This is a PowerPoint I made a while ago to help C1 students practise making the kind of formal recommendations they often need to include in the formal writing tasks in the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam. Download the PowerPoint below:
Tag: lesson plan
C1 Advanced: A Mascot’s Life
This is a quick activity I made to revise some emergent language from a C1 Advanced listening task we did in class. I took the interesting expressions from the transcript and got Chat GPT to incorporate them into a new text.
Students read a text about professional sports mascots and then examine some expressions from the text. There is a complete version or a more challenging gapped version. I’ve also included an AI generated recording of the text from play.ht.
Download the handouts below:
C1 Advanced: A Mascot’s Life – Student Handout
Pre-Reading
- What do you think the life of a sports mascot is like?
- What are the pros and cons?
- What skills, abilities or characteristics do you need to do the job?
Reading
- Read the text and see if it mentions any of your ideas from part 1.
“Hi everyone! I’m Jake, and I’ve recently started an exciting new job that I never imagined I’d be doing – I’m the mascot for our city’s professional soccer team! It’s a world full of energy, enthusiasm, and a few surprises along the way.
One major perk of this job is the thrill of entertaining thousands of fans. I seriously get a kick out of seeing their smiles and hearing their cheers. It’s not every day you get to be the heart and soul of a game!
Now, you might think being in such a huge crowd would be nerve-wracking. And you’re right! Initially, I used to get stage fright. The thought of performing in front of so many people would play on my mind for days before a match. But, believe it or not, once I’m in my mascot costume, all that anxiety just melts away.
Let’s talk about the financial side. While I’m not making megabucks, the salary is decent enough, and the joy I experience is worth more than any paycheck.
However, being a mascot isn’t always easy. There are times when the heat inside the costume can really put me off, especially on sunny days. It’s a challenge to stay focused and not get distracted by the discomfort.
Staying in shape is crucial in this line of work. You need a lot of stamina to perform energetically throughout the game. It’s not just about the costume; it’s about being fit enough to bring life to the character. For this reason, I keep trim by exercising at the gym at least 3 times a week.
At times, I can get hung up on small mistakes during a performance. Maybe I didn’t land a dance move perfectly, or I tripped over my giant mascot feet. It’s easy to get flustered in those moments, but I’ve learned to laugh it off and keep going.
The team I work with is a tight-knit group. They’re incredibly supportive and we all get a buzz from creating memorable experiences for the fans. I was taken aback by how welcoming and friendly everyone was from my very first day.
In conclusion, being a sports team mascot is an extraordinary experience. It’s a job that requires energy, dedication, and a love for the game and its fans. If you’re someone who loves to entertain and stay active, this might just be the perfect role for you!”
- Look at the expressions in bold and try to guess their meaning.
Conversation
- Would you ever like to be a mascot?
- How important is it for you to earn megabucks in your job?
- What do you get a kick out of/a buzz from in your job/studies/personal life?
- How well do you deal with stress and pressure? Do you get flustered easily?
- Do you get stage fright when you have to speak in public?
- What can people do to reduce stage fright?
- Do you get hung up on mistakes that you make? Or are you good at forgetting/letting go of past mistakes?
- If you’ve got an important event or deadline on the horizon, does it play on your mind? Or are you good at keeping things in perspective?
- How important do you think perks are when choosing a job?
- Would you choose to work for an unscrupulous company if they offered you a lot of perks?
- company car
- private health insurance
- stock options
- employee discounts
- etc.
- Would you choose to work for an unscrupulous company if they offered you a lot of perks?
- What do you do to stay in shape or keep trim?
- How important is it for you to keep fit?
- Have you ever tripped over in a really embarrassing way? What happened?
Amazy.uk – Materials Bank & Teaching Community
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To get a taste of what the platform offers, here is a selection of popular lessons you can use in your class today:
1. St. Valentine’s Day A1 – https://amazy.uk/lessons/49732
2. All Future Tenses B2 – https://amazy.uk/lessons/47531
3. All Conditionals B2 – https://amazy.uk/lessons/4560
4. Modal verbs – Ability A2 https://amazy.uk/lessons/15842
C2: Reading & Vocabulary – My Friend Kevin
This is a lesson plan designed for C2 students in which they read a text about a man and his impulsive friend Kevin. It’s designed for students preparing for Cambridge C2 Proficiency exam as it offers some exam practice for reading part 7 and introduces some expressions that may appear in use of English part 4. Download the student handout and answer key below:
The lesson procedure is pretty straightforward:
- Pre-reading: students are introduced to the characters and predict what might happen in the story.
- Gist reading: students read the text quickly to check if their predictions were correct.
- Detailed reading/exam practice: students read again and complete the reading part 7 task.
