Ask students the following: What do you do when you get hiccups?
Show them the following video and tell them to write down as many causes and cures for hiccups as they can.
Mine the video for vocabulary:
Spasm, stuck, breathe, gasp, exhale/inhale, hold your breath, difference between breathe (verb, long vowel sound) and breath (noun, short vowel sound), chug, pull, tongue, drink from, wrong side, take a sip, swallow, tip your head back, plug your nose, a teaspoon of, sprinkle, squeeze your pinky, pressure point, pinch, recite, backwards, think of, bald, cure/get rid of hiccups.
Ask them which methods from the video they use.
Model a few sentences on the board:
When/whenever I get hiccups, I ask a friend to scare me.
Tell students that this is called the zero conditional. Give out the first page of the handout and go over it quickly.
We use the zero conditional to talk about general or scientific truths and habits.
If you heat ice, it melts. (General truth)
If I drink coffee after 6pm, I can’t sleep. (Habit)
We also use it to talk about what people should do in certain situations.
Match numbers 1-5 with letters a-e to make zero conditional sentences.
1. If it rains,
a. The roads are dangerous.
2. If it snows,
b. I try a new flavour of ice-cream
3. Whenever I visit Rome,
c. Tell a security guard.
4. If you see someone stealing
d. It boils.
5. When water reaches 100º C,
e. We play basketball inside.
Matching Key
1-e, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c, 5-d
Conversation exercise
Cut the following cards up. Students take them one at a time and discuss them in conversation. Encourage the use of: “Me too/neither” or “So/neither do I”
This is a lesson plan for higher levels (B2+) to teach verb patterns with reporting verbs using video and scripted roleplays. It will be especially useful for CAE students as these structures tend to come up in key word transformations quite often.
Write the verbs “accuse” and “deny” on the board. Then play the first minute of the following video:
Elicit the following sentences from students:
The Dad asked the boys who had got the paint out.
The older brother accused the younger brother of gettting/having got the paint out.
The younger brother denied getting/having got the paint out.
The older brother accused the younger brother of building stairs out of blocks.
Analyse the sentences and come up with the formula for the verbs accuse and deny:
accuse somebody of doing/having done something
deny doing/having done something
Ask students if they have ever been in a similar situation with a sibling or friend.
Have you ever been wrongfully accused of doing something?
Stage 2: 4 groups of reporting verbs
For this part you can either give out the handout on the 4 groups of reporting verb patterns. Or model the sentences on the board and have students dedicate a page in their vocab books for each group of verbs.
You’re going to need a lot of space on the board for this part. Divide the board into 4 quarters.
Write the following sentence, one at the top of each quarter:
I’ll come to the party. (say)
I’ll come to the party. (tell)
I will definitely help with the cleaning. (promise)
I didn’t steal the money. (deny)
Tell students to change the sentences to reported speech using the verb in brackets:
He said that he would come to the party.
He told me that he would come to the party.
He promised to help with the cleaning.
He denied stealing the money.
Tell students that these are the 4 groups of reporting verbs.
Group 3: Reporting actions: Promises requests etc.
He promisedto help with the cleaning.
Subject + reporting verb + infinitive with to
Common verbs of this type:
agree
ask
claim
demand
offer
promise
propose
refuse
threatentell (imperative)
He encouraged meto take maths instead of history.
Subject + reporting verb + DO + infinitive with to
Common verbs of this type
advise
ask
beg
convince
encourage
forbid
instruct
invite
order
persuade
remind
tell
urge
warn (not to)
Group 4: Reporting verbs with gerund.
He deniedstealing the money.
Subject + reporting verb + gerund
Common verbs of this type:
admit
deny
mention
propose
report
suggest
Verbs with prepositions and gerund:
Accuse sb of doing st
Confess to doing something
Apologise to sb about/for doing st
Blame sb for st
Complain to sb about st
Insist on doing st
Object to st/doing st
Advise ab against doing st
Stage 3: Controlled Practice
Have students complete the 10 sentences on the back of the handout.
Report the sentence using the verb in brackets
I want to see the manager! (demanded)
_________________________________________
Don’t leave the path, there are dangerous snakes. (warned)
_________________________________________
I will help you clean up after the party (promised)
_________________________________________
Don’t forget to feed the fish. (Reminded)
_________________________________________
No no no! I’m paying for dinner. (Insisted)
_________________________________________
Listen everyone! I’m moving to New York next week. (announced)
_________________________________________
You are not allowed to chew gum in class. (forbid)
_________________________________________
I will punch you if you call me that again. (threatened)
_________________________________________
I’m really sorry that I broke your favourite cup. (apologised)
_________________________________________
Stand up and put your hands on your head. (ordered)
________________________________________
Key
He demanded to see the manager. He demanded that he saw the manager.
She warned us not to leave the path. She warned (us) that there were dangerous snakes.
She promised to help clean up after the party. She promised (me) that she would help clean up.
