10A Sports vocabulary

A Match the sentence halves. Which sports are being referred to?
1 At half-time, Germany were winning one-nil, but England

2 He was disqualified from the competition because he

3 Despite training hard for weeks, the team was

4 Before going onto the court, the captain

5 He was in the lead for the first fifty metres, but

6 Phelps set a new world record at the London Olympics and

7 When the umpire signalled the end of the match, the players

8 The jockey had taken part in the race before, but

a discussed tactics with her team in the changing rooms.
b threw their caps in the air and hugged the coach.
c scored in the second half to make it a one-all draw.
d was awarded his eighteenth gold medal.
e knocked out in the first round of the tournament and left the rink depressed.
f slipped on the wet track and was defeated by Bolt.
g had never crossed the finish line first.
h got angry and hit his opponent with his racket.

B Complete the questions by adding one word in the gaps. Use the vocabulary from A. Ask and answer the questions in
pairs, giving reasons and examples as appropriate.
1 For what reasons might someone be from a sports competition?
2 Do you know anyone who’s part in a race but failed to the finish line?
3 Which Polish athletes were medals at the last Olympic Games?
4 What qualities does someone need to make a good team  ?
5 Have you ever had a disagreement with an or referee over a decision?
6 Which athletes new world records at the last Olympic Games?
7 Do you think it’s useful for teams to discuss before or during a game?
8 Have you ever been out of a tournament in the first round?

C Work in pairs. One of you should choose a sport, but not tell your partner what it is. Your partner has to ask questions
to find out what the sport is, but you can only answer, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Use the sports vocabulary from the lesson and the
Useful Language from below.

Useful Language

Is this sport played inside/outside?

Do you do this sport on a pitch/a court/a track?
Is this sport done in a ring/a pool/a rink?
Do participants compete in teams/as individuals?
Do you need a ball/a bat/a racket/pads/special clothes for this sport?
Is it a winter/an Olympic/a non-competitive sport?
Is this sport popular in Poland/in England/worldwide?
I reckon the sport you’re thinking of is/could be/must be ...

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © Oxford University Press • Photocopiable

 10A Sports vocabulary

Aims  To extend and practise vocabulary related to sport

Time  15 minutes
Materials  1 handout for each student
• Give each student a handout and tell them to match the
sentence halves in A. Check answers as a class, ensuring that
students understand any new vocabulary. Encourage them to
guess meaning from context as far as possible.
Answer Key
1  c  2  h  3  e  4  a  5  f  6  d  7  b  8  g
• Elicit from the class which sports the sentences may refer to.
Get students to point out the key words in each case.
suggested Answers
1 football 4 netball 7 baseball
2 tennis 5 sprinting 8 horse-racing
3 ice-hockey 6 swimming
• Tell students to complete the gap-fill in task B. Check answers
as a class.
Answer Key
1 disqualified 4 captain/coach 7 tactics
2 taken/cross 5 umpire 8 knocked
3 awarded 6 set
• Divide the class into pairs and tell them to discuss the
questions. Get feedback on students’ opinions and ideas.
• Read through task C and the useful language as a class,
making sure students can recall all of the vocabulary. Give
students time to do the activity in pairs. Circulate and check
that students are using the target vocabulary and question
forms accurately.

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © Oxford University Press