Tag Archives: grammar

Comparisons are Odious, Are they Not?

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I am sure this super engaging activity about comparatives is just what you need this week.  I am very pleased to have on the blog this week a guest post by colleague  Ángeles Jimenez, from EOI Oviedo, who from time to time, saves my a** by sending me some of her creative activities. This is one of them. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Thanks, Ángeles, the floor is all yours!

 

“Comparisons are odious” says the old proverb, but the truth is that the more you practise, the faster your English will improve.

Every time there was a new grammar point to teach, my B2 students rolled up their eyes in desperation when I handed out another worksheet.

I began to look for new ways which would help me revise the comparative structures at a more advanced level, activating my students’ imagination at the same time. Although I had planned for it to be a brief and fast-paced revision, it turned out to be one of the most effective and engaging grammar lessons in a while – some students got very creative!

WHY PLAY IT.

Although this activity may not be quick, it will surely get your students thinking. It’s suitable for both creative and less creative students.  They can come up with short or long explanations; they are also responsible for the content and the grammar, which means they will have to be attentive and spot their classmates’ mistakes.

WARM-UP

I started by asking my students to place their mobiles on their desks and posing some questions like:

  • What do you mainly use it for?
  • Does it make your life easier or more stressful?
  • Is there anything you don’t like about it?
  • When you need to get another phone, what type will you get?

Now, this question will automatically make students use a comparative structure:

“a better one”, “a more expensive one”, “a lighter one”…

Most of the times, they come up with basic adjectives, nothing to worry about at this stage.

I tell them I have a super expensive mobile phone I got as a Christmas present, adding that I’m in love with it because it’s innovative, powerful, and stylish.

And this is the moment I show them my state-of-the-art mobile phone, which looks something like this:

 

Hopefully, this will make them smile!

NEXT STEP

Involve your students by asking them questions. This will guide them into recognizing the pattern.

  • Do you think your phone is more powerful and efficient than mine?
  • Is it more stylish and better-looking? Does it have a better design?
  • Is it more comfortable to hold?
  • Does the battery last longer?

Inevitably, your students will end up comparing each other’s phones, and this will trigger the use of more adjectives.

To guide the activity in the direction you want it to go, ask them to think of more adjectives, positive and negative, that can be used to describe mobile phones. Write them on the board as they say them, or show them a list on the screen –it will probably include most of the ones they came up with.

Here are some examples:

AFFORDABLE,   APPEALING,   BAD,    BASIC,   CHEAP,    CONVENTIONAL,   DURABLE,   EFFICIENT, EXPENSIVE,   FAST,   HEAVY,   GOOD,   INDISPENSABLE,    INNOVATIVE,   LARGE,    LIGHT,   MODERN

OBSOLETE,    OLD-FASHIONED,    OUTDATED,   POPULAR,    POWERFUL,   RELIABLE,    REVOLUTIONARY

SIMPLE,    SLOW,    SOPHISTICATED,    STYLISH,    SUITABLE,   TIME-CONSUMING,   TOUGH, UNRELIABLE

I usually try to arrange new vocab in alphabetical order. It’s an organized and easy-to-follow format when learning new vocab. And when I forget to include a word when making a list, I can always add it later on.

LET’S GO TO THE FUN PART!

  • Decide on a category of objects with varied items. I chose technology because I wanted to kill two birds with one stone: students learn technology-related vocab or revise it if they have already dealt with it in class.
  • Create a set of noun cards with common objects on them. These can be simply a noun or an image to represent the noun.
  • Students sit in groups around a pile of cards placed face-down. The first student picks up the top card from the pile while the others wait and listen. The students should say why they need to change/buy the object on the card using a comparative structure.

EXAMPLE: I need a less basic, more efficient, and durable smartwatch. The one I’m using can’t keep track of my sleep, and it isn’t waterproof.

  • If the student does it in a convincing and grammatically correct way, they keep the card. But if they make a grammar mistake when using the adjective or give an unconvincing reason, the card goes back to the pile. The game finishes when all the cards have been used.

