This is a worksheet based on this quizlet set of essential phrasal verbs for FCE:

http://quizlet.com/59899439/flashcards

Download the worksheet here:

Phrasal verb test FCE

Phrasal verb test

Replace the words in brackets or complete the sentence with a phrasal verb:

1. John and Sarah have (separated) after 20 years of marriage.
2. I ______ up with a great idea for the summer party.
3. We arrived at the hotel ______ ___ and had a shower.
4. He has decided to ______ _____ ____ (smoke less) cigarettes.
5. I brought her some flowers to _______ her____ . (make her happier)
6. My dog went to the vet’s and they ____ ____ out some tests on him. (did)
7. The teacher was so angry that she threw a pen at me, but after a few minutes she _____ ______. (became less angry)
8. After his parents died his grandparents had to _____ him _____. (educate, feed, protect)

1. We were talking on the phone when suddenly it _____ _____. (disconnected)
2. Scientists think that the woolly mammoth ______ ______ 100,000 years ago. (became extinct)
3. My mum _____ me _____ at school in her BMW every morning. (leaves me)
4. John and Danny _____ _____ last week and haven’t spoken to each other since. (had a big argument)
5. The builders are ______ ____ our house at the moment. (renovating/redecorating)
6. I passed all my exams! I ______ ______ yesterday. (discovered)
7. If you want to get a visa to go to the USA you have to _____ _____ lots of forms. (complete)
8. The man who stole my bicycle ____ _____ from the police. (escaped)

Key:

1. broken up
2. came
3. checked in
4. cut down on
5. cheer up
6. carried out
7. calmed down
8. brought up

1. cut off
2. died out
3. drops off
4. fell out
5. doing up
6. found out
7. fill in/out
8. got away

This is a handout for CAE exam students. It contains a selection of the collocations, expressions, phrasal verbs and grammatical structures that can come up in the exam.

Download the hand out here:

CAE expressions collocations etc

Phrasal Verbs

Collocations

Expressions

Common Key Word Transformation Expressions and Grammar

This is a conversation class based on the topic of agony aunts for advanced adult students (C1+) in which students learn some expressions and structures for giving advice. Here is the language handout and the situations for advice:

Agony Aunt + Agony Aunt Language

Start by trying to elicit what an agony aunt is. You could show the this link to the Sun’s Dear Deidre column (be warn it has some partial nudity)

Ask students if they have similar columns/websites in their country.

Tell students that they are going to become agony aunts for the class.

Give out the handout and go through the language Then cut up the agony aunt situations and have students take it in turns to read a situation as if it were their own. Other students then give advice on the situation.

Giving advice

Expressions

Agony Aunt – Situations

This is an activity to teach some common idioms and expressions related to food.

You will need the handout below, which contains photos of various food items.

food idioms pics

You will also need this quizlet set:

http://quizlet.com/72332476/food-idioms-2-flash-cards/

• Divide the class into pairs or teams of 3.
• Give each team a set of the 10 food pictures.
• Project the quizlet set onto the board.
• 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

This post was nominated for a British Council blog award!

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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.

I got the amazing speech bubble powerpoint template from https://tekhnologic.wordpress.com/ thanks guys!

Download the handout and speech bubble powerpoints here:

CAE Speaking Phrases

recall-speech-bubbles-cae-speaking

CAE Speaking Phrases

Found this on facebook, there’s a few iffy ones but generally a great resource.

Image credit: http://www.ted.com

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This is a lesson based around Pamela Meyer’s TED talk “How to spot a liar” on the subject of dishonesty in society.

You will need the annotated transcript, the vocabulary exercises and the discussion questions:

Pamela Meyer TED Lesson Plan

Pamela Meyer TED transcript

Pamela Meyer worksheet 1

Pamela Meyer Vocabulary Homework

Note: These classes were designed for a two hour post proficiency conversation class. I normally set the video as homework for my students the week before.

Warmer – Two truths one lie

The old classic activity. Write three sentences about yourself on the board; two true and one false, I wrote:

1. I met Leo Messi and Mascherano on the beach.
2. I collect comic books.
3. I used to be a builder before I was a teacher.

Give students two minutes to ask you questions to try and catch you in a lie. Then they must say which one they think is true and explain why, did they pick up on any vocal or body language signals. Then reveal which one is a lie (number 2 for me). Award one point to each student that guessed correctly and one point to yourself for each student you duped.

