Tag: conversation

Posted in Conversation Classes, Reading Classes

Proficiency book club, lesson 2: Solid Objects by Virginia Woolf

Posted on by Tim Warre

Iron_Lump

This is the second part of a series of posts based around stories from “The Oxford Book of English Short Stories” edited by A.S Byatt. This particular class is based on “Solid Objects” by Virginia Woolf, pages 205-209.

As before set the story as reading homework for the week before.

If you don’t have a copy of the book someone has helpfully uploaded it in pdf here:

Click to access SOLID%20OBJECTS,%20Virginia%20Woolf.pdf

This analytical essay by Sam Mitchell about the works of Virginia Woolf may prove useful. It’s a little heavy as it’s an honours thesis but has some useful insights into the story.

https://dspace.lasrworks.org/bitstream/handle/10349/958/2011ENG-MitchellSam.pdf?sequence=1

Lesson Plan:

Start by asking the students for vocabulary problems. Woolf’s style can be confusing so some sections could require a little explanation. Some vocabulary that might cause problems is listed below:

lunging – to lunge, to move towards in a swift movement

tweed – woven material used to make clothes

to fling – to throw without care

to be to hand – to be within reach

to slash – to cut or mark something

to skim – to touch the surface of something lightly

slate – material used to make rooves

to hitch up a sleeve – to roll up or move higher to protect

moat – water around a castle

mantelpiece – surface above a fireplace where objects are kept

on the brink – on the edge

trifling – unimportant

to be cast down – to be depressed

matted – tangled into a lump

Lots of the vocabulary in the story can be used in various contexts, be sure to explore these fully. For example: fling – to have a fling (short sexual relationship)

Once you have cleared up any vocab issues hand out the following discussion questions:

1. Can you describe the characters?

2. What happens in the story?

3. What was your initial reaction to the story?

4. Did you feel sorry for John? Or bemused?

5. What strikes you about the introduction?

6. How can you explain John’s behaviour?

7. What do the objects represent?

8. Do you have any lucky charms? Did you have any when you were a child?

9. Do you collect anything?

10. Did you collect things when you were a child?

Either put the students into small groups to discuss the questionsand then feedback or have an open class discussion.

Here are some ideas and themes that could help fuel discussion:

Story written in 1918 towards the end of World War one. The idea of objects lasting longer than men, so many people died in the war and all that came back were objects: letters, belongings, clothes etc.

The idea of the permanance of objects and the transcience of people. The desire for permanance, ever lasting life.

The simplicity of the objects as pure pieces of different materials and also the mystery surrounding what they used to be.

freeenglishlessonplans.com

Posted in Conversation Classes

Lance Armstrong: Cheating conversation plan

Posted on by Tim Warre

ap_lance_armstrong_interview_ll_130117_wg

This is a conversation lesson plan for B1 upwards based around disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and the topic of cheating.

Download the powerpoint here:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!303&authkey=!ALG8a95Emk_-Qk4

Lesson plan:

Show slide 2, put the students in groups and have them tell Lance’s story, encourage them to use all the vocabulary on the screen.

Show slide 3, here you have lots of different quotes on the subject of cheating, have the students discuss each one in pairs. Here are the quotes:

