We’ve made it to 50 episodes! Thanks to all our listeners for your continued support, we ❤️ you all!
In episode 50 we’re pressing on with Richard Osman’s wonderful debut novel The Thursday Murder Club, chapters 24-31.
Why not get your students to listen and read along?
Part 1 of our climate special on green movements in ELT is now live on our SoundCloud page.
We spoke to Harry Waters from Renewable English and Chris Etchells and Johanna Stirling from ELT Footprint UK about the great work their organisations are doing to raise awareness of the effects of climate change and strive towards a greener future!
Listen to the episode and then follow the links below to get involved in the movements!
Harry Waters – Renewable English
Website: renewableenglish.com/
Twitter: @Renewablenglish
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Renewable-English-100488502126874
Johanna Stirling & Christopher Etchells – ELT Footprint UK
Website: eltfootprint.uk/
Twitter: @ELTFootprintUK
NEW EPISODE! In Episode 47 Tim & Katy tell stories of some of the unluckiest people to have ever lived! Which one do you think is the unluckiest?
This great lesson plan by Alice at Hot Take English is based around one of the hard luck stories from this episode; why not set the podcast for homework and then use the lesson plan in the following class?
This is part 5 in our book club series on Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. In this episode we look at chapters 18-23, discuss the things that happen and dig into some of the vocabulary.
Why not encourage your high level students to read and listen along with us? You’ll find the other 4 episodes on our SoundCloud page.
This is a guest post by Katy Wright. Students take part in an information gap activity in pairs in order to develop their understanding of phrasal verbs and other fixed expressions. Download the handout below:
Follow up: You could encourage students to write a text or a story containing these expressions
Student Worksheet
Student A worksheet
Student B’s Answers
Student B worksheet
Students A’s Answers
This is a lesson plan by Katy Wright based around a clip from episode 24 of our podcast 2Ts in a Pod. In the episode we pay homage to the excellent Off Menu podcast by talking about our dream meals.
There are two versions of the lesson plan, one for B2 students and one for C1 based on two different clips from the episode. Download the handouts below:
Students listen to the clips, focus on some of the language used and then record themselves describing their own dream meals. They can then upload their videos/audio to Flipgrid.
This is a guest post by my friend, colleague and co-host of the podcast 2Ts in a pod, Katy Wright. It’s designed to help students preparing for the B2 first exam get to grips with some of the phrasal verbs and fixed expressions they might encounter in the exam. Students read a text about Jim’s forgotten dream, then try to recreate the text using key words. Download the student handout below:
A FORGOTTEN DREAM
Jim couldn’t stand his job. All he did all day was sit at his desk and pretended to work while watching the heavy rain outside his window. He was meant to be selling insurance on the phone, but he wasn’t very good at it. In fact, he had sold very few contracts. This was because all he had ever wanted to do was be an actor in Hollywood. He had loved acting when he was a teenager, but instead of going to America he studied Business and he put off looking for fame. “I’ll look into that when I have finished Uni” he said to himself. This was his biggest regret in life. On his way into work that day, his 15-year-old car broke down. Standing in the rain trying to change the tire he made up his mind. He wasn’t going to carry on like this. He was going to make a big change…
Jim hated (STAND) his job. All he did all say was sit at his desk and pretended to work while watching as it rained heavily (HEAVY) outside his window. He should have been (MEANT) selling insurance on the phone, but he wasn’t very good at it. In fact, he didn’t sell many (FEW) contracts. This was because all he had ever wanted to do was be an actor in Hollywood. He had loved acting when he was a teenager, but rather than go (OF) to America he studied Business and he postponed looking (PUT) for fame. “I’ll investigate (INTO) that when I have finished Uni” he said to himself. This was his biggest regret in life. On his way into work that day his 15-year-old car stopped working (DOWN). Standing in the rain trying to change the tire he made a decision (UP). He wasn’t going to continue like this any longer (ON). He was going to make a big change…
Middle:
End:
Image credit: Mark Wilding
Anna Balquin, one of the listeners to our podcast made this fantastic listening activity based around a section of episode 3 about food. The extract you’ll need is 10.57 – 15.09, download the student handout and answer key below:
Student Handout
Pre-listening
1. Discuss these questions with your partner:
• What’s your favourite comfort food?
• What do you think a ‘supper club’ is?
• What do you know about food from the USA? What are some traditional American dishes?
2. First listen
We’re going to listen to Nicole talk about her supper club. What kind of food does she serve?
3. Second listen: listen again and answer the following questions.
1. How long has Nicole been living in Barcelona?
2. What did Nicole serve with the brisket?
3. Do the supper club guests usually know each other?
4. Where did gumbo come from?
5. Which cultures does the dish gumbo mix?
6. What’s the first thing you do when making gumbo?
7. What is the holy trinity?
8. What were the main ingredients of the gumbo that Nicole made?
9. How does Katy express that she likes the sound of Nicole’s gumbo?
4. Look at this quote from the audio and discuss its meaning with your partner.
“I love to gather people around the table that are from different walks of life”
Answer key:
2. First listen
We’re going to listen to Nicole talk about her supper club. What kind of food does she serve? Southern US soul food
3. Second listen: listen again and answer the following questions.
1. How long has Nicole been living in Barcelona? over a decade
2. What did Nicole serve with the brisket? collard greens, sweet potato mash, green beans, crispy shallots
3. Do the supper club guests usually know each other? no
4. Where did gumbo come from? Louisiana New Orleans
5. Which cultures does the dish gumbo mix? West African with French
6. What’s the first thing you do when making gumbo? Make a roux (butter, flour)
7. What is the holy trinity? Onion, celery, bell peppers
8. What were the main ingredients of the gumbo that Nicole made? prawn chicken sausage and bacon
9. How does Katy express that she likes the sound of Nicole’s gumbo? “Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering!”
Image credit: Mark Wilding
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There’s still time to donate to Mental Health Friendly to help them set up classes for people suffering and recovering from mental health problems:
https://gogetfunding.com/shay-educational-consultant/
Episode 9 of the podcast is all about travelling, do you like to travel light? Have you got the travel bug? We spoke to two people who definitely have, Jon and Ania from hitchhikershandbook.com; they came on the show to tell us about their various adventures. We also spoke to people about their weird and wonderful travel experiences as well as our vocabulary section “5 Ways to Say.” Below you’ll find the timings of the episode in case you want to skip ahead or use specific parts in class:
Timings:
Tim and Katy travel stories – 0 -13.30
Main Interview – John and Ania – 13.30 – 30.00
5 Ways to say – travel vocab – 30.10 – 35.00
Vox pops – Shay – 35.20 – 40.30
Outro – 40.35 – End
Enjoy! We appreciate any comments or feedback, let us know in the comments here or on Twitter or Facebook.
Check out Jon and Ania’s blog below: