-6) with the answers (a-f)
We went surfing, it was so much fun!
In a nice little hotel next to the beach.
We took a plane to the island and then we rented a car.
We went for 6 days.
It was lovely, it only rained once.
I went with my Mum, Dad and little brother.
Speaking
Ask the questions to your teacher, then to your partner.
Then write 2 new questions for your partner:
Where
Who
When
What
Why
How
Did
You
Verb in base form
Do
Eat
Buy
See
Etc.
There?
What
Was
The best thing
You
Verb in past simple
Ate?
Saw?
Bought?
Etc.
Key
Scrambled questions
How were your summer holidays?
Where did you go?
What did you do there?
Did you like it?
Question Words
What
Where
How
Who
How
What
Answer Match
E
B
C
F
D
A
Teacher’s Notes
Pronunciation
While students are performing the speaking task, be sure to help them with pronunciation of the questions, focusing specifically on weak forms and sentence stress:
Where did you go?
| weə dɪdjə ɡəʊ | – Connected speech and weak form “you”
What was the weather like?
| ˈwɒt wəz ðə ˈweðə ˈlaɪk | – weak forms of “was” and “the”. Sentence stress on “what” “weather” and “like”
Smartphones, photos
If students have photos of their holiday readily available (on a smartphone or tablet) let them show their partner while they describe their holiday.
This is a lesson plan designed for lower-level (A2-B1) teenagers. It is designed to help students write short stories using different narrative tenses, sequences and discourse markers.
Preparation
All you need is plenty of paper and a pen for each student.
Procedure
Sit students in a circle and give them each a pen and piece of paper. Tell them that they are going to write stories together; if you have 8 student, at the end of the class they will have written 8 stories.
Write on the board:
Once, there was a man/woman called ……. who….
Tell students to copy the sentence onto their piece of paper, decide if the character is a man or a woman and give them a name.
Students then pass the piece of paper to the left; they must then complete the first sentence, for example:
Once, there was a man called Jimmy who lived under a bridge.
Students then pass the paper again, and copy down and complete the following:
One day ….. was …..ing….
For example:
One day Jimmy was walking down the street
Students pass again and complete the following:
when…+ past simple
One day Jimmy was walking down the street when he saw a police car driving towards him.
Continue the process but now start to introduce different words to begin the sentences, the whole writing process will look like this:
Once there was a man/woman called …who…
Complete sentence 1.
One day …. was….ing
Complete sentence 3: when…..
Suddenly….
Fortunately….
Unfortunately….
And in the end….
And the moral of the story is….
While students are writing try to monitor and help them with vocab and narrative tenses. When they have all finished have them read out their stories one by one and then vote on their favourite one.
Follow up
Students write another story using the same basic structure for homework.
This is a lesson plan for B1+ students on the topic of quitting smoking in which students learn the language of asking for, giving, accepting and rejecting advice and using it in a role-play. I prepared and taught this class as part of my productive skills assignment for the DELTA at International House Barcelona.
Sts ask and answer questions about smoking from 1st slide of powerpoint (pp)
Give opportunities for 1 or 2 sts to explain how they quit.
To engage top-down knowledge and personalise topic.
Lead in to pre-listening.
Pre-listening
5 mins
Closed pairs
OC
Closed pairs
Sts brainstorm different ways to quit. Board any that are different to the 4 on slide 2: nicotine gum/patches, e-cigarettes, hypnosis.
Show 2nd slide, board pronunciation of cigarette, patches and hypnosis. Drill briefly.
/sɪɡə’ret/ /ˈpætʃɪz/ /hɪpˈnəʊsɪs/
Sts answer questions at bottom of 2nd slide.
To activate top-down knowledge further and pre-teach some vocab for listening.
To check and improve pronunciation.
Sts react to content.
Listening
5-10 mins
Closed pairs
OC
Introduce characters and situation from listening with 3rd slide.
Give out listening comprehension handout. Sts listen and answer 3 questions from handout:
1. What methods does Joanne recommend?
2. What methods does Ian recommend?
3. Which method does Katy decide to try?
Replay as needed, break into two parts if necessary.
Check answers across class.
Give out handout, sts listen again with tape script. “Any questions?”
To ground sts in the situation of the listening.
TAVI exercise to aid sts listening comprehension. Secondary aim: to introduce exponents of advice in context.
To clear up doubts.
Language focus
10 mins
Closed pairs
OC
OC/closed pairs
Sts categorise the exponents listed on the handout by meaning. Elicit correct categories for first 2/3. Show slide 4 with first 3 in correct categories.
