Object: encourage creative thinking and sentence building.
Vocabulary: expressions related to money
What would you do IF you were a millionaire ?
What would you do IF you were a millionaire for a day ?
Second conditional – this is used for a situation that is not impossible … but not very probable.
If I had a million pounds, I would … (stop working !)
If you had a billion $, you could … (buy an island)
If + Sub + had …, Sub + would / could
If you had unlimited money, what would you do ?
Plan a luxury day
How would you spend a luxury day ?
To develop narrative writing / speaking – use words/phrases such as:
Firstly, initially, I would start, it would kick off with …
secondly, thirdly etc
after that, afterwards, following that, and then …
for a change, as a contrast, for a break, to take a break from all the …
lastly, I’d end up, I’d round the day off with
Example:
To kick off, I would have salmon breakfast at a five-star … no, seven-star hotel. After that, I would go shopping for some suits and ties and then drive around London in a Rolls-Royce car, chauffer-driven, of course.
To take a break from the hustle and bustle, I’d relax at my hotel spa, then go for afternoon tea at another top hotel.
Lastly, I’d round the day off with a helicopter trip around the city and then fly direct to a stadium and go to my VIP (Very Important Person) seat to see one of my favourite bands play live.
Your turn:
You could:
luxury breakfastluxury spa treatmenthorse-carriage rideshoppingluxury yachtAttend a play at a London theatreSee Barcelona play
OR add your own ideas
Where would you go ? What would you do ? What would you buy ?
Expressions connected to money
A ton of money = very much money
Having money to burn = having more money that someone needs
It costs an arm and a leg = something very expensive
Money talks ! = having money can solve many problems
Rolling in it = having so much money (‘it’ refers to money)
Swanky = slang for very expensive or elegant (it’s a swanky restaurant)
However, as Shakespeare said,
Would money make you happy ?
Can money buy you health, love or happiness … maybe that is for another lesson.
New vocabulary: accurate/ correction / administration
Money
Verbs for things you can do with money:
spend / lose / waste / save / make / invest / forge / donate / pay / worship
I go to work to …….. money.
She always ………… money to charity.
He …………. money buying property
The police caught the man who was ……….. money.
Some people think the iPhone X is a ………. of money.
King James Bible “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”
Many people over the years have tried to buy the Mask of Tutankhamen from the Egyptian Museum, but unsurprisingly the authorities here believe it is priceless so they won’t sell it
Ebenezer Scrooge was such a stingy man, so much so that in English, we sometimes use the word Scrooge to describe people with this characteristic (who are like this). A miser is someone who hates spending any money.
He spent a lot of money on what he thought was a gold watch but when he had it valued, it turned out to be worthless.
I sometimes disagree with stall holders, so I haggle which sometimes gets the price down
Big companies like Pepsi make a killing. They should put their prices down. I sometimes like to splash out on new clothes, but not very often
When I was a student I didn’t have enough money to live on so I took out an overdraft at the bank. I paid it all off in the end (finally)
The men were sent to prison for forgery, that is, making counterfeit money
Speaking practice:
This dialogue has a lot of expressions and phrases.
Joe Hi Bill. Why so glum ? You look down in the dumps.
Bill Oh, just worrying about money. The cost of living keeps going up …
Joe And our wages stay the same. Tell me about it. I’ve had to economise.
Bill Same here; no more beer or Highlands coffee. I feel so stingy !
Joe I always haggle at the market now, try to get the price down. I hate being ripped off.
Bill I’m worried about paying off my overdraft. The interest alone is crippling me.
Joe We should invest in land. My friend sold some land recently and made a killing.
Bill But we’ll need money to invest in the first place. Then there’s always bills.
Joe Yes, my bike’s in the shop, so I’m having to use Grabbike and that ain’t cheap !
2. This is to practice wedding and money phrases.
Tom Congratulations ! You’re finally tying the knot and getting spliced.
Bob Yeah, it’s time to settle down. I’ve taken out a mortage and a loan for the wedding.
Tom It must be costing you an arm and a leg: catering, hall, flowers, photos, invitations.
Bob Absolutely, I’ve withdrawn all my saving and gone into the red. I hate being overdrawn; the interest is sky-high. And, not forgetting, the honeymoon.
Tom You can put down a deposit and pay later. Cheer up ! Don’t be a Scrooge
Bob That’s easy for you to say. I’m gonna be broke and in debt … until I retire !
Sentence building
Use more interesting adverbs and linking words e.g.
although / as well as / somewhat / therefore
Rearrange these basic sentences to make more interesting ones (we use ‘one’ as a pronoun for the noun instead of repeating ourselves)
Examples:
I went to the market today. I bought fish and chicken and vegetables.