- Vocabulary focus: students discuss the meaning of the expressions in bold, make a note of them and then test each other.
- Recall: students turn the handout over and attempt to recall the expressions using version 2 as a prompt. This replicates what they’re required to do in use of English part 4.
- Part 4 practice: students cover the text and attempt the key word transformation questions. Alternatively, these could be set for homework.
- React & Extend: students react to the text and attempt to continue it with their ideas about what Kevin and the narrator got up to next.
Proficiency Reading Part 6: Gapped Text Training
This is a training lesson plan to help students preparing for the C2 Cambridge Proficiency exam tackle part 6 of the reading and use of English paper. Students tend to struggle with this part of the exam and need a lot of guidance.
I’ve based this lesson plan around an example task from the CUP Proficiency Testbook 1 on the topic of expedition rafting. Download the PowerPoint, student handout and a scanned annotated copy of the text below:
Procedure
First have students activate their schemata on the topic of rafting with the 3 conversation questions in the first slide.
In slide 3 students will look for the ways in which paragraph B fits into the first gap. By giving them the answer to the first gap, we can provide them with an opportunity to analyse the text and find the vocabulary, grammar and story connections that link the paragraph to text on either side. Reveal the answers on slide 4.
Go through the exam strategy on slide 5, then have students complete the clue hunt on slide 6. Reveal the answers to them and remind them to bear the clues in mind while they complete the task.
Negotiate a time limit for the students to complete the rest of the task individually. In the official exam they should dedicate 20 minutes to this part of the exam, however, as you’ve already done some prep work on this text, negotiate a time between 10 and 15 minutes.
Once they’ve completed the task, have them compare their answers in pairs. Make sure they refer back to the clue hunt and explain how each of the clues connect the paragraphs to the text.
Use the final few slides to reveal the answers and annotations.
Set them another part 6 task for homework and share the PowerPoint with them to refer to at home.
C2 Proficiency: Exploiting Use of English Texts Further
This is a worksheet for students preparing to take the Cambridge C2 Proficiency exam. It serves as a way of extending use of English activities to further exploit the text. Download the handout below:
My students are using the official test book 1 to prepare for the June exam. This worksheet is based on parts 1 & 2 of test 2 from the book.
Part 1 – Multiple Choice Cloze
After they complete a part 1 task, either for homework or in class, I prepare an activity like the first one on the worksheet in which they’re required to use one more of the words from the multiple choice cloze to complete another sentence. This can help draw the attention to subtle differences in meaning and usage between the often confusing vocabulary items test in this part.
Part 2 – Open Cloze
After they’ve done a part 2 task, I create an inverted version of the same text by taking a photo of the original and running it through https://www.onlineocr.net/ to turn it into editable text. I then remove other words from the text, perhaps the delexicalized verb in an expression like “take into account”. Whereas in the original test the student might have been tested on the preposition: “take ….. account”, in the inverted version they might be tested on the verbs: “…… into account”
I also aim to remove some words from expressions that students may have overlooked in the rest of the text in their race to fill in the gaps. For example, this particular text contains the expression: “to all intents and purposes”, meaning “in all the most important ways”
If you create any similar training worksheets and want me to post them on the blog, feel free to get in touch via the comments.
Part 1
Use the extra words from part 1 to complete the sentences:
- During the Vietnam war thousands of American men were called …. to serve in the military.
- on
- up
- in
- She decided to wear a ……. pink satin dress to the interview.
- arresting
- catching
- fetching
- Undergoing a ten-week basic training course is …….. practice for anyone wanting to join the US army.
- native
- standard
- typical
- He was excited to see his cousins again but when he saw them he ……… all shy for some reason.
- came over
- gave out
- set up
- The paramedics did their best to save him but he was ……….. dead on arrival at the hospital.
- predicted
- entered
- pronounced
- They considered his political ideas to be too ……… for the group and his membership was revoked.
- basic
- radical
- central
- It suddenly …….. on me that he had been lying to me the whole time.
- started
- dawned
- birthed
- We thought we’d put the issue to ……., but it was brought up again at the next meeting.
- sleep
- bed
- ground
Part 2
Film music
Any mention ….. the movie Star Wars instantly triggers the resounding opening bars of the film score, which signals the presence of the enemy. But can you ….. to mind who wrote the music?
According …… the legendary film director Orson Wells, music ……… for half the work in a movie, mostly without the audience ……. knowing the composer’s name. The cruellest part of it for the composer is that, in a good film, that is how it ……. be. If the art of dressing well is to …. intents and purposes to dress in …… a way that others do not ……. your elegance, the art of a great music ……. is to fuse so perfectly with what is …… the screen that audiences are unconsciously …….. into the mood of the movie. ……. this reason, even great movie music ……. very little recognition to composers.