PDF here

Comparisons are Odious de cristina.cabal

GOING THE EXTRA MILE.

I noticed that when they made mistakes like saying “MORE FASTER”, they were in fact trying to say“ A LOT FASTER”

Go back to some of the examples they used. They probably came up with something like: “I need to get an iPhone because it’s more efficient”. Ask them if it’s A LOT MORE or SLIGHTLY MORE efficient.

Show them a few examples of how to modify the sentence to say how different the object was.

To emphasize that a characteristic is either greater than the typical level, write these on the board:

  • MUCH MORE / ER THAN
  • FAR MORE / ER THAN
  • WAY MORE / ER THAN
  • A LOT MORE / ER THAN

To emphasize that a characteristic is either smaller than the typical level, write these on the board:

  • A BIT MORE / ER THAN
  • SLIGHTLY MORE / ER THAN

Before you carry on with this speaking part, ask them whether they think public transport is far more convenient than moving around by car. Hopefully, students will have different opinions as they have to take into account parking spaces, money spent on petrol, car maintenance…

Hand them out a sheet of paper with discussion prompts. These can be arranged as pair work/group work, so you can ask them to change pairs/groups when they finish and listen to more points of view.

This will help them gain confidence and their motivation increases since they correct their previous mistakes and learn new words.

To provide as much speaking as possible, ask them to produce at least 2 sentences using the ideas on the card + modifiers.

Here are some ideas:

  1. Phone / Face-to-face communication.
  2. Dancing / Doing yoga.
  3. Changing the driving age to 21 or not.
  4. Sharing a flat / Living with your parents

Click here to see more

2 Engaging Activities to Work with Reporting Verbs

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I have to confess that lately I haven’t had much time to publish. I design a lot of cool, if I may say so, activities for my students but posting about them takes time, time I lack right now. But posting is constantly on my mind, and not because I feel I have to do it, but because it makes me happy. So, today is a happy day.

Now, these are two activities I have designed for my C1 students. If C1 is not your level, keep on reading; they are highly adaptable to any level.

  1. Working on the grammar of reporting verbs
  2. Using post-it notes to reinforce and fix mistakes
One. Working on the grammar of reporting verbs
Helping students learn this point of grammar is not an easy task. OMG, they are so many reporting verbs….!!! Plus, some of them can be followed by more than one pattern. A nightmare!!!
STEP 1. The presentation
Even though it is a C1 level,  I felt compelled to explain what a reporting verb is with a small presentation.
For this introduction, I’ve used the first 6 slides. I have used the rest of the presentation to explain the game that follows.

This is the infographic that I have designed. Please, bear in mind:
1. It is not meant to be comprehensive
2. Verbs can follow different patterns
You can get it here

reporting verbs by cristina.cabal

Step 2: Using double-sided cards. Now that we have seen the grammar, let’s put it into practice. You can download the cards here

  • Aim: to place the verbs under the right pattern
  • Before the class: photocopy one set per group of three/four students. In my case, I have photocopied them in different colours.  Also, photocopy the headings with the verb patterns here.

I think the images below clearly demonstrate how we have played this “game”.

Instructions: put students into groups of three and give each group a set of double-sided cards. (you might want to fold them before the game or ask students to fold them; whatever works for you) The aim of the activity is to place the verb on the card under the right column.

First, they guess the pattern and then, before placing it under the right column, they check their guess by turning the card over.

I did it twice:

  1. They just guessed the pattern and placed it under the right column
  2. They did the same as in 1 but, this time,  they also produced a sentence containing the prompts on the card.

Below, students working

Students checking their guess is correct by flipping the card.