While sts do this board all exponents in categories, add phonetic script for pronunciation focus:
Drill pronunciation of:
If I were you, I’d…
/ɪf ˈaɪ wə ju: aɪd/ Stress “I” and “you”
That’s a good idea
/ðæts ə ɡʊd aɪˈdɪə/ stress “that’s”
Why don’t you try
/waɪ dəʊnt jə traɪ/ notice weak “you” compared to in “If I were you”
Sts analyse grammar of components. Use 5th slide to give examples, then answers.
Focus on meaning
Focus on form: pronunciation, elements of connected speech.
Focus on form: grammar, verb patterns.
Speaking – controlled practice 1
2 mins
Grps of 3
Sts use the transcript to practice the dialogue from listening.
Monitor and correct pronunciation.
Controlled practice of exponents without pressure of creating new sentences.
Writing + speaking controlled practice 2
5-10 mins
OC
Grps of 3
Sts write their own dialogue. Explain that we’ll do an example together on the board. Students don’t write anything yet.
Label one strong group of students A-C, choose strongest student to be A.
Give A a problem card.
Using cued dialogue on 6th slide model a dialogue on the board.
Sts create their own dialogues in the space on the handout. Monitor and correct written form, board vocabulary.
Sts read their dialogues.
Scaffolded controlled practice of exponents without performance pressure.
Spoken controlled practice.
Speaking controlled practice 3
10 mins
Rotating groups of 3
A’s stand up and rotate to the next group. They explain their problem to the new group who give them advice. Less structured, A is now free to accept/reject advice.
Repeat until all A’s have spoken to all groups.
Less scaffolded controlled speaking practice.
Wrap-up
5 mins
OC
A’s tell class the best advice they received. Focus sts attention to emergent language.
Sts respond to activity + develop fluency.
Student’s handout
Transcript
Katy: Hi guys, I need your help with a problem I’m having. I want to give up smoking but I’m finding it very difficult. What should I do?
Joanne: Well, if I were you, I’d try to stop smoking gradually. You know, smoke 10 cigarettes today, then 9 tomorrow, 8 the next day until you’ve stopped.
Katy: Hhmmm, I don’t think that’ll work. I tried it last year and it was too difficult.
Ian:I think you should buy an electronic cigarette. My girlfriend has one and she loves it!
Katy:I’m not sure. I think they’re bad for me too.
Joanne: Ok well, why don’t you try nicotine chewing gum or patches? My sister used them to give up.
Katy: Ok, that’s a good idea.
Ian: Or you could try hypnosis, my friend Sarah is a hypnotist, I could give you her number.
Katy:Hhmm, maybe not. I think I’ll try the nicotine chewing gum. Thanks for your advice guys.
Language
Put the expressions in bold (1-10) in the correct box (A-D)
What should I do?
If I were you, I’d try to stop smoking gradually.
I don’t think that’ll work.
I think you should buy an electronic cigarette.
I’m not sure. I think they’re bad for me too.
Why don’t you try nicotine chewing gum or patches?
Ok, that’s a good idea.
You could try
Hhmm, maybe not. I think I’ll try the nicotine chewing gum.
I recommend giving up gradually
A. Asking for advice.
B. Giving advice.
C. Accepting advice.
D. Rejecting advice.
Grammar
Look at the expressions in the language exercise, how does the grammar work?
If I were you, I’d try to stop smoking gradually.
If I were you, I’d + BASE FORM (stop/go/have/buy etc.)
I think you should buy an electronic cigarette.
I think you should + __________________________________
Why don’t you try nicotine chewing gum or patches?
Why don’t you + _____________________________________
You could try hypnosis/going to a hypnotist.
You could try + _________________________________________
I recommend giving up gradually.
I recommend + _______________________________________
Now practice the dialogue in groups of 3, one person is Katy, one is Ian and one is Joanne.
Writing a new dialogue
Write a new dialogue with your group, you HAVE TO follow the structure below.
A: Hi guys, I need your help with a problem I’m having. (Explain problem)____________________________. What should I do?
B: Well, if I were you, I’d (gives advice) ____________________.
A: (rejects advice) ___________________________.
C: (gives advice) ___________________________.
A: (rejects advice) ____________________________.
B: Ok well, (gives advice) ___________________________.
A: (rejects advice) ____________________________.
C: (gives advice) ______________________________.
A: (accepts advice) __________________________. Thanks for your advice guys!