•“If everyone else is cheating, it’s stupid not to.”
•“When you cheat, the only person you’re cheating is yourself.”
•“Winning is all that matters.”
•“It’s the taking part that counts.”
•“All cheats deserve lifetime bans.”
•“If there were no controls or punishments, everyone would cheat.”
•“You aren’t sorry you cheated, you’re sorry you got caught.”
•“Cheats never prosper.”
•“All performance enhancing drugs should be legalised, then we could see what the human body is really capable of.”
•“Being a good cheat is a positive quality in today’s society.”
•“ If you cheat in an exam you should receive a zero.”
•“Cheating is human nature.”
•“Some of the most influential people in today’s society cheated and robbed their way to the top.”
•“Cheating is a growing problem in sport.”
Encourage them to use different language of agreement and disagreement. Download my handout on this language here:
Show slide 3. This slide conatins a series of “what if” situations, have the students discuss them in groups saying what they would do.
Situations:
1.You are playing football. It is the 90th minute of the match. Your team win a corner, the ball comes in, you try to head it but it hits your head and then your hand and flies into the goal. Nobody sees that it hit your hand, your teammates run over to congratulate you.
2.2 days before your final exam a classmate comes to you with a copy of the exam paper. He offers it to you for €50. He says that all of your other classmates have bought a copy except one.
3.You go to a charity event to raise money for food for hungry children in Africa. At the event they have a raffle. You bump into someone by accident and you both drop your tickets on the floor. The tickets are accidently swapped. You win a 5 star Caribbean holiday in the raffle but on your way to collect your prize you realise that it is not your ticket.
4.You are a professional cyclist. Last year you finished 10th in the tour de France, the year before 11th and the year before that 15th. A doctor comes to your gym one day saying that he has developed a new performance enhancing drug that cannot be detected by any type of doping test. He wants 50% of any future prize money you make in exchange for the drug.
5.You are a tennis player. 2 weeks before a big match at the US open you get a call from an umpire. He says that he is going to be the umpire for your match, he insinuates that if you pay him a bribe he will “help” you during the match.
Feedback session with whole class based on their responses to the situations.
Wrap up:
Who was the most honest / dishonest in your group?
Who was the biggest cheat?
freeenglishlessonplans.com
Posted in Writing Classes

Follow up: Homework composition about travelling

Posted on by Tim Warre

travelwriter

This is a homework activity written to follow my previous lesson plan about holidays and traveling here is the link to the original lesson plan:

http://freeenglishlessonplans.com/2013/01/30/holidays-and-travelling-conversation-class/

Here is a link to download the handout for homework:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!300&authkey=!AMJLj8z2NbQgFFI

A travel magazine is running a competition for travel articles about different types of holidays / ways to travel for young people.

Choose 1 type of holiday / way to travel from the class handout and write an article about why it’s good for young people. Include:

  • An interesting introduction to catch the reader’s attention. Include direct questions.
  • Pros and cons of your chosen subject.
  • Reasons why you recommend it to other young people.
  • You can include (invented) anecdotes.

freeenglishlessonplans.com

 

Posted in Conversation Classes

Ice breaking activity: My life star

Posted on by Tim Warre

star

Thanks to my Spanish teacher Montse for this activity.

This is a good activity for the first class of a course to break the ice. The students learn a bit about their teacher and then about each other.

It is suitable for levels A2 – C2.

You will need this handout:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!297&authkey=!AOyUfMWbXMGz2Uw

Preparation:

Draw or project the star from the handout on to the board. Write a different word or phrase related to your life at each point of the star. For example, you could write your partner’s name, your pet’s name, your favourite band etc.

Lesson plan:

Tell the students that each point represents something important from your life. Put them in small groups, they then have to discuss what each word or phrase represents. Encourage them to use modal verbs of deduction:

“Fido” could / might be his dog’s name. It can’t be his wife’s name.

When they have finish have them put forward their ideas, tell them if they are right or wrong and explain a little about each subject.

Put the students in pairs or threes and give out the handout. Give them 5 minutes to write something at each point. Students then ask and answer questions about each others lives and share information to get to know each other. Tell them to try and remember as much information as possible.

Students change partners or groups. They must then tell their new group as much information about their old groups as the can remember. This is a good way for the students (and the teacher) to use and remember all the other students names.

Wrap up:

At the end of the class have the students recall as much of the information they learned about you as possible. Put them in groups, give them a star they have to remember all your points.

freeenglishlessonplans.com

Posted in Conversation Classes, Reading Classes

Proficiency book club, lesson 1: The Destructors by Graham Greene

Posted on by Tim Warre

short stories

This is the first in a series of lesson plans for proficiency level students based around short stories from the book:

The Oxford Book of English Short Stories edited by A. S. Byatt.

