Following on from the use of Superheroes to review superlatives I gave my class (students aged nine or ten) a project: either write about their favourite hero or create their own.
Enough from me, here’s what some of the students came up with … firstly, from Cherry:
CafiNo to bring me damn good coffee … and hot !
A Superhero that brings me coffee – I love it ! Moving on, here’s a job opportunity for The Flash – express pizza-delivery, thank to Messi:
Heroes can be men, women, boys, girls … or animals. Three young ladies, Phuong Nhi, Jessica and Ms Linh chose to create a Supercat:
from Ms Linhfrom Ms Jessicafrom Ms Phuong Nhi
How about this Supermum from Mary:
The Flash is also the favourite of Marinette:
from Ms Marinette
Now, a magnum opus from ‘King’ Lear:
from Ms ‘King’ Lear
Sarah who has dreams to be Foxgirl (but her identity must be a secret).
from Ms Sarah
Young Ken is a fan of Spiderman:
Ngoc Minh (whose English name is ‘Iron Spider’) is, unsurprisingly, also into Spiderman:
Yesterday I blogged a database of idioms, collocations and negotiation language. That is just the tip of the iceberg. If you have looked at English-language study books, you will, no doubt, have seen several dictionaries solely devoted to idioms; we use them so often, and there are so many.
For my IELTS students, I have repeatedly taught half a dozen (six) in order for the students to incorporate them into their natural speech … without idiomatic language, you will not break past the 5 score (taken along with grammar, vocabulary and intonation, naturally).
Therefore, for Top Cat students, or anyone looking to learn some more, this blog is for you.
Expressions or idioms
Ring any bells ? // do you remember //
More or less // not exactly but approximately
Get the gist // do you understand the main point ?
Right up your street // this is something you will really like
Rabbit, Rabbiting on // UK slang, especially in London … talking too much
Piece of cake // no problem, very easy, sure
Tongue in cheek // not being serious about something
Now … how you use them:
Student A: Hello, we met last year at Julie’s party.
Student B: Sorry, that doesn’t ring any bells (I don’t remember).
Student A: Are you ready to go ?
Student B: Go where ?
Student C: Cake, food, drink, singing, dancing … ring any bells ?
Student D: Oh, Tony’s birthday party. Sorry, I forgot.
Student A: Are you ready for the test ?
Student B: Yes, more or less.
Student C: I’ll wait for you.
Student D: I won’t be long, I’m more or less finished.
Student A: Do you have to read all the document ?
Student B: No, just to get the gist.
Student A: You should listen to this CD, it’s right up your street.
Student B: Oh, French piano music, I love it. That’s right up my street.
Student A: What did your girlfriend want ?
Student B: She was rabbiting on about something to do with her clothes, I wasn’t really listening.
Teacher A: Hey ! Miss Mary … stop talking. You’re a little rabbit !
Student A: Can you drive me home ?
Student B: Sure, piece of cake.
John’s new business shirt
Student A: Have you seen John’s new shirt ? It’s so elegant.
Student B: Are you serious ? It’s terrible.
Student A: I know ! I was being tongue in cheek.
Now … your turn.
Add the correct idiom [answers at end of blog]
1) Shall we see the new action film ? It sounds ______________
2) Are you still talking ? You are such a __________
3) She said I was the best student but I think she was being ___
4) You said you would bring something … cheese, tomato, garlic bread ____________ ?
5) The IELTS speaking test was a ________ after reading Thay Paul’s blogs (I hope).
6) Student A: Did you understand the project ? Did you ________ of the idea ?
Student B: Well, ______________ but not every single detail.
This film, starring Shu Qi looks right up my street.
Right up your street 2. rabbit 3. tongue in cheek 4. ring any bells 5. piece of cake 6. get the gist / more or less.
Some lessons can be rather hard-going, too much IELTS listening or speaking practice so, to mix things up, I use some little diversions to cleanse the palate.
[Today, I will not explain every new phrase – look them up yourselves, write them down and USE them and USE them and USE them !]
Therefore, here’s a little activity I used last week. It’s a hit song from the early 1980s, in fact, it was massive ! The song is an example of Synth pop which is pop music played, or predominantly played, on keyboards or synthesisers. Synth pop, which dominated the charts during my teen years, was not really my cup of tea, I was more into jangly guitar bands such as The Beatles, The Byrds and, in the 1980s, we had The Smiths.
Having said that, I really liked this hit by the band Human League who came from Sheffield which is in the north of England. The single was tremendously successful, staying at number 1 for five weeks in the UK as well as reaching the top of the US charts although for just three weeks which is still an amazing achievement.
Without further ado, the activity: What is happening in this video. Secondly, what is the story – can you understand what the man says and then, can you understand the woman’s reply ?
Try answering these questions:
What job did the woman have ?
How long did it take for the women to become a big star ?
Is the man leaving the woman ?
Does the woman still love the man ?
What does the woman want to do ?
And now, the full lyrics:
You were workin’ as a waitress in a cocktail bar When I met you I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around Turned you into someone new Now five years later on, you’ve got the world at your feet Success has been so easy for you But don’t forget, it’s me who put you where you are now And I can put you back down too
Don’t, don’t you want me? You know I can’t believe it when I hear that you won’t see me Don’t, don’t you want me? You know I don’t believe you when you say that you don’t need me It’s much too late to find You think you’ve changed your mind You’d better change it back or we will both be sorry
Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh
I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar That much is true But even then, I knew I’d find a much better place Either with or without you The five years we have had have been such good times I still love you But now, I think it’s time I live my life on my own I guess it’s just what I must do
Don’t, don’t you want me? You know I can’t believe it when I hear that you won’t see me Don’t, don’t you want me? You know I don’t believe you when you say that you don’t need me It’s much too late to find You think you’ve changed your mind You’d better change it back or we will both be sorry
Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh
Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby? Don’t you want me? Oh Don’t you want me, baby?
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THANK YOU TO THE SONGWRITERS, THE BAND AND THE PUBLISHERS
4th December for 7th December 2019 E Up 4 pp. 80 – 81
This is my final lesson with this relatively ‘easy’ class. There are only 13 students, and the class is well-behaved compared to many others. Today, there is a final checkup and a creative project. To keep the festivities going, I’m going to prepare an activity list, covering various subject. These can be done in small teams, maybe pairs or threes.
Name three things we can have for lunch
2. What did this man eat and drink ?
I need the whole sentence using the past tense for ‘eat’ & ‘drink’ and a linking word.
3. Make a sentence: Jane – models 😡 cloths 😀
Jane likes to design clothes but she doesn’t like to make models
Peter – songs 😡 movies 😀 // Tina – pictures 😡 stories 😀
4. Draw a picture of Dali !
5. Tell me four types of art.
6. What are you going to do this afternoon ?
7. Tell me three things we can make.
8. What does Teacher Paul like ? Two thing …
9. Someone who plays guitar is a … // someone who tells the news is a …
10. This is my friend Mark:
He works in films and in plays. What is his job ?
11. Where does he live ?
12. How does Mark go home ?
13. If I go to Nha Trang, what do I need to take with me ? Three things …
14. Space – What is the biggest planet ? // What is the sun ? // Can we hear in space ?
15. Watch Mr Mark. What did he eat for breakfast ? What words did Mr Mark use ? Can you smile like him ?
3rd December for 4th December 2019 AEF 7B pp. 70 – 71
Tonight we focus on a reading, extrapolating information from a chunk of text, and listening. Additionally, there is a test which may occupy thirty minutes so we’ll need to hit the ground running (not so easy when students arrive at various times but it’s Viet Nam … what ya gonna do ?) … so let’s test their knowledge of Mother Russia:
Word Bomb: Russia – Famous people / cities / famous for / history / food / language / artists /
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 …)
a lawyerRonaldo celebrates a goal … but is this too much ?
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:
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.
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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 highest 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
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 ?
Australia and New Zealand like Captain James Cook ?
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Thay Paul's Notes 