Vocabulary building exercises

A compilation of games and exercises to increase your word power

Match the words with the meanings

Give the students some new vocabulary, teach them pronunciation and see if they can match the word to the definition. After, give them a chance to use the new words.

describe planned, in order, not a mess

imagine having to do too many things

typical feeling you have too much work

pressure normal, usual

organised to tell what something looks or like

community to think about something

stressed the place or area where you live

Practice:

The student was under ______ to finish the project on time.

All the neighbours are friendly. It’s a nice ________ to live.

Can you __________ what the man looked like ?

After teaching 20 young children, I felt very _________.

The German workers all knew what to do, they were so _______

Close your eyes and _______ you are relaxing on a beach.

On a _________ day, I drink coffee, go to work, come home and watch TV.

Exercise 2

disparity // tongue in cheek // consider // extrapolate // significance

And we need to increase the frequency of discourse markers:

subsequently // therefore // consequently

First, elicit the meanings, then decide which words or expressions fill these gaps ?

You must scan the article quickly in order to ……….. the relevant information.

There is a huge ………. between the super rich and the poor in many countries.

The students just played with their phones in class. …………. many failed their test.

I need time to …………. your proposal.

What was the ………… of 30th April 1975 ?

He refused to ask directions and …………. was completely lost.

“Vietnam is such a clean, environmentally-friendly country,” John said, ……………..

Friend: personality and occupations

Expression – don’t judge a book by its cover

Friends (men). Here are five of my friends. Guess their personality and occupation:

https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2018/12/28/friends-men-teaching-sheet/

Personality adjectives and idioms

funny / aggressive / dependable / generous / serious / reliable / intellectual / dull /unreliable / unpleasant / scary / witty / arrogant / boring / friendly/ light-hearted a push over / mean / bossy / impatient / a screw loose / solid as a rock / tough cookie life and soul (of the party) / nice / shy / confident / arrogant / hard-working / lazy / aloof, /kind / unkind / sweet / nasty / generous / mean (1 nasty, 2 not generous) / unfriendly / awkward – difficult, hard to please

Jobs

White collar doctor, accountants, teacher, lawyer, professional / office worker

blue collar chef, factory worker, mechanic, shop workers, fix machines, plumber

arts artist, actor/tress, painter, musicians, DJs, poets, writers

estate agent / consultant / plumber / PR Public Relations / HR / volunteer worker / unemployed / therapist / bouncer / shoe-shine boy / market trader / dog-walker /stockbroker / interior decorator / gambler / self-employed / psychic /road sweeper /security guard / pollster / politician / postal delivery / barista / quantity surveyor / criminal /

Forming opinions:

I think he could be a … / She seems to be …/ I get the impression that she is … / From his build, I’d say he was a … / Because of her appearance, I feel she must be a …

Personality adjectives (negative – arrogant). These are strong adjectives:

arrogant // self-obsessed // pretentious // obnoxious // full of themselves

Relative Pronouns

Let’s kick off with some basic information about my friend Pete:

Pete (left) with drummer Kenny Jones of The Small Faces & The Who

Pete’s family are Irish. He was born in Kent, south England. He loves music especially Jazz and he can play saxophone, keyboards, guitar and bass. He is 40 years old. He is bald, and wears glasses. Currently he plays bass in a band called ‘The Deep Six’. They have a video on YouTube. In the photo, Pete is with the famous 60s drummer Kenny Jones. He was in The Small Faces. Later he joined The Who after their original drummer died.

Example:

Pete, who was born in Kent in the south of England, is of Irish heritage. Although he is just forty, Pete looks older, probably due to the fact that he is bald, as well as having to wear glasses. His great passion in life is music, especially Jazz, but his interest is not merely passive; he plays several instruments. In addition to saxophone and keyboards, Pete is proficient on guitar. Having said that, he actually plays bass now in a band named The Deep Six, who have a video on YouTube. Pete is seen here with the legendary drummer Kenny Jones who rose to fame in the 60s as drummer for chart-topping band The Small Faces before joining The Who following the death of their original drummer.

Now, a quick practice:

This is Wei Minzhi. She was born near Beijing. She was chosen to be in a Chinese film called ‘Not One Less’. She was 13. She played a substitute teacher but had no experience teaching (and no experience acting). The area is very poor. Some of the children have to leave school to work. The film was shown all over Europe, even at special film festivals. She was famous. She did no more acting. She studied in USA. She lives in Hawaii. Wei is married and has two children.

Small talk responses

A great way to increase conversation and use more natural language is to practise keeping conversations going for as long as possible. Think of it as verbal tennis – keep ‘hitting’ questions and responses at each other.

Example:

What do you do ?

I’m a student ?

Really ? Where do you study ?

Engineering.

That’s interesting. What branch (what area) of engineering ? Mechanical, electrical ?

And this be continued – where does the person study, does the student like the course, the university, the teachers, the fellow students etc.

Really ? // I see // Are you ? // Right // That’s interesting // That’s a good point // Where is that exactly ? // Oh, me too // Do you enjoy it ? // Do you like it there ?

Tourism

Now was a chance for some new vocabulary, words and phrases associated with holidays and travel.

breathtaking / stunning/ sensational / incredible / remarkable/ exclusive / inspiring / spectacular /

once in a lifetime experience/ never to be forgotten / unbeatable prices

book now to avoid disappointment/ best decision you’ll ever make

Structure: To begin with / furthermore … additionally / the fact is … / therefore

As an Example, I made a short presentation about London:

VISIT LONDON TODAY !

SEE

Buckingham Palace // Tower Bridge

British Museum // Wembley Stadium

Shops, parks, theatres, restaurants

London – one of the world’s GREAT cities

A holiday of a lifetime ! Book early !

Mr Paul Tours – visit our website mrpaultours@ukonline.co.vn for more information.

From this, I made a short presentation:

Now is the perfect time to visit London, England’s glorious capital. The weather is perfect for walking, so you can enjoy the lush parks, world-famous museums and incredible, unbelievable shops. There is something for everyone … and more ! Like sports ? Go to one of the many Premier League football games. Love shopping ? Everything is here – shop till you drop ! Adore culture – soak up hundreds of years of history.

NOTE – the use of adjectives to really bring the presentation alive and make it exciting.

Flights from TSN airport daily. Seven-day all-inclusive package tour starting from only 50m VND ! All transfers and transport included. Air-conditioned mini bus with Vietnamese-speaking guide.

Travel

Students are put into small groups and take turns speaking. The topic shall be travel, and the students have to use the following:

amazing / attachment / incredibly / predict / first impressions / you’ve come to the right place

With all speaking exercises, it helps if the teacher or a top student models first, so that all the students understand what they have to do. I shall use the same words but my theme shall be food:

On Saturday, I was out shopping and I felt very hungry. I went into a restaurant and my first impression was not encouraging. It looked a bit dirty and I predicted that the food wouldn’t be very exciting. However, they had an interesting menu with vegetarian options, which was amazing ! I ordered some pho and salad and it was incredibly delicious. I thought to myself I’ve come to the right place. I took some photos so I’ll send them to you by attachment on my next email.

Travel – hotel recommendation

I’m planning a trip to Nha Trang (a beach town in South Vietnam, about an hour’s flight from Ho Chi Minh City). I have two hotels in mind, but I need advise from some Vietnamese. They also have to use as many of these words as possible:

visually stunning / mouth-watering / you get what you pay for / spectacular / a waste of money / significantly / somewhat / according to / how can I put it ?

Students must tell me about the hotels, the area, the food and which one they would choose for me:

Victory Hotel 2* Rooms not very clean, no view. No complimentary breakfast.

Sandy Bay Hotel 4* Much more expensive, although it has breakfast buffet, and room has a balcony with view of the sea.

Trip Advisor recommends Sandy Bay, but they said Victory was dirty and very over-priced.

Local food is great

WILF (What I’m looking for): can the students describe the scenery and food ? Can they compare price and quality difference ? Can they use expressions appropriately ?

With the adjectives, I’ll be listening out for intonation – ‘spectacular !’

To quote another source of information, ‘according to’ and for the prices, the 4* is ‘significantly more’ expensive than … Then, in conclusion, can they make a judgement – ‘a waste of money’ or accepting that high quality means high prices, ‘you get what you pay for.’

Travel: Life in Sai Gon

ubiquitous everywhere, very common

naïve innocent, inexperienced

stroll a gentle walk, for exercise (collocation: take a stroll)

a bazaar (noun) a permanent, covered market

bizarre (adjective) very strange, unusual

absent-minded extremely forgetful

sky-high, astronomical very expensive, maybe too expensive

messy untidy

laundry / laundromat dirty clothes / a place to wash clothes (collocation: do laundry)

predictable it is possible to guess the answer, people doing the same thing

hawkers

Street _______ are common in Vietnam, and they are _________ in District 1. It is nearly impossible for a westerner to take a ________ without being approached. Some claim to sell Ray Bans or designer sunglasses, but you would have to be extremely ________ to believe they are genuine ! They are all fake, probably made in China. Many people try to _____(collocation) money by selling to tourists especially around Ben Thanh Market, a kind of _______, though this is strictly for tourists as the prices are ____________ !

What Difference Does It Make ?

I give students a paper with two words or phrases that are related but different. They have to clarify the distinction, for example

teacher / headmaster

educate / bring up

take an exam / retake an exam

do homework / do housework

quite common / ubiquitous

required subject / optional subject

similarity with / disparity between

skim / extrapolate

Adult Class, level 3: A diva … moi ?

26th November 2019. AEF 3 Listening Part 2 & Units 5 & 6 review (p.63)

Tonight, the lesson is heavy on listening and review. I try to get as much student-talking time as possible, so I’m got some ideas up my sleeve to, hopefully, lighten and brighten the class.

The topic is celebrity interviews, especially interviewing famous people who may be:

arrogant // self-obsessed // pretentious // obnoxious // full of themselves

Which of those words would, in your opinion, apply to these people:

Use opinion phrases (In my opinion, For me, He seems to be, I get the impression she is …)

Image result for arrogant lawyer — a lawyer

Image result for ronaldo celebration — Ronaldo celebrates a goal … but is this too much ?

Image result for prince philip quotes — and The Queen’s husband, Prince Philip.

A celebrity is anyone famous, but most often it’s an actor, musician, TV personality or just a regular person who has made the news (had a story about them in the newspaper, online media etc). Sometimes they can be arrogant or full of themselves in interviews. However, occasionally the interviewer may upset the star. What do you think is happening here [start at 04:23] in this Robert Downey Jr interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUX-CCmQeOk

Now we have the same interviewer with film director Quentin Tarantino:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTE8FPgHeE4

Image result for im shutting your butt down — Quentin Tarantino

So now the class are prepared for the book work.

I have an assortment of activities for the speaking.

First up – small talk

I’ll hand out some papers with a short dialogue of small talk. This is basically learning how to keep a conversation going by using appropriate responses.

Students can use the following:

Really ? // I see // Are you ? // Right // That’s interesting // That’s a good point // Where is that exactly ? // Oh, me too // Do you enjoy it ? // Do you like it there ?

Then the students can pair up and ask each other questions such as:

Why are you studying English ?

Where do you live ?

Where would you like to visit ?

What do you do in your free time ?

What do you want to do in the future.

Students can change partners for each question.

Next up – Call My Bluff

Class put into two or three teams. Each team has a sheet with four words or phrases, followed by three definitions. A different member of the teams reads out a definition, embellishing the wording to make it more convincing. The opposing team have to guess the correct definition.

Finally, for a fun ending, the students can interview each other, but one pretends to be a difficult celebrity. They can use language from tonight’s lesson, or preferably, invent their own.

Young Learners, Level 4: We’re all going on a summer holiday

21st November for 23rd November 2019 E Up 4 U8 L2 (updated from June 15th 2019)

Warm Up: Summer Holiday and ‘Screen Test’ game. First watch the clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DxqdIA75sc

Class put into groups of three or four. Each team given a name of a European city, such as London, Venice, Barcelona and Paris.

First question – in which countries are your cities ?

Next ‘Screen Test’: The students watch the opening song then have to answer multiple choice questions.

1) What was the road sign at the beginning of the clip ?

London // Berlin // Paris ?

2) What was the number of the bus ?

9 // 19 // 28 ?

3) What colour was the first car behind the bus ?

red // white // blue ?

4) How many children wore a hat ?

1 // 2 // no children

5) How many men were riding bicycles ?

3 // 4 // 6 ?

6) How many women were in the car ?

3 // 4 // 5 ?

BONUS POINTS – Can anyone sing the song – just two lines

“We’re all going on a summer holiday // we’re all going for a week or two.”

Last lesson the subject was future tense and activities. Therefore, I shall board some times – this afternoon / tomorrow / next Monday / next Thursday / next weekend / next month

Under these, I shall write some scrambled nonsense, e.g. ‘who as ees’. The students, placed in teams, have to elect one person to find the corresponding flash card somewhere in the room (‘see a show’) and then say a third-person sentence e.g. “He’s going to see a show this afternoon.’

Information gathering: Class into three or four groups. One member will be going away and the others in the team have to get information from him or her, then present to the class.

Team 1: Going to Phu Quoc island / is going next month / will be staying in a hotel near the beach / will be going swimming / is going with family

Team 2: Going to London / is going next week / is going to see a show / is staying with family / is going with older sister.

Team 3 : Going to Ha Noi / is going next Tuesday / is going on a bus tour / is going to stay in a big hotel / is going with school

Team 4: Going to Dak Lak Province / is going tomorrow / is going to ride an elephant / will stay in a tent / is going with VUS TAs

The selected member will stand at the front of the class with the information sheet. One teammate must run up, ask one question then tell the rest of the team, who will write the information down. Then a different teammate will run up and ask.

Planning a day out

I have a niece and nephew coming to Saigon. The teams have to plan a day for them including what to see and do, how to travel and what to eat. Of course, they need to but some souvenirs, so where are the best places ?

We shall probably have to board many ideas first. Where do tourists go in HCM ? What is traditional food ? How can they travel ? Do the girls want to take the niece and the boys take the nephew only ?

Hopefully, this will encourage a lot of speaking and ideas and I can show a map of HCM to help.

And if the students are still drawing a blank (or being too lazy to think), this could inspire them: It’s spoken in English, with text, but with Viet accent (can start at 0:20 seconds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0tncoIxT1s

As with all ‘real-world’ videos, the film should be stopped and new words or expressions boarded. The students are later made to write the words down (the majority will simply NOT do any kind of writing unless pressured), and then encouraged to use them where appropriate.

That should easily cover the first hour. After the break, we hit the books, do the workbooks and fast-finishers get an activity sheet, while I can spend at least some time checking the pronunciation and grammar.

Adult Class, Level 3: Tell me more, tell me more …

19th November for 21st November 2019 AEF 2B pp. 18 – 19

Tonight’s lesson will focus on listening, which is always a challenge for the students so, to lighten the load, not to mention the mood, I’ll organise a lot of speaking activities.

First up, a mobile phone survey:

The students will be arranged in small groups. One member will be responsible for gathering the information, then reporting back to me.

Next up – a new persona.

Students are put into two or three groups, with about four in a group. Each member is given a card with some information about their new identity. They read the information to the group who have to try to understand and write down details such as email addresses, phone numbers or Facebook accounts. Example:

Hello, my name is Tony

I’m 23 and I love shopping for shirts and ties.

I’m not into reading or books. I find them boring.

My mobile number is 0943 552 8207

It’s highly probable the other students will need to hear some of the information again, so they can use the following:

I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your phone number (email address etc)

Could you repeat that, please ?

Could you spell that, please ?

Would you mind speaking slower, please.

And then, to book work and listening exercises.

Grammar: Past perfect (for and since)

Why is this young lady so upset ?

Maybe this is the reason …

Her neighbour has been renovating his house the whole day !

He has been making a lot of noise since 8 o’clock in the morning.

He has been drilling for six hours, non-stop !

First, the past perfect formulae

Subject + have or has + been + verbing

Since used for a given time or date

For used to tell how much time.

Example – John joined his company, LPR Productions in November 2018.

He has been working for LPR since 2018

He has been working for LPR for one year.

Students than have a chance to practise by asking each other a variety of questions, on subjects ranging from work or school, to friends, holidays, sports, interests etc.

Just a Minute

Students are put in pairs. They have to speak for one minute on a subject without hesitating, repeating or deviating (speaking about a different subject). This will test the students’ ability to speak fluently, as well as giving opportunities for using discourse markers and new vocabulary learnt so far. Subject are deliberately open, for example:

food // travel // work or study // life in Sai Gon // their family // their house.

Viet Nam presentation – where should I go on holiday ?

Three teams, representing Ha Noi, Hue and Nha Trang.

This exercise encourages team work and, furthermore, allows the students to develop their intonation skills; they will have to sound excited and optimistic.

To assist, here are some words and phrases to embellish their speech:

cultural centre // historical importance // breathe-taking scenery // tranquil // relaxing // hustle and bustle // mouth-watering food // never to be forgotten //unforgettable // once in a lifetime experience.

To give some help, I can perform a quick example:

COME TO LONDON, UK’s magnificent capital city and one of the world’s GREAT cities.

SEE such iconic, historical sights such as:

Buckingham Palace, home of our Queen, Tower Bridge over the Thames river.

Visit the world-famous British Museum to see the wonders of the world, or watch a football match at Wembley Stadium, in the country that invented the sport.

There is something for everyone:

Shops; you can buy everything here, to suit all budgets, from street markets to high-end department stores. To relax, London has so many tranquil parks, right in the centre of the city. Maybe see famous movie stars at one of London’s many, beautiful theatres, or dine out at restaurants cooking traditional British food or anything from anywhere.

London – one of the world’s GREAT cities

A holiday of a lifetime ! Book early !

Mr Paul tours – visit our website mrpaultours@ukonline.co.vn for more information

Special discount 10% for my students 🙂

And that should be a wrap !

Young Learners, Level 5: Cracking the Enigma.

16th November for 17th November 2019 E Up 5 U 8 L2 pp. 74 – 75

Geeks, nerds and dorks – these are words for people who really understand computers, or play computer games all day. Maybe most of their life is spent online.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ? DO YOU SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON COMPUTERS ?

What are computers good for ? Why could they be bad ?

Here we could board the pros and cons, just to get the students talking.

Then an unscramble game: What are these websites and what are they for ?

espyk // nsgtarmia // oftsypi // uubotye

Vocabulary review:

I always play music in my class. If I like a song I will ………………… the volume

When I finish checking my emails, I ……………… from Google

If my manager thinks the song is too loud, I have to ……….. the volume

At the end of class, I always …………………. the computer.

Let’s compare – the past and now:

Image result for latest apple desktop computer

Image result for computer technicians 1950s

Can you crack a code ?

I will write an animal in code … can you tell me what the animal is ?

dbu

What animal is this ?

Look at the first letter – ‘d’. what is the next letter in the alphabet ? … e. The next letter after b is c, and after u comes v … so we have ecv – but that is not a word. Instead, go back a letter each time. Before d is c, before b is a and before u is t. Therefore, we have ‘cat‘.

In groups, students make their own coded animals. Using the same pattern (the letter before), put these animals into code:

goat // dog // elephant // Godzilla

But what happens if the code has no pattern … and it is changed every day ? That is exactly what happened during World War II, and the German Enigma machine.

Germany was winning the war in 1940 and 1941 … only the UK were fighting them

The Germans were sending secret messages in code. This video explains the Enigma machine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qcOCBfRRzg&list=PL97HViQblvdEM3zsauRxnIg1baFTNmsDM&index=29&t=0s

Some of the greatest scientists and mathematicians tried to break or crack the code. Remember … they only had one day because the code was changed at midnight. The scientists worked outside of London at Bletchley Park

Many people worked there but the most famous person today is Alan Turing

Can you crack a complex code ? I have made a random code which I will give to the groups. They have to break my code and read my message. The coded message is:

LWM QM IWV

If that is easy, then try this:

VE MAEWJQVK QV YURMM

To review recent vocabulary, I can ask the students if they have finished yet ?

Finally, before the book work, students can ask each other what they use computers, smartphones or tablets for. Personally, I upload photos, post them on Instagram and Facebook, listen to music on Spotify, chat on Skype and Viber as well as using Grabbike to book my ride home. Moreover, I write these blogs.

What do you think of these ?

And this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQIYEPe6DWY

And next week, our penultimate lesson, extensive reading – ‘Just a minute’

Image result for twin peaks just a minute damn fine coffee

Adult Class, Level 3: Can’t buy me love.

14th November 2019 AEF 2A pp. 14 – 15.

Tonight, attitudes to money: What does the first singer think about money ? What is important in his life ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKfALmKL0VU

Now, compare with this attitude:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk

The first song is romantic; the man doesn’t care about money, he wants love. However, the lady sings, “I want your money !” This is called being materialistic, wanting expensive things and money.

Vocabulary – p. 154. Verbs pertaining to money.

Activity. You inherit a small fortune and want to splurge out (spend a lot of money). Working in small groups, tell what how you would spend your luxury day.

Plan a luxury day

To develop narrative writing and speaking skills, use words or phrases such as:

Firstly // Initially // I would start // It would kick off with …

secondly, thirdly etc

after that // afterwards // following that // and then …

for a change // as a contrast// for a break // to take a break from all the …

lastly // I’d end up // I’d round the day off with

You could:

luxury breakfast // luxury spa treatment // horse-carriage ride

shopping // luxury yacht

See Barcelona play // Attend a play at a London theatre

OR add your own ideas

Where would you go ? What would you do ? What would you buy ?

Activity: Devil’s advocate.

This is to develop argument skills, how to politely disagree with someone.

Example: one student wants to buy a beautiful, luxurious Rolex watch. It really is an outstanding timepiece:

Without doubt, this is a luxury item. The pros …

It is gorgeous and so elegant. I will feel so special wearing it. People will admire and look up to me. They will think I am wealthy and have a great career. I will attract many cute women (or handsome men, whatever !). I may feel superior to other people who only have cheap watches or nasty fake knock-offs – like Thay Paul 🙂

Now play Devil’s advocate. Say what are the cons of owning such an item. Firstly, agree with the first student – it is without question a luxury item. Having said that …

It will attract attention … but maybe from thieves or pickpockets. It is a lot of money, maybe an obscene amount of money when so many people are poor. Can you justify living in a Socialist country and owning such a materialistic item ? Will it make you arrogant ? Will you think you are better than other people BECAUSE of a thing ? Finally … what does it DO ? Fundamentally, it tells the time. My fake Rolex will tell the same time … but it cost $20 NOT $ 5 000 !

Now students’ turn. Similar concept but this time, the latest iPhone:

The iphone 11 (woooooowwwwwwww !)

One student wants to buy it, the other must give reasons why it is not such a good idea.

Useful phrases: a waste of money / not necessary // a fashion accessory // you can’t afford it //

Image result for neither a borrower nor a lender be

Role play game:

Three students will act out working in a department store, a shop with a sale on, and a street market. Other students have a set budget (say £100) and have to buy three items.

They can practice with the following language:

How much is this, please ? // Could you bring the price down for cash ? // Do you take plastic (credit cards) ? // If I smile, can you take off 10% ?

Wow, that’s a bargain ! // Sorry, that’s too much // Is that your best price ?

I’ll take it ! // Wrap it up ! // Let me think about it and come back // Sorry, that’s too much.

Image result for van heusen shirts store — A department store selling expensive designer shirts

Image result for clothes on sale — Clothes on sale – ‘to clear’

Image result for london street market — London street market.

NOW – to make it more animated – the people working in the shops will no doubt be using different varieties of English. Let’s see if the students can alter their voices to portray an upper-class, well-spoken salesperson; a basic shop worker and a working-class street trader. I (old ham actor that I am) shall demonstrate. Yes, it’s not a conventional lesson but maybe the students will appreciate something different (even if the management don’t).

To end, I really want the students to gain confidence in speaking, so a lot of talking in small groups. I have various talking points they can discuss, and once they feel relaxed, we can play:

Just a Minute: students are given an open subject and must speak for one minute without deviation, hesitation or repetition. Other students time them and judge their performance.

Language review: students must give the correct word to a definition pertaining to tonight’s theme.

And then … take care, see you next week, later, dude !

Image result for lighting cigar with money

Adult Class, Level 3: Is was the butler, wasn’t it ?

11th November 2019 for 12th November 2019 AEF 10B pp. 98 – 99

In the UK, we do have a morbid fascination with murder. This man is Alfred Hitchcock who made films from the 1920s to the 1970s, mostly suspense, thriller or murder dramas. ‘Hitch’, who was born where I live in east London, made many famous films but in my opinion ‘Psycho’, which was filmed in black and white in 1960, is his best.

Do you know these British characters ?

Image result for agatha christie books — What do the book titles mean to you ?

Sentence building:

Do you like to read murder mystery books or to watch murder films ?

Plan – don’t just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ! Make a short introduction, just one or two sentences:

I enjoy all types of films, however I especially like a good mystery ….OR

I don’t really read much because I am so busy studying. However …

Say what film or book you like, tell me about the author and other books.

Tell me about the story and then why you think it’s good

Conclusion – “Maybe this book is not for everybody, but if you enjoy a great mystery story, then I would recommend it.”

Vocabulary building: Some useful words –

thrilling // suspense // gripping // well-written // superbly acted // atmospheric // creepy // scary // a page-turner // I was on the edge of my seat.

However, we must move from the world of fiction to the world of fact. Before we move onto a true story from the USA, let’s keep it closer to home.

What can the students tell me about Lê Hoàng Hùng ?

Students can work in small groups. They have five minutes to make a short presentation. Information can be found on these sites:

https://freedomforvietnam.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/goodbye-to-another-journalist-in-vietnam/#comments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Lê_Hoàng_Hùng

Then it’s time to get to tonight’s topic – murder, unsolved crimes and mystery. The lesson focuses on the mysterious death of the actress Natalie Wood. To introduce her, I’ll show a short clip of her acting, then the actual news report on TV on her death:

That clip, which has English captions, is from the film ‘Rebel Without A Cause’, from 1955. Now for the news footage:

Grammar: tag questions

Are you from Korea ? (a normal question, where we don’t know the answer)

You’re (you are) from Korea, aren’t you ? (using the tag ‘aren’t you’ to confirm what we think or know)

Take the pronoun (here it is ‘you’) and then the verb (‘are’). Invert the verb, that is, make it negative then add the pronoun. Hence ‘are’ becomes ‘are not’ = aren’t – aren’t you ?

Try these: First, decide on the appropriate pronoun (he, she, it, we etc).

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, ……….. ?

Natalie Wood was American, …………….. ?

We still don’t know who killed her, ………….. ? (here the verb is negative, so make it positive)

He’s a brilliant actor, ………….. ?

For the remainder of the lesson, I want the students to talk, talk and talk (and, yes, I mean in ENGLISH !)

Firstly, they can review tonight’s book work and air their views, thus enabling them to review negotiation language (I see your point but …. // I can’t go along with that // you raise an interesting point // I’m not sure I entirely agree … etc).

Questions:

What did they think of the subject ? (interesting, relevant, morbid, inappropriate)

Do they enjoy reading as part of class time ? Do they feel that is a good way to learn ?

How was the listening ? How much could they follow (understand ?)

What is their opinion on the amount of new vocabulary encountered ?

Naturally, I expect other students to play Devil’s advocate – to argue a point even if they personally don’t fully agree with it.

EXAMPLE: “Playing Devil’s advocate, I would say the best way to learn vocabulary is to read new words and see how they are used in a sentence.”

Activities – Just a minute

Here, students work in pairs – there are given a very open subject (work, food, family, their hometown etc) and have to talk for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

Students can be given new questions and then made to change partners regularly.

Also, encourage peer help – allow the students to correct each other, as well as giving advice and encouragement.

And finally … Mysteries – what do you think ? True or false or … ?

The Loch Ness Monster from Scotland

Area 51 in Nevada, USA. Did an alien spaceship crash here and aliens come to earth ?

The mysterious man from Taured

https://www.freepressjournal.in/bizarre-news/taured-mystery-when-a-mysterious-man-arrived-at-japanese-airport-from-unknown-country

Young Learners, Level 5: Because it’s there !

7th Nov for 1oth November 2019 E Up 5, U7, L 4 pp. 70 – 71

Image result for did Mallory really say because it's there

George Mallory was a British explorer who wanted to climb Mount Everest. This is such a dangerous activity, a journalist asked him why … to which, Mallory is said to have responded, “Because it’s there.”

Warm up: Runaround.

Class in three teams, named Polo, Cook and Buzz

General knowledge questions about the world:

A – Mount Everest is the tallest mountain … where is it ?

1 – Tibet and Nepal // 2 – France and Germany // 3 – Kenya and Tanzania

B – The longest river is … ?

1 – Yellow in China // 2 – Amazon in South America // 3 – Nile in Africa

C – The largest city – most people living there – is … ?

1 – Delhi, India // 2 – Tokyo, Japan // 3 – Shanghai, China

D – Tallest building in the world ?

1 – Landmark 81, HCMC // 2 – Burj Khalifa // 3 – Taipai 101, Taiwan

E – Marco Polo was Italian but he travelled to … ?

1 – China // 2- South Africa // 3 – Canada

F – The first man on the Moon was … ?

1 – Buzz Aldrin // 2 – Neil Armstrong // 3 – Thay Paul

G – Captain Cook discovered … ?

1- Vietnam // 2 – Egypt // 3 – Australia

H – Which Greek hero fought skeletons ?

1 – Jack // 2 – John // 3 – Jason

British Culture

This class likes exciting stories, so I think they will enjoy this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4FGmYNCGW4

The story happened in 1605 when the king was James I. A group of men wanted a new king so they planned to kill James.

One of those men was Guy Fawkes. He knew a lot about bombs and gunpowder. the plan was to put 36 barrels of gunpowder under the building where the powerful people would be waiting for the King. Maybe you know Guy Fawkes … ?

Guy Fawkes was waiting at night, under the building …

However, guards and soldiers discovered him.

The King was so grateful, he told people to make huge bonfires all over the country. We still do this today, and have fireworks as well as making a dummy we call ‘Guy’, from old clothes and old material. We put a mask on him to look like Guy Fawkes. Children take this ‘Guy’ around and ask people to give them some money:

Now book work … reading about climbing Everest.

Comprehension quiz:

How tall is Everest ?

Who tried to climb it in 1924 ?

Who were the first people to climb it ?

When did they achieve it ?

Who was the first woman to reach the top ?

Where would YOU most like to explore ?

The Great Wall of China … like Marco Polo ?

Image result for james cook in australia

Australia and New Zealand like Captain James Cook ?

Image result for buzz aldrin on the moon

The Moon … like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin ?

Next time … computers: geeks, nerds and gamers..

Young Learners, Level 4:Tell me what you want !

7th November for 9th November 2019 E Up 4, U7 L2 pp. 66 – 67

It’s early Saturday morning … need some high-energy music to wake up !

And the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ

For natural speech patterns, we can copy –

‘Tell me what you want, what you really, really want,’ in standard English or –

‘Tell me whatya want, whatya really, really want,’ in non-standard, with the linking sounds as well as the swallowed ‘t’ in ‘want’.

To counter the argument that this is not appropriate for an English lesson, I would say that students need to be exposed to a variety of Englishes … the linking and swallowing of words and letters is how many native speakers speak … as students will discover listening to films, TV and, as is the case here, music. What I listen for in my students, of all ages, is NOT a robotic, flat repetition of an abstract sentence, but intonation, linking and natural rhythm.

Speaking of music … we need (as always) to review previous work, but to make it interesting I’ll try to make the review into a sort of game. Last week, they learnt six occupations. Which one does Thay Paul want to be ?

Next, I will board the remaining five jobs, but scrambled. The students, placed into two teams, must unscramble the chosen word (one student per team). One point for the first to complete, bang the board and shout out the word. Then, to add a variance, I will hold three flash cards, one of which will be the job. If they guess correctly, they earn an additional five points.

The words: ocart // tasiri // eamg reedgins // airtolujsn // iinstctes

Continuing the theme, a Runaround game:

Where does an actor work ?

1 – a hospital // 2 – a bank // 3 – a theatre

A journalist can use …

1 – a microphone // 2 – a piano // 3 – a paintbrush

Who uses clay, paint or metal in their work ?

1 – a scientist // 2 – a musician // 3 – an artist

Brad Pitt, Kirsten Stewart, Emma Watson and Robert Downey Jr are all famous …

1 – musicians // 2 – game designers // 3 – actors

Angry Birds and Candy Crush and Donkey Kong were made by …

1 – game designers // 2 – actors // 3 – Thay Paul

One student from each team will run to the board and slap a number … they can change their mind for five seconds but then they have to stay where they are.

British culture.

As a break, a little introduction to the UK and its history and traditions. The beginning of November sees Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night

In 1605, a group of men wanted to kill the King of England, James I. They wanted to blow up the building where the King was going to be, so they hid 36 barrels of gunpowder under the building. However, the King’s soldiers found one of the men, Guy Fawkes, and arrested him. The King was safe ! To celebrate, people made giants fires called bonfires.

We still do this today. Also, children help to make a Guy Fawkes from old clothes and old bags, and then adults put it on the fire. Finally, there are fireworks, sometimes at home, sometimes in parks so everyone can see.

Many different types of fireworks are used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4FGmYNCGW4

Some young children are holding sparklers – they have to wear gloves and be VERY CAREFUL.

All good things must come to an end … and so to bookwork. Today, the theme is things people want to do (when they’re older, as this is a young-learners’ class). After drilling the six phrases, I’ll show two photos and ask:

What does Thay Paul want to be or do ?

I will give the students boards and they have to write the three future plans. The last one (making movies, make a movie) is from a previous lesson, while the photo was taken in Berlin, Germany … long before my students were even born !

And now farewell … but next week, we leave the planet and go into space …

Subject Index

Subject // Lesson // Date

Apple iPhones // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Apple workers in China // IELTS // 30th July 2019

Arabian Nights // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 24th January 2020

Area 51 // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

Architecture // Adult professionals // architecture

Architecture: Burj Khalife & Willis Tower // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Art // Adult C, L 1 // 12 & 19 December 2018

Australia // IELTS 5-6.5 // 21st August 2019

Banks // Adult Speaking Class, L2 Part 2

Beginners’ English

https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/12/11/beginners-english/

Bonfire, Guy Fawkes // Adult C, L 3 // 5th November 2019

Bonfire Night // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Boys’ Night Out // Adult C, L 3 // 3rd December 2019

Bristol, UK // Young Teens // 21st February 2019

Business icons // Adult C, L 3 // 5th November 2019 (S. Jobs, M. Zuckerberg, Pham Nhat Vuong)

Cars // Adult pros // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Castles in Europe // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

Cities (UK) and areas // IELTS // 31st December 2018

Clothes // Beginners’ English

Coffee in Viet Nam // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Coffee in Viet Nam // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

Complaining // Adult C, L 3 // 18th March 2019

Computers // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

Concorde // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Countries (Brazil, Canada, Sth Korea, Egypt) // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

Countries (VN, UK, Mexico, Russia) // Young Learners 3 // 7th September 2019

Countries // Young Learners 5 // 27th October 2019

Cracking codes // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Crime and punishment // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Culture shock // Adult C, L 3 // 15th January 2019

Easter // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 // 1st January 2020

Emotions // Young Learners 3 // 6th July 2019

English for engineers, mechanics, science: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/category/adult-professionals/

Enigma machine // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Entropy // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Environment // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Explorers // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Family // Adult C, L 3 // 6th November 2019

Food (Korea, Germany, UK Christmas, Vietnam traditional) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Theme: food https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/01/22/adult-speaking-class-level-3-theme-food/

Food (healthy or snack) // Young Learners 3 // 13th July 2019

Food (Sweden) // Young Learners 2 // 18th May 2019

Food (4 countries) // Young Learners 3 // 6th July 2019

Fortune telling // Adult C, L 1 // 30th January 2019

Fortune telling // Young Teens // 31st January 2019

Friction // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Germany // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Germany // 26th February 2020

Greece – land and myths // Young Learners 5 // 6th October 2019

Hair styles // Adult C, L 1 // 19th October 2019

Hang Soon Dong cave // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Health // Young Learners 3 // 17th August 2019

Health // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Health // 27th January 2020

Hotels // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Hotels // 8th February 2020

Idioms & expressions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

India // IELTS: Hello, India // 24th January 2020

Insults and disrespect // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Causing offence // 3rd Feb 2020

Internet // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

Internet use by area and gender // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

Japan // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 6, 25th January 2020

Jazz music // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

Job interviews // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Job interviews // 12th Feb 2020

Landmark 81 // Adult Professionals / Mechanics Part 2 // 23rd January 2020

Letter ‘t’ // KG 1 // 5th May 2019

Listening exercises:

Teaching clips and exercises: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/01/23/listening-skills-tips-and-links/

Listening to native and non-native speakers: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/12/30/listening-skills-real-english-native-and-non-native-speakers/

Listening TOEIC practice // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 3

Listening to UK news // Adult pros// Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Listening to UK train prices // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 5

Listening to UK TV // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Listening to USA children speak // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

Loch Ness Monster // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

London street market // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

London tourism // Adult C, L 3 // 21st November 2019

Love and dating // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage

Love and marriage // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 2

Love, marriage, children // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 3

Manufacturing in Vietnam // IELTS // 30th July 2019

McDonalds // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Mobile phones // Adult C, L 3 // 8th January 2019

Money // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Money // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 3

Murder mysteries // Adult C, L 3 // 12th November 2019

Olympics (London, Beijing) // Adult Professionals // 10th February 2019

Photography and photos // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

The plague // Adult C, L 1 // 12 & 19 December 2018

Poland salt mine // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Politics // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3

Presentation skills // Teenagers // 20th January 2019

Reading practice // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Robots in industry // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Rolex // Adult C, L 3 // 14th November 2019

Russia // Adult C, L 3 // 4th December 2019

Sai Gon for kids //Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Shinkanshen (Bullet Train) // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Shopping // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Shop work (role-play) // Young Learners 3 // 3rd August 2019

Shopping (role-play) // Young Learners 3 // 17th August 2019

Shops and shopping // Young Learners 3 // 17th August 2019

Shopping // Adult C, L 3 // 14th November 2019

Signs, symbols, icons // 21st August 2019

Small talk // Adult C, L 3 // 26th November 2019

Smoking and No Tobacco Day // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Health // 27th Jan. 2020

Solar system & space // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Stereotypes // Adult C, L 3 // 19th August 2019

Stories in basic English // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 // 24th January 2020

Sweden // Young Learners 2 // 18th May 2019

Switzerland // Adult Speaking Class, level 3. Theme:Travel // 11th February 2020

Tallest, longest, biggest // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Technology (old) // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Tet Holiday // Adult C, L 1 // 30th January 2019

Tet Holiday // IELTS // 28th January 2019

Tourism (Thailand, VN & project) // Teenagers // 20th January 2019

Traffic and travel // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Traffic

Traffic in Vietnam // Adult C, L 3 // 25th December 2018

Travel: airport to city centre (HCM) // IELTS // 10th February 2019

Tuareg people // Adult Speaking Class, level 3. Theme:Travel // 11th February 2020

Turbulence // Adult Professionals / Mechanics Part 2 // 23rd January 2020

UNESCO // Young Teens // 31st January 2019

UNESCO // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Van Heusen shirts // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Vietnamese cities // Adult C, L 3 // 21st November 2019

Vietnamese places // Young Learners 5 // 27th October 2019

Vietnamese food // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Vietnamese law and police // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

War Museum, Sai Gon // Adult Class // 17- 19 December 2019

War Remnants Museums, Sai Gon // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: War Museum

Weather: snow and floods // Beginners’ English, Part 2

Workplace: issues & problems // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Work-place problems // 5th February 2020

Dialogues

Afternoon plans // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

Black Friday shopping // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Calling a friend at work // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Catching up // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 5

Canada holiday // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 2

Cinema tickets // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

Coffee shop // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 5

Eating out // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Environment // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Germany // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Germany // 26th Feb 2020

The gym and keep fit // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Health // 27th January 2020

Law, embezzling // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Low-frequency words and phrasal verbs // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 24th Jan. 2020

McDonalds ordering food // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Money // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 3

New boss // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 2

Poland holiday // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Reflexive verbs // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 2

Russian meets Englishman // Adult C, L 3 // 4th December 2019

Symbols // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 2

Tet Holiday // IELTS // 28th January 2019

Traffic // Adult C, L 3 // 25th December 2018 //Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Traffic

Famous Quotes

David Bowie “Ground control” // Young Learners 4 // 8th June 2019

Ho Chi Minh “need to work much harder” // IELTS: Hello, India // 24th January 2020

Shakespeare “To be or not to be” // Adult C, L 2 // 27th May 2019

Shakespeare “We are such stuff …” // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Shakespeare “Neither a borrower …” // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Shakespeare “All the world’s a stage” // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 6, 25th January 2020

Tarantino “Shutting your butt down.” // Adult C, L 3 // 26th November 2019

Twin Peaks “Damn fine coffee,” // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Andy Warhol “Famous for 15 mins” // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Wittgenstein “Limits of my language …” // IELTS // 28th January 2019

Films, TV & Theatre

Around the World in 80 Days // Young Learners 5 // 27th October 2019

Big Bang Theory // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Blind Date // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage

Car Share // IELTS // 19th February 2019

Chungking Express // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019 /// IELTS // 16th April 2019 /// IELTS // 4th March 2019

Dead Poet Society // Adult C, L 3 // 7th November 2019

Dracula // Adult C, L 1 // 2nd January 2019

Dragon’s Den (US Shark’s Tank) // Adult C, L 3 // 18th March 2019

Far Flung Floyd // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Four Weddings and a Funeral // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 2

Holidays from Hell // IELTS // 10th February 2019

Ing … // IELTS 5-6.5 // 4th September 2019

Inglorious Besterds // Adult C, L 1 // 26th February 2019

Live and Let Die // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Man Who Fell To Earth // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Most Haunted // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

Nosferatu // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

The Owl and the Sparrow (Vietnam) // IELTS // 16th April 2019

Psycho // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

Rebel Without A Cause // Adult C, L 3 // 15 August 2019 \ 12 November 2019

Reservoir Dogs // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Social Network // IELTS 5-6.5 // 4th September 2019 /// Adult C, L 3 // 5th September 2019

Star Wars The Last Jedi // IELTS // 14th January 2019

Summer Holiday //Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Take Care of my Cat (South Korea) // IELTS // 16th April 2019

Tokyo Story (Japan) // IELTS // 16th April 2019

Top Gear // Adult professionals // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Top Gear / Vietnam / Porsche challenge / Tesla car / Break for the border /

Twin Peaks // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

2001: A Space Odyssey // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Waiting For Godot // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Grammar

Adverbs // Young Teens // 21st February 2019

Adverbs of degree // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

Adverbs of degree // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Adjectives // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Adjectives // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1 // 14th October 2019

Adverb + adjectives // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Adjectives // Adult C, L 1 // 14th October 2019

Adjectives: people and hair // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1 // 14th October 2019

As … as // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 5 // 4th February 2020

Can, could, be able to // Adult C, L 3 // 12th December 2019

Collocations // Adult Speaking Class, level 2: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/01/18/adult-speaking-class-level-2-collocations/

Contractions (video) // Beginners’ English, Part 2

Discourse Markers // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019 /// IELTS // 7th January 2019

First & second conditional // Adult C, L 3 // 22nd April 2019

Future plans Signs // Young Learners 4 // 22nd June 2019

Future plans // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Future tense // Adult C, L 3 // 6th November 2019

Have to or must ? // Adult Speaking Class, level 2 // Beginners’ English Part 4

‘ness’ or ‘ment’ ? // IELTS // 28th January 2019

Past continuous // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

Past continuous // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Past continuous exercises // Beginners’ English, Part 2

Past perfect // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Past simple // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Past tense // Beginners’ English // Beginners’ English Part 4

Past tense exercise // Adult Speaking Class, L2 Part 2

Past tense exercise // Beginners’ English, Part 2

Phrasal verbs // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 3

Phrasal verbs & collocations // Beginners’ English Part 4

Possessives // Young Learners 3 // 7th September 2019

Present continuous (house plan) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Present perfect exercises // Beginners’ English

Present perfect // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Present perfect (have you ever ?) // Adult C, L 1 // 26th February 2019

Present perfect (for & since) // Adult C, L 3 // 21st November 2019

Present perfect review // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Regular & irregular verbs // Beginners’ English Part 4

Reflexive verbs // Adult Speaking Class, L 2 Part 2

Relative clauses // Adult C, L 3 // 5th November 2019

Relative pronouns // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019 / // Adult C, L 3 // 5th November 2019

Reported Speech // Adult C, L 3 // 8th October 2019

Reported Speech // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 5 // 4th February 2020

Sentence correction (basic) // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Similes // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 5 // 4th February 2020

Tag questions // Adult C, L 3 // 15 August 2019 \ 12 November 2019

Third Conditional // Adult C, L 3 // 22nd October 2019

Third conditional // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 3

Third Conditional exercise // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Third Conditional 23 Jan 2020

15 most common verbs // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019 // Beginners’ English Part 4 //

Verb ‘to have’ & Viet translation // Young Learners 1 // 16th March 2019

Verb ‘to have’ // Young Learners 1 // 26th May 2019

Games

Adult level activities (compilation) // Adult C, L 3 // 27th November 2019

https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/11/27/adult-class-level-3-games-without-frontiers/

Activity sheet for young learners // Young Learners 2 // 25th August 2019

Activity sheet (3) // Young Learners 3 // 14th December 2019

Activity sheet (4) // Young Learners 4 // 7th December 2019

Anecdotes // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

Birthday horseshoe // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

Blind Date // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

Break a code // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Call My Bluff // Teenagers // 12th January 2019

Call My Bluff // IELTS 5-6.5 // 28th August 2019

Call My Bluff // Adult C, L 3 // 26th November 2019

Can you see … (a frog ?) // Young Learners 1 // 24th April 2019

Chinese Whispers // IELTS 5-6.5 // 4th September 2019

Countries // Young Learners 3 // 7th September 2019

Describe the people (photo back to board) // Adult C, L 3 // 8th October 2019

Desert Survival // Adult C, L 3 // 27th November 2019

Exchanging information // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 6, 25th January 2020

Eyewitness // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Family Fortunes // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Family Fortunes // Adult C, L 3 // 6th November 2019

Family Fortunes // Adult C, L 3 // 27th November 2019

Food – organise a work party // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 5 // 4th February 2020

Fortune Teller // Young Teens // 31st January 2019 (// Adult C, L 3 // 12th December 2019)

Four People (likes, dislikes etc) // Young Teens // 21st February 2019

Friends (hobbies and creativity) // Young Learners 4 // 1st May 2019

Friends (job and personality) // Adult C, L 3 // 27th November 2019

Friends (men) // Teenagers // 12th January 2019 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2018/12/28/friends-men-teaching-sheet/

Gather information (countries) // Young Learners 5 // 29th August 2019

Guess the countries (pictures) Signs // Young Learners 4 // 22nd June 2019

Guess the music (countries) // Young Learners 5 // 27th October 2019

Horseshoe Birthday // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

IELTS: warm up games // https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/02/25/ielts-warm-up-games/

Interview your (famous) partner // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Just a Minute // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Just a Minute // Adult C, L 3 // 21 November 2019

Magic bag // Young Learners 2 // 26th April 2019

Make a presentation (famous people) // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Match the image to the fact // Young Teens // 31st January 2019

Mime // Young Learners 3 // 7th September 2019

New Persona // Adult C, L 3 // 21st November 2019

Picture description // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 6 // 8th February 2020

Plan a day for visitors // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Planning a day out (children) //Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Presentation: Vietnamese cities // Adult C, L 3 // 21st November 2019

Role-play: shopping// IELTS 5-6.5 // 28th August 2019

Role-play: shopping // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Run and Write (past tense) // Young Learners 5 // 29th August 2019

Run and Write (personal likes) // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

Run and Write // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Runaround // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Runaround (space) // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Runaround // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Screen Test //Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Sentence rewrite // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

Shopping on a budget // Young Learners 3 // 17th August 2019

Sticky ball (animals) // KG Safari 1 // 2nd March 2019

Stop the Bus // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

travel:plan a luxury day //Adult Class, L 3 // 14th November 2019

True or false (3 statements) // Teenagers // 12th January 2019

True or false (4 photos) // Teenagers // 12th January 2019

TV talkshow interview // Young Learners 4 // 1st June 2019

What difference (definitions) // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

What do you see (cartoon picture) ? // Young Learners 2 // 25th August 2019

What happened next ? (video clips) // Young Teens // 31st January 2019 ( Adult C, L 3 // 12th December 2019)

What my friends can so in Sai Gon / / IELTS 5-6.5 // 21st August 2019

What happens next (video clips) // Adult C, L 1 // 30th January 2019

What would you do IF … // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

What’s My Line // Adult C, L 3 // 3rd December 2019

What’s the story (Tom Cruise) // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

What’s the Story (Chinese film) // IELTS 5-6.5 // 11th September 2019

Where am I going ? (info gathering) Signs // Young Learners 4 // 15th June 2019

Where am I going ? //Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Whisper run ‘n’ write // Young Learners 3 // 13th July 2019

Word bomb (hobbies) // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

Student surveys

Are you able to ? // Adult C, L 3 // 12th December 2019

Future activities // Adult C, L 1 // 30th January 2019

General questions // Adult C, L 3 // 8th January 2019

Hobbies // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

IELTS introduction // IELTS // 31st December 2018

Internet survey // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

Mobile phone survey // Adult C, L 3 // 21st November 2019

What did you do / like // Young Learners 4 // 1st May 2019

Where do you want to go ? // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Music

Abba ‘Mamma Mia’ // Young Learners 2 // 18th May 2019

The Archies ‘Sugar, Sugar’ // KG 1 // 5th May 2019

Louis Armstrong ‘Hello Dolly’ // Young Learners 2 // 26th April 2019

Louis Armstrong ‘Wonderful World’ // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

The Bangles ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

The Beatles ‘I’ll Be Back’ // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Beatles ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

David Bowie ‘Changes’ // IELTS // 16th April 2019

David Bowie ‘Space Oddity’ // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Bucks Fizz ‘Making Your Mind Up’ // Adult C, L 2 // 27th May 2019

Chic ‘Good Times’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

The Deep Six ‘It’s Happening’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Bob Dylan ‘Times They Are A-Changin’ // Adult C, L 3 // 3rd December 2019

Eifel 65 ‘Move Your Body’ // KG Safari 1 // 2nd March 2019

Flying Lizards ‘Money’ // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

James ‘Sit Down’ // KG 1 // 24th January 2019

Gene Kelly ‘Singing in the Rain’ // Young Learners 3 // 17th August 2019

Gladys Knight ‘Baby, Don’t Change Your Mind’ // IELTS // 16th April 2019

Kraftwerk ‘The Model’ // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Kraftwerk ‘We Are The Robots’ // KG 1 // 24th January 2019

Led Zepplin ‘Whole Lotta Love’ // Adult C, L 1 // 12 & 19 December 2018

John Lennon ‘Starting Over’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 14th August 2019

John Lennon ‘Imagine’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Lykki Li ‘Little Bit’ // Young Learners 4 // 1st May 2019

Don McLean ‘Vincent’ // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Men At Work ‘Down Under’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 21st August 2019

Paul McCartney ‘Another Day’ // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Kylie Minogue ‘can’t get you’ // IELTS // 21st January 2019

Nirvana ‘Teen Spirit’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Ohio Express ‘Yummy, Yummy, Yummy’ // KG 1 // 5th May 2019

Otis Redding “Dock of the Bay’ // IELTS // 16th April 2019

REM ‘Stand’ // KG 1 // 24th January 2019

Cliff Richard ‘Summer Holiday’ // Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Russian National Anthem (2 versions) // Young Learners 3 // 7th September 2019

The Sonics ‘Have Love, Will Travel’ // IELTS // 10th February 2019

Spice Girls ‘Tell Me What You Want’ // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Steppenwolf ‘Born To Be Wild’ // Adult C, L 3 // 22nd April 2019

Stray Cats ‘Strut’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Sweet ‘Love is like Oxygen’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Talking Heads ‘Once In A Lifetime’ // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Tchaikovsky ‘Swan Lake’ // Adult C, L 3 // 4th December 2019

Tuareg music // Adult Speaking Class, level 3. Theme: Travel // 11th February 2020

10cc ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ // IELTS 5-6.5 // 4th September 2019

Hank Williams ‘I’m so lonesome’ // IELTS // 21st January 2019

‘Run, Rabbit, Run’ // KG 1 // 24th January 2019

People

Alice in Wonderland (book and picture) // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Archimedes // Adult Professionals. Mechanics. Theme: Archimedes // 26th February 2020