 

Two. Using post-it notes to reinforce and fix mistakes
This activity using post-it notes is dedicated to  Maribel, a teacher in Andalucía (I will say no more as I haven’t asked her permission ) who, when we met in person in a teacher training session, gave me a most useful present, a box with 1440 colourful post-it notes (an easy multiplication) + a letter I will always cherish.
The activity is a simple,highly-adaptable one and one that can be done in many different ways (you don’t have to use post-it notes- any discarded scrap of paper will do). I just happen to think that presentation matters and colours and movement is an added bonus in this activity.
Step 1. Writing a reporting verb on a post-it note
Ask students to write on a post-it note a reporting verb. Encourage them to have a look at the infographic (pdf above)and instruct them to make sure they know the grammar of the verb they have written.
Note: If you have a large class, put the students in pairs. You don’t want to have as many as 25 reporting verbs to work with. If you have a 6- 12 student class, you might want to ask them to work individually.
Stick their post-it notes on the walls of the class.
Step 2. Gallery walk. Writing sentences.
On a table in the middle of the class, leave some post-it notes -(a) different colour(s) would be great.
Put students in pairs now and ask them to stand up and do a gallery walk. They will stop at each “picture’ and in pairs write down a sentence containing the reporting verb. They should write the sentences on the post-it notes and put them next to the ‘picture’ it corresponds to. Encourage them to write only when they know exactly what they want to write. Otherwise, it would look very untidy. Also, tell them they need to write a sentence showing they are C1 students (you know how it goes if you don’t push them a tiny bit)
Pairs don’t have to walk clockwise; they can choose any ‘pictures’ on the walls in any order but they must do all of them.
Step 3. Peer correction.
Once they have written their sentences, instruct students to move to the post-it containing their original reporting verb; the one in Step 1, the one they know the grammar for.  Ask them to read the sentences next to their verb
– If they are correct, they should put a tick
– If they are wrong, they should underline the mistake but not correct it
Step 4: Fixing mistakes
Ask students to stand up again, the infographic containing the grammar for those verbs in their hands,  and again do a gallery walk. They should read all the sentences surrounding a “picture’. If their sentence happens to be one of those containing mistakes, they will have to correct it using the infographic as a reference.
Step 5: My turn
Now, it is my turn to make sure, as a teacher, that all the sentences are correct. I have also added my opinion on whether the sentence is a C1-level sentence or a B2-level sentence to encourage them to try harder next time. 🙂
I hope you have enjoyed the activity.

My Crystal Ball is Cloudy. Ask Again! A Game to Practise Making Predictions

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Fun, interactive and engaging! More?

  • It deals with grammar: the future tense for predictions
  • Students practise asking questions
  • It requires little preparation

Context:

Tell the students you’re a gipsy and that you have the ability to tell their future.  Tell the students they can only ask you one question, so they have to choose carefully what to ask you. (If students are not very confident, ask them to write their questions. On second thoughts, ask them anyway even if they are confident).

The Activity

Now, ask students one by one to ask you their questions. Ask the student posing the question to choose a number, any number up to the number of cards you have created.  Then, shuffle the cards and lay them face down on the table. If they have chosen number 4, place three cards face down on the table and, with a lot of drama, the card which comes fourth face up on the table. This is the answer to their question.

Possible words on the cards?  Yes, it is in the cards/No way/ It’s not likely/ Not a chance/ Absolutely/ Most certainly, no!/Not in this life!/ Most decidedly so!/If you play your cards right/Not in the immediate future/My crystal ball is cloudy, ask again!

  • Laura: Will I be rich?
  • Fortune Teller: No way!
  • David: Will I pass all my final exams?
  • Fortune Teller: Yes, it is in the cards

CARDS : template,PDF

Note: I have been playing this game for a long, long time and I can’t honestly remember if I invented it or someone else did and was passed on to me.

Mixed Conditional Sentences

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Learning about  Mixed Conditional Sentences is the perfect way to finish this weird year, don’t you think so?

I am sure you have been speaking English way too long without adorning your speech with  Mixed Conditional Sentences. Well, I am here to remedy this.

First, you need to open your mind to the fact that when you first start learning about Conditional Sentences, we only teach you the basic types like, for example, when you learn Conditional Type I and we teach you If+present simple⇒Future “Will” . Of course, this is correct  but as you get more proficient, you soon realize that there are so many variations to the basic type that you begin to wonder if any combination is possible. I am tempted to say “yes”.