Now give students five minutes to do the same; write three sentences about themselves, two true, one false and continue the game. The winner is the person with the most points, who earns the title master liespotter.

• Who was the best liar?
• Who was the best liespotter?

Vocabulary Matching

Give out the vocabulary matching sheet and the transcript. Put students in pairs and have them complete the exercise, the vocabulary words are in order as they appear in the transcript so if they get stuck they can find the word in context to aid their understanding.

Key:

1-k, 2-d, 3-j, 4-c, 5-a, 6-v, 7-t, 8-r, 9-q, 10-n, 11-e, 12-u, 13-l, 14-w, 15-x/b, 16-x/b, 17-p, 18-m, 19-o, 20-h, 21-I, 22-s, 23-g, 24-f.

Discussion Questions

The answers to the comprehension questions can be found underlined in the transcript.

Write the following quotes from the talk on the board:

“We’re all liars”

“lying is a cooperative act”

What does she mean? Do you agree?

1. Why do people lie? Brainstorm on the board.
2. How much money did she say was lost because of fraud? Nearly a $trillion.
3. How much money is lost to fraud in your country?
4. Can you think of any big fraud cases?
5. How often are we lied to on an average day? From 10-200 times
6. What does she say about when strangers meet for the first time? That they lie to each other on average 3 times in first 10 minutes.
7. What does she say about the difference between men and women? That men tend to lie more about themselves while women lie to protect people.
8. Do you think this is true?
9. What does she say about marriage and relationships? That married people lie to each other in 1 in every 10 interactions.
10. What lies do couples tell each other?
11. Are these little white lies?
12. What does she say about animals lying? Coco the gorilla blamed a kitten for ripping a sink off the wall.
13. What does she say about how children develop their deception skills? Babies fake crying, children hiding, bluffing and flattering to get what they want.
14. She says we live in a post truth society, what does she mean by that? With the internet, politics and capitalist society we are surrounded by scammers, and exaggeration.
15. How often do normal people distinguish a lie from the truth? 54% of the time
16. How often do liespotters distinguish a lie from the truth? 90% of the time.
17. What are the speech patterns of a liar we see in the Clinton video? Emphatic denial, formal phrases, distancing language.
18. What are the body language patterns? Freeze upper body, too much eye contact, blink more, chatter with fingertips, fidget, don’t smile with eyes.
19. Could you identify these actions in the videos?
20. Are you a good liespotter?
21. What other videos did she show? Grieving mothers, lying politicians.
22. What did she say about the attitudes of honest/dishonest people? Dishonest people tend to be more detailed, and stick to a chronological order.

Homework

Set the other vocabulary worksheet as homework.

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I’ve made this set of phrasal verb questions for CAE (C1) students using Adam Simpson’s amazing Who wants to be a millionaire template.

Download the template here to make your own.

Or download my phrasal verb version here:

who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-phrasal-verbs

Or my B1/B2 version that covers verb/noun collocations, prepositions and phrasal verbs:

who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-intermediate-fce

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This is essentially the same as my CPE sheet but with the title and word limit changed. Download it here:

cae-review

CAE Review

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This is a worksheet to practice different collocations putting similar words into context. It will be useful for teachers teaching CAE preparation classes as it will help students develop the skills needed for part 1 of the use of English paper. Download the worksheet below:

Collocations Similar Words

Use of English – Collocations

1. She stood on the ____ of the diving board and dove into the pool head first.
2. They all stood in ____ waiting for their dinner.
3. He was on the _____ of calling the Police when the man ran away.
4. It’s a picturesque village on the Swiss/French _____.

Border  verge    line        edge

• The film was so _______ terrifying that I had to hide behind the sofa.
• He is _______ qualified and should get the job easily.
• The new basketball player was ________ tall, he was 20cm taller than the rest of the players.
• It is ________ hot at midday in the desert.

Intensely            utterly                  highly                   exceptionally

1. The charity spent the evening ___________ food to the homeless.
2. We thought the show was going to be a disaster but it ___________ fine in the end.
3. They have been _____________ tests on her all weekend but they still don’t know what’s wrong.
4. After 20 years of rumours about his sexuality he finally ___________ in an interview with GQ magazine.

Turned                 out         came out            carried out         gave out

1. I live _________ a beautiful gothic church.
2. _________ to popular belief pigs are actually very clean animals.
3. _________ my brother, I’m a very sociable person.
4. This breed of dog is ________ from its long lost cousin the wolf in many ways.