Buzz Aldrin // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Louis Armstrong // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

Asian salesgirls (mobiles) // Adult C, L 1 // 20th February 2019

David Bowie // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Isabard Kingdom Brunel // Adult Professionals / Mechanics Part 2 // 23rd January 2020

Fillipo Brunelleschi // Adult professionals // architecture

Robert Capa // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: War Museum

Captain Cook // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Tom Cruise // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

Salvador Dali // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Salvador Dali // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Dali & his art // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Charles Dickens // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3

Fyodor Dostoevsky // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Nguyen Du (‘Tale of Kieu’) // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

Bob Dylan // Adult C, L 3 // 3rd December 2019 /// Adult C, L 3 / // 19th August 2019

Guy Fawkes // Adult C, L 3 // 5th November 2019

Guy Fawkes // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Alfred Hitchcock // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

Sherlock Homes // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

Lê Hoàng Hùng // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

James I // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

The Joker (Heath Ledger) // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Pham Nhat Vuong //Adult C, L 3 //5th Nov 2019

Kenny Jones // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Franz Kafka // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Franz Kafka // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Stanley Kubrick // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Christopher Lee // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

Bela Legosi // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

John Lennon // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

John Lennon // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Wyndham Lewis // Adult C, L 1 // 12 & 19 December 2018

George Mallory // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Sir Ian McKellen // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Man from Taured // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

Ho Chi Minh // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Ho Chi Minh // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Wei Minzhi // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Peter O’Toole on Letterman // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

Marco Polo // Young Learners 5 // 10th November 2019

Elvis Presley // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Mies van der Rohe // Adult professionals // architecture

Shakespeare // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3

Ringo Starr // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

T-ara // Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019

Tchaikovsky // Adult C, L 3 // 4th December 2019

Theseus & the Minotaur // Young Learners 5 // 6th October 2019

Alan Turing // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Vlad The impalor // Adult C, L 1 // 2 January 2019

Christop Waltz // Adult C, L 1 // 26th February 2019

Ludwig Wittgenstein // IELTS // 28th January 2019

Natalie Wood // Adult C, L 3 // 15 August 2019 \ 12 November 2019

Photos

Alcimbado // Young Learners 1 // 26th May 2019

Animals // KG 1 // 2nd March 2019

Asian icons // Adult C, L 3 // 15th August 2019

Bad note-taking // Teenagers // 12th January 2019

John Bercow // Young Learners 1 // 13th April 2019

Siddharta, the Buddha // IELTS: Hello, India // 24th January 2020

David Carradine (Kill Bill) // Young Learners 1 // 24th April 2019

Henri Cartier-Bresson // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Marc Chagall // Young Learners 1 // 26th May 2019

Marc Chagall // KG 1 // 7th December 2019

Kalpana Chawla (Indian astronaut) // IELTS: Hello, India // 24th January 2020

Child proteges // Young Learners 4 // 1st June 2019

Christmas, Germany // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Christmas, UK // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Countries // Young Learners 5 // 29th August 2019

Cute McDonalds girl // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Benedict Cumberbatch photobomb // Teenagers // 20th January 2019

Daisy & Anna // Beginners’ English Part 4

Families // Adult C, L 3 // 7th November 2019

Food: English breakfast // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Food (UK, USA, Korea, Sweden) // Young Learners 3 // 13th July 2019

Gandhi // IELTS: Hello, India // 24th January 2020

Gym equipment // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Health // 27th January 2020

Hamley’s toy shop // Young Learners 2 // 26th April 2019

Kitchen items // Beginners’ English Part 4

Interesting buildings // Young Learners 3 // 13th July 2019

Jazz stars // Young Learners 1 // 24th April 2019

Jun Ji-hyun // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

‘Man Pointing’ // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Market research call centre // Adult C, L 3 // 8th January 2019

Mike the Monkey as animals // KG 1 // 7th December 2019

Ho Chi Minh’s house // Adult C, L 3 // 4th December 2019

Ngo Than Van (Veronica Ngo) // IELTS // 14th January 2019

Nicholas ‘Elvis’ (friend) // Young Learners 4 // 1st May 2019

Robert de Niro // Beginners’ English, Part 2

Pete (friend) on bass // Young Learners 4 // 22nd June 2019

Pete with Kenny Jones // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Poland (Krakow) // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Ms Quynh (friend) // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

Ronaldinho // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

Russia // Adult C, L 3 // 4th December 2019

Seurat ‘Sunday Grande Jatte // Young Learners 1 // 16th March 2019

Shops // Young Learners 3 // 3rd August 2019

Shopping – compound nouns // IELTS // 7th January 2019

Shopping in Viet Nam // IELTS // 10th April 2019

Signs (Indonesia) // Young Learners 4 // 22nd June 2019

Signs (Singapore) // 21st August 2019

Sleeping student // Young Learners 4 // 22nd June 2019

Sleeping student // Young Learners 5 // 25th August 2019

‘t’ words // KG 1 // 5th May 2019

Tutankhamun // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

UK (beach, breakfast, pub) // Adult C, L 2 // 27th May 2019

Vietnam // Young Learners 5 // 25th August 2019

Vietnam – famous Vietnamese // IELTS // 14th January 2019

Vietnamese folk painting // Young Learners 1 // 26th May 2019

Vietnamese karaoke // Young Learners 3 // 17th August 2019

Vietnamese police stopping cyclists // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Vietnam traditional industries // IELTS // 30th July 2019

Wedding dresses // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 2

Mark Wiens // Young Learners 2 // 25th August 2019

Harri Won // IELTS // 7th January 2019

Thay Paul photos

Bangkok (Al & Alison) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Berlin 1990s // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Drinking coffee (Singapore) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Driving (fairground) // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Elephant // Young Learners 3 // 7th September 2019

Elephant // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

Elephant // Young Learners 5 // 25th August 2019

Playing guitar // Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019

With friends // Young Learners 4 // 7th December 2019

With Martin (London) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

With students (Ha Noi) // Young Learners 5 // 27th October 2019

Sentence building

Adult class exercises (various) // Adult Class // 17- 19 December 2019

Coffee in Viet Nam // Adult Speaking Class, level 2 /// Adult C, L 3 // 8th October 2019

Discourse Markers activity // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Expressions // Adult C, L 3 // 3rd December 2019

Film review // Adult C, L 3 // 12 November 2019

Fixed expressions // Adult C, L 1 // 26th February 2019

General // Adult Speaking Class, L2 Part 2

IELTS sentence building // IELTS //22nd July 2019 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/07/22/ielts-sentence-building/

IELTS basic sentence building // IELTS // 28th January 2019 / // IELTS // 14th January 2019

Narrative structure // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Past time expressions // Adult Speaking Class, L2 Part 2

What is happening // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 2

Word order // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 2

Speaking exercises

Buying a motorbike // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Characters // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3

Coffee drinking in Viet Nam // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 // IELTS sentence building

Contractions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Conversation practice // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Describe a friend // Adult C, L 3 // 7th November 2019

Describing people and clothes // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Easter // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 // 1st January 2020

Electronic devises // IELTS // 4th March 2019

Expressions // Adult C, L 3 // 15th January 2019

Film and acting reviews // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Free speaking exercises // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

General speaking tips // Adult C, L 3 // 16th September 2019

Grammar

Past Tense // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1 /// Adult C, L 3 // 23rd September 2019 /// Adult C, L 3 // 16th September 2019

Past-time expressions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 6 // 8th February 2020

Third Conditional: Mr Bowditch // Adult C, L 3 // 22nd October 2019

Holidays // Adult Speaking Class, level 3. Theme: Travel // 11th February 2020

Job interviews // Adult Class // 17- 19 December 2019

Job interviews // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Job interviews // 12th Feb 2020

Not the …… man in the world // Adult C, L 3 // 3rd December 2019

Olympics in Vietnam ? // Adult C, L 3 // 10th February 2019

One of those days // IELTS // 14th January 2019

Pronunciation quiz // Adult Speaking Class, L2 Part 2

Shopping // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Small talk exercises: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/12/09/vocabulary-building-exercises/

Small talk // IELTS 5-6.5 // 28th August 2019

Small talk // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 3

Telephone conversation // Adult Speaking Class, L 2 Part 2

Tet Holiday // IELTS // 28th January 2019

Travel (key words) // Adult C, L 1 // 26th February 2019

Travel: airport to city centre // IELTS // 10th February 2019

Travel in two minutes // IELTS // 19th February 2019

Travel // IELTS 5-6.5 // 14th August 2019

Travel: my stay in Bangkok in pictures // IELTS // 10th February 2019

Travel: Nha Trang // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

Travel: one day in Sai Gon // IELTS 5-6.5 // 14th August 2019 / // Adult C, L 3 // 7th November 2019 // // Adult C, L 3 // 22nd October 2019

Travel: recommend a holiday // IELTS // 4th March 2019

What’s the story (lazy student) // IELTS // 7th January 2019

Work – new staff // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 6 // 8th February 2020