Short stories are perfect for the ESL classroom because as the name suggests they are short. They are also an excellent way to introduce students to a wide range of authors and literature. This particular collection contains works from some of the greatest English writers. Including Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Virginia Woolf and the author with which I’m going to start this series Graham Greene.

The hope is that by introducing students to these authors in this short format (some of the stories run to only 4 or 5 pages) their interest will be piqued and they will go on to attempt the longer, more well-know works. Even if they don’t these stories are a fantastic way to introduce vocabulary and stir discussion.

Class structure

This series works, as the title suggests, like a typical book club: Each week you set a different story for homework to discuss the following week. The majority of the stories can easily be read in under half an hour

The Destructors

If you haven’t bought the book don’t worry because somebody has helpfully posted  a pdf of the story:

Click to access destructors.pdf

I chose to start with Graham Greene’s “The Destructors” for the simple reason that he is one of my favourite authors. It is also a story which stirs a lot of opinions. The main theme is the mental scars left on the survivors of the the London blitz during the second world war.

A good analytical essay of the story can be found here:

http://www.helium.com/items/1389999-analysis-of-graham-greenes-the-destructors

The essay: “The effects of war in The Destructors, by Graham Greene” by Holly Huffstutler gives a good analysis of the socio-political background of the story. Here is a link to a copy with some key parts underlined:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!284&authkey=!ANvo-Ct70jFmtb0

Lesson Plan

The students will have read the story for homework so start the class by asking for any queries on vocabulary. Some examples of things that might come up are listed below:

  • (pg 311) Ignoble
  • (pg312) crippled, lav – toilet, to pinch – to steal, to be in a bleeding funk – to be stressed or angry)
  • (pg 313) bribe, to draw lots.

Then put the students into groups and give out the following discussion questions:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!285&authkey=!AD2MBt2sCAB27pQ

  • What was your initial reaction to the story?
  • What’s the story about? What happens?
  • Describe the different characters.
  • Where and when does the story take place?
  • What are your feelings about the boys at the end of the story?
  • What good qualities do the delinquents have?
  • Explain Blackie’s motivations for re-joining the gang after losing the leadership.
  • What does Mr. Thomas (Old Misery) represent in the story?
  • Why are the boys suspicious of Mr. Thomas’ generosity with the smarties?
  • What are Trevor’s reasons for wanting to destroy Mr. Thomas’ house?
  • How do you explain the burning of the money and the way they treat Mr. Thomas?
  • What is the importance in the ending of “The Destructors”?
  • Does “The Destructors” portray a world without hope?
  • In what ways are the boys in “The Destructors” by Graham Greene isolated?
  • Is destruction a form of creation?

After the discussion have a feedback session so students can share their opinions. You may want to explain a little about the London Blitz:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz

You might like to point out that the story features in the film “Donnie Darko” in one of the first English class scenes. You could show a clip of the scene to the students and see if they agree with the main character’s assessment of the story.

Next week: Solid Objects by Virginia Woolf

 

 

 

 

Posted in Conversation Classes

Complaining in English

Posted on by Tim Warre

dare_to_complain

Just a quick note…

Before you use these materials… We’ve created a new podcast aimed at B2+ level English students and teachers alike. You can listen for free at our SoundCloud page below. You can download teacher’s notes to accompany them from our Facebook page or from this blog. All comments and feedback welcome! Give us a like and a share 😉

https://soundcloud.com/2tspod


https://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast/

Complaining in English

In this class students will learn some useful phrases for making complaints, discuss complaining and practice the language in a role-play.

You will need:

The handout with phrases for complaining:

Complaining in English (language)

Complaining discussion questions handout:

complaining discussion

Complaining role-plays handout:

Complaining roleplay

Instructions:

Put “to complain” and “to make a complaint” on the board. Ensure that students understand them both.

Put students in small groups (3-4)

Tell them to think of a time when they made a complaint. Tell them to tell their classmates the story:

  • Where were you?
  • Why did you complain?
  • How did you complain?
  • What was the result?

