c
 

 
 

The following exercise focuses on what students like best - least about friends. The
exercise allows students to practice a number of areas: expressing opinions,
comparatives and superlatives, descriptive adjectives and reported speech. The overall
concept of the lesson can easily be transferred to other subject areas such as: holiday
choices, choosing a school, perspective careers, etc.

 Practice expressing opinions, reported speech

 Choosing which qualities would make a best friend and which qualities would
make an undesirable friend

  Pre-intermediate to upper-intermediate

 

ë ÷elp students activate vocabulary by asking them for descriptive adjectives

describing good friends and bad friends.
ë ½istribute worksheet to students and ask them to put the descriptive
adjectives/phrases into the two categories (Best Friend - Undesirable Friend).
ë Put students into pairs and ask them to give explanations for why they have
chosen to put the various descriptions into one or the other of the categories.
ë sk students to pay careful attention to what their partner says and take notes, as
they will be expected to report back to a new partner.
ë Put students into new pairs and ask them to tell their new partner what their first
partner has said.
ë s a class, ask students about any surprises or differences of opinion they
encountered during the discussions.
ë 0xtend the lesson by a follow-up discussion on what makes a good friend.

 
 : r



 






 

 

  

confident in his/her abilities

handsome or beautiful
trustworthy
outgoing
timid
punctual intelligent
fun-loving
rich or well off
artistic abilities
inquisitive mind
possess athletic abilities
well-traveled
creative
free spirit
speaks 0nglish well
interested in the same things
interested in different things
from the same social background
from different social background
loves to tell stories
rather reserved
ambitious
plans for the future
happy with what he/she has

c
  / 
  

 : Ô




 



c
  / 
  

lmost anywhere you go these days people love to talk about what they have seen in
the cinema. ny class, will usually be well versed in both their own native country's
films and the latest and greatest from ÷ollywood and elsewhere. This subject is
especially useful with younger students who might be hesitant to speak about their own
lives. Speaking about films provides an almost endless font of possibilities for
conversation. ÷ere are a few ideas:

 Promoting conversation - especially with younger students who might be hesitant

to speak about their own lives.

 General introduction to films, dictation and short listening exercise, followed
by students' discussing their answers to dictated questions.

   Intermediate to advanced

 

ë Introduce the topic by asking students to name different types of film and a film
they know of that represents that genre. 0    




  

ë ½ictate the following questions to the students - they need only write down their
responses.
› ÿhat is your favorite non - Italian, German, French, etc. (you name the
nationality) film?
› ÿhat is your favorite Italian, German, French, etc. (you name the
nationality) film?
› ÿho is your favorite actor or actress?
› ÿhat is the worst film you have ever seen?
› In your opinion, who is the worst actor or actress in film today?
ë ÷ave students put aside their answers to the above questions.
ë Dead the short description of the film provided with this lesson (or invent a short
description of a film you know that most students have seen). sk the students
to name the film.
 ë ÷ave students divide up into small groups and discuss a film they have all seen.
fter they discussed the film, ask them to write a short description of the film
like the one you have read to the class.
ë Groups read their summaries aloud to the other groups which need to name the
films described. You can easily turn this into a little competitive game setting
the number of times the descriptions can be read aloud.
ë Deturning to the questions at the beginning of class, ask each student to choose
one of the questions and answer that question explaining to the other students
their reasons for choosing that film or actor/actress as the best/worst. ½uring this
part of the lesson students should be encouraged to agree or disagree and add
their own comments to the discussion at hand.
ë s a follow-up homework task, students can write a short review of a film they
have seen to be discussed during the next session.

ÿ  

This film takes place on an Italian island. n exiled, communist poet comes to the
island and slowly becomes friends with a simple, local man. The film seems to be about
learning which can take place between friends. ½uring the film, the poet helps his friend
persuade a beautiful young woman to become his wife by helping the man write love
letters. The film follows the maturing of a young, simple man through his contact with a
famous man who he admires greatly.

This lesson plan is based on the idea that having students support opinions that are not
necessarily their own during debates can help improve students fluency. In this manner,
students pragmatically focus on correct production skills in conversation rather than
striving to "win" the argument. For more information on this approach please see the
following feature: Teaching Conversational Skills: Tips and Strategies

Of course, once students have become confident in their production skills, the can
obviously argue the point they truly believe in.