Work party – organise the food // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 5 // 4th February 2020

Work problems // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Work-place problems // 5th February 2020

Video Clips

ABC song // KG Safari 1 // 10 March 2019

ABC (Richard Scary) // KG Safari 1 // 2nd March 2019

Archimedes screw pump. Theory & in practice // Adult Professionals. Mechanics. Theme: Archimedes // 26th February 2020

Australian hero – Aussie slang // IELTS 5-6.5 // 21st August 2019

John Bercow ‘Order !’ // Young Learners 1 // 13th April 2019

Black Friday // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Blind Date TV dating show // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage

Blur (‘Parklife’) // Young Learners 1 // 16th March 2019

Boy wiggles ears // Adult C, L 3 // 12th December 2019

Adrian Brody as Dali (Woody Allen) // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

George W. Bush leaves room // Young Teens // 31st January 2019

Chicago, Willis Tower // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Chimpanzee tea-party (1955) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPD_m2laITc

Christmas UK // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Class Rules // Young Learners 1 // 16th March 2019

Concorde // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Customer complaints // Adult Speaking Class, L2 Part 2

Damn fine coffee // IELTS 5-6.5 // 4th September 2019

Dickens ‘Christmas Carol’ // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3

Robert Downey Jr awkward interview // Adult C, L 3 // 26th November 2019

Dragon’s Den pitch (beard grooming) // Adult C, L 3 // 18th March 2019

Dynamo magic // Adult C, L 3 // 12th December 2019

Easter traditions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 // 1st January 2020

Ancient Egypt (for children) // Young Learners 2 // 1st June 2019

Engineering fails // Adult Professionals / Mechanics Part 2 // 23rd January 2020

Entropy // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Eyewitnesses // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Four Weddings bad vicar speech // Adult Speak Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 2

Friction // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Funny animals // Young Learners 1 // 26th May 2019

Germany: Top Attractions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Germany // 26th Feb 2020

Germany: Top Ten Facts // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Germany // 26th Feb 2020

Germany: Krautrock // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Germany // 26th February 2020

Greek dancing // Young Learners 5 // 6th October 2019

How couples meet // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage

Inbetweeners (Jay on motorbike) // Adult Class // 17- 19 December 2019

Internal combustion engine // Adult Professionals / Mechanics Part 2 // 23rd January 2020

Introductions – what’s your name // Beginners’ English, Part 2

iPhone in a vacuum // Young Learners 4 // 16th November 2019

Job interviews // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Job interviews // 12th Feb 2020

Karaoke (noise pollution) // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Kicked out of Starbucks // Adult C, L 3 // 18th March 2019

Kids guide to London // Young Learners 5 // 25th August 2019

Kids guide to HCMC //Young Learners 4 // 23rd November 2019

Kids’ parade USA // Young Learners 4 // 1st May 2019

Japan: 3 days in Tokyo // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 6, 25th January 2020

Japan: 7 cool things // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 6, 25th January 2020

Japan: 10 facts // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 6, 25th January 2020

Japan:Shinkanshen (Bullet Train) // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Joker (H. Ledger GIF) // Young Teens // 27th February 2019

Last Jedi trailer // Beginners’ English

David Letterman // Young Learners 4 // 1st June 2019

London street trader // IELTS 5-6.5 // 28th August 2019

London Top 10 Attractions // Teenagers // 16th December 2018

London Tube (busy) // KG Safari 1 // 2nd March 2019

London Tube (rush hour) // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Traffic

London Tube guide // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Traffic

McDonalds ordering fast food // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Making a video // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Milk box fail // Adult C, L 3 // 18th March 2019

New Zealand Haka // Young Learners 5 // 27th October 2019

Not One Less // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Olympics (Beijing) // Adult Professionals // 10th February 2019

Peter O’Toole // Young Teens // 17th January 2019

Phrasal verbs (family) // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 3

Poland beer review // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Poland tourist guide // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Politicians attacked // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3

Pulp Fiction coffee shop // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Romeo and Juliet // // Adult Speaking Class, level 3

Social Network // IELTS 5-6.5 // 4th September 2019

Ringo Starr being knighted // Adult C, L 1 // 5th March 2019

Quentin Tarantino awkward interview // Adult C, L 3 // 26th November 2019

Snow // Beginners’ English, Part 2

Supersize Me // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Tarantino on Chungking Express // 16th April 2019 /// IELTS // 4th March 2019

Nikola Tesla // Adult professionals. Mechanics, Part 3 // 7th Feb 2020

Theseus & the Minotaur (Lego) // Young Learners 5 // 6th October 2019

Top Gear: Vietnamese driving school // Adult C, L 3 // 25th December 2018 // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Traffic

Train, high-speed in China // Adult pros // Adult mechanics: What can go wrong ?

Train song // KG Safari 1 // 2nd March 2019

Tuareg people // Adult Speaking Class, level 3. Theme: Travel // 11th February 2020

Universeum, Sweden // Young Learners 3 // 14th December 2019

Vietnam – country in transition // IELTS // 30th July 2019

Vietnamese culture (weird) // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 24th January 2020

Vietnam (first impressions) // Teenagers // 12th January 2019

Vietnam – 5 weird things // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Vietnam – 7 fun facts // Beginners’ English

Vietnamese beer review (Sai Gon Red) // IELTS // 21st January 2019

Vietnamese beer review (Sai Gon Red) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKr6Cj-Xr9g&list=LLfquznE0joCgmA3v1PIQ0CQ&index=8&t=1s

Vietnam (safety in Sai Gon) // Teenagers // 20th January 2019 /// Adult C, L 3 // 5th September 2019

Vietnamese cop on speeding bus // Adult C, L 3 // 25th December 2018// Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Traffic

Vietnam (unexpected things vlog) // IELTS 5-6.5 // 14th August 2019

Vietnamese urban myths // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 24th January 2020

Christoph Waltz ‘Inglorious’ // Adult Class, L 1 // 26th February 2019

Wedding fails // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage

Wedding language // Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 2

Wedding parties (Jewish & Mexican) // Adult Class. Theme: Love & marriage Part 2

Arsene Wenger zipper fail // Beginners’ English, Part 2

What happened next ? (video clips) // Young Teens // 31st January 2019

When the band comes marching // Young Learners 1 // 26th May 2019

Mark Wiens eats VN breakfast // Young Learners 2 // 25th August 2019

Mark Wiens Kolkata, India // IELTS: Hello, India // 24th January 2020

(// Young Learners 4 // 9th November 2019) // Adult C, L 3 // 8th October 2019

Workplace fails // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Work-place problems // 5th February 2020

Vocabulary building

Adjectives // Beginners’ English

Adult class (various) // Adult Class // 17- 19 December 2019

Asking about jobs // Young Teens // 21st February 2019

Cities, areas, descriptions // IELTS // 31st December 2018

Coffee shops // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Colour association Signs // Young Learners 4 // 1st June 2019

Come or go // Beginners’ English Part 4

Computer phrasal verbs // Young Learners 5 // 17th November 2019

Crime and punishment // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Drama films // Adult C, L 3 // 12th November 2019

Driving expressions // Beginners’ English

Emotions // Young Learners 2 // 6th July 2019

Expressions and phrases // IELTS // 19th February 2019

Expressions // Adult C, L 3 // 18th March 2019

Expressions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Film vocabulary // Beginners’ English /// Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Food // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1

General // IELTS: Final Review // 5th March 2019

Friends and occupations (photos) // Adult C, L 3 // 5th September 2019

General // IELTS // 19th February 2019

General // Young Teens // 29th November 2018

I live in a … // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, Part 4

Idioms (sweets) // IELTS // 19th February 2019

Job and interviews // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Job interviews // 12th Feb 2020

Like or dislike // IELTS // 16th April 2019

Low-frequency words // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 2

Low-frequency words // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 3

Low-frequency words // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3, Part 4 // 27th January 2020

Money and shopping // Adult C, L 3 // 14 November 2019

Music // IELTS // 16th April 2019

Music // IELTS 5-6.5 // 11th September 2019

Music // IELTS 5-6.5 // 25th September 2019

Phrases // IELTS // 21st January 2019

Shopping // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Opinion phrases // Young Learners 4 // 26th October 2019

To what extent … ? // Adult C, L 3 // 19th August 2019

Tourism language // Teenagers // 20th January 2019

Travel with new expressions // Adult C, L 1 // 26th February 2019

Vocabulary review // Adult Speaking Class, level 2

Vocabulary exercises:

https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/12/09/vocabulary-building-exercises/

Match new vocabulary with definitions then practice.

Personality adjectives

Small talk responses

Tourism presentation // Teenagers // 20th January 2019

Travel with new expressions

Travel – hotel guide

Travel – life in Sai Gon

What Difference Does It Make – definitions of similar words

Writing exercises and reading exercises and links

Condensing text (‘1001 Nights) // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 24th January 2020

Reading Short stories (Sherlock Holmes) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment