Subject Index

Subject // Lesson // Date

Ancient Egypt // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

Ancient Greece // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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 email writing // Business English // email writing // 8th March 2020

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 // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Describing clothes // 19th March 2020

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

Corona Virus in Vietnam // IELTS 4 – 5 // Implementing precautions // 25th March 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

Creative writing // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Storytelling // 29th March 2020

Creative writing // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Storytelling part 2 // 30th March 2020

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

Kindle // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 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

News with Vietnamese subtitles // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3 // 11th March 2020

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

London // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London 3rd March 2020

London // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London Part 2 5th March 2020

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

Orion constellation // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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

Pyramids // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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

Bible “Whatever a man sows …” // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

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

Chaucer “Time & tide …” // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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

Shakespeare “All that glisters …” // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: luxury day // 12th March 2020

Shakespeare “More things in Heaven … ” // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13 Mch 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

Lao-Tzu ‘Give a man a fish …” // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

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: order // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Describing clothes // 19th March 2020

Adjectives: clothes and materials // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Describing clothes // 19th March 2020

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

Creative writing // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Storytelling part 2 // 30th March 2020

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

Auxiliary (helping) verbs // Beginners’ English: Sentence Building // 16th March 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 //// IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

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

Idioms // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

‘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 an everyday object // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London 3rd March 2020

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

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

Plan a luxury day // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: luxury day // 12th March 2020

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 Coasters ‘Poison Ivy’ // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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

Ali Hassan Kuban ‘Habibi’ // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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

Basquet // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

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

John Constable // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

Christmas, Germany // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Christmas, UK // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2

Corona virus in Vietnam // IELTS 4 – 5 // Implementing precautions // 25th March 2020

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

Kraftwerk // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Describing clothes // 19th March 2020

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

Wyndham Lewis // Teenagers: Architecture & Mythology // 13th March 2020

Nelson Mandela // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Describing clothes // 19th March 2020

‘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

Nicola Sturgeon // IELTS 4 – 5 // Implementing precautions // 25th March 2020

‘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

Reading exercises

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

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

Sherlock Holmes // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London 3rd March 2020

Sentence building

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

Beginners: helping verbs // Beginners’ English: Sentence Building // 16th March 2020

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

Creative writing // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Storytelling // 29th March 2020

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

IELTS describe a gadget // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

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

Corona Virus Government video // IELTS 4 – 5 // Implementing precautions // 25th March 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 cost of living // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London 3rd March 2020

London street trader // IELTS 5-6.5 // 28th August 2019

London Top 10 Attractions // Teenagers // 16th December 2018 /// // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London 3rd march 2020

London getting around (Oyster Card) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: London 3rd March 2020

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

President Trump news (Viet subs) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3 // 11th March 2020

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

Clothes // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Describing clothes // 19th March 2020

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

Emotions //Beginners’ English: How do you feel ? // 17th March 2020

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

IELTS language // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

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

Money expressions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: luxury day // 12th March 2020

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

IELTS // IELTS 5 – 6.5. Writing example // 15th March 2020

Creative writing // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Storytelling // 29th March 2020

Reading Short stories (Sherlock Holmes) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3. Theme: Crime & Punishment

Using a thesaurus // Creative writing // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Storytelling part 2 // 30th March 2020

Adult Class, Level 3: business icons.

4th November for 5th November 2019 AEF 10A, pp. 94 – 95

Tonight we’ll discuss modern icons, titans of the business world, in both USA and Vietnam. It’ll be no surprise that Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, who are both from the USA, are included although Vietnam also has a number of wealthy, super-rich who may not be as well known on the global stage. However tonight, which is a special day in the UK, we’ll warm up with the story of Guy Fawkes whose image is now iconic. He is part of the history of London where I was born. If you don’t know the name, maybe you’ll recognise these:

Image result for anonymous guy fawkes mask

Image result for v for vendetta film poster

In 1605, a group of people wanted to blow up (like a bomb) Parliament (where the government meet) during a visit from the King. The group were caught; Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar of Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder. All the conspirators were executed for treason.

A good history, with notes for English-language learners, can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soe8Z_Ej4Ck

This event is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks:

Here’s an example of what happens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OttNo41ab0

Now, without further ado, tonight’s lesson: modern icons and, for grammar, relative clauses, hence the bold font earlier on the words who, where, which and whose.

I’ll be honest with you – this can be a little complicated, although it should be easy:

Relative pronouns

Who // for a person. Mark, who is from Chicago, is working in Ha Noi

Where // for a place. Ha Noi, where Mark works, is in north Vietnam.

Which // for a thing. The guitar, which is Japanese, was a bargain at £35.

Whose // possessive. The man whose guitar was stolen was very upset.

So far so good BUT … check this out:

London, where I was born, is the capital of the UK

London, which is in the south of England, is my hometown.

In a practice, we have an example similar to this:

London where I was born is the place which I love the most.

I’ve tried to think of a way to explain this in clear simple English … here goes !

In the first clause (London where I was born) we can ask “Where were you born ?” The answer is London. However, in the second clause (the place which I love the most) try the same pattern … “Where do you love the most ?” Here, the answer is “The place.” That is not a suitable answer – it is not a real location, so it becomes a thing – therefore we use which.

Oi troi oi ! English grammar !

Now, let’s put it into practise.

Mark Zuckerberg: born 1984 in NY, USA. Studied at Harvard. Co-founded Facebook. Net worth estimated at 70.3 billion USD (wow !).

Mark Zuckerberg, who was born in 1984, grew up in NY state which is in the USA. Harvard, where he studied, is the oldest university in the States (USA). Zuckerberg, whose net worth is estimated at over 70 billion dollars co-founded Facebook which is used all over the world.

Speaking of Facebook, one of my favourite films is ‘The Social Network’ about how the company was founded. The film, which was made in 2010, is scripted by Aaron Sorkin who is, in my opinion, a fantastic and highly talented writer.

Image result for social network caribbean night

Now try with Steve Jobs: born San Francisco // was a college drop out // first worked at Atari, a video games company // Apple computers were the first to utilise a mouse // co-founded Pixar in 1986 (what is Pixar ?) // died 2011, aged 56.

Now … team work. Class in two teams and they have to make a presentation about two Vietnamese business icons: Pham Nhat Vuong & Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao.

Students may use the internet and their own knowledge to tell me about these icons.

https://www.citypassguide.com/blog/vietnams-richest-business-people

Give me the facts (where and when were they born, how did they get rich, what is their area of business ?) and use relative clauses to produce longer, complex sentences.

Students may, indeed I would encourage them to, use the internet and projector to bring their presentation alive. All members of the team must speak.

Team discussion:

Last week we covered negotiation language, phrases such as, “I see your point, but …” “I’m not sure I entirely agree with you,” “That’s interesting, however have you considered.

Today, the topics will be:

Do people spend too much time on Facebook ? Is it a good or bad thing ?
I need a new laptop; what should I buy, an Apple or Windows ?

I want to hear different points of view and people playing Devil’s advocate (arguing or making a point, even if you don’t personally believe it … just to encourage the opponent to develop their idea).

Image result for apple macbook pro — 15-inch Macbook Pro at $2 399

Image result for windows 10 laptop — HP Intel Pentium 15.6 inch screen. $299 Windows 10

To encourage students, and to give them lexical resources, elicit some answers and ideas first, and board them, as well as introducing new concepts. What are the pros and cons ? The decisive factors ? What points should I consider.

With Facebook – is the answer binary (yes OR no ?) … it’s more interesting to discuss the middle ground, and illustrate it with personal examples.

I recently went on a short break to a nearby beach resort where I took many photos. I need to upload them to Facebook … or do I ? Does anybody REALLY care ? Can I really afford to spend the time doing it ? Or is it relaxing and pleasurable ? Does it enable my European friends to see a little more of my life here in Vietnam … what do YOU think … ?

Young Learners, Level 5: Around the world (in eighty minutes)

26th October for 27th October 2019. E Up 5 U 7 L 1 Countries pp. 64 – 65

Today’s theme is travel, and we will focus on six countries from five different continents. As a warm up, the students can be put in teams (this is a large class in a small room so activities have to carefully planned to prevent chaos and injury). Each team is given a small board and has to write:

Four ways to travel – vehicles.

BONUS QUESTION: unscramble this

tho ria ololban

Start the clip around 0:52 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjiCO8k6Jhg

Thay paul has been to many countries – write four countries in Asia where I’ve been.

Clue 1) Kimchi 2) Sawass dee Krap 3) Petronas Tower 4) Merlion

Now, in Vietnam – write four places to which I’ve been.