He reminded me to feed the fish.
She insisted on paying for dinner. She insisted that she paid for dinner.
He announced that he was moving to New York the following week.
She forbid me to chew gum in class.
He threatened to punch me in the face if I called him that again.
She apologised for breaking my favourite cup.
He ordered me to stand up and put my hands on my head.
Stage 4: Scripted role-play
Split the class into groups of 2-3 and give out the role-play scenarios, give them a couple of minutes to read and rehearse and then have students come to the front of the class and act out the scenarios. Then the other groups have to write sentences using as many reporting verb patterns as they can based on what happened in the scenarios. Guide students and model sentences, encourage them to place them in the correct group.
Reported speech – Scripts
Scenario 1
A: Hi son, How’s it going?
B: Hi Dad. I’m going out.
A: Wait a minute, wait a minute. Have you done your homework?
B: Ahhh come on Dad, it’s Friday night.
A: I don’t care, have you done it or not?
B: No. But I promise I’ll do it tomorrow.
A: Ok, but if you don’t you’ll be grounded for a week.
B: Ok it’s a deal.
They shake hands.
Scenario 2
Sarah: Hi Fiona, how’s it going? Are you coming to the party tonight?
Fiona: No I don’t think so; I’m not in the mood and I have to work tomorrow.
Sarah: No you don’t! Tomorrow is a holiday, the shop is closed.
Fiona: Oh yeah! I’d completely forgotten. I’m still not sure.
Sarah: Oh come on, you’ve got to come! Tommy’s going to be there.
Fiona: Really? Hhhhmmmm well, ok go on then, I’ll come.
Scenario 3
Teacher: (to John) You stole €5 from the charity collection box!
John: Me??? It wasn’t me! How dare you accuse me! It was Sandra who stole the money. I saw her do it!
Sarah: Me? No way! He’s lying!
Teacher: I want to see what’s in your pockets right now!
They turn out their pockets. John’s pockets are full of money.
Teacher: Aha! What’s all this?
John: Ok, it was me. I admit it.
Sarah: I think it’s unfair that I was accused of this crime. I’m going to tell my parents.
Teacher: I’m terribly sorry Sarah, it was a misunderstanding.
Scenario 4
Anna and Natalie are having a party. The music is very loud. There is a knock at the door.
Anna: (opening the door) Yes? Who is it? What do you want?
Little old lady: It’s 3am, I can’t sleep please turn the music down.
Natalie: Turn it down? No way! We just graduated!
Little old lady: Oh please please please turn it down, I’m so tired.
Anna: Nope sorry, we’re not going to turn it down.
Little old lady: (angry) Well, if you don’t turn it down I’m going to call the police.
Natalie: Go ahead! You can come in and use my phone if you want.
Little old lady: oooo the cheek of it! That’s it! I’m going to call the police!
Reported Speech Script Key
Scenario 1
The Dad asked the son if he had done his homework.
The son admitted that he hadn’t done his homework.
The son admitted to not doing/having done his homework.
The son promised to do his homework the day after.
The Dad warned the son that if he didn’t do his homework he would be grounded for a week.
Scenario 2
Sarah asked Fiona if she was going to the party tonight.
Fiona replied that she didn’t think so. She said that she wasn’t in the mood and that she had to work the day after.
Sarah reminded Fiona that the day after was a holiday.
Sarah persuaded/convinced Fiona to come to the party by telling her Tommy would be there.
Scenario 3
The teacher accused John of stealing/having stolen the money.
John denied stealing the money and accused Sarah of stealing the money.
The teacher ordered them to turn out their pockets/demanded that they turned out their pockets.
John admitted to/confessed to stealing the money.
Sarah objected to being accused of stealing the money.
The teacher apologised for accusing Sarah of stealing the money.
Scenario 4
Anna asked who it was and what they wanted.
The old lady asked/urged them to turn the music down.
Natalie refused to turn the music down.
The old lady begged them to turn the music down.
Anna refused to turn the music down.
The little old lady threatened to call the police if they didn’t turn the music down.
Anna invited the old lady to use her phone.
The old lady announced that she was going to call the police.
Stage 4: Follow up activity, students write their own scripts.
Students come up with their own scenarios trying to use as many of the different verb patterns as possible. Other groups have to correctly guess the verb they were trying to express.
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://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast/
CAE Speaking Phrases
Here’s a phrase list for the CAE speaking exam. There are also some speech bubble powerpoints to drill the language in class, click on each phrase to make it disappear. Drill all the phrases repeatedly taking one out each time until the class can repeat all 5 expressions by heart.
This is another TED Talk lesson, this time based around Sir Ken Robinson’s fascinating talk on creativity in the education system. Please find an annotated transcript below. All I’ve done is underlined some interesting points he makes and vocabulary he uses, you can use them as a jumping off point for class discussion or simply mine them for useful vocabulary.
