English File third edition Intermediate Weblink Mini-Projects

File 1

1A
Activity type: Quiz
Language: Question forms
www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/HealthyEating.aspx
Begin by asking students whether they think they lead healthy or unhealthy
lives. Gather feedback in class, asking them to justify their answer (e.g., “I think I
am quite healthy because I eat a lot of fruit and go running everyday”). Tell them
they are going to do a quiz to find out how healthy they really are. Put students
into pairs, and instruct them to ask each other the questions on the website,
marking their partner’s answers down. When finished, ask each student to reveal
how healthy they or their partner is in class.
Extension: This could lead into a ‘create your own’ quiz on the same or a
different theme. Once you have checked the quizzes for language errors, set the
task of asking 2-3 friends or family members the questions for homework.

1B
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Celebrities, descriptions

http://www.listal.com/list/famous-families
Brainstorm in class how many famous families students know. Assign one family
per group of 2-3 students. Ask them to take a look at the list of famous families
and find the family they have been assigned. Tell them to find out more
information about each family member by clicking the individual links. They then
present their famous family in class and students discuss which show business
family sounds the most successful and why.

File 2

2A
Activity type: Speaking and Roleplay
Language: Money, advice
www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1591904/50-ways-save-
money-.html
Ask students to think of some reasons why people might want to save money
(e.g., to buy a house, go on holiday, for your child’s education, etc) and write
these on the board. In pairs, ask students to choose one reason from the board
and research to find the best way to save money on the website. Students then
present their findings to the whole class and give reason for their choice.
Extension: Put students in different pairs. Ask Student A to pick a reason to save

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money, and give Student B the task of giving advice. Feedback in open class as to
whether students feel the advice is realistic and useful for their situation and
why.

File 3

3A
Activity type: Debate
Language: Transport, environment
http://www.confused.com/news-views/blogs/blog-public-transport-versus-
driving
Divide the class into two teams, one for public transport and the other against.
Get the teams to brainstorm some of the arguments for their assigned opinion.
Then ask them to research further evidence via the weblink. Once the teams have
built up a list of arguments, hold a class debate, giving each student a chance to
air a new idea. If you have an odd number of students in the class, you could ask
one to mediate the debate, selecting who should speak when and directing the
discussion. At the end, the mediator or teacher could decide which team has the
strongest argument.

3B
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Stereotypes
http://www.cracked.com/article_19780_5-gender-stereotypes-that-used-to-be-
exact-opposite.html
Ask the class whether they believe there is any truth to gender stereotypes, and
get them to tell you a few gender stereotypes that still exist today. Tell them they
are going to read about five gender stereotypes that used to mean the exact
opposite of what they mean now. Tell students to read the information with a
dictionary to hand if they need it. Then put students into pairs to discuss what
they have read before discussing as a class. Did any of the information surprise
them? Has their opinion on gender stereotypes changed?
Note: The language style of this website is very informal.

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File 4

4A
Activity type: Reading for gist and specific information and Roleplay
Language: Business, Fame
http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2014-3
Ask students what ‘success’ means to them, and come up with a class definition
of success. Tell them they are going to read about some very successful people
who actually failed before becoming successful. Pick out five names from the
weblink that students will probably know, e.g., Walt Disney, Sir Isaac Newton,
Albert Einstein, J K Rowling and Vincent Van Gogh. Ask them to scan the article to
find out how those individuals failed before becoming successful. Discuss the
answers in pairs, then in class.
Extension: Put students into pairs. Tell them they are going to pretend to be on a
chat show, Student A talking about their journey to success and Student B asking
questions. Ask Student A to pick one of the five famous people they have
researched. They should then be given five minutes to research their chosen
famous person’s career online. Ask Student B to write 7-15 interview questions
for an interview. When they are ready, get them to act out the interview. They
can then swap roles and do the activity again.

4B
Activity type: Speaking and Writing
Language: Technology
http://www.debretts.com/british-etiquette/communication/technology/
mobile-phone-etiquette
Ask the class what is meant by ‘etiquette’, allowing them to look it up in a
dictionary if necessary. What kind of etiquette is appropriate in the classroom?
Once a student mentions mobile phones, tell them they are going to make a
poster about mobile phone etiquette. Give them time to read the weblink for
ideas. Give out poster paper and pens and put students into groups of 3-4. Allow
students the freedom to design their poster as they wish, but perhaps suggest
‘‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ columns. Set a time limit of 10-15 minutes. When they are
finished, put the posters up on the walls and get students to walk around to look
at each other’s. You could also get them to vote on the best poster, in terms of
language and design.

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File 5

5A
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Sports, Superstitions
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9433073/London-2012-Olympics-
athletes-superstitions.html
Preparation: Before the lesson, write down a list of the sportsmen and women
mentioned in the article, cut them up and jumble them. Do the same for the
superstitions they have. Repeat this so that you have enough sets for each group
of 3-4 students.
In class: Put students into groups of 3-4. Tell students about a silly fear you or
someone you know has, eliciting the word ‘superstition’. Taking the names from
the article, ask students what superstitions they think some of their sporting
heroes might have. Don’t correct at this stage. Then divide students into groups
and give them a set of the sports names and the superstitions, plus a copy of the
text for each student. Tell them that they must race to match the sports star with
the correct superstition by reading the article for information. The fastest team
to correctly match all the sports stars to their superstitions wins.
Extension: Tell students to ask 3-4 people they know about their superstitions,
and report findings back in class. Which is the strangest / funniest / silliest?

5B
Activity type: Reading and Speaking
Language: Love, Relationships
http://www.womansday.com/life/personal-stories/3-cinema-worthy-love-
stories-114593
Divide the class into groups of three and give each student in each group a
different story from the weblink. Tell students to read their story, with a
dictionary to hand, and then summarise it for the rest of the group. Then ask
groups to agree on one story they would make a movie about. Then ask groups to
tell their choice to class and explain why they think their story should be made
into a film.

©Oxford University Press 2014

File 6

6B
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Work, job interviews
http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/10/19/career-management/employees-
who-made-horrible-first-impression-at-work-789/
Put students in pairs and tell them they are going to discuss how important first
impressions are at work/school. Ask them to brainstorm and write down in pairs
some of the worst things you could do to make a bad first impression. Then ask
Student A to read about Robert Sollar’s first impressions experience, and Student
B to read about Amber Dixon’s first impressions experience. Students then tell
each other about what they've read and discuss in pairs: Which person made the
worst first impression? Would the students have done things differently if they
had been in that situation?
Extension: Tell students to roleplay a job interview similar to Amber Dixon’s,
with Student A as the interviewee and Student B as the interviewer. Student A
must give a bad first impression through doing some of the things the students
brainstormed earlier, and Student B has to decide whether or not they would
hire them.

File 7

7A
Activity type: Listening and Writing
Language: Childhood
http://www.cracked.com/article_16266_8-child-prodigies-so-amazing-theyll-
ruin-your-day.html
Preparation: Print out and cut up each of the eight child prodigy stories from
the weblink. Make copies so that there is one story per student (you don’t have
to use all of them).
In class: Ask the class what is meant by the term ‘child prodigy’, and see if they
know of any famous child prodigies (if they don’t, you could lead with one of the
examples from the weblink). Explain that they will now read about some of the
biggest child prodigies, and students’ task will be to retell their amazing stories
in their own words. Put students into pairs and hand out the stories, ensuring
that Student A has a different story to Student B. Ask Student A to read the story
twice, slowly and clearly, while Student B listens. Then Student B reads their
story twice and A listens. They are not allowed to write anything down at this
point. At the end of the readings, both students can begin rewriting the story
from memory. At the end, ask students to compare their versions to the real
stories. Who managed to remember all the facts? Did anyone forget something

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important? Encourage students to share their retold stories. Which child
prodigies sound the most incredible/inspiring? Discuss as a class.

7B
Activity type: Speaking
Language: Homes
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/house-tours
Ask students to close their eyes and imagine their dream house. Where is it? How
many rooms does it have? What key features does it have? Get feedback by
talking through some ideas as a class. Tell students that they are going to go
online to find a house that looks the most like one they would like to buy. Direct
them to the weblink and explain that they have 10-20 minutes to choose a house
and prepare a short speech/presentation justifying why it would be a good
property to buy. When students are ready, have them present their dream house
to the class, flicking through the online gallery as they speak and explaining the
advantages of such a property. At the end, the class could vote on the best house.

File 8

8A
Activity type: Reading and Writing
Language: Complaints
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16812545
Tell the class that they are going to read about an unusual letter of complaint,
and then write one themselves. Write the following questions on the board: Who
is the complainant? What did she complain about? Who did she complain to? Did
her complaint work? Why/why not? Would you have complained about the same
thing? Ask students to read the weblink and discuss the questions in pairs. When
they are finished, talk over the questions in class.
Extension: Ask students to think about a product or service they were recently
unhappy with and explain that they have to write a letter of complaint to the
makers or providers of it. Give them a few minutes to brainstorm ideas in pairs,
then write the letter, either in pairs or individually. Take in the letters after class
to correct them, or ask students to share the letters with the group.

8B
Activity type: Quiz
Language: Work
http://www.careers.govt.nz/tools/work-life-balance/
Ask students to think about a typical week for them, and estimate what
percentage of that is dedicated to work (or studies) and what percentage is
dedicated to enjoyment. Discuss answers as a class. Explain that they will now
take a quiz to find out their work/life balance, and whether they prioritise work

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or life too much. Direct students to the weblink. When they are finished, ask
students to discuss their results in pairs: Did they get the same score? Do they
feel the quiz is right about their life? Did it give any good advice? Discuss as a
class.

File 9

9A
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Lifestyle
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-miglani/making-your-own-luck_
b_3988785.html

Ask the class whether they believe in luck. Do people create luck for themselves
or are they just blessed by good fortune? Do any of the students consider
themselves to be lucky? Explain that they will now read about how to ‘make’
your own luck. Direct them to the weblink and tell them to read the article, with
a dictionary if necessary for reference. Discuss the reading as a class. Has their
opinion on luck changed? If they did all the things advised in the article, would
they be luckier? Has the article changed their attitude on luck and life? Why/why
not?

9B
Activity type: Reading for specific information and Writing
Language: Technology
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/9406420/Texting-more-popular-than-
face-to-face-conversation.html
Put students in pairs and ask them to write down what they think the
percentages of the following different methods of communication are among
young adults: calling, texting, social networking, meeting face-to-face. Write the
types of communication on the board to make it easier. Direct them to the
weblink to find the answers (but tell them not to read the whole story yet) and
compare these with their own estimates. Discuss the answers as a class. Is it
surprising that more people prefer to write a message than say it? How does the
article compare with these students’ habits? Now tell the class to read the article
again, in detail. What are the effects of the change in methods of communication?
Texting and social networking are popular now, but will they last? What do they
feel the future will be? Discuss as a class.
Extension: For homework, you could ask students to write a short article
predicting the future of communication for young people, based on the facts in
the article.

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File 10

10A
Activity type: Information search
Language: People
http://content.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1681791,00.html
Discuss heroes and icons as a class. What makes a hero? What makes someone
legendary after they are gone? Direct students to the weblink and ask them to
choose one hero or heroine from the gallery. Students can click the embedded
links to find out more about that person. Tell students to gather information
about their chosen hero to present to the class, focusing on why they are heroes
in their eyes, and what makes them special. Hold a class presentation at the end
of the session.
Alternative activity: This could also be set as a writing task rather than a
presentation. Students could choose someone close to them rather than a famous
person, and write a paragraph explaining why and how that person is heroic.
Note: You could also get students to do this before the 5 Speaking activity on p.97
of the Student’s Book, to make sure they have plenty of information.

10B
Activity type:
Language: Crime
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,186719
8,00.html
Ask students whether they know of any unsolved crime mysteries and put any
ideas on the board. Put students into groups of 3-4 and tell them they are going
to hear the story of an unsolved crime. Choose one from the weblink and read
the story out to the class. You might have to read it twice. Then ask students to
work in their groups and come up with a theory on what might have happened.
Ask groups to feedback to the whole class. The class can then decide which
theory is the most likely. Give the groups copies of the other stories and ask them
to read them together, discussing in their groups about the possible solutions to
these unsolved crimes.
Extension: You could turn this into a creative writing exercise, asking students
to ‘finish’ the story of one of the unsolved mysteries. Tell them to take the facts
from the article to build the basis for the story, and write a conclusion revealing
how and why the crime took place. Share the stories with the class in the next
lesson. Which conclusion is the most shocking/exciting?

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