Instructions for Teachers Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers Before you Begin: The unit outline on the first page of each of the four units in this book shows that the structure of Talk a Lot Intermediate Book is very similar to that of the units featured in Talk a Lot Elementary Book There are, however, some brand new activities which are unique to this book and this level of Talk a Lot In this brief set of instructions I will attempt to highlight what is new at this level, while for activities that are more familiar, e.g Sentence Blocks, full instructions have already been published in the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook, which is a free download available from http://www.englishbanana.com/talkalot/ Outline: While Talk a Lot Elementary Book featured 10 x 30-hour units, this book contains four complete courses, each of which is sub-divided into four vocabulary sub-units For example, the vocabulary in Unit 1: Hotel is subdivided into the following sub-units: Facilities, Guests, Staff, and Food and Drink Each unit could, if all the activities were done in depth, form an individual 45-hour course Or you could dip in and out, choosing material that you want to use; or build a shorter – or longer – course The material is designed to be flexible and adaptable Each unit is divided into five parts: Sentence Focus Activities Word Focus Activities Focus on Non-Literal Speech Free Practice Activities Continuous Assessment Tests As well as practising speaking and listening skills, grammar skills, and building vocabulary, each unit aims to introduce students to the concept of non-literal English – idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang – which can be so confusing for students at intermediate level It’s up to you how you build your course using these materials, but I would suggest using a variety of materials during a typical session, e.g 45 minutes of sentence focus practice 45 minutes of word focus practice 45 minutes of non-literal speech practice and so on Sentence Focus Activities Sentence Blocks: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers What’s New? • This book features sentence block building with verb forms that are usually introduced at intermediate level: Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Future Perfect Second Conditional Third Conditional Reported Speech Passive Voice Imperative Form • Students practise sentence block building in the same way that they in the elementary level books, except with intermediate verb forms and more advanced language structures There is an information sheet for each verb form that you can give out to students, and/or use as the basis of a grammar lesson towards the beginning of the course (see Supporting Material – P.5 onwards) Also included in the supporting material is the Talk a Lot Intermediate Verb Forms – Matching Game (P.6) • In the new Sentence Blocks (without Function Words) activity, students have to guess the function words in each sentence block starting sentence, before building the sentence block The aim is to make the sentence blocks more challenging for students, while reinforcing work done on content and function words elsewhere in the unit • Another way to make the sentence blocks more challenging would be to jumble up the words in a starting sentence, meaning that students have to first put together the starting sentence, before building the sentence block Connected Sentence Cards: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • This is the same activity as in Elementary Book 3, except using the higher-level verb forms Connected Speech Template: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers What’s New? • This is the same activity as in Elementary Book 3, except using the higher-level verb forms • New to this level is the Cut-Up IPA Sentence activity, which is intended to help reinforce the work done on sounds, stress, and connected speech in the Connected Speech Template Word Focus Activities Discussion Words: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • In this book the discussion words and phrases have been graded to be more appropriate and relevant at intermediate level, which means tougher vocabulary, i.e longer, more complex words and phrases • In general, the original Discussion Words activities from the elementary books are still relevant at this level, although you may choose to adapt them to make them more challenging, for example, instead of asking students to put the words into alphabetical order, you could ask them to put them into reverse alphabetical order – from Z to A, instead of A to Z • Another difference is that the discussion word cards are now numbered, which will perhaps make it easier to refer to particular cards in class, for example, students can ask, “What does number ten mean?” instead of just pointing at the card, or saying, “That one.” Teachers can also use the numbers to facilitate new word games, for example, they can say, “OK, Team A put all of the odd-numbered cards into reverse alphabetical order, and Team B the even-numbered cards…” Or, you could devise a game where students work in pairs and one chooses a number from 1-40 and the other has to describe it, etc • On P.xxiv you can find an outline of a lesson plan using the discussion word cards from Unit 2: Problems Check the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook too for advice about how to structure a discussion words lesson Discussion Words Question Sheet: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers What’s New? • This is essentially the same activity as in the elementary level Talk a Lot books, except with the language graded to intermediate level, meaning harder questions • Totally new questions for this level are: Put the words and phrases into… b) reverse alphabetical order Find words that… a) begin with a vowel sound, b) end with a vowel sound, c) begin with a consonant sound, d) end with a consonant sound Put them into sound groups Find words which contain silent letters (letters which are not pronounced) Information Exchange: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • This is essentially the same activity as in the elementary level Talk a Lot books, except with the language graded to intermediate level, meaning more complex tasks and tougher vocabulary • The teacher’s notes include extra extension activities, including role plays Multi-Purpose Text: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • Guess the Function Words – this is a new activity that aims to test students’ understanding of content and function words The idea is that students work in pairs or small groups and have to write in the function words for part of the text Then the whole group comes together and puts the story into order Or, the activity could be done with the teacher (or a student) reading out the story and giving students time to write in the function words Students could try reading the story without any function words and analysing what difference they make – whether it is possible to understand the gist of the story without the function words – it should be! In this way, this activity combines Sentence Focus and Word Focus work • What’s the Question? This activity replaces the standard comprehension questions that feature in Talk a Lot Elementary Book The aim is to encourage students to For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers write their own questions, which will help them to revise and better understand building question forms in English • Glossary of New Words – this section is much expanded compared to Talk a Lot Elementary Book 3, with detailed notes on vocabulary and usage There is much emphasis on Features of Non-Literal English – i.e idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang – which is studied in depth later in the unit After the Glossary can be found ideas for extension activities that will enable students to practise the language that they have been learning through studying the text • As with all the activities in this intermediate level book, this one features higher-level vocabulary, and language structures which have been specially graded to intermediate level, in order to provide more of a challenge Focus on Non-Literal Speech Role Play with Non-Literal English: This is a brand new activity for Talk a Lot Intermediate What’s New? • In this activity students get the chance to examine nine different forms of non-literal English – forms that native speakers use which make the meaning of what they say difficult for non-natives to understand For example, in the Hotel unit the forms are: nicknames, exaggeration, idioms, discourse markers, phrasal verbs, sayings / proverbs, similes, swearing, and understatement Each feature of non-literal English is explained in detail – with examples – in the pages that follow • See P.91 for related supporting material: Why Use Politically Correct Language? (lesson material and activities) 20 Common English Idioms: This is a brand new set of activities for Talk a Lot Intermediate What’s New? • At heart this is a matching activity: cut out all of the cards and students have to match the idioms (the white cards) with their literal English translations (the grey cards – grey because this kind of language is “grey” and dull compared to idioms) It depends on the level and capability of your students how many idioms you choose to introduce in one lesson – ten may be enough, or even five, or they may be so comfortable with idioms that they can attempt all twenty in one lesson • The material that follows the page with 20 idioms aims to practise this new vocabulary: For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers English Idioms – Matching Game: students match the idiom cards to the sentence cards Activities Page: this page is modelled on the Discussion Words Question Sheet and contains loads of different activities for practising (and by practising learning) this group of idioms This page is in three sections The first two – Meaning and Context, and Practice Activities – can apply to any set of idioms, while the third section – Topic Questions – contains questions relating specifically to this set of idioms Note: answers to all activities are located after the Slang section of each unit (See P.xxv for Sample Answers to these activities.) • There is a wealth of supporting material in this book relating to using idioms, some of which is new for this book (marked with an asterisk *), and some which has been published before on English Banana.com: P.21 P.22 P.26 P.32 P.33 P.34 P.40 P.42 200 Top Idioms in Spoken English Today – Main List* 200 Top Idioms in Spoken English Today – with Definitions and Examples* Love and Relationships – English Idioms and Slang How Did You Feel When…? (English Idioms of Mood/Emotion) Football – 20 Common English Idioms* Common English Idioms - Common English Idioms – Parts of the Body & Really Motivational Page of Encouraging Thoughts Answers to the supporting material activities can be found at the back of the book 20 Common English Phrasal Verbs: This is a brand new set of activities for Talk a Lot Intermediate What’s New? • Again, the main activity is a matching game, with 20 phrasal verb cards matching twenty definition cards – directions as for idioms, above The short lines underneath each phrasal verb are spaces for students to write either v (for vowel) or c (for consonant) – to mark the sound connection between the two (or three) words in the phrasal verb This is relevant to the pronunciation of the phrasal verb, and is demonstrated in detail later in the answer section Most two-word phrasal verbs will have a cv (consonant to vowel) sound connection between the two words, e.g “book in” and “wait on” in the Hotel unit The teaching point is that when there is a cv sound connection, the syllables connect by FCL (Final Consonant Linking), with the final consonant sound moving forward to begin the next syllable, leaving a vc sound connection, which is easier to pronounce For example: Phrasal Verb: Changes to: book in (cv sound connection) wait on (cv sound connection) boo kin (vc sound connection) wai ton (vc sound connection) For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers • The material that follows the page with 20 phrasal verbs aims to practise this new vocabulary: English Phrasal Verbs – Matching Game: students match the phrasal verb cards with the sentence cards Activities Page: this page differs from the idioms activity page The first half of the page is a reference grid showing all of the phrasal verbs and their collocations You could use this grid to create a quiz for students (see instructions on the page), or give it out to students for reference The second half of the page contains Topic Questions which relate specifically to this set of phrasal verbs Note: answers to all activities are located after the Slang section of each unit • There is plenty of supporting material in this book relating to using phrasal verbs, all of which is brand new for this book: P.44 P.45 P.46 P.48 P.69 P.75 20 Basic English Phrasal Verbs 200 Top Phrasal Verbs in Spoken English Today – Main List 200 Top Phrasal Verbs in Spoken English Today – Translation Eat Up Your Phrasal Verbs – They’re Good For You! 50+ Great Activities for Practising Phrasal Verbs Phrasal Verbs Dice Game Politics – Phrasal Verbs – Sentence Bash! (Test Material) Answers to the supporting material activities can be found at the back of the book 20 Common English Slang Words and Phrases: This is a brand new set of activities for Talk a Lot Intermediate What’s New? • This part of the book follows exactly the same pattern as the idioms part (see above), only instead of idioms there are twenty common English slang words and phrases Again, the aim is to focus on non-literal English – language that students may hear being spoken by native speakers (whether around them or on TV, in films, or on the internet, etc.) but which is unfamiliar and may not be found in the average ESL course book The aim of the following activities is to help students to learn the twenty slang expressions and to provoke discussion around the use of non-literal English and slang in particular • The first activity is matching the slang expressions with their literal definitions The grey cards (literal English) use abbreviations such as (n.) which means “noun”, and (phr.) which means “phrase” These abbreviations are defined in the Glossary section of the Multi-Purpose Text activity (see above) For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers • The English Slang Words and Phrases – Matching Game is the same kind of activity as in the Idioms and Phrasal Verbs sections: students match the slang cards with the sentence cards • As with the Idioms activities page, the Slang activities page offers a variety of different activities for practising (and by practising learning) this set of slang expressions It may be that you don’t cover every activity in depth, but there is something for everyone, so you and your students won’t get bored! Note: answers to all activities are located after this section in each unit (See P.xxix for Sample Answers to these activities.) • There are a few supporting worksheets in this book featuring material relating to using slang, all of which has been published before on English Banana.com: P.78 P.80 P.82 P.84 An A-Z of English Slang Terms – Parts & Australian Slang Phrases & Derbyshire Accent Project – Notes Derbyshire Accent Project – Slang Phrases 1-3 Answers to the supporting material activities can be found at the back of the book Unit Vocabulary Reference: This is a brand new set of activities for Talk a Lot Intermediate What’s New? • Each unit of Talk a Lot Intermediate is subdivided into four smaller topic areas, for example, in the Hotel unit the topic areas are: Facilities, Guests, Staff, and Food and Drink Each of these sub-topics has an equal share of the vocabulary, so there are five idioms, five phrasal verbs, five slang words/phrases, and ten discussion words for each sub-topic in each unit Each sub-topic also has four “What Would You Do?” situations (see below) The vocabulary for each sub-topic can be found in the Unit Vocabulary Reference section – there is one page for each sub-topic These pages – along with the Unit Vocabulary Reference Chart (which appears in units 2, 3, and 4) – can help students (and teachers!) understand how all of the vocabulary in the unit fits together The sub-topic pages would make handy revision sheets if you wanted to set a test on one (or more) of the sub-topics in a unit Free Practice Activities What Would You Do? This is a brand new discussion/role play activity for Talk a Lot Intermediate For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers What’s New? • This activity replaces the Role Plays activity from Talk a Lot Elementary Book – but it replaces four ideas for role plays with sixteen! At Intermediate level, students need less guidance on the content of the role plays, because they will be able to imagine more of the details themselves This activity provides starting points for sixteen different role plays, with four role play ideas for each of the four sub-topics in the unit Even if students aren’t keen to physically act out a fictional situation, the cards provide a starting point for discussion (using the second conditional), which could prove very interesting for students as they discover their peers’ attitudes and responses to hypothetical situations – what would you if…? The aim in this activity – as with all of the Free Practice Activities – is to give students time and space to talk, discuss, imagine, think out loud, and debate – while practising using the vocabulary that they have been learning from the unit – the discussion words, idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang Discussion Questions: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • This is the same activity as in Elementary Book 3, except using more challenging, in-depth questions, and vocabulary graded to intermediate level Agree or Disagree? For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • This is the same activity as in Elementary Book 3, except using more challenging concepts, and vocabulary graded to intermediate level Vocabulary Test: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • This is the same activity as in Elementary Book 3, except using vocabulary graded to intermediate level For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now! Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Instructions for Teachers Lesson Test: For full instructions and further resources for this activity, please refer to the Talk a Lot Elementary Handbook What’s New? • In general, this is the same activity as in Elementary Book 3, except using vocabulary graded to intermediate level However, there are some new types of question which reflect the different vocabulary in these units, e.g questions about idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang Also the intermediate level verb forms are used, as featured in the sentence blocks activity Special Topics and Bonus Material: This book contains additional material that is relevant to the intermediate level grammar elements of the course – i.e the new verb forms – and also to the intermediate level vocabulary and the topic of non-literal English It’s up to you how – or if – you want to use this material, but it is included here because I wrote it at the same time I was writing the four units in this book The material is: P.88 P.89 Comprehensive List of State Verbs in English State Verbs in English – Matching Game & (Useful information and practice activities for students at intermediate level) P.91 Why Use Politically Correct Language? (Relating to the topic of non-literal English) P.99 Christmas – Discussion Words (Useful vocabulary activity – at a particular time of year only!) P.100 How to Pronounce the Past -ed Form of Regular Verbs (Relating to the pronunciation of intermediate level verb forms which require a past participle, e.g past perfect, etc.) P.103 The Story of a Music Group (Lesson Plan) (This is a fun lesson plan for students at intermediate level) P.107 Surviving without the Media – an Experiment (You could use this material to build a lesson plan relating to the Media unit It will be bound to provoke lots of debate with intermediate level students) Answers to the additional material activities can be found at the back of the book For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now!