Posted in Conversation Classes, Vocabulary Classes

Love is in the air: Love and Relationship Expressions

Resultat d'imatges de valentine's day

Image credit: Android Authority

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This is a lesson plan I designed for Valentine’s day so it’s a bit late but who’s to say you can’t learn about love any day of the year? Download the teacher’s notes and student handout below:

love-story-teachers-notes

valentines-day-lp

A Love Story  – Teacher’s notes

Preparation

Print out enough copies of the students’ handout for each student and enough copies of the pictures for students to work in pairs.

Step 1: Guess the Story

Give each pair a set of pictures and have them guess the order of the story. Tell them “this is the story of a relationship, you have to put it in order” you might want to put some simple sequencers on the board: “First, and then, afterwards, in the end etc.”

When they’ve finished choose a pair to tell their version of the story to the class, ask other groups if their version is different.

Step 2: Listening

Tell students that you are going to tell them the real story and they have to listen and put their pictures in the correct order. Read the story.

Step 3: Reading

Give out the handout but fold the paper so student cannot see the language focus exercise. Students read the story and check that they have the pictures in the correct order.

Step 4: Meaning from context

Have students try to guess the meaning of the expressions in bold from the context in pairs. Then go through the meanings on the board:

  • love at first sight – fall in love when you first see someone
  • check sb out – look at someone to decide if you’re attracted to them
  • pluck up the courage – be brave
  • chat sb up – flirt with sb
  • ask sb out – arrange a date
  • have a lot in common – have shared interests
  • be made for each other – a perfect match/couple
  • fall head over heels in love – fall madly/deeply in love with sb
  • go out with sb – be in a relationship
  • have a row – argue
  • have a thing for sb – be attracted to sb
  • break/split up – end a relationship
  • get back together with sb – repair a relationship
  • get down on one knee – kneel on one knee
  • pop the question – propose to sb
  • tie the knot – get married
  • be in the doghouse with sb – your partner is angry at you
  • worried sick – v. worried
  • on the rocks – in trouble, danger

Step 5: Language focus

Students turn the handout over and try to complete the expressions from memory; they mustn’t look at the text.

Students then unfold the paper to check their answers.

Step 6: Retell the story

Students turn the handout over and attempt to retell the story, using all the expressions, using the pictures as prompts.

Step 7: Personalising

If appropriate, students describe a real relationship from their lives: How did you meet your wife/husband? etc.

The Story

Work with a partner, look at the words in bold, what do you think they mean?

Tony and Tina met at a party, it was love at first sight, they were both checking each other out for a while until Tony plucked up the courage to go and talk to Tina. He chatted her up for a while then at the end of the night he asked for her number. He called her the next day to ask her out and she said yes. They went out for coffee and discovered that they had so much in common, they were made for each other! They fell head over heels in love and started going out with each other straightaway. One night, they had a huge row because Tony thought that Tina had a thing for his best friend. It was a horrible argument and they broke up but it wasn’t long before they got back together because they just couldn’t stay apart.

2 years later Tony got down on one knee and popped the question to Tina, she said yes and 6 months later they tied the knot in front of their friends and family. A few years later Tony was in the doghouse for a few weeks because he got really drunk with his friends and didn’t come home, Tina was worried sick. For a few days it looked like the marriage might be on the rocks but she forgave him eventually and they both lived happily ever after.

Language Focus

Over the story and try to remember the missing words from the expressions.

  1. It was love ____ first sight
  2. They were both c_________ each other out
  3. He chatted her _____ for a while.
  4. He called her the next day to _____ her out.
  5. They had so much in ______________.
  6. They were made ______ each ___________.
  7. They fell __________ over _________ in love.
  8. Tina had a _____________for his best friend.
  9. They ____________ up but it wasn’t long before they got ___________ together
  10. 2 years later Tony got __________ on one knee and ____________ the question to Tina,
  11. 6 months later they _________ the knot in front of their friends and family.
  12. Tony was in the ____________ for a few weeks
  13. Tina was worried ______________.
  14. It looked like the marriage might be on the _____________ but she forgave him.
Posted in Conversation Classes, Grammar Classes

The Perfect Date – So/Neither do I

This is an activity to practice short answers of agreement “So/neither do I”

Download the handout here:

so neither do I

Introduction

We use the short answers “So do I/Neither do I” to express agreement or something in common that we have with another person.

We use “So do I” to respond to positive sentences and “Neither do I” for negative sentences.

A: I love Spanish wine. B: So do I!

A: I don’t like fast food. B: Neither do I.

Auxiliary Verbs

The auxiliary verb we use depends on the sentence we are responding to.

Present Simple: DO

A: I love Spanish wine. B: So do I!

A: I don’t like fast food. B: Neither do I.

Past Simple: DID

A: I went to the cinema last weekend. B: So did I.

A: I didn’t like the film though. B: Neither did I.

Or if another auxiliary verb is present we repeat it.

A: I can run the hundred metres in under 11 seconds. B: So ______ I.

A: I wouldn’t like to go there at night. B: ________ _________ __________.

Write the short answer responses in the first person for the following sentences:

  1. I’ve always wanted to visit Hong Kong. __________________________
  2. I’m not a big fan of basketball. _______________________
  3. I’d quite like to try to scuba diving. ___________________
  4. I shouldn’t smoke so much. _____________________
  5. I work in a bank. ______________________
  6. I can’t stand karaoke. _________________
  7. I had seen the film 3 times before. ____________________
  8. I couldn’t believe my eyes! _________________________

We can also use this structure with a possessive pronoun (mine/his/hers etc.)

A: My husband works in finance. B: So does mine.

A: My children go to St. Peter’s school. B: So do mine.

Role-play the perfect date

You go on date with someone you met on tinder. First, complete the following sentences about yourself, and then read them to your date. You discover that you are a match made in heaven!

Student 1:

I’ve always dreamed of_____________________

I’m crazy about_______________________

I can’t bear____________________________

I’m petrified of ___________________________

I will never forget___________________________

I really should _____________________________

Tomorrow I have to_________________________

When I was I child I used to_______________________

When I was little I couldn’t________________________

I’ve been ______ing ________________ for___________________.

My ex was a_______________________

My sister ________________________________

Student 2:

I will always remember________________________

If I wasn’t so ___________________, I would_________________

I must remember to_______________________

I can’t_____________________________

My grandparents__________________________

I should_____________________________

I’d love to________________________

When I was a student I used to_________________________

If I could go back in time, I would______________________

Before last week I had never___________________________

I couldn’t live without ___________________________

I’m a huge fan of__________________________

Disagreeing – A date from hell

If we disagree or don’t share the same taste or opinion as the person we can talk to we can simply repeat the auxiliary verb in affirmative/negative:

A: I love Woody Allen films. B: I don’t.

A: I wouldn’t like to try sky-diving. B: I would. – Repeat the date role play but disagree with everything!

Key 1st exercise:

  1. So have I
  2. Neither am I
  3. So would I
  4. Neither should I
  5. So do I
  6. Neither can I
  7. So had I
  8. Neither could I

Photo rights: http://adoniszone.blogspot.com.es/2014/11/5-ways-to-make-your-date-perfect.html