Key
Part 1:
- b – up – be called up to the military
- c – fetching – a fetching dress = an attractive dress
- b – standard – standard practice = what people normally do
- a – came over all + adjective = to react in a specific way to a situation
- c – pronounced – be pronounced dead = a doctor officially announces and records your death
- b – radical – radical political ideas
- b – dawned – if something dawns on you, you realise it is happening.
- b – bed – put something to bed – solve/resolve an issue/debate
Part 2
Film music
Any mention OF the movie Star Wars instantly triggers the resounding opening bars of the film score, which signals the presence of the enemy. But can you CALL to mind who wrote the music?
According TO the legendary film director Orson Wells, music ACCOUNTS for half the work in a movie, mostly without the audience EVEN knowing the composer’s name. The cruellest part of it for the composer is that, in a good film, that is how it SHOULD be. If the art of dressing well is to ALL intents and purposes to dress in SUCH a way that others do not NOTICE your elegance, the art of a great music SCORE is to fuse so perfectly with what is ON the screen that audiences are unconsciously SUCKED into the mood of the movie. FOR this reason, even great movie music BRINGS very little recognition to composers.
C1+ A Video Game Review
This is a lesson plan for C1+ students who are preparing for Cambridge exams in which they have to write reviews of video games. Students will learn about the storytelling technique “in media res” and analyse a model text of an informal video game review. Download the handout, PowerPoint and key below:
Overcooked: Cooperative Cooking Chaos
A bead of sweat rolls down your forehead as you frantically rush from chopping board to frying pan. “Two cheeseburgers with everything, then a pepperoni pizza, then two sushi rolls.” You hear your colleague, a raccoon in a wheelchair, shout. “Ok, we’ve got this” you shout back. Then, out of the blue, the kitchen splits in two, and a giant rat steals your tomato! Don’t worry, you’re not having a nightmare, it’s the new, chaos-filled cooking extravaganza that is Overcooked! If you’re a fan of fast-paced teamwork, hilarious mishaps, and delicious meals, this is the game for you.
In Overcooked, you and your pals take on the role of chefs working frantically to prepare and serve up tasty dishes. But it’s not as simple as just tossing some ingredients together and throwing them on a plate. Oh no, no, no. You’ll be tasked with all kinds of crazy challenges, from cooking on a pirate ship to dodging traffic on a busy street.
Now, here’s the real kicker: you have to work together to get it done. That’s right, it’s a co-op game, which means you’ll need to communicate, delegate tasks, and keep an eye on the clock if you want to succeed. But never fear, even if you burn the soup or accidentally set the kitchen on fire, it’s all in good fun.
The mechanics of the game are simple enough for anyone to pick up, but the challenges quickly become more and more demanding. You’ll need to chop, fry, boil, and plate dishes as fast as you can while avoiding obstacles. It’s easier said than done, but trust me, when you finally manage to serve up that perfectly cooked sushi roll, the sense of satisfaction is unbeatable.
Overall, I’d say Overcooked is an absolute blast to play with friends. It’s the kind of game that will have you shouting and laughing and high-fiving each other (or apologising profusely for dropping the pizza on the floor). I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a good party game or just wants to bond with their buddies over some virtual cooking chaos. So fire up the grill and get ready to serve up some culinary mayhem!
Read the text and answer the questions:
- What type of game is it?
- What cooperative elements does it have?
- Why is it fun?
- Who does the writer recommend the game to?
C1+: Teaching Idioms & Expressions Through Contrastive Analysis
This is a lesson plan for C1+ Spanish speaking students. Students use contrastive analysis to compare Spanish idioms and expressions with their English equivalent. It was inspired by an activity in Leo Selivan’s book Lexical Grammar. Download the student handout and key below:
Guest post: “A Long Time Coming” – Vocabulary/collocations related to national identity and obtaining dual citizenship – B2+
This is a guest post by Steve Krajewski from English Coach Online on the topic of national identity and gaining dual citizenship.
Steve writes texts based on his own life experiences and shares them with students. His texts are packed with phrases and collocations that are common in spoken English.
For this post, Steve decided to focus on a text called ‘A long time coming’. This text will enable students to discuss whether they’ve ever done a family tree, what they know about their ancestors and to what extent gaining dual citizenship would have an impact on their lives.
Skills practiced include listening for gist, guessing the meanings of words from context and scanning the text for details.
__________
Download the teacher’s notes and the student handout below:
Download the audio file for the text here:
Student Handout
A long time coming
As I have the right to obtain Polish citizenship by descent, I’ve been spending a great deal of time getting to grips with the Law on Polish citizenship and asking specialists for advice about which documents I need to submit for my application.