Distinct                contrary              unlike                   opposite

1. They ___________ a fantastic array of food for us when we arrived.
2. After waiting on the phone for 3 hours they finally _______ me________ to the department I needed to speak to.
3. We spent 6 months _____________ our house after we bought it.
4. The referee __________ the rules very clearly before the game began.

Put through       set out                 fixed up               laid on

1. Have you heard? They’re making a new ________ of the Lion King, I bet it’s going to be rubbish!
2. This __________ of the roof was badly damaged in the fire.
3. You’ll have to speak to John in the finance ___________ if you want to get your money back.
4. They divided the different insects they found into 5 different ____________ based on size.

Section                version                department                      categories

1. After the earthquake 100 people are still _____________ for.
2. This material is ____________ of 30% cotton and 70% polyester.
3. He ___________ the club in 1999 and has been a member ever since.
4. They _____________ detailed records of all their findings and presented them to the director.

Composed                         compiled                            joined                  unaccounted

1. You can __________ at my house after the concert if you want.
2. Of the 50 trees we planted in 1975 only 10 __________.
3. To reach the top of the mountain they had to ____________ bitter cold and biting winds.
4. When he asked her out on a date the first time she turned him down but he ___________ and finally she said yes.

Remain                endure                persisted            stay

Key:

1. edge
2. line
3. verge
4. border

1. utterly
2. highly
3. exceptionally
4. intensely

1. giving out
2. turned out
3. carrying out
4. came out

1. opposite
2. contrary
3. unlike
4. distinct

1. laid on
2. put through
3. fixing up
4. set out

1. version
2. section
3. department
4. categories

1. unaccounted
2. composed
3. joined
4. compiled

1. stay
2. remain
3. endure
4. persist

Saw this great set of phrasal verbs from www.englishoutsidethebox.com

Image credit: https://sites.google.com/a/pgcps.org/greenbelt-middle-school-music-department/

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This is a conversation and vocabulary lesson plan for advanced students based around the topic of music. Students talk about their tastes in music and learn some music based idioms. Download the plan below:

Music LP

Music

Intro

1. What is music to you?
2. Define “good” music.
3. What music do you listen to when you’re stressed/angry/happy/sad?
4. Are you a musician? Can you sing?
5. What’s more important to you, a good melody or good lyrics?

Music Idioms – match the idioms (1-12) to the definitions (a-m)

1. There’s no point denying it or putting it off it’s time to face the music and admit you did it.
2. I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but I think I dealt with that situation rather well.
3. For our honeymoon we went on a whistle stop tour of 5 European capital cities.
4. Paul is like a broken record, he’s always banging on about vegan food.
5. Change the record Janet, we’ve heard it all before!
6. The lyrics in the second verse really struck a chord with me when I was a teenager.
7. She’s the one who calls the tune/shots in that office.
8. My granddad is amazing, 90 years old and still fit as a fiddle.
9. When they told me the school would have to close early it was music to my ears.
10. I’m fed up of playing second fiddle to that moron, he messes everything up.
11. The article’s ok, a bit boring though, why don’t you jazz it up with some raunchy photos?
12. My students are the worst, I’ve been drumming it into their heads that they have exams today but they still all looked surprised when I told them.

Discussion:

1. Who do you have to play second fiddle to?
2. What is music to your ears?
3. Who calls the tune/shots in your house/workplace/relationship?
4. How can you be sure that you’re fit as a fiddle when you reach old age?
5. How do you jazz up your meals?
6. Did any particular songs/books/poems strike a chord with you when you were growing up?
7. Are you like a broken record? If so, what are you always banging on about?
8. What’s the best way to face the music?
9. Are you known to blow your own trumpet?
10. What’s the best way to drum something into someone’s head?

Key – Music Idioms

1. H
2. C
3. K
4. F+i
5. L
6. J
7. E
8. A
9. G
10. M
11. D
12. B

Image credit: amorq.com

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This is a vocabulary and conversation activity for higher levels (high B2+) on the subject of travelling. Download the student hand out and powerpoint below:

Travelling Expressions – Hand out

Holiday Destinations – Powerpoint

Warmer

In pairs students discuss the following questions

1. What’s the best place you’ve ever visited?
2. How often do you travel?
3. Do you have any trips planned for the near future?