Anyway, I am here to teach you about Mixed Conditional Sentences. Are you ready?

So, we are going to study two cases:

  1. If + Past Perfect ⇒ Would

                                  If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t be in the advanced course.

As you can see,  we have a combination of Conditional Type III  (if+Past Perfect) and Conditional Type II  (would+infinitive)

When do we use it? When we refer to a past event that could have had a direct result on a present situation if it had been different.

I know … difficult to grasp. Some help in Spanish?

(Nos referimos a un hecho pasado que de haber sido de otro modo habría cambiado el presente.)

Now, let’s have a look at some pictures with some hints in bubbles. Try to finish the sentences using this Mixed Conditional Structure.

 

Now, write your own sentences.

2. If + Simple Past --- Would have+ Past Participle

              If I were tall, I would have enrolled in the army

As you can see,  we have a combination of Conditional Type II (if+Past Simple) and Conditional Type III  (would have+ past participle)

When do we use it? When we refer to a present event that could have changed a past situation.

In Spanish? Un hecho presente que podría haber cambiado un hecho pasado, es decir, el pasado habría sido diferente ,si el presente fuera diferente. I know, you have to read it several times.

Now, let’s have a look at some pictures with some hints in bubbles. Try to finish the sentences using this Mixed Conditional Structure.

Now, write your own sentences.

 Writing: Ready for a Guessing Game?

Aim: guessing the exact sentence on the back of the tile

Time: 1 minute/sentence

Put students into pairs and choose one of the flip tiles. Instruct students to complete the conditional sentence on the tile. They will need to write it down. Tell them the picture is a hint. Listen to their sentences and flip the tile. Award 1 point for each exact sentence. Similar but not quite? Half a point 🙂

 

PDF with more exercises here. Use a QR Code Reader to scan de key

A Guessing Game Using Tenses

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Clear a spot in your lesson plan for this engaging activity because you are going to love it. This is a small writing guessing activity using Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous- you can also throw in Past Simple if you are feeling adventurous-  with an added touch of technology.

  • Skills and subskills: writing, vocabulary, speaking  and grammar
  • Strategy: whole class, individual work, whole class
  • Level: B1,B2
  • Magic Touch: Wordwall
Step 1: Learning Vocabulary: Jobs

Revise vocabulary related to jobs using the FlipTiles template on Wordwall- see the game below. If you don’t want to create your own, you can always use mine. I’d be honoured.

In the Flip Tiles, you will see vocabulary for professions or jobs they already know like  teacher, architect… and some more challenging ones like priest, street vendor or surgeon. That was the idea, to revise old content and introduce new.

And so, we spent some time guessing the words and flipping the tiles.

Bonus. Fun revising activity:  after revising all the vocabulary on the tiles, I pointed at one job and instructed students to repeat after me but only if the word matches the tile and remain silent if I was making a mistake. Fun! I told you.

More? Yes! You can do the same with pronunciation. Instruct students to repeat after you only when you have pronounced the word correctly. 😊(most of the times  I give myself away when doing this exercise)

Step 2: Writing. Using Grammar.

Individually, students choose a job from the ones displayed.

Ask students to write clues for this job without mentioning the job. Tell them they will then read their sentences aloud one by one and the class will have to guess their job.

They will need to write three sentences:

  1. Using the present perfect continuous
  2. Using the present perfect
  3. Optional: using the past simple

Example.

  • I have been training all morning  ( 3 points)
  • I have scored two goals today (2 points)
  • Yesterday, I played a match (1 point)
Step 3: Here comes the fun

Ready to play? Divide the class into 2 teams. Instruct a student from Team A to read his/her first sentence, ie, his/her first clue to the job. If members of the other team guess the job only by listening to the first sentence, they score 3 points; if the second sentence needs to be read, they score 2 points and well, you know what the score is if the student needs to read sentence number 3 or if they can’t guess the job.

I hope you have enjoyed this little game. If you use it, let me know how it goes.