Image may contain: ocean, sky, outdoor, nature and water

Image may contain: sky, ocean, tree, outdoor and water

When we travel, we can:

Try to elicit long and detailed sentences. Encourage the use of at least one adjective.

Image may contain: 10 people, people smiling

Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling

I have been to Thailand but I haven’t been to China

I’ve been to Thailand. I’ve never been to China.

Student talking time – in small groups, ask, “Where have you been ?”

Then ask, “Have you been to Ha Noi or Hue or Phan Thiet ?”

Ask one of the top students to tell me where they’ve been and never been.

Finally, ask the students to tell me about the others in their group e.g.

“He’s been to Dalat but he’s never been to Ha Noi.”

Today we focus on six countries:

UK, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, India and Kenya.

We studied how the Greek hero Theseus killed the Minotaur. Which countries are these ? Tell me as much about the country as you can (capital city, language, weather)

Image result for st george killing the dragon

Now, a quick music quiz; where do these pieces of music come from ?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVS72L8VsFk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Sdxr1Likg;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdbZl2w_R7g

Students ask each – what music do they like best and why

Language to learn: fun // rhythmic // mysterious // melodic

Which country would they like to visit … and why ?

Finally, bring a globe to class and … in small groups, ask the students to find the six countries.

Endgame – have a student describe a flag, and the class have to guess which country.

What sport is this ?

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

Adult speaking class, Level 1: Review – adjectives, contractions and sentence building.

25th October 2019

I want my students to know present and past tense of common verbs, a range of adjectives (both positive and negative) and a good selection of nouns. Additionally, I’d like them to be able to put them together in long sentences, and start to use English contractions.

And so, to kick off (to start), a past tense exercise.

Ask your neighbour, “What did you do today ?”

I will give present tense verbs – students must use the past tense.

Example:

This morning, I go out and drink coffee: This morning I went out and drank coffee.

Later, I meet an old friend and we have lunch together and talk and laugh.

In the afternoon, I sit in the park, play guitar and sing songs.

Adverbs – these make your English more interesting and give more information.

Sai Gon is hot. Sai Gon is so // very // extremely // incredibly hot.

Sai Gon has delicious food – Sai Gon has extremely delicious food and it’s so cheap.

NOW – sentence building:

I love Sai Gon because it’s so hot. Additionally, the food is incredibly delicious and very cheap. However, it can be extremely noisy, dirty and polluted.

Tell me about Nha Trang: Speak about hotels / food / how to get there / things to do

Tell me about these clothes and the people:

Language to use:

beautiful / stunning / eye-catching

cotton / silk / leather / straw / denim (jeans)

short hair / medium-length hair / shoulder-length hair / long hair

straight hair / curly hair / wavy hair

interesting / boring / delicious / bland / healthy / polluted / huge

teenager / young / in his 20s / middle-aged / elderly / old

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling

Contractions: when we speak quickly, we contract (shorten words) to make a new sound.

Example: I am = I’m / you are = you’re / he is = he’s / she is = she’s

I am happy =

You are sad

He is angry

She is very eye-catching

I will = I’ll (sounds like ‘eye – all’)

Tomorrow, I will go to work = Tomorrow, I’ll go to work

I’ll send you an email tonight

Call me after 5pm, I’ll be free then.

Try this Beatles song:

‘I’ll Be Back’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQw2psyjm5w

I want to = I wanna I want to hold your hand

I am going to = I’m gonna I am going to buy a new iPhone

I have go to = I gotta I can’t go to the cinema, I have got to go to work

Conversation Practice:

I want to speak to my sweet lovely student Ms Tram. However, she is at work.

Caller: Hello, may I speak with Ms Tram, please ?

Receiver: Certainly. Who’s calling, please ?

Caller: My name is ……….

Receiver: I’m sorry, could you repeat that ?

Caller: No problem. My name’s ……..

Receiver: Could you spell that, please ?

Caller: Surely (of course) . . . . . . . .

Receiver: Thank you. Hold the line, please. I’ll connect you.

Caller: Absolutely. I’ll hold.

Receiver: I’m afraid Ms Tram has just gone to lunch.

Caller: Again ? She’s always eating hahaha.

Receiver: I’ll transfer you to her office, then you can leave a message.

Caller: Great idea. Thanks a bunch !

Receiver: You’re welcome

Finally – where did Ms Tram go for lunch ? What did she order ? Did she like the food ?

Adjectives for food:

delicious / bland / spicy / filling / appetising / healthy / unhealthy / vegetarian / traditional

protein / carbohydrates / fat / fibre / vitamins /

fried / deep-fried / baked / boiled

Young Learners, Level 4: Daaaaaaaallliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ……

24th October for Saturday 26th October 2019. E Up U 6, L 4 pp. 58 – 59

Warm up: Student description

In a previous lesson, the class learnt about basic adjectives to describe appearance. I will therefore choose a student and describe the physical characteristics, e.g. this student has long straight hair, is not very tall, and wears black glasses. The students must guess the student I am describing.

To make it more fun and engaging, it’s a good idea to put the class into teams for a bit of competitive spirit.

This is my friend, Ms Quynh. She has long straight black hair.

We can extend their vocabulary by including clothes: Ms Quynh is wearing a white top and a colourful skirt.

I will choose some students and give them a student to describe, while promoting the value ‘be polite‘. They can describe their hair, whether or not they wear glasses, and if that isn’t enough, they can identify them by their clothes.

To continue the theme of Art and creativity, I think it’s time they met Dali !

Dali normally gets a reaction (especially when we have fun elongating his name as long as possible). It’s also a chance to learn a few new words:

creative / genius / unusual / surreal

The last word maybe a little advanced, but it’s a good way to introduce new words; inside the word is ‘real’ so surreal has something to do with reality … but what ? Here’s a clue:

This is a mixture of reality and fantasy. The students can say which is which … and why does Dali give the elephants tuba faces … is there a reason or is it just crazy ?

I will then expect the student to form basic sentences using these new words, and not forgetting new vocabulary from previous lessons, for example,

“Dali’s paintings are very unusual.”

Next up, is a scene from the popular Children’s classic, ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

What is happening ?

Again, a mix of reality and fantasy. How would the students describe this ? It could be turned into a game … students put into small groups and given boards and markers. Points for the best vocabulary.

Key words: tea-party / young girl / bow tie / sleeping / garden

Now, to continue the theme and introduce some listening and reading skills, a video. This is the singer-songwriter Don McLean with ‘Vincent’, about the artist Vincent Van Gogh: This can be played in the background as the students do a writing project today.

This version also has the lyrics, as well as various paintings by the artist.

A useful lesson will be the subjectivity of art – it is a chance for the student to think and to give their views, and to try to develop the English skills to express their thoughts. Clearly, this is a perfect opportunity to introduce some fixed expressions to express opinions:

In my opinion …

I feel that …

For me …

And even an idiom – it’s not my cup of tea !

What kind of art are these and what do they think of them ?

Image result for giacometti artist — Alberto Giacometti

Image result for great photographic art — **Henri Cartier Bresson – 1908 – 2004**

Image result for famous vietnamese paintings — Vietnamese silk painting

Then, with time against us, and a lot to get through, we’ll turn to the book work. They will watch a video which also shows sculpture, mosaic and photographs. The book also mentions Van Gogh, and a sculpture based on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party from ‘Alice’.

Finally, to wrap up after the project, a little bit of fun. Who better than Dali (or at least a great actor playing Dali) ?

Adult Class, Level 3: If he had known it was International Woman’s Day …

21st October for 22nd October 2019. AEF 9A pp 84 – 85

Warm up: Hit the ground running (or at least talking).

As always a model is a good idea; hence my Thai friend is coming to Vietnam:

Ms Namsum is young and energetic. She’s into (really enjoy) clubs, sightseeing and shopping.

I suggest she starts the day with a traditional bowl of pho then goes to Sai Gon centre. She can walk there from her hotel in District 1 or take a taxi (Vinasun or Malin ONLY). She will be out of the heat and has a lot of shopping choices and places to eat or grab a coffee. She could rest at her hotel in the afternoon, then go to Nguyen Hue walking street when it gets cooler in the evening. She has many restaurants in this area. Furthermore, there are many English-language menus. Finally, she can go to Bui Vien street where there are many clubs and bars, as well as many tourists speaking English.

What do they students think ? Is that a good plan ? Have I missed something important ?

Language to use:

I see your point

That’s a good idea but …

If I may make a suggestion …

I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.

For example – That’s a good idea but you haven’t thought about sightseeing.

Bui Vien can be very noisy so I’m not sure that’s such a good idea for a young lady on her own.

Two of my friends are coming to Sai Gon; the students, in two groups, have to arrange a fun day including sightseeing, shopping, eating and transportation. Then they have to compare their itineraries and exchange views and opinions. The students learn how to politely disagree with each and put forward their ideas and support their choices.

Image result for two english men — Tom and David

PLAN A DAY FOR TOM & DAVID

Where can they eat ?

What could they see or visit ?

How can they travel around ?

What can they buy as souvenirs ?

Where could they go at night ?

What safety advice would you give ?

What you need to know:

Both are 45-years old. They have good jobs and a good income. They like history and culture. They really enjoy good food and wine. Neither speaks any Vietnamese. They are too old for very loud clubs but they don’t mind having a few beers and maybe seeing some live music.

The students can make a presentation, and use the computer for images or maps to illustrate their plan. Then the other team can explain what they have organised, and the reasons why. I will decide which team has made the best choice.

Tonight’s main focus is the third conditional

This means speaking from hindsight.

We talk about something that happened to us in the past and how we would have changed it IF we had known some information.

A basic example: A visit a friend and it is her birthday, but I didn’t know. If I had known it was her birthday, I would have bought her a present.

Yesterday was Woman’s Day but …

Alan didn’t know it was Woman’s Day subsequently his girlfriend, Ms Nhi, was extremely upset !

If he had known it was Woman’s Day, he would have bought her a present, some flowers and taken her out to eat.

However, it is too late NOW ! He’s in the doghouse (in trouble).

Notice all the past tense verbs. Furthermore, would is commonly used in conditional sentences.

Now, this example is based on a true story that my history teacher told me back in London.

My teacher was a somewhat dishevelled gentleman in his mid-30s. Let’s call him Mr Bowditch:

Mr Bowditch, history teacher at an east London school

Mr Bowditch lived in a bedsit, which is basically renting one room in a large house and sharing the kitchen and bathroom with other tenants. His room was not particularly comfortable:

One night, Mr Bowditch was in his room and began to feel a little hungry. He wanted some chocolate so decided to go to the off-license and buy some sweets (an off-licence is a shop that sells basic food and sweets but also alcohol and cigarettes. It used to be open until 11.00pm when most shops would close around 6.00 pm). He decided to buy, among other items, some ‘Fry’s Turkish Delight’ a sort of jelly covered in chocolate:

OK, so far so good. However, Mr Bowditch lived in a rather bad part of London, it wasn’t always safe to walk alone at night. Unfortunately, on the way home, Mr Bowditch meet the following young men:

They called out to Mr Bowditch and stopped him walking. They demanded:

Mr Bowditch had none, as he had just spent his money on sweets (candy). They didn’t believe him and began to search him. He showed them:

That was all he had … a few pounds, about 100 000 VND. The men became very angry and aggressive. Suddenly, they heard a police car siren. The men tried to drag Mr Bowditch into the tunnel, away from the road but he is very tall and stopped them. As the police car got closer, the men ran away. Mr Bowditch has never eaten ‘Fry’s Turkish Delight’ again.

There are several instances of the third conditional in the above story.

If Mr Bowditch had bought sweets on his way home, he wouldn’t have gone out later and been mugged (mugged means being robbed, often with violence or the threat of violence).

If Mr Bowditch had gone to a different shop, he wouldn’t have meet the muggers.

If the police car hadn’t been passing, Mr Bowditch might have been seriously hurt.

If Mr Bowditch hadn’t been so tall, he would have been dragged into the tunnel and maybe beaten or worse.

The structure is the first clause starts with ‘If’ then using a comma before completing the sentence. The first verb can be positive or negative (in the examples, I use ‘had’ and ‘hadn’t’).

We use this to talk about things that DIDN’T happen.

And so to book work and communication activities.

Adding adjectives, increasing interest.

14th October 2019

How would you describe this lady ? Where is she ? What is the day like ?
How adjectives add information and colour to speech and writing.

Making lemonade out of lemons – this is an expression which means making something good happen out of something bad. Allow me to elaborate – I was taking a Level 1 adult-talking class. The work is all prepared for me, with powerpoint slides and recordings, as well as print-outs. However, the theme was quite advanced for this level. The subject was economics, vocabulary included such gems as ‘manufacturing’ and ‘exports’. All very interesting, but far above the resources of a beginners’ class. And then the students arrived … after a few introductory questions, it became clear that I would have to abandon the lesson and somehow improvise a class at beginner level.

As the class consisted of young ladies, I chose hair and clothes … and how to use adjectives to build up setences.

It is understandable that students focus more on learning nouns and verbs, with just a smattering of common adjectives. However, I think it’s a good idea that students learn and be encouraged to use two or three adjectives from an early stage, so it becomes a natural part of their English (as well as boosting their scores in oral tests).

So, back to my class; three young ladies with very limited English but, fortuitously, also with three different hairstyles.

Image result for asain girl, long brown hair

Let’s start very simply; Ms Kim (this is a Google image, not my real student) has long hair. OK, but we can add more … what colour is it … is it straight or wavy ? Finally, let’s be polite and complimentary … Ms Kim has beautiful long wavy brown hair.

The students may have to learn hairstyles or shapes (wavy, pony-tail, bangs, pleated), and students should learn a small number of new words every lesson. It helps if they can see them in the class and then use them in controlled speaking.

So, without much effort, their sentence length had doubled. Next to Ms Kim was Ms My

Once the students had a word bank and some practice, they were able to describe Ms My as having a beautiful long black ponytail, or beautiful long black straight hair, tied into a ponytail. Fortunately Ms Anh has a different style.

Image result for asain girl, medium hair

But now, it was clear my students were comfortable with ‘beautiful’ so time for some synonyms – stunning, gorgeous, eye-catching. Ms Anh has medium-length hair or, as I insist on a full sentence:

Ms Anh has gorgeous medium-length brown hair. But we can go further – let’s compare Ms Anh’s hair with Ms Kim – both have brown hair, yet different shades. Thus we introduce dark and light:

Ms Anh has eye-catching medium-length dark-brown hair.

It’s also very rewarding to hear students start building sentences after struggling to say three or four words just five minutes earlier. And so, we continue … let’s turn to jewellery using the students themselves as examples; someone will have earrings (studs or long), another will have a neckless, a bracelet, rings etc. I ask Ms Anh to show her ring … it is gold, while Ms My has a silver one. Or, at least silver-coloured !

Then we turn to clothes, and first elicit different types of material and patterns:

silk // cotton // denim // leather //

plain // floral // striped // checked

Image result for asian girl in check shirt

So now, when they see a picture like this, the students will be able to describe the lady’s hair, jewellery and clothes and by extension, the room in which she is situated.

In terms of grammar, there is an order of adjectives, though I would not introduce this too early on. Instead, I would stress the opinion word is first, while size is before colour (eye-catching short light-blue skirt).

The website for the above chart is:

https://www.hip-books.com/teachers/writing-about-reading/adjectives/

Now, let’s return to the first picture, a young friend of mine whom we shall call Ms Ngoc. Students can work together and give me as much information as they can. This includes her hair, clothes but also what she looks like, where she is and what time of day. Furthermore, how does the weather look ? How does she look ?

Finally, a good activity is to board some common adjectives and have the students give the opposites or antonyms:

expensive // genuine // cheerful // delicious // interesting // honest // generous

This is continued in subsequent lessons, so students become used to incorporating two or maybe three adjectives in sentences. And them or course … we have adverbs … but that is another story !

Adult Class, Level 3 (class 2): She said, she said.

7th October for 8th October 2019. AEF 8A (1, 5 & 6), pp. 74-75, 77

Sentence building – becoming fluent and coherent

Use

adverbs
adjectives
opinion phrases
linking words and discourse markers
new vocabulary

Vietnam is famous for coffee; coffee shops are ubiquitous. In fact, there are so many, it’s hard to see (difficult to understand) how they stay in business let alone turn a profit.

Be that as it may, let’s use this as a learning opportunity. To practice making longer sentences, and as a warm up exercise, the students can ask each other, “Where do you go for coffee ?”

Tips:

Don’t answer the question directly and immediately; Begin with a short introduction:

Sai Gon has so many coffee shops, some are cheap while others can be quite expensive although they have a wide range of delicious coffee. Personally, I like going to …

Then

Ask

How MUCH do you like it (adverbs) ?
What kind of coffee (adjectives) ?
What do you think about this ? (opinions)
WHY do you like it (give reasons)
Interesting words, phrases, idioms

Personally, I like Tap Coffee which is an independent shop where I live. I enjoy going there so much because the owner is very friendly and tries to speak English with me. There isn’t a lot of choice, so I order cappuccino with hot, fresh milk. In my opinion, it is good value and tastes delicious. What I like about the shop is the free wifi, the comfortable chairs and the atmosphere. Furthermore, it is usually very quiet and it therefore a good place to read. I love to put my feet up, kick back and sip my damn fine coffee.

Before the exercise, elicit and board as many relevant words and phrases as required. The students have a discourse marker list, so I could insist that they use certain words (moreover, therefore, consequently etc). Additionally, I’ll need to explain vernacular phrases such as ‘kick back’ and ‘put my feet up’.

IF a student doesn’t like coffee, then they can say where they go and what they drink. IF they don’t go anywhere or like anything (yes, I have had that in a class), then they can explain WHY NOT!

Key vocabulary: ambience // aroma //atmosphere

Now, their turn; after this model, they must tell me about their favourite app on their phone. Give them five minutes to write a short piece.

After, the students can read to each other, and we can incorporate their answers into tonight’s grammar: reported speech.

For example, Ms Jane is speaking with Mr Tony:

Jane, “I really love the iTunes app.”

Tony, “Oh, for me, I prefer YouTube because I can watch music videos. I will send you a link to The Beatles.”

This is called direct speech. If I want to repeat what they said, I use indirect or reported speech. Look what happens to the subject and the verb:

Jane said that she really loved the iTunes app. (or She said she really loved …)

The subject changes from 1st person (I) to third person (she), while the verb alters from simple present to simple past.

What happens with Tony ? Look for the verb(s) then put them into simple past. Change pronouns to the 3rd person.

Now – changing reported speech back to direct speech.

He said the egg was perfect

(Change the past simple verb to simple present)

Now, here’s the actual quote (around the 2:28 mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crPVJ3CXs1g

This is one of my favourite clips about Sai Gon: Mark Weins eating a fairly typical Viet breakfast … but enjoying it SO MUCH !

Student Survey

Student must ask three people, what they usually eat for breakfast, and drink, as well as where they eat; do they go out, or cook at home ? Following that, they have to report to the class on their findings, using reported speech e.g.

She said (that) she usually cooked at home, but occasionally ate out when she felt too tired.

Then we have the book work and grammar practice. To end, we can have an eyewitness game. Students work in pairs, one having their backs to the board. On the screen, I show a man or lady. The first student has to describe, in as much detail, what is happening and how the person looks. Give them a minute or two. Then, the second student must report to me what they have learnt. Finally, they are allowed to see the picture, to compare the reported speech with the actuality. Photos could include:

Image result for boy eating chocolate cake

Young Learners, Level 5: Welcome to Athens.

3rd October for 6th October 2019. E Up U6 L1.

An Introduction to Greece: location, history, lifestyle.

Image result for greek flag — The flag of Greece

I shall also bring a globe to the class, as this is more visceral than internet images. The students, in small groups (or else the globe will be destroyed) have to find Greece. Now, to review recent vocabulary, what do the students think of these lifestyles ?

First, the food: Does it look healthy ? What other adjectives can the students add ?

Some typical Greek food: olives, cheese,vegetables, fish, meat and bread. Also, we have some sweet food:

Next, lifestyles – what about these photos:

Image result for jogging up the acropolis

How about this Greek dance ? Maybe some of the more active students would like to try !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_kele6tedo

Now, Greek history and myth. On the island of Crete, there lived the Minotaur, half-man, half-bull. He lived underground in a big maze called the labyrinth. Every year, the King of Athens had to send 14 children for the Minotaur to eat.

The king had a son called Theseus. He was a hero. He decided to go and kill the Minotaur.

The King of Crete had a daughter called Ariadne. When she saw Theseus, she decided to help him. She gave Theseus a big ball of string. He tied it to the door of the labyrinth, then used it so he wouldn’t get lost (it would be a good idea to get some string and tie it to the door handle, or at least act out the motion).

Image result for Theseus with ariadne's string

Theseus found the Minotaur and killed him. Then he sailed back to Athens with Ariadne (I’m being economical with the legend here; the students are aged ten and eleven).

The students will be learning about the Parthenon in the next lessons, so this is a way of introducing them to Greece and its history. I’ll board words such as ‘bull’, ‘labyrinth’, ‘sailed’, ‘hero’ and ‘decided’. Then, after the students have written them down, they can watch this Lego version and tell me what is happening- start at 0:23.

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

Many children will know superheroes such as Spiderman, Iron Man etc. How does Theseus compare ? Whom do they like best ?

Then, onto the lesson. Today it’s about measurements, so although its important, it will not be as exciting as Theseus and the Minotaur.

The class is rather large, (twenty-one students) the room is rather small, which limits the scope for kinetic activities. Remember, these are still young children, some of whom will not really want to be in class on a weekend, so anything to vary the lesson and maintain their interest is worth trying.

I often put the class into small groups and then hand out a board and marker. The teams race to be first to write a sentence or key words from the lesson.

Another activity is to put two sets of flash cards on the floor and choose two students. They have to walk or hop from card to card, saying the phrase on the card. To make it more challenging, they have to hop with both hands on their heads (or some such variation). Quickly, two more students

Finally, to make the lesson more inter-active, one student per team can ask another student from another team to say what is on a flash-card and the answer has to be within five seconds. Points should be awarded to encourage the competition.

And what better way to end the lesson than with the theme from the film ‘Zorba the Greek’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkXmPAStp8Y

IELTS 5- 6.5: All you need is love … and relative pronouns

25th September 2019

Tonight I want to focus on forming complex sentences in order to boost the speaking prowess of my students. Being able to speak in long sentences, with subordinate clauses and relative pronouns, linked by appropriate discourse markers, will improve their scores in the speaking tests, along with use of stress, intonation, chunking, and a liberal smattering of expressions and vernacular, thereby demonstrating a familiarity with different uses of English.

So, without further ado … complex sentences. 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.

And here is said video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-_u-W_3jWk&list=LLfquznE0joCgmA3v1PIQ0CQ&index=6&t=0s

I am sure if you watch the video, give it a ‘thumbs up’ and ‘like’, Pete will be tickled pink.

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.

Students have five minutes to reorganise this information into a style more suited to an IELTS student.

Now – a Socratic activity; students are arranged in small groups, selected by choosing a card (Ace, 2 or 3), given a task and have to collate information and present it to the class, utilising the resources available, namely internet for facts, images or videos. Let’s revisit some old friends; first one of my favourite authors, Dr Franz Kafka:

Born: 1883 Prague, Czech Republic (at the time, part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) // Died 1924 in Austria. Never married, engaged twice. Had three sisters. Was vegetarian. Difficult relationship with his father. Famous for writing, but only produced three novels, all of which were published after his death. Most famous of these is ‘The Trial’ which has a famous opening line, “Somebody must have made a false accusation against Joseph K., for he was arrested one morning without having done anything wrong.” This book is seen as a warning about totalitarian governments. He lived in Prague which is Czech and Protestant, but he spoke and wrote in German, and he was Jewish. He is one of the most influential writers of the Twentieth Century, and his name has become an adjective, ‘Kafkaesque’ meaning impenetrable, convoluted, mysterious and unsolvable. More information can easily be found online, for example:

https://www.dw.com/en/franz-kafka-the-trial/a-45774582

Now let’s turn to John Lennon, seen here with his Japanese wife, Yoko Ono (also an artist, but more avant-garde).

John was born in Liverpool, during World War II, in 1940. Liverpool was a port, so was a target for German bombers. He grew up very poor. At school he was rebellious, but liked art. When he first heard Rock ‘n’ Roll, he knew he had to be a singer. He formed The Beatles. His guitar playing was enthusiastic but basic. He wrote many songs which have become classics. When The Beatles split up in 1970 he went solo. His most famous solo work is the ‘Imagine’ LP. The title track has the lyric, “Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too.” He protested against the war in Vietnam. He was shot in 1980 outside of his New York apartment. He has two sons, Julian by his first wife, and Sean from Yoko.

The third group will get NO help from me – they shouldn’t need it. Their subject is “the father of the Indo-Chinese people, and his name is Ho Chi Minh.”

This task involves the students working together, assigning tasks, then producing and presenting their report. All members of the team have to speak. Furthermore, they should be encouraged to use English during the preparation stage, only resorting to Vietnamese for clarification or translation of new words.

Quick end game: After the book work, which I have to teach, my hands are tied, we can unwind with some speaking practice.

Using discourse markers: I give teams two words which they have to incorporate into a sentence, for example ‘therefore‘ and ‘subsequently‘.

having said that & furthermore

moreover & consequently

initially & eventually

likewise & specifically

meanwhile & notwithstanding

on the whole & instead

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

And to play us out, let’s go back to John Lennon and his iconic song, ‘Imagine’. The music starts around 0:40:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkgkThdzX-8

Nothing to kill or die for … Peace xx