Travel Expressions

Give out the hand out and have students complete the first exercise:

Complete the sentences (1-14) with the expressions (a-n)

Key

1. H
2. N
3. C
4. D
5. F
6. I (i)
7. L
8. J
9. M
10. K
11. G
12. B
13. E
14. A

Discussion

Students discuss the following questions in groups of 3.

1. Do you travel light? If so, how do you decide what to pack?
2. You have to watch your back when you’re travelling alone; there are a lot of dangerous people out there. Do you agree?
3. Which place that you’ve visited was the biggest culture shock? Where did you feel right at home? Why?
4. Do you normally travel on a shoestring or live it up? How can you save money while travelling? Would you consider hitchhiking or couchsurfing?
5. Have you got the travel bug? Have you got itchy feet? If so, where’s next on the list?
6. Do you like to pack a lot in/have a full plate or see how the mood takes you when you’re travelling?
7. What’s the perfect place to sit and watch the world go by for you?
8. How important is it for you to catch some rays when you’re on holiday?
9. How do you choose a holiday destination? Are you a culture vulture?

Holiday Destinations Discussion

Project the powerpoint, tell students that they are going to choose a holiday destination in their groups from a number of popular places around the world.

Show them the second slide and have them copy down the different expressions:

Then have students discuss the different holiday destinations in groups and decide on one which the whole group would like to visit.

Follow up

Students could write a CAE/CPE style Proposal composition about the process of deciding on a holiday destination for the group. They could evaluate the different merits and drawbacks of three of the destinations from the powerpoint and recommend one as the destination for an end of year trip.

Alternatively they could write a review of a holiday to one of the places.

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This is a vocabulary lesson for pre-intermediate – intermediate students. Students will describe the area they live in and learn some prepositions of place.

Download the students’ hand out and teacher’s lesson plan below:

Where I live teachers handout

Where I live student handout

Warmer

Write the two questions on the board and have students complete them in open class.

1. What area of the city ____ _____ live _____?
2. What street ___ ____ live ____?

What area of the city do you live in?

What street do you live on?

Students ask and answer the questions in pairs.

Reading Comprehension

Introduce me as a character using the picture below:

Tim is an English teacher who lives in Barcelona.

Students read the text and answer the questions. Then check in open class.

Read the text and look at the map. Then answer the questions (1-9)

I live in Raval on Carrer de la Cera. When I want to go out for dinner I have a lot of options. There is a Burger King opposite my house. If I want pizza, there is a pizza restaurant next to my house. There is an excellent tapas restaurant under my house, and if I feel like a kebab there are 3 kebab shops around the corner!

Kebabs, hamburgers and pizzas aren’t very healthy so I need to exercise. Fortunately, there are two sports centres close to my house. One problem is that the academy where I work is far from my house, but I can catch the bus there from the bus stop in front of Pia School.

1. What area of the city do I live in?
2. What street do I live on?
3. What is opposite my house?
4. What is next to my house?
5. What is under my house?
6. What is around the corner from my house?
7. What is close to my house?
8. What is the problem about where I live?
9. Where do I catch the bus to work?

Concept Checking

Use the positions of the students in the class or a pen and bottle to check students’ understanding of the prepositions. For example, hold the pen next to the bottle and ask “Where is the bottle?” elicit the prepositions from students. Sts do the same in pairs.

Memory gap-fill

Have this printed on the back of the handout, students flip the sheet over and try to remember the prepositions, they can refer to the map to help them, encourage them to work in pairs.

Can you remember the prepositions?

I live __ Raval __ Carrer de la Cera. When I want to go out for dinner I have a lot of options. There is a Burger King _______ my house. If I want pizza, there is a pizza restaurant _______ my house. There is an excellent tapas restaurant _______ my house, and if I feel like a kebab there are 3 kebab shops __________________!

Kebabs, hamburgers and pizzas aren’t very healthy so I need to exercise. Fortunately, there are two sports centres __________ my house. One problem is that the academy where I work is __________ my house, but I can catch the bus there from the bus stop ___________ Pia School.

Draw a map and describe your area

Using the map of the area around your school that you drew on the board earlier, elicit a description using the prepositions in open class, for example: There is a bakery opposite the school, there is a bus stop in front of the school. Draw in the features as the students describe them. Then tell students to draw a map of the area around their house on a piece of paper and describe it to their partner, help with vocab for shops etc, students then change partners and describe their area to someone new.