 Improve conversational skills when supporting a point of view

 ½ebate concerning the current and future impact of the Internet on daily life

   Upper-intermediate to advanced

 

ë Deview language used when expressing opinions, disagreeing, making

comments on other person's point of view, etc. (See work sheet)
ë sk students to consider the following statement:

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 ë Based on students' responses, divide groups up into two groups. 
Make sure that groups are put into the group with the opposite opinion of what
they seemed to believe in the warm-up conversation.
ë Give students worksheets including ideas pro and con. ÷ave students develop
arguments using the ideas on the worksheet as a springboard for further ideas
and discussion.
ë Once students have prepared their opening arguments, begin with the debate.
0ach team has 5 minutes to present their principal ideas.
ë ÷ave students prepare notes and make rebuttal to the expressed opinions.
ë ÿhile the debate is in progress, take notes on common errors made by the
students.
ë t the end of debate, take time for a short focus on common mistakes. This is
important, as students should not be too involved emotionally and therefore will
be quite capable of recognizing language problems - as opposed to problems in
beliefs!

Internet Craze

ÿhat do you think about the following statement?

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$
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Use the clues and ideas below to help you create an argument for your appointed point
of view with your team members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in
expressing opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing.


$'
 


I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see it..., s
far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., I'm pretty sure
that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly
believe that..., ÿithout a doubt,...,

(
   

I don't think that..., ½on't you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd prefer...,
Shouldn't we consider..., But what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree..., Frankly, I doubt
if..., Let's face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is
that...

) * 



  
 To start with, The reason why..., That's

why..., For this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering...,
llowing for the fact that..., ÿhen you consider that... Ô   ÿ+  

0 
 

ë The use of the Internet around the world is doubling every few months.
ë The Internet has already changed with way we communicate.
 ë Business have invested billions in the Internet.
ë The Internet is becoming faster all the time, you can already watch video or
listen to Mp3s via the Internet.
ë Many people now live at home and work via the Internet.
ë The Internet has created unlimited new business opportunities
ë Most people use email instead of writing letters to keep in touch with their
friends.
ë The Internet is still very young.

Ô   
,
- !

+$cÿ-+  
0   

ë The Internet, while interesting, is just a fad.

ë People want to go out and meet other people when they do their shopping.
ë It is too difficult to use the Internet and computers, most people do not have the
patience.
ë Deading on a computer screen is uncomfortable and people will never stop
wanting to read, listen to music and be entertained in traditional ways.
ë The Internet creates cultural homogenization - some would say mericanization,
and eventually people will get tired of this.
ë The only real interaction between people must take place face to face on not
'virtually'.
ë The Internet is mainly used by teenagers and other people who have lots of time
to waste.
ë The 'new' economy of the Internet produces nothing - people can not buy smoke.

Ô    0 
 ' 

There are a number of phrases and idioms that are only used when telephoning. Let's
first take a look at an example dialogue: ÷ere are the most common:

ë   ÷ello, Frank and Brothers, ÷ow can I help you?

ë '   This is Peter Jackson. Can I have extension 3421?
ë   Certainly, hold on a minute, I'll put you through...
ë . Bob Peterson's office, Frank speaking.
ë '   This is Peter Jackson calling, is Bob in?
ë . I'm afraid he's out at the moment. Can I take a message?
ë '   Yes, Could you ask him to call me at . I need to talk to him about the
Nuovo line, it's urgent.
ë . Could you repeat the number please?
ë '   Yes, that's , and this is Peter Jackson.
ë . Thank you Mr Jackson, I'll make sure Bob gets this asap.
ë '   Thanks, bye.
ë . Bye.

s you can see, the language is rather informal and there are some important differences
to everyday 0nglish. Look at the chart below for key language and phrases used in
telephone 0nglish:
 


This is Ken.
Ken speaking


. ! 
    

0xcuse me, who is this?
Can I ask who is calling, please?

. 
 
Can I have extension 321? (extensions are internal numbers at a company)
Could I speak to...? (Can I - more informal / May I - more formal)
Is Jack in? (informal idiom meaning: Is Jack in the office?
+   
I'll put you through (put through - phrasal verb meaning 'connect')
Can you hold the line? Can you hold on a moment?
! ! 
  

I'm afraid ... is not available at the moment
The line is busy... (when the extension requested is being used)
Mr Jackson isn't in... Mr Jackson is out at the moment...
Ô. /


Could (Can, May) I take a message?
Could (Can, May) I tell him who is calling?
ÿould you like to leave a message?
[/table]