This is a lesson plan based on Ricardo Semler’s TED talk: How to run a company with (almost) no rules
Have students watch the talk for homework or alternatively you can watch it in class. Give them copies of the annotated transcript. Basically I’ve just underlined interesting points he makes or vocabulary he uses. Use the underlined sections to generate discussion or mine them for vocabulary.
It has a great selection of short current affairs topics to generate conversation and learn new vocab. It also has lesson plans, grammar explanations and even offers to correct short texts!
Read the following story to students,tell them to write down any uses of too and enough that they hear.
Beach story:
The other day I went to the beach with my family. It was a scorching day, I asked my friend to come but he said it was too hot to go to the beach. We got in the car and drove to the beach. The beach was very crowded.
“Oh no! There are too many people here!” said my Mum.
“Don’t worry, there’s enough space for everyone.” said my Dad.
We unpacked the car and walked down to the beach. We put our towels down and my sister and I decided to go for a swim. We ran to the water and jumped in.
“Brrrrr!” said my sister. “It’s too cold for me!” and she ran back to my Mum and Dad. I continued swimming for a few minutes when suddenly I saw people windsurfing and there was a shop renting windsurfing boards, it looked so much fun. I ran back to my parents and asked them if I could try it.
“I’m not sure.” said my Mum. “Do you think he’s old enough?” she asked my Dad.
“I think he’s old enough, but is he strong enough? I think the sail will be too heavy for you son.”
“Please please please Dad!” I begged.
“Ok, let’s go and see how much it costs.” So we walked down to shop. It cost €20 to rent the board for the whole day.
“Buff!” said my Dad. “I think that’s too expensive, I don’t have enough money to pay that much.” So Dad negotiated and in the end we paid €15 for the day. We took the board out into the water and I tried to lift the sail but it was too heavy.
“Come on son! You’re not trying hard enough!” said my Dad. So I took the sail with both hands and made a big effort. I didn’t want my dad to think I wasn’t strong enough to lift it. The sail came out of the water and the board started moving across the water it was the most amazing feeling! We spent the whole day windsurfing, it was one of the best days of my life.
Part 3: Guided Discovery
Tell students to dictate all of the examples back to you, but them on the board and use them to do a guided discovery of the rules outlined in the handout.
Too and enough indicate degree. They are used with adjectives.
Too means more than what is needed.
Enough means sufficient.
Examples
He is too old to play football with the kids.
Dave is intelligent enough to do the right thing.
You’re not working fast enough
I don’t have enough time.
He has too many friends.
Footballers earn too much money.
Use of too and enough
1.Enough precedes adjectives and adverbs:
He isn’t old enough to watch this program.
We’re not walking quickly enough.
2.Enough may also precede nouns:
We have enough money .
I haven’t got enough money to buy this computer.
3.Too comes before adjectives and adverbs:
It’s too hot to wear that coat.
I was driving too fast.
Too may also come before nouns when it is used with the expressions too much and too many.
Too much is used before uncountable nouns.
There is too much salt in this food.
Too many is used before countable nouns
There are too many students in this classroom.
Part 4: Gap fill
Have students complete the gap-fill at the bottom of the handout.
Fill in the correct word (too or enough).
I left the coffee for a minute to cool because it was hot to drink.
He wasn’t strong to lift that heavy box.
There aren’t policemen in our town.
Do you have information to help me with this problem?
It is difficult for a little child to do.
I do not have time to prepare dinner.
I didn’t buy the car because it was expensive.
He didn’t work hard to pass the exam.
My mum can’t sleep because she drinks much coffee.
Show the pictures in the hand out and have students make as many sentences as possible using the structures. Ask some questions to prompt. Do you think there are too many tourists in the city?
Give students a few seconds to decide which food item completes the expression, then countdown from 3 to 0 on zero all the groups hold up the card they think completes the sentence (this way they can’t copy each other) award 1 point to each team that guesses correctly.
Award extra points for teams that can correctly define the expression.
Winning team is the one with the most points.
Then challenge students to write a story containing as many of the idioms as possible in 5 minutes.
Expressions:
A piece of cake – very easy
A couch potato – a lazy person who watches too much tv
The apple never falls far from the tree – like father/mother like son/daughter
To bring home the bacon – support a family financially
….is not my cup of tea – not my thing/something I like
Salt of the Earth – a genuine, charitable, down-to-earth person
As cool as a cucumber – very calm and relaxed
Spill the beans – reveal a secret/sensitive information
There’s no point crying over spilt milk – a problem has happened and there’s nothing you can do, so don’t worry
To butter somebody up – to compliment/treat someone nicely in order to get something
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:
I’ve always wanted to visit Hong Kong. __________________________
I’m not a big fan of basketball. _______________________
I’d quite like to try to scuba diving. ___________________
I shouldn’t smoke so much. _____________________
I work in a bank. ______________________
I can’t stand karaoke. _________________
I had seen the film 3 times before. ____________________
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!