Follow up/Homework

Students write a paragraph describing their area for homework for the next day using as many of the prepositions as they can.

Image credit: alburychurch.org.au

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This is a conversation skills lesson for B2+ students. Students will learn ways to nominate topics and develop their turn-taking skills. First they will listen to native speakers having a conversation the analyse it for the language of topic nomination. Download the handouts and audio file below:

Topic Nomination Student’s handout

Topic Nomination Teacher’s version

http://1drv.ms/1Qxrerx – Audio

Listening

Students listen to two people having a conversation 3 times, they should answer the following questions:

Transcript:

A: Bit chilly today. Isn’t it?

B: You can say that again. It’s freezing in my house, I have to keep my jacket on inside!

A: I know, our place is the same. Our heating doesn’t work and the landlord won’t fix it!

B: That’s rubbish, speaking of landlords, ours is threatening to put the rent up again!

A: What a bastard! Why don’t you just move out?

B: We’re thinking about it, we could have a massive leaving party and trash the place!

A: Haha, go for it! I’ll come. Ooo that reminds me, are you going to Tony and Dave’s tonight?

B: Nah, I’m not going to make it, I have to work tomorrow.

A: On Saturday! How come?

B: We have to get everything ready for the big conference on Monday.

A: Rubbish.

B: I know. I’m free next weekend though.

A: Oh, before I forget, do you want to chip in for Fiona’s birthday present.

B: Yeah sure, how much do you need?

A: A tenner?

B: No problem. Hang on, while we’re on the subject of money, you owe me a tenner from the cinema last weekend.

A: Oh yeah, shit I forgot, sorry.

B: No worries, just put it towards Fiona’s present.

A: OK, no problem.

Students Practice Dialogue

Students use the transcript to practice the dialogue. Play close attention to word stress on some of the phrases “You can say THAT aGAIN”. First they practice with the script, then without, when they practice without, tell them not to worry about being word perfect, the focus should be more on the changes in topic.

Controlled Practice:

Put students in groups of 3-4 cut up and give out the topic cards below and distribute them evenly among the students. Then tell students that they are a group of friends meeting in a bar, they are going to have a conversation starting with the following sentence:

Bit chilly today, isn’t it?

Each member of the group must then try to steer the conversation towards one of the topics on their cards, every time they do this successfully they can place the corresponding card on the table in front of them, the winner is the first person to get rid of all their cards. Note, their topic changes must makes sense!

For example:

A: My son hurt his foot playing football.

B: Speaking of football, did you see the match last night?

Allow students a couple of false starts, feel free to mix groups up and play again.

Free-practice

Students have a freer conversation about their weekend/holiday plans/current affairs and try to use the expressions to nominate topic.

Image credit: assignmenteditor.com

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This is a lesson plan for adult higher-level students (high B2+) in which students learn some political idioms and put them into practice in a discussion. Download the hand out and key below:

Politics student handout

Note: I found most of the political idioms on the site below, but designed the matching task, sentence matching activity and discussion myself:

http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/electionidioms.html

Politics – Idioms and Discussion

Match the idioms to their definitions:

the hand-out has pretty pictures but they didn’t come out here :(

Put the expressions in the sentences:

1. After the speeches the politicians went into the crowd to __________________ with members of the public.
2. What the chancellor said about trickle-down economics is a load of ________________, I don’t believe it for a second.
3. The problem with most politicians is that they __________________________ and have no idea how their policies affect people.
4. I reckon half the politicians in this country are _____________________, you just have to follow the money.
5. The opposition have decided to __________________________ and accept that they lost the election.
6. Normally, if a cabinet minister doesn’t ________________________ they’ll soon be out of a job.
7. Early polls suggest the result will be a _____________________ with no clear winner.
8. It looks like the election will be a ___________________ between Labour and the Conservatives.
9. Prison reform has been a ______________________ for years because prisoners don’t vote!
10. The subject of MPs’ expenses is a ______________________, nobody wants to touch it but I’m sure it’s going to blow up soon.
11. The new leader of the Liberals _______________________, you can see it in the way he talks to his constituents.
12. ______________________ Tony, you’re always banging on about conspiracy theories but we’ve heard it all before.