Today I bought fish, chicken as well as vegetables in the market.
Last night I stayed at home because it was raining.
It was raining last night therefore I stayed at home.
Your turn:
I saw the new action film. It was a little boring.
Peter was tired but he met his friends for a drink.
Sophie studied very hard. She passed her test.
For western people, Thailand is cheap. Vietnam is cheaper.
Speaking skills
To help you improve your speaking skills, here is a small project:
Write a short piece about something you love or adore.
Start with an introduction
Say why you like it
Maybe tell some history or an anecdote (a short, personal story)
Give some examples
End with a short conclusion
EXAMPLE:
JAZZ MUSIC
I love all types of music, but one of my favourites is Jazz. It can be exciting, or slow, but it’s always different.
Unlike other types of music, Jazz is spontaneous. This means that you never hear the same song the same way; each performance is different.
Jazz started in New Orleans but moved up to Chicago, New York and even west to California. The first records were made in 1917 and the first true Jazz genius was Louis Armstrong. If you want to hear jazz, you should listen to his records from the 1920s.
You may know some famous Jazz artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Charlie Parker. I can recommend these musicians to you as first-rate examples of Jazz.
I hope this has made you curious about Jazz, and that you go online to listen for yourself. Who knows, maybe you too will learn to love Jazz.
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The first song is romantic; the man doesn’t care about money, he wants love. However, the lady sings, “I want your money !” This is called being materialistic, wanting expensive things and money.
Vocabulary – p. 154. Verbs pertaining to money.
Activity. You inherit a small fortune and want to splurge out (spend a lot of money). Working in small groups, tell what how you would spend your luxury day.
Plan a luxury day
To develop narrative writing and speaking skills, use words or phrases such as:
Firstly // Initially // I would start // It would kick off with …
secondly, thirdly etc
after that // afterwards // following that // and then …
for a change // as a contrast// for a break // to take a break from all the …
lastly // I’d end up // I’d round the day off with
See Barcelona play // Attend a play at a London theatre
OR add your own ideas
Where would you go ? What would you do ? What would you buy ?
Activity: Devil’s advocate.
This is to develop argument skills, how to politely disagree with someone.
Example: one student wants to buy a beautiful, luxurious Rolex watch. It really is an outstanding timepiece:
Without doubt, this is a luxury item. The pros …
It is gorgeous and so elegant. I will feel so special wearing it. People will admire and look up to me. They will think I am wealthy and have a great career. I will attract many cute women (or handsome men, whatever !). I may feel superior to other people who only have cheap watches or nasty fake knock-offs – like Thay Paul 🙂
Now play Devil’s advocate. Say what are the cons of owning such an item. Firstly, agree with the first student – it is without question a luxury item. Having said that …
It will attract attention … but maybe from thieves or pickpockets. It is a lot of money, maybe an obscene amount of money when so many people are poor. Can you justify living in a Socialist country and owning such a materialistic item ? Will it make you arrogant ? Will you think you are better than other people BECAUSE of a thing ? Finally … what does it DO ? Fundamentally, it tells the time. My fake Rolex will tell the same time … but it cost $20 NOT $ 5 000 !
Now students’ turn. Similar concept but this time, the latest iPhone:
The iphone 11 (woooooowwwwwwww !)
One student wants to buy it, the other must give reasons why it is not such a good idea.
Useful phrases: a waste of money / not necessary // a fashion accessory // you can’t afford it //
Role play game:
Three students will act out working in a department store, a shop with a sale on, and a street market. Other students have a set budget (say £100) and have to buy three items.
They can practice with the following language:
How much is this, please ? // Could you bring the price down for cash ? // Do you take plastic (credit cards) ? // If I smile, can you take off 10% ?
Wow, that’s a bargain ! // Sorry, that’s too much // Is that your best price ?
I’ll take it ! // Wrap it up ! // Let me think about it and come back // Sorry, that’s too much.
A department store selling expensive designer shirtsClothes on sale – ‘to clear’London street market.
NOW – to make it more animated – the people working in the shops will no doubt be using different varieties of English. Let’s see if the students can alter their voices to portray an upper-class, well-spoken salesperson; a basic shop worker and a working-class street trader. I (old ham actor that I am) shall demonstrate. Yes, it’s not a conventional lesson but maybe the students will appreciate something different (even if the management don’t).
To end, I really want the students to gain confidence in speaking, so a lot of talking in small groups. I have various talking points they can discuss, and once they feel relaxed, we can play:
Just a Minute: students are given an open subject and must speak for one minute without deviation, hesitation or repetition. Other students time them and judge their performance.
Language review: students must give the correct word to a definition pertaining to tonight’s theme.
And then … take care, see you next week, later, dude !
Thay Paul's Notes 