Tag Archives: B2

Lesson Plan: Speaking and Writing about Relationships and Using Indirect Questions

Grammar, Lesson Plan: Intermediate, Resources, Speaking, , , , , , , ,

Today I want to share with you an activity that has worked really well. I did it with my Intermediate students but I bet it’ll be perfect for any level. It all started with a text my students had to read about a Speed Dating Event (click here if you have no idea what I’m talking about). Just the previous week we had been studying Indirect Questions so I thought it could be a good idea to mix speed dating and indirect questions. And I was right ! The smiles on their faces gave them away!
♥These are the steps we followed :
Step 1. We read about a speed dating event (New English File Upper-Intermediate. Unit 1)
Step 2. I gave students slips of paper containing either the beginning of a direct or an indirect question. (Cards here). I encouraged students to write an interesting question ; a question the person talking to them could elaborate on. If the slip of paper begins with I was wondering…. Students shouldn’t go for “ I was wondering what your name is” … but something along the lines of” I was wondering what you do in your free time” or” I was wondering why you are taking this course”.
Step 3. I explained the rules of a speed dating event. Some students remain seated during the whole event ( in real speed dating, women remain seated). When the bell rings , students sit across another student and they use their questions to start a conversation . They need to keep on talking for 3 minutes. Then a bell rings and “men” need to stand up and move to their right to start a new conversation and the whole process is repeated again. I didn’t have a bell so I used a Class Timer (here)

The picture shows some of my students during the speed dating event. A lot of fun, believe me!

♥After the speed dating event, my students were in the right mood to talk about relationships so we worked a bit on some vocabulary they might need to use when talking or writing about Dating, Friendship or Marriage. Photocopy here

♥It was the last lesson of the week and so the right time to set as homework for the weekend  a Writing about the Advantages and Disadvantages of Non-Traditional Dating.

♥Monday will begin with students sharing their ideas about non-traditional dating. I think it will be easier for them to start talking about something they have previously given some thought to. Once they are all warmed-up,…..who’ll dare stop them? I’ve got these two nice handouts to ensure they keep on talking.
Don’t you fear!. I’ll hand them some peppermint drops to prevent hoarseness as they leave the class. They’ll have well deserved them!

The Passive: Grammar and Exercises

Grammar and Exercises, , , , , , ,

Tired of always looking for exercises for different grammar points I have started putting together everything I need, related to a certain point of grammar, on the same page.

Today I have uploaded The Passive. On the same page  I have put together Grammar and Exercises for  pre-intermediate/intermediate  levels. Exercises cover  practice for:

♥ basic and more complex tenses,

♥ active to passive and the other way round,

♥ questions in passive sentences,

♥ sentences with two objects,

♥ the prepositions by and with,

♥ impersonal passive (it is said/believed) ,

♥ be supposed to

♥  have sth done

Hope it is as helpful to you as it is to me.Now, I can safely take them to the computer room, ask them to go to this url where they’ll find everything they need to work on. Very useful too, to do as homework or revise just before exams at their own pace.

Click  on the picture to give it a go

Below I have embedded A MentorMob Playlist with all the Grammar and Exercises already published. More will follow; I hope!

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

Listening:What are the best ways to memorise new vocabulary?

Listening, , , , , , ,

Have you ever asked yourself how you acquire new vocabulary? Have you ever wondered if things such as sticking post-its on the walls of your bedroom (or bathroom) really help you memorise new words? Well folks, I should say it might work when your aim is just passing a written test – I have tried this little trick plenty of times, especially when trying to learn long lists of irregular verbs,  but when your target is learning to speak a language, trust me , this little trick won’t work.

For example, what’s the point of learning the word “listen” if you don’t know that it collocates with the preposition “to”? I’ll tell you what, you’ll end up writing or saying things such as “I’m listening you”; does it ring a bell?

I could try to explain what has always worked for me but I’ve found this useful video where an expert, Michael McCarthy from Cambridge University Press, pretty much sums up what I wanted to write  and gives you tips about the best way to learn new words. Stick to it! It really works!

Listening Task: Listen to the video and write down the four tips the expert gives about the best ways to learn new vocabulary. Play the video and stop when you get to 2.20 . Play it again if necessary. Check your answers ; you’ll find them at the end of the video.

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Practise Adverbs of Manner and Intonation Having Fun

General, , , , , ,

I don’t know about you, but most of my thinking time happens when I am driving all alone in my car. This is mainly because that must be about the only time in the day I am alone- Hey, I am not complaining here but it’s difficult to do any decent thinking we when you spend all your day surrounded by teenagers – my own and my students. So, here I was, in my car, driving to work and thinking about the best way to teach Adverbs of Manner to my students when I remembered an exercise I did while taking a course in  IH London.

 

The idea is to combine Adverbs of Manner and Intonation in a very funny way, though to get to the funny part of the exercise there are, first of all, some steps to climb.

Step 1. This is the boring part. On the board, I write the adjectives I am going to use in Step 3 and ask students to form the adverbs of these adjectives(see worksheet ).

Step 2. Now it’s time to start working with intonation. I draw on the board a stave and demonstrate the power of intonation with the word Thank You! It might be necessary to repeat the expression a few times before students associate pitch with meaning
-low pitch= sarcastic, depressed, negative
-middle pitch= neutral
-high pitch = very positive

Students in pairs practise a few times.

Step 3. With the adverbs still on display on the blackboard I give each student a slip of paper with the adverbs of manner: furiously, quickly, cheerfully (Worksheet here). Students now stand up and in pairs tell each other the words I LOVE YOU using the correct pitch to convey the way they feel. The other student should be able to guess the adverb written on the card. Students move around the class talking to as many students as they can. Time limit: 5 minutes.

Step 4. Feedback: students, now, read their I LOVE YOUs aloud for everybody in the class to guess the adverb of manner.

Learn English and Have Fun!!

Looking For a Job? Learn how to write a letter applying for a job

Writing, , , ,

Are you looking for a job?? Do you need to write a formal letter applying for a job?

In this Power Point Presentation I help my students write a simple Application Letter studying the Layout of this kind of letters, giving them some tips to take into consideration when writing them and reading a Sample Letter to have as a reference. There is also a  simple  Step-by -Step  Letter of Application to do some practise.

Hope it is helpful!