Discussion

1. How much of a politician’s time should they spend on local issues relevant to their constituency?
2. How much of a politician’s time should they spend on national issues?
3. Should all politicians have to toe the party line? When should they be allowed to speak out against their leader/policy in their party?
4. If a politician doesn’t toe the party line, what should the leader do?
5. Which politicians are always spouting hot air? Can you trust anything a politician says? Are there any politicians in your country that you believe in?
6. Who should get the first opportunity to form a government in a hung parliament, the party that got the most votes? Or the party most likely to be able to form a stable coalition?
7. What have been the biggest political hot potatoes in your country in the last few years?
8. Are there any issues that are treated like political footballs in your country?
9. What do you think when you see a politician pressing the flesh? Why do you think they do it? Have you ever pressed the flesh with a politician?
10. What do you get on your soap box about?
11. Which politicians in your country have the common touch? And which don’t?
12. Are elections in your country normally a two-horse race?
13. If you could change one thing about the political system in your country, what would it be?
14. How much do politicians earn in your country? Is it enough? Why do people get into politics?

Key

Definition match

1. G
2. E
3. C
4. L (l)
5. K
6. B
7. H
8. D
9. F
10. A
11. J
12. I (i)

Sentence match

1. Press the flesh
2. Hot air
3. Live/are in an ivory tower
4. Crooked/bent
5. Throw in the towel
6. Toe the party line
7. Hung parliament
8. Two-horse race
9. Political football
10. Political hot potato
11. Has the common touch
12. Get off your soap box – used to tell someone to stop talking about something

Follow up

Students could write a CAE/CPE style report on the state of politics in their country, the report could then suggest ways in which politicians could get young people to take and interest in politics.

Saw this shared on Facebook, looks good.

teaching.berkeley.edu

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

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This is a vocabulary lesson originally designed for higher levels (C1+) but the method can be adapted for any level and any set of vocabulary. The idea is that students teacher each other a set of phrasal verbs, analyse them and then put them into practice in a gap-fill and a discussion.

Preparation

Print out the phrasal verb cards and one copy of the worksheet for each student. Cut out the cards so that the phrasal verb is on one side and the definition and example sentences is on the other. I laminated them, as shown below, but you could easily just glue them together. Students will work in groups of 3 and teach 2 phrasal verbs each to their groups so you will need 1 set of cards for each group of 3.

Lesson Plan Word doc – Peer Taught Phrasal Verbs LP

phrasal verbs peer teaching CARDS

Peer taught phrasal verbs worksheet

Peer Teaching

Put students into groups of three and give each member of each group 2 phrasal verb cards. Give students 2 minutes to familiarise themselves with the phrasal verbs and the example sentences. Students then take it in turns to teach their phrasal verbs to their group mates, who can ask additional questions to clarify the use and meaning. Encourage the “teachers” to think of their own example sentences aside from the examples on the cards so that they can personalise it. Also, you could tell them to give their groups an opportunity to guess the meaning before they explain it. For this section I boarded some expressions:

to hazard a guess – make a guess

to put sb out of their misery – kill someone who’s suffering/give sb who is guessing something the answer

When everyone has finished move onto the next stage.

Analysis and Processing

Invite students to come to the board and write a phrasal verb they have learnt and a definition. However, they must board one of the phrasal verbs they have just learnt, NOT one of the ones they taught to their group.

When you have all 6 phrasal verbs on the board, give the students the handout and have them analyse them in their groups using the criteria on the worksheet:

Look at the phrasal verb and decide:

1. Is the meaning easy to understand from the words?
2. Put them in order, which one is the most useful?
3. Which one is the easiest to use?
4. Which one do you think is easiest to remember?
5. Which ones could you use at home/work/school/in the street/in emails/letters?

The aim of this section is to force students to process the items at a deeper cognitive level, thus increasing the chances of retention. Feedback briefly in open class. Make a note of the ones students think are hardest to remember.

Gap-fill and Discussion

Students complete the gap-fill exercise on the handout in their groups and then ask and answer the questions.

Put the phrasal verbs in the questions:

1. What do you do when people _________ when you’re talking? Do people in your country tend to _________ more than other nationalities? Butt/cut in
2. What fashion trend _____________ when you were younger? Are they still in fashion today? caught on
3. What did your parents used to do when you ___________? Were they strict or lenient? acted up
4. How long do you think you could ________________ the internet/TV/music/your favourite food/meat? do without
5. Have you ever been _____________? What happened to the company? If a company is in trouble, who normally gets _________ first? laid off
6. What would you do it you saw two people ____________each other in the street? Would you step in? Why? Why not? laying into

Follow up

Test students on the phrasal verbs in the next class and see if their opinions about which are hardest to remember are true.