Tell students to listen carefully to their classmate’s story because after they are going to tell the rest of the class the same story.

Give the class 5-10 minutes to swap stories. When they have finished each group takes it in turns to tell the rest of the class each complaining story. This helps to recycle the language, also people love telling stories about complaining! Especially if they got some good freebies out of it!

Hand out discussion questions

Put students in pairs (A + B). Students ask and answer discussion questions.

Brief feedback to the rest of the class.

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student B)

1) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘complain’?
2) Are you a complainer?
3) Who do you usually complain to?
4) What complaints do you have at the moment?
5) Have you ever complained in a restaurant, hotel, airplane or train?
6) How often do people complain to you?
7) How often do people complain about you?
8) Do you have any complaints about English?
9) What are your biggest complaints about your friends?
10) Do men or women complain more?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student A)

1) What kinds of things do you complain about?
2) When was the last time you complained about something?
3) Have you ever written a letter or e-mail of complaint?
4) Do you like complaining?
5) What is your complaining style – polite or aggressive?
6) How often do you complain to yourself in public?
7) Do you think complaining relieves stress?
8) Do you like to watch when other people complain?
9) Have you ever got a better service after you’ve complained?
10) Why might people complain about you?

Hand out Complaining in English

Tell students to read through the sheet briefly in pairs.

Then go through and clear up any vocabulary problems and emphasise the cultural note.

Cultural note

It is important to remember that English is not as direct as other languages. It is important to be polite and follow rules for socially acceptable behaviour. For example, it is normal, when making a complaint, to start by saying “sorry” or “excuse me”, even though you haven’t done anything wrong. Being polite will help you get what you want.

Example:

In a shop

You’re in a shop and the assistant gives you the wrong change.

“Excuse me, I think you’ve given me the wrong change.”

OR

“Sorry, I think this change is wrong, I gave you £10 not £5.”

In a hotel

Customer

“Excuse me, but there’s a problem with the heating in my room”

“Sorry to bother you, but I think there’s something wrong with the air-conditioning.”

“I’m afraid I have to make a complaint. Some money has gone missing from my room.”

“I’m afraid there’s a slight problem with my room – the bed hasn’t been made.”

Hotel worker

Normally the worker will apologise deeply for the problem and promise some immediate action.

“I’m so sorry sir / madam, I’ll send someone up to look at it immediately.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, I’ll get someone to check it for you.”

Hand out role-play cards

There are two complaining role-plays so each student has a go at being the customer and the worker. Encourage students to use as much language from the previous handout as possible.

Complaining roleplay:

Student A: You are staying in a 5 star hotel, there is a famous rock band staying in the room next door, it is 3am and they are having a wild party, throwing televisions out the window and keeping you awake. You have an important business meeting at 9am.

Student B: You are the receptionist in a 5 star hotel, it is 3am a guest has come to complain about noise, there is a famous rock group staying in the hotel, they have paid €1million to have a party in their room. The hotel is full.

Student A: You are checking out of your hotel. When the receptionist gives you the bill it is very high, you have been charged for 2 bottles of don perignon Champagne from the mini bar and 2 “adult” movies on the TV, you didn’t drink any champagne and you didn’t watch the movies.

Student B: You are a hotel receptionist, student A is coming to complain about his / her bill.

Wrap up:

Who was the best complainer?

Which role was easier in the role-play?

Posted in Conversation Classes

Christmas conversation lesson

Posted on by Tim Warre

christmas

This is a topical lesson plan for the festive season based on comparisons between a traditional British Christmas and Christmas celebrations in the student’s countries.

You will need:

The lesson plan:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!278&authkey=!AOWfTUkqHy7AtDc

The discussion questions handout:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!279&authkey=!ACygXSBVrDDA5H4

The Christmas in England powerpoint:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!127&authkey=!APSM9pHn8j56pvg

The cracker jokes handout:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!130&authkey=!AN8mCLV6wHxpSuQ

Brainstorm Xmas traditions in (the country you’re teaching in) in small groups.

