Young Learners: tell me more, tell me more !

26th September 2023

One of the purposes of teachers asking questions is to give students an opportunity to practise their speaking skills; vocabulary, syntax, intonation etc.

However, many times students, of all levels, will merely answer the question in as few words as possible, and they need to be encouraged to elaborate on their responses.

Teachers are taught to refrain from asking ‘Yes,’ or ‘No,’ answers:

“Did you have a good weekend ?”

“Yes.”

A better option would be:

“What did you do on Saturday ?”

Hopefully this will elicit a more suitable reply.

(Yes, teachers should be prepared for, “Nothing,” “Sleep,” etc … some students simply do not want to learn or work. Teachers have a limited supply of energy and enthusiasm; it should not be wasted.)

And so to work … my young learners have speaking tests soon. Here are some exercises to help boost their scores.

First we need our vocabulary toolbox. Let’s start with some adjectives:

amazing, angry / beautiful, big /clean, clever, cute / dangerous / easy, electric / fantastic, funny / greedy, great, / happy, healthy, huge / important, intelligent / Japanese / kind / lazy / messy / nervous / old, outgoing / popular / quick / rude / sad, selfish, shy, small / talkative, tiny / ugly, unusual / valuable / wealthy / year-long, young

Now some linking words:

also, as well as / because / furthermore / however

Finally, a smattering of expressions and idioms:

in my opinion / it costs an arm and a leg / let’s dive in / more than likely / over the moon.

Let’s dive in ! Work in pairs and ask each other the following questions:

Tell me about your house or apartment

(where is it, how many rooms, what does their room look like, what colour is it, what toys do they have, do they have pets ?etc)

Does this look like your room ?

Tell me about your school

(Name of the school and address, their favourite subjects and teachers, why do they like them, their friends, what do they do at break time, do they play sports or music ? etc)

Does this look like your school ?

Tell me about food you love and food that you hate

Tell me about a film you love

Where would you most like to visit ?

What job would you like to do. What job would you hate ?

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Young Learners, levels 3 & 4. I had a bad day … guess why.

7th April 2023

We have heard the story, Morning Glory: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/03/24/whats-the-story-morning-glory-remastered/

Written about a bad student who becomes a rich businessperson: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/03/31/young-learners-levels-3-4-tell-me-a-story/

Now it’s time to write about ourselves

I shall tell you about last Sunday – it was terrible and here’s why … but can you guess just by the pictures ?

(Grab is a taxi service accessed by phone app, similar to Uber)

(In Vietnam, wedding parties often have singers and then an open karaoke system)

Allow me to give you the plan of my day:

6.50 leave for work. Book Grab on my iPhone

7.40 – 9.40 Young Learners class, level 1 (21 students)

10.10 arrive home

10.11 – 14.30 wedding party across the street

10.30 – 12.00 prepare work online

17.00 – 21.30 another wedding party but much louder, more karaoke singers

18.00 go for coffee

BUT 23.30 Manchester United win 1- 0 so ‘All’s well that ends well.’

Now … your turn. Tell me about a terrible day. Remember to use amazing adjectives to explain how you felt and what was so awful.

To help you, maybe:

Good luck with your bad day !

Young learners, level 6: Adjectives and grammar review

5th July 2022

First, let’s build a word bank of incredible, useful and unusual adjectives:

amazing / beautiful / Chinese / colourful / cute / dangerous / difficult / energetic / English / famous / fantastic / generous / greedy / great / hard-working / healthy / intelligent / interesting / Japanese / kind / lazy / loud / messy / naughty / nervous / outgoing / popular / quick / quiet / rich / rude / selfish / talkative / top cat / unhealthy / unusual / valuable / wealthy /

Game 1 – say are these adjectives positive (good) or negative (bad) or neutral (neither good nor bad)

Game 2 – make sentences using present continuous and two adjectives

EXAMPLE: She is reading a heavy, interesting book.

I ___ play ___________________ , ______________________ music.

You ___ watch a _______________ , ________________ film.

He ___ talk to a ____________ , _____________ film star.

She _____ study every day because she ___ __________ and ___________.

Ms H ____ smile because she is so _________ and ___________ .

The fat cat ___ not share her food because she is ______ and _________ .

We ___ learn ________ grammar but it is _____________ .

President __ wear a _________ dress. She ____ very _________ .

The boy ___ leave school because he was __________ and _____ to the teacher.

The teacher ___ laugh because the ________ , _________ student was sent home !

Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Coffee, cooking and cuisine

1st February 2021

ALH 7.4 pp 68 – 69

Juan Ferrer on Twitter: "Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) Jim Jarmusch.… "

Miles Davis - Cookin' - LP | JazzMessengers

Plan, Shop, Save, & Cook | Pierce County | Washington State University

Welcome to the class – hey, what’s cooking ? (what’s happening ?)

Unfortunately, I’m not 100% today. I have a sore throat so have to reduce the amount of talking … which is good news for you !

Standard English:

I’m not feeling very well // I have a slight cold // I’m not at my best

Idioms:

I’m feeling under the weather // I’m not myself tonight

Vernacular:

I feel like hell // I just want to crawl back into bed

So, to warm up here are some dialogues you can practice. Look up any new words or phrases, then try to use them throughout tonight’s lesson.

Old Compass Cafe Saigon - Vietnamese cuisine, wine, cafe, events

Pat Well, I’m exhausted. I need a damn fine cup of coffee and a big piece of pie.

Sam There’s a Highlands over the road, or we can go to Coffee Bean or Milano.

Pat I’d prefer Tran Nguyen but it costs an arm and a leg. Highlands is also incredibly expensive.

Sam But great quality and superb cakes. Come on, I’m starving, I need coffee now !

Pat OK, hold your horses hahaha. After we can meet up with Thay Paul.

Sam Sounds good. Now … shall we have chocolate cake or fruit cake … ?

Inside the coffee shop

Sam Hi, I’ll have a large cappuccino, please. What do you fancy ?

Pat Tough decision. I’m going for the cheesecake and a slice of blueberry pie.

Sam Oh, me too. Big slice, no, only joking, I have to watch my weight.

Pat I think you look great. Lets also get some chocolate cake and we can share.

Sam Brilliant.

This is an extract from a previous blog, which may be accessed here: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/06/11/adult-speaking-class-level-2-coffee-shop-chat/:

Next week is Tet Holiday

As a guest in Vietnam, I am not sure of Vietnamese culture and customs. Work in teams and make a presentation to the class, explaining Tet holiday in terms of food, how it’s prepared, and who is invited to eat. Are there any strange or unusual traditions associated with Tet ?

Standard English:

Watch this video // Have a look at this short clip

UK London slang:

Have a butcher’s at this clip (butcher’s hook = look)

Vernacular:

Check out this vid

Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Future plans

11th January 2021

The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List | Billboard

What do you want to do, what would you like to be ?

How would you like to spend your holiday … and with whom ?

Here’s a simple, warm-up exercise to promote sentence building and boost vocabulary.

I want to go to Korea but it is expensive.

Subject + wish + discourse marker (‘but’) + reason

Instead, try these:

I really want to … (present simple)

I have always wanted to … (present perfect + adverb)

I have my heart set on … (fixed expression)

Discourse markers:

having said that …

however …

although

Reasons:

Cost or expense (idiom: it costs an arm and a leg)

No time (work or family commitments)

No means or ability (expressions: I have no ear for music, I have two left feet, you’d never catch me doing that !)

Impossibility ! (I can’t see that ever happening)

Now … Your Turn

Transform these mundane, prosaic, boring sentences into some killer statements !

I want to go to Hanoi but I have to study.

He wants to be a doctor but that is a lot of work.

She wants to marry Keanu Reeves but he lives in the USA.

I want to win a lot of money.

I want to travel around the world.

I want to play guitar like Jimmy Page.

5 times Jimmy Page showed up out of nowhere

I want to speak perfect English.

I want puppies but my apartment has a ‘no pets’ rule.

👑 Follow for more interest pins pinterest : @princessk 👑 | Kash doll, Dog mommy, Single parenting

I want to be Batman !

Thay Paul wants to dance with the Brown Eyed Girls but …

Brown Eyed Girls Preparing For First Comeback In 4 Years | Soompi — Brown Eyed Girls from Korea … I would love to dance with them, however I can’t ever see that happening 😦

Subject Index: Business English

4th December 2020

Business English

Accountancy // Business English: Accountancy // 6th May 2020

Business chat and idioms // Business English: Office chat // 29th April 2020

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

Business icons // Adult Class, Level 3 // 5th November 2019 (Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Pham Nhat Vuong)

Business meetings // Business English: Time management // 29th April 2020

Subject Index: English Sentence Building

4th December 2020

Sentence building

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

Beginners and Young Learners // Let’s build sentences Part 1 // 5th October 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/05/young-learners-4-lets-build-some-sentences-part-1/

Beginners and Young Learners // Let’s build sentences Part 2 // 6th October 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/06/young-learners-4-lets-build-some-sentences-part-2/

Beginners and Young Learners // Great games // 15th October 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/15/young-learners-level-6-sensational-sentences-a-great-game/

Beginners and Young Learners // Sensational sentences // Class games // 28th October 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/28/young-learners-level-6-sensational-sentence-building/

Beginners and Young Learners // Six adjectives // Young Learners 2 // 23rd July 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/07/23/young-learners-level-2-be-clever-and-wonderful/

Beginners and Young Learners // four-word sentences // Young Learners, Level 1 // 7th September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/07/young-learners-level-1-the-basics/

Create a narrative

Bad Day – create a narrative // IELTS, Lesson 3 // 19th January 2019: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/01/14/ielts-lesson-3-may-the-force-be-with-you/

Bad Student – create a narrative // IELTS Speaking Class 4.5 // 7th January 2019: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/01/06/ielts-4-5-speaking-class/

Bangkok in pictures – create a narrative // IELTS // 10th February 2019: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/02/10/ielts-have-love-will-travel/

Basics // Adult Speaking Class, level 1: Sentence building // 27th June 2020

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

Character // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: Character development // 18th June 2020

Cinema: why do you like ‘Star Wars’ ? // Sentence Building & Zoom Warm Up Games // Young Learners // 2nd August 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/02/young-learners-sentence-building-and-zoom-warm-up-games/

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

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

// Adult Class, Level 3 // Relationships // 26th May 2020

Describing people // Adult Speaking Class, L 3: Describing people // 27th May 2020

Describing people from photos // “I’ve just seen a face …” // 6th October 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/10/06/young-teens-ive-just-seen-a-face-i-cant-forget/

Describing photos (Vietnam War) // Adult Speaking Class, level 3: April 30th // 5th April 2020

Describing photos (police etc) // Adult Speaking Class, level 2: Tell what you see // 23rd April 2020

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

Expressions // Adult Class, Level 3 // 3rd December 2019

Expressions // Adult Class, Level 2 // 28th June 2020

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

Fixed expressions // Adult Class, Level 1 // 26th February 2019:

Food (most unusual) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3: food // 19th April 2020

Future plans // wish + discourse marker + reason // Adult Speaking Class, level 2 // 11th January 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/01/11/adult-speaking-class-level-2-future-plans/

General // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 Part 2

Giving directions // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: London // 29th June 2020

How was your day ? // Adult Speaking Class, Level 1: sentence building // 27th June 2020

Kindergarten // What is it ? Basic sentence building // 14th August 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/08/14/kindergarten-student-as-teacher/

Theseus and the Minotaur // Young Learners, Levels 3 & 4 // 2nd December 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/12/02/young-learners-levels-3-4-tell-me-a-classical-story/

IELTS Level

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 complex sentences // IELTS, Mindset: Complex sentences // 30th April 2020

IELTS complex sentences // It’s not that complicated // 24th May 2020

IELTS describe a film // IELTS // What do you like this film ? // 6th April 2020

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

IELTS // Quick-fire talking // Part 2 questions // 12th May 2020

IELTS // Review // vocabulary, discourse markers, sentence building // 25th June 2020

Mind map // Building sentences // Young Learners, Level 4 // 23rd May 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/05/23/boost-your-english-speaking/

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

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

Photography and photos descriptions (advanced) // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2, // 25th April 2020

Sentence building plan // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Ideas for sentence building // 6th June 2020

Tell me a story // Beginners & Young Learners, Level 4 // 12th October 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/12/young-learners-level-4-tell-me-a-story/

Tell me more, tell me more // Sentence building exercises for speaking tests // Young Learners // 26th September 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/09/26/young-learners-tell-me-more-tell-me-more/

Travel and holidays

Travel talk // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Travel talk // 5th May 2020

Travel: holiday plans // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 // Holiday Plans // 20th May 2020

Travel review // Adult Speaking Class, Level 2: Travel language revisited // 22nd June 2020

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

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

Subject Index: Writing, Reading & Review Classes.

4th December 2020

Writing exercises and reading exercises

Business job interview // Business English: What’s on the agenda ? // 5th May 2020

Condensing text (‘1001 Nights) // Adult Speaking Class, level 2, Part 6 24th January 2020

Correcting texts & emails // Writing corrections (all levels) // 15th May 2020

Correcting a short text // paragraphs and grammar // Turning silver into gold! https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2024/08/19/english-essay-writing-turning-silver-into-gold/

Creative writing // Adult Class, Level 3 // Relationships // 26th May 2020

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

Talking animal story // Murakami on the Shore // 11th December 2024: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2024/12/11/murakami-on-the-shore-talking-animals-and-a-whole-lot-more/

The Teleporting Penguin // Young Learners, Level 6 // 28th June 2023 : https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/06/28/the-teleporting-penguin-a-summer-school-project/

Writing a review // Please, Sir … I want to write some more // 22nd August 2024: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2024/08/22/please-sir-i-want-to-write-some-more/

IELTS cultural differences // Adult Speaking Class, Level 3 // 24th April 2020

IELTS // Writing exercises // re-arrange poor writing // 12th May 2020

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

IELTS // Yoga & exercise // IELTS writing practice // 25th April 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

Bible (Tower of Babel) Genesis 11 // Adult Speaking Class, level 2 // 9th January 2020

Review lessons

Young learners, Level 2 // Units 1 – 4 // 25th November 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/25/young-learners-level-2-unit-review-1-4/

Young Learners, Level 2 // Units 1 – 5 focus on Sweden, and continuous verbs // 31st December 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/31/young-learners-level-2-what-are-they-doing-in-sweden/

Young Learners, level 5 // Units 1 – 2 // 18th November 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/18/young-learners-level-5-what-are-you-doing-how-do-you-feel/

Young Learners, Level 5 // Unit 2 // 4th November 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/04/young-learners-level-5-what-were-you-doing-when/

Young Learners, Level 5 // Unit 1- 4 // 17th December 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/17/young-learners-level-5-review-units-1-4/

Adult Speaking Class, Level 1 // Adjectives, contractions, adverbs & conversation practice // 25th October 2019: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/10/25/adult-speaking-class-level-1-review-adjectives-contractions-and-sentence-building/

Adult Speaking Class, Level 2 // Small talk, clothes // May 11th 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/05/11/adult-speaking-class-level-2-review-small-talk-and-clothes/

IELTS: Introduction to complex sentences

23rd November 2020

Let’s kick off with an old friend: Peter from England.

Peter

Age 24 // MA in Business Studies Born in Surrey, close to London Unemployed // Single //

Enjoys pubs, tennis and movies Wants to run his own company

From that information, build a complex sentence – basically combine two, three or more facts and connect them with relative pronouns and discourse markers:

Peter, who has a MA in Business studies, wants to run his own company.

Peter, who is from Surrey, enjoys pubs, tennis and movies.

From this point, the sky is the limit.

Despite being unemployed, Peter, who has a Master’s Degree in Business Studies, has entrepreneurial dreams of owning his own company.

Although he has an MA and is actively seeking employment Peter, who is from Surrey which is close to London, still finds time to indulge his passion for tennis, even becoming a member of an exclusive sporting clubs, whose membership fees are sky-high.

NOW …YOUR TURN

Write and then present a complex sentence about your partner. Gather some basic information, such as:

Age (if they are willing to say) // where they are from

Job or Study // Where they work or study //

What they like doing // What they dislike // Plans for the future

For Speaking Class level 2, I expect at least one relative pronoun (who, where, which, whose).

For IELTS, try for two relative pronouns, two L-FWs and at least one expression or idiom.

Vocabulary Review

You should be familiar and able to use these words at the drop of a hat:

aggressive / arrogant / calm / funny (haha) / funny (crazy) / generous / honest / humorous / kind / mean / modest / polite / prima donna / quiet / reliable / rude / selfish / serious / thoughtful / thoughtless / trustworthy /

Practice complex sentences with personality adjectives

Premium Photo | Close-up portrait of supportive cute asian positive girl show thumbs-up and smiling amused, express excitement and satisfaction, like and approve great choice, say good job,

My Korean friend, Ms Kim

Ms Kim, who lives in Ha Noi, is kind, sweet and very thoughtful.

My great friend Ms Kim, who is so funny, by which I mean funny, haha, is very polite and modest.

Cute Mexican Girl Taking Selfie Stock Footage Video (100% Royalty-free) 12177473 | Shutterstock

My Mexican friend, Ms Anna

Ms Anna, who is from Mexico, is so thoughtful and generous. However, she is a prima donna, always taking selfies.

Four best hairstyles for Kenyan women [Photos]

My Kenyan friend, Ms Ellie

Those Russian Grannies | Human, Beautiful smile, Interesting faces

My Russian friend, Mrs Gala

What do you think about these two friends ?

Expressions:

In my opinion // I feel that … // She seems … // I get the impression that she …

For IELTS students –

Tell me about your hometown

Tell me about a famous holiday destination in your country.

Visiting Halong Bay: tips to plan your cruise - Lonely Planet — Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Myanmar: Scratch Everything You Read in the Guidebook - Fathom

Temples in Myanmar (Burma)

Use as many L-FWs and idioms as you can.

astronomical or sky high // ubiquitous // hawker // naive // bizarre // predictable // stroll // absent-minded // bazaar // mouth-watering // breathe-taking // spectacular // unique // visually stunning // quite // safe // vibrant // boring // peaceful // bustling // gritty

Idioms

it’s raining cats and dogs

it costs an arm and a leg

piece of cake

I’m burning the candle at both ends

once in a blue moon

pass with flying colours

turn over a new leaf

Extra idioms for Top Cats

Another string to (your) bow – a new skill or learning experience

bear with me – please wait a very short time (usually spoken as opposed to written)

bit of a sore point – something that makes you sad or angry

down in the dumps – depressed, unhappy, feeling gloomy

hit the ground running – to start something immediately and with all your energy

like a madhouse – a place or area that is crazy, too noisy, too busy etc

run of the mill – ordinary, typical, normal, usual, boring

up in arms – to be very angry about something, to protest strongly

you take your life in your hands – doing something that is extremely dangerous

Young Learners, Level 5: What are you doing, how do you feel ?

18th November 2020

E Up Units 1 & 2 Review.

On stage | Reuters.com — What did the man do in the afternoon ? How did he feel ?

Objectives:

Ensure students have learnt the Unit adjectives (as well as new vocabulary from class)

Give students confidence to build longer, more interesting sentences

Give students sense of security to speak in class

Stress the importance of practice and practice and practice

A Warm up game:

Split class into teams. Read out a sentence in the present tense. Students have to write using the past tense. Depending on class size, students can run to the board, or work in small groups on a board in which case, make sure the writers are changed each turn.

EXAMPLE: I win a game. Yesterday …

I sleep all night. Last week I …

He rides a motorbike. He …

She acts in a school play. She ….

We read about Marco Polo. We …

They learn English at school. They …

I see a film. I …

We eat pizza. We …

Mr Paul drinks coffee. Mr Paul …

Now … pronunciation practice

From Twin Peaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EsqvYBeyws

(play from 0:10 onwards)

“Damn good coffee … and hot !”

Points for the best performance

Now, sentence building

What were you doing // when were you doing it // How did you feel ?

Use the flashcards to help students form sentences

In the morning, I was riding an elephant and I felt very confident.

Adjectives are: relaxed // nervous // confident // sleepy // wide-awake // shy

Facts tell, but stories sell - Untapped Resources, Inc.

In the evening, they were telling stories and they felt very relaxed.

New vocabulary and Screen Test game

New vocabulary:

massive // discover (discovered) // breathtaking // even // skyscraper

Have students shout out the words as they hear them.

Questions:

1) Who discovered the cave ? 2) What kind of forest is in the cave ? 3) How long is it ? 4) How long would it take to walk ? 5) A skyscraper of how many stories (floors) could fit inside ? 6) How old is the cave ?

Vietnam beauty queen rocks Son Doong Cave - VnExpress International — In the afternoon she was exploring a cave and she felt very excited

Answers

1) a farmer 2) a rainforest 3) over 5 kms 4) a week 5) 40 stories (floors) 6) 2- 5 million years old