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This is a vocabulary activity designed with proficiency students (C2) in mind. However, it can be adapted for advanced students. Students will learn expressions with the word “mind” and use them in a discussion. Download the students’ handout and teacher’s notes below:

Mind Expressions teachers notes

Mind Expressions student handout

Sentence completion

Give out the handout and have students work in pairs to complete as many as they can. For lower levels or if students struggle you could write all the missing words on the board and students could use them to complete the activity. Students can use the list on the back to check their own answers.

Key

Definitions

1. Great minds think alike – When two people have had the same good idea
2. A load off one’s mind – news that brings relief
3. A meeting of the minds – group of experts meeting to discuss something
4. In a frame of mind – in a mental condition
5. No one in their right mind would – no sane person would
6. Give sb a piece of one’s mind – to angrily express disapproval to someone
7. Have a mind of its own – does things on its own
8. Mind-boggling – so big/complex that it’s difficult to comprehend
9. To be in/of two minds about something – to be undecided
10. Cast one’s mind back – think about a specific time in the past/make an effort to remember
11. Bear in mind/It’s worth bearing in mind – Remember/take into account
12. Cross one’s mind/It never crossed my mind to – I never thought about (normally in relation to a solution to a problem)
13. Don’t mind if I do – I would like to, used when accepting an offer, usually food/drink
14. Have half a mind to – to be considering doing something (normally something you’re not going to do)
15. Have a mind like a sieve – bad memory
16. Have a one-tracked mind – always thinking about one thing, almost always sex
17. Run through one’s mind – something you’re constantly thinking about
18. Put one’s mind to st – make a considerable effort to focus on doing something
19. Mind one’s own business – not interfere in other people’s lives/problems
20. Mind one’s p’s and q’s – be polite and follow social rules (please, thank you etc.)
21. Slip one’s mind – forget something

Analysis

This section is important as it gives students an opportunity to process the expressions on a deeper cognitive level and relate them to their lives, this will increase the chances of retention. Allow them to discuss the questions and then briefly in open class.

Discussion Key

1. Sieve slip
2. One
3. Cast
4. P’s q’s
5. Own business
6. Gave
7. Put
8. In/of
9. Right
10. Own
11. Bear
12. Load
13. Running

Student’s Handout

Sentence completion

Complete the sentences with 1 word to form expressions with “mind”.

1. So you’ve decided to do a masters too! ________ minds think alike!
2. They found the lost pendrive down the back of the sofa. Phew! That’s a ________ off my mind.
3. The UN has organised a council of scientists to discuss the best way to solve the issue, it’s going to be a real _________ of the minds.
4. Due to the recent speculation about a move to Real Madrid, the player has stated that he’s not in the right _________ of mind to play tomorrow.
5. No one in their _________ mind would buy that car, it’s a death-trap!
6. If you two don’t be quiet and go to sleep, I’m going to come up there and _____ you a ______ of my mind!
7. My mobile phone seems to _______ a mind of its _______. It’s always calling people in my bag.
8. The distances we’d have to travel to reach another habitable planet are mind-___________, it’s not going to be possible in our lifetime.
9. I’m ___ two minds about what to do on Sunday, we could have a picnic or we could go to the cinema.
10. ______ your mind back to the day of the robbery Mrs. Jones, what time did your husband arrive home?
11. It’s worth __________ in mind that the sun goes down at 5:30 in winter, so we have to be off the mountain by then.
12. It never ___________my mind to ask Tony for help, I figured he didn’t know anything about computers.
13. Would you like another martini George? Oooo don’t mind ____ I _____.
14. I have ______ a mind to go up there myself and tell them to turn the music down.
15. I’m sorry but I’ve completely forgotten your name, I’ve got a mind like a _________.
16. Most teenage boys have a one-_________ mind, and we all know what that means!
17. Hi babe, are you tired? No, why? Because you’ve been ________through my mind all night.
18. You can achieve anything if you ______ your mind to it!
19. I was just sat at the bus-stop minding my _____ _______ when this guy walked up and started insulting me!
20. You have to mind your ___’s and ____’s around my grandma, she’s quite sensitive about that sort of thing.
21. Oh no! I forgot to bring you that letter, sorry, it completely ________ my mind.

Key

Below are the expressions from ex 1. Look at them with a partner, how can you express them in other words?

Analysis

With your partner, look at the expressions and answer the questions below.

1. Which ones are easy to guess from the individual meaning of the words?
2. Which ones do you like?
3. Which ones sound good?
4. Which ones can be used in the most situations? And which in the least?
5. Which ones can you easily relate to your life? Why?
6. Which ones would you use in a letter/email/text message?
7. Which ones would you use in speech?

Discussion

1. Do you have a mind like a ________? What things normally _______ your mind?
2. Is it true that men have a ______-track mind?
3. How far can you ______ your mind back?
4. Is it important to mind your ___’s and ___’s around your family?
5. Are you a busy-body? Or do you tend to mind your _____ _____________?
6. When was the last time you _______ someone a piece of your mind?
7. You can achieve anything if you ________ your mind to it. Do you agree?
8. Are you ____ two minds about anything at the moment?
9. Complete the sentence about something in your city/life/country at the moment: No one in their _______ mind would…..
10. Do any of your things have a mind of their ________?
11. What should people ________ in mind if they want to do your favourite hobby/past-time?
12. Can you think of any news you’ve received recently that was a _______ off your mind?
13. Has anything been __________through your mind a lot recently? What are you going to do about it?

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This is a lesson plan for higher level students (high B2+) in which students learn expressions related to fear and horror movies. It is a good companion activity my Chucky’s Participle Clauses lesson, I plan to teach the two activities in one 90 minute class. You will need the audio file and handouts below:

Scared Stiff Student Handout

Scared Stiff Teacher notes

Listening audio

Scared Stiff

Listening Comprehension

First check students understand “scared stiff” then tell them they are going to listen to a man talking about horror films. Dictate them these 5 questions, students write them down. Play the audio twice all the way through.

1. What’s his opinion of gory films? He doesn’t find them frightening
2. What type of gory scenes make him uncomfortable? Gory scenes involving eyes
3. What type of horror films scare him the most? Psychological horror
4. What sometimes happens while they are watching a horror film? The phone rings or the cat makes a noise, scaring them.
5. What’s his girlfriend scared of? Spiders and anything that looks like a spider

Being a bit of a scaredy-cat I’m not really into horror films. But every now and then I like to sit down and watch one with my girlfriend. I’m not very squeamish so I don’t really find gory films very frightening but anything to do with eyes gives me the heebie-jeebies, so I find any scenes where people get the eyes cut or poked out really unsettling.

The films that really send shivers down my spine are psychological horror films, for me they’re far scarier than gory films. Maybe ones where some people are exploring a spooky house and there’s some creepy music playing, they really put me on edge because you don’t know when something is going to jump out and scare you half to death. Sometimes the scariest thing is when we’re watching a horror film and the house phone suddenly rings, or the cat makes a sound and we jump out of our skins with fright.

My girlfriend is slightly different to me. She’s petrified of spiders and anything that looks like a spider but they don’t really bother me. Once we watch a film about giant alien bugs and we had to switch it off because she was shaking like a leaf!

Students listen again and write down as many expressions as they can.

Language focus

Students look at the expressions in the box, find them in the text and try to deduce meaning from context.

Memory gap-fill

Students turn the hand out over and try to remember the positions of all the expressions to complete the text. If they get stuck they can turn the paper over and look for one expression.

Analysis

Students look at the expressions and analyse them with the following questions to increase chance of retention.

1. Is the meaning obvious from the words?
2. Which ones exist in your own language?
3. Which one is your favourite?
4. Which one will be the easiest/most difficult to remember? Why?

Discussion

Students discuss the following questions with their partner using the expressions and the language in the box below. Students should be encouraged to use the “showing interest” expressions to actively listen to their partner.

1. Are you a scaredy-cat?
2. Are you squeamish? Do gory movies give you the heebie-jeebies?
3. What type of movies put you on edge?
4. What are you petrified of?
5. Can you think of a scene in a film that made you jump out of your skin?
6. What type of scenes/monsters send shivers down your spine?
7. Which films left you shaking like a leaf?
8. What scares you more, a spooky place or creepy music?
9. What situations are unsettling in real life?
10. Has a friend or family member ever made you jump out of your skin or scared you half to death?