Feedback traditions and put on board.

In pairs or small groups students discuss the following:

How many of these traditions do you follow?

Describe and compare your normal Christmas with your partner.

What do you do on Christmas eve? Christmas day? Boxing day? Kings Day?

If you have children what traditions do you follow? Father Christmas? Caga Tio (a Catalan Xmas tradition)?

When do you give presents?

What do you give?

What did you used to do when you were a child?

Do you still follow the same traditions your parents did?

Who in your family is the most difficult to buy presents for? Who is the easiest?

How have other cultures influenced Christmas celebrations in your country?

Debate:

Christmas is too commercial.

But the statement above on the board, split the class into two teams and assign “for” or “against” to each team. They then have 5 minutes to brainstorm their arguments. Then give them 5-10 minutes to debate the topic. Debate structure should be:

  • 2 minutes for each team to present their argument, the other team mustn’t interrupt, they should make notes ready for the 2nd phase.
  • 2nd phase 5 minutes open debate. Students attack the oppositions arguments and try to defend their own.
  • 1 minute each for a closing statement. Why each team thinks they have won the debate.

Teacher decides which team wins, but as it’s Christmas a draw is probably the fairest result!

 

British Christmas

Ask students to brainstorm a British Christmas.

Tell students that they are going to watch a presentation about Christmas in England. They have to watch and try to memorise as much as possible.

Show presentation “Christmas in England”

In groups students try to remember as much as they can, in the correct order.

Cracker Jokes

If students hadn’t heard of them before the presentation will have introduced them to Christmas Crackers. Hand out copies of the cracker jokes and have the students tell them to each other. They will get some fairly easily but some might need a little explaining.

Posted in Games

Call my bluff game

Posted on by Tim Warre

Game – Red Herrings / Call my bluff – you will need big English dictionaries.

callmybluff

Here is the handout with examples of strange English words and the correct definition, students have to invent fake definitions.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!267&authkey=!AIvDEVoJg4J4mVo

Use the sheet Red Herrings to introduce the game. Choose one of the examples from the sheet and put it on the board.

There are strange words with 3 possible definitions, put SS in teams, pairs or threes depending on numbers. SS have to decide which is the correct definition, encourage them to explain why they think it is correct, they should use modal verbs of deduction:

  • It can’t be number 1 because
  • It could be number 2 because
  • It must be number 3 because

Each team gets 1 point for each correct guess.

Do 2 examples if necessary. Then you can either give the students the strange English words with the correct definition (on the handout) and they have to invent to fake ones, or you give them the dictionaries and they find strange words themselves.

Students must prepare 3 definitions (1 real, 2 fake) with a sentence example. Teacher must check definitions and sentences for accuracy before they’re used in the game, if there are mistakes it is obvious which ones have been invented.

Give SS time to write their definitions and correct them, then play the game as a class, each team reads out a word and the 3 definitions and the others must guess which one and explain their decisions. SS get 1 point for a correct guess and the team whose word it is gets 1 point for each team they tricked the others into guessing a fake definition.

Posted in Conversation Classes

Community spirit conversation class

Posted on by Tim Warre

community_spirit_3

Easy conversation class based on the idea of community spirit in a big city.

Download the handout here:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!266&authkey=!AFJyOwVMUBU-YqE

Split the class into small groups and tell them to discuss the questions.

Then have a feedback session, some questions generate some interesting discussion, for example: whether or not to confront a burglar.

Which neighbourhood of the city do you live in?

Have you always lived in this part or did you use to live in a different part?

If so which do you prefer and why?

How many of your neighbours do you know personally?

Do you invite them to parties or to dinner?

Do you give them Christmas presents or cards?

Do you have any annoying neighbours?

Have your neighbours ever woken you up by having a party or playing loud music? What did you do?

Do you help each other with things? For example do they look after your pets when you go on holiday?

Do you have an annual festival in your neighbourhood? What happens? Do you usually go?

Do you feel a sense of community spirit?

How much crime is there in your area? Do you feel safe?

Have you ever been a victim of crime in your area? What about your neighbours?

What would you do if a burglar broke into your house? Would you confront them?

What would you do if you saw someone breaking into your neighbour’s house?

What would you do if you saw tourists on the metro with their handbags open and their wallets in their back pockets? Would you warn them about pick-pockets?

What would you do if you saw someone having their pockets picked?

Has anyone ever tried to pick your pocket? Did they succeed?

What would you do if you saw someone asleep on the metro near the end of the metro line? Would you wake them up? Would it make a difference if they were a man or woman? Young or old?

What would you do if you saw a fight in the street? Would you try and stop it?

What would you do if you saw some children bullying another child in the street or in the park?

What would you do if a group of teenagers were having a party in the street outside your house and keeping you awake?

Posted in Conversation Classes

Rebuild civilisation conversation lesson

Posted on by Tim Warre

mushroom cloud

My take on a conversation class classic. There have been many different versions, I did this one in my Spanish class and then translated it into English to use with my students. I am afraid I don’t know the Spanish textbook title so can’t give a credit.

Click here to download the handout:

Rebuild Civilisation

Rebuild Civilisation

Below or in the handout above you will find the conversation task. Before you start the activity you might want to pre-teach some vocabulary. For example some verbs and nouns:

cultivate – cultivation

procreate – procreation

populate – population

Or for lower levels you can give the students more of a framework. For example:

I think we should / shouldn’t / ought to /ought not to take ………………… because……………….

This handout on language of agreement and disagreement might also be useful:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!247&authkey=!ANBIbEVteXyYHnY

Encourage students to justify all their decisions, don’t let them get away with simply crossing the banker off the list because they’re angry at bankers. Try to play devils advocate too; stand up for the banker, the computer programmer or the economist to encourage the students to think critically and find justifications.

Class instructions:

  1. Give out the handout and explain the situation to the students.
  2. Put the students into groups of 3-4, or if you have less students pairs is fine. Try to have at least two groups, the more groups there are the more opinions there are and the more discussion there will be.
  3. First have the students individually read the list and select a provisional list of 7 people. Tell them not to worry if they have trouble choosing only 7.
  4. Then in their groups they must share their thoughts and try to convince their classmates which people to choose.
  5. Give them plenty of time to do this and make sure they justify everything.
  6. Then have a feedback session; each group reads out their list of 7 and explains their reasons for choosing them.
  7. Then try to come up with a universal list of 7 for the whole class. So each team must defend their choices and try to talk the other teams round to their way of thinking.

There has been a nuclear catastrophe. Everyone on the planet has died except the 20 people listed below. There is a small aeroplane with only 7 spaces. The aeroplane will take the 7 people to a desert island in the Indian ocean where they will rebuild civilisation.

In your groups you have to decide which 7 people will travel on the aeroplane.

  • A 50-year-old male judge.
  • A 25-year-old female economist.
  • The 52-year-old Chief of an African tribe.
  • The Chief´s pregnant wife.
  • A 30-year-old male professional ballerina.
  • A young, male soldier from an island close to the one they are going to.
  • A 35-year-old female agricultural engineer.
  • A 35-year-old male priest.
  • A 28-year-old female opera singer.
  • A 24-year-old handsome, well-built man.
  • A 25-year-old hot, buxom blonde woman.
  • A 26-year-old nun.
  • A 37-year-old male witch doctor from the African tribe.
  • A 52-year-old male psychiatrist.
  • A 14-year-old male child-genius.
  • A 27-year-old female history teacher.
  • A 32-year-old male computer programmer.
  • A 37-year-old male biologist who specialises in the evolution of species.
  • A 31-year-old female painter.
  • A 41-year-old male banker.

Wrap up:

If you were in this situation what do you think you could offer the new civilisation?