Obtaining Polish citizenship by descent is relatively straightforward. Considering the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, and the future rights of British citizens who wish to travel, live and work in the EU, holding dual citizenship might be very useful down the line. My father will apply for a Polish passport as well.
A few weeks ago, I hired a genealogist to carry out research on my Polish ancestors. I’ve learned some revealing things about my grandfather, such as the fact that the Soviets deported him and his family to Arkhangelsk, Russia, in 1940. My researcher has also discovered the names, birthplaces and educational backgrounds of my grandfather’s siblings and parents.
Applying for Polish citizenship has made me wonder why so many people don’t take an interest in their roots and ancestors. I certainly feel a little guilty for not visiting the villages connected with my ancestors when I lived in Poland on and off between 2006 and 2013.
So – what do you think? Should families research their family history and start a family tree together?
WORDS AND PHRASES
– a long time coming – arriving or happening after a lot of time has passed
(here I refer to my regrets that it took such a long time to learn about my
relatives)
– citizenship – the position or status of being a citizen of a particular
country
– (by) descent – the origin or background of a person in terms of family or
nationality
– get to grips (with something) – to start to deal with a problem, situation, or job that you have to do
– submit – to give or offer something for a decision to be made by others
– straightforward – uncomplicated and easy to do or understand
– uncertainty – a situation in which something is not known for sure
– surrounding – related to; around; involved with
– rights – a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something
– dual citizenship – the status of a person who is a legal citizen of two or more countries
– down the line – in the future
– genealogist – a person who traces or studies lines of family descent
– carry out research (on something) – a careful study of a subject (e.g. medical/historical/scientific), especially in order to discover new facts or information about it
– revealing – showing something that was not previously known or seen
– educational background – your educational background refers to all of the education you have received
– take an interest (in something) – be concerned or curious
– roots – family origins, or the particular place you come from and the experiences you have had living there
– ancestor – a person related to you who lived a long time ago (usually
before grandparents)
– (feel) guilty – to feel intense regret for something
– on and off – only for part of a period of time; not in a regular or
continuous way
– family tree – a diagram showing the relationship between people in several generations of a family
Read Steve’s posts related to ELT and language learning here: https://englishcoachonline.com/blog/
Rhetorical Devices in Speech and Writing
This is a lesson plan designed to help students make their written and spoken English more emphatic and engaging. Students will learn various rhetorical devices, then put them to use in conversation. Download the handout and key below:
Rhetorical Devices in Speech and Writing – Student Handout
We can use the following rhetorical devices to make our speeches and writings more engaging.
- Rhetorical Questions
Ask a question that you don’t expect an answer to.
“How can we encourage more people to recycle? Well, one way would be to…”
“How much impact do one person’s habits really have on the environment? Surprisingly, ….
- Personification
Giving human actions or emotions to non-living/inanimate things.
“I could hear the pack of cookies calling to me from the cupboard.”
“The music industry chewed him up and spat him out.”
“The soft bed welcomed me with open arms.”
“The fear of failure chased him wherever he went.”
- Hyperbole
Using exaggeration to draw attention to the severity of the matter or to make a strong point.
“I called her a thousand times.”
“I will literally die if they ask me to give a speech to the whole class.”
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
- Litotes
Ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary
“How did Steve look when you visited him? Not great to be honest.”
“How was the film? Yeah, not bad.”
“Let’s just say he doesn’t have the best attendance record.”
- Anadiplosis
Repetition of the last word in a phrase at the beginning of the next phrase or sentence.
“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering.” –Yoda, Star Wars
“We ordered a pizza. A pizza that changed our lives.”
“She got on the bus, and on that bus she met a man. A man who would turn out to be the love of her life. A life that would be tragically cut short at only 25 years old.”
- Simile
A simile is a comparison in which something is said to figuratively be like something else. They usually contain “like” or “as”.
“It was as hot as a desert this morning.”
“His heart was beating like a broken clock.”
“My grandad is as blind as a bat and as deaf as a post.”
Practice
Identify the different rhetorical devices:
- It certainly wasn’t the worst school play I’ve ever been to.
- I’m absolutely starving, when can we stop for lunch?
- My little brother is as thick as two short planks, he’s just not the academic type.
- The far-off lights of the city seemed to welcome us as we got closer.
- He spent the last of his money on an old bike. An old bike that he ended up riding for over 20 years.
- How can we convince more people to invest in electric cars? I’ll tell you how.
- The last episode was like watching paint dry, I couldn’t stand it.
- Her brain is the size of a pea, it’s like talking to a brick wall.
- It’s not the most useful application, so I’ll probably delete it.
- What can be done about the issue of short attention spans? Well, first of all, we could….
- The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone. The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone.
- The car engine grumbled, coughed and burst into life.