Shopping lists

You were tasked to organize the following events. Think of:

1. Where you’d do the event.

2. How many people there would be.
3. How you would decorate the place.
4. What you would buy.

Here are the events:

1. A romantic dinner for two

2. A meal for fitness fanatics
3. A Sunday meal
4. A picnic
5. A child’s birthday party
6. A brunch
7. A tea party

Imagine that you have to sell a product to an audience. Choose from one of
these products:

1. A snowball
2. A dirty comb
3. A clock with no hands
4. One sock
5. A bucket with a hole
6. A used tea bag
7. A broken plate
8. A house with no roof
9. A piece of string

Unusual conversation openers

1. Is that your baby? He’s an absolute angel.

2. I didn’t know you did Tai Chi.
3. Have you caught any fish?
4. You never told me you had a tarantula.
5. So you started smoking again.
6. Are you sure she’s pregnant?

In small groups, take turns to make a short speech as one of these people.
Oscar winner, best man/bridesmaid, mourner, CEO, King/Queen, television
evangelist

Mini Presentations

You’ll have to give a small presentation about the following topics. You can’t deviate
from the conversation. Even if you don’t know anything about the topic, you’ll have to
say something!

Pets
Parties
Bears
James Bond
Wine
Grammar
London
Clothes
Smoking
Pasta
The weather
The radio

Explain yourself game: they’ve been telling me some things about you. Can
you explain what happened?

Someone told me…

1. Last night they saw you outside your house, shouting: “Santa, where is my
underwear?”
2. They saw you dressed as a fish, trying to swim in the shower.
3. You were seen running around Broadway, wearing a Spiderman suit.
4. They saw you riding a horse in a swimming suit.
5. You were seen skiing in the middle of summer.
6. They saw you jumping into the swimming pool with a scream: “I can fly”.
7. You were seen having breakfast with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
8. They saw you walking hand in hand with someone who’s not your couple last
night.

What do you think about when you plan these

things?
1. a holiday
2. a special family occasion (a wedding )
 3. an ordinary working day /week
4. your career

Discuss these statements.

1. Making lists of things to do is a waste of time.

2. You should plan your retirement from an early
age.
3. If you make a plan, you should stick to it.
4. There are some things you can't plan for.

Game: taboo:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AfsMjiykmMHkIadOJ5_XMhcnuQ-TVbHc/
edit

Rules:

1. Ask students not to scroll down unless you say so. If they do, they’ll spoil the
game.
2. Explain what they have to do using slide 1. The idea is this: you have to make
them guess the word in black without using the words in red in your
explanation. Whoever guesses the word, wins.
3. If you’re on a 1:1 lesson, take turns with the student to be the one who
guesses and the one who explains. If it’s a group lesson, just take in turns.
4. Ask students not to scroll down by themselves. You’ll be the one saying
“Pablo, please go to slide 7 to see the word you’ll have to explain. The other
ones should not scroll down unless I say so”.

Note: There are several slides in blank. This is for students not to see the words that
will come next and to make sure they don’t see new words in case they mistakenly
scroll down.

More taboo games here: https://playtaboo.com/playpage

Talking with a purpose

I’ll give each of you a topic. You’ll have to turn your conversation to your topic.

Your favorite TV show

Roast chicken
Tennis
Astrology
The British Royal Family
Your favorite recipe
A film you’ve just seen
A good book you’ve read

Guessing game: I’m starving

1. Think of a meal you could prepare with the ingredients you have at home.
2. Describe the ingredients and the procedure to prepare the meal to your
partners without mentioning the name of the meal.
3. They’ll guess what it is so don’t make it easy on them.

Explain these Argentine idioms to foreigners

1. “For if the flies”:

2. “You live in a tupperware”:
3. “Grab yourself, Catherine!”:
4. “There were three crazy cats”:
5. “Get off the pony”:
6. “Don’t search for the cat’s fifth leg”:
7. “They cut my legs”:
8. “More lost than a Turkish guy in the fog”:
9. “What a dish!”:
10. “He’s sending fruit”:
11. “My body is sending me invoices”:
12. “He walks with his elbows”:
13. “I’m a little curtain of time”:

Have you ever played scattergories? I’ll pick a letter and you’ll have to write
something below these categories:
 1. Items in a vending machine
2. Song
3. Things to do on a date
4. Movie titles / TV shows
5. Articles of clothing
6. Cities in the world
7. Items in your Purse/Wallet
8. Things that can be black
9. Singers/bands
10. Food

Mouth manglers: pronunciation activity

Let’s practice some sounds ;)

GROUP 1 - J, Z, SION

The lazy jazz musician jogged to the zoo just to view the zebra.

GROUP 2 - TH, T

Tomorrow is the third Thursday of the month.

GROUP 3 - R, L

Lucky radio listeners rarely lose long letters written by rival relatives.

GROUP 4 - P, F

Father's polite position paid for popcorn and the flag.

GROUP 5 - SH, CH

After church I went to the beach to teach at the car wash for cash.
Let’s practice some intonation. Say the following phrases in three different
ways. Ideas: drunk-talk; condescending; nervous; an interview; talking to a
baby; a funeral; an exam; ironic; a long-lost friend.

● Hello
● Bye!
● Do we have to speak English, teacher?
● I never watch TV
● I hate this place!

Here are some types of social people. Can you quickly define them?

1. The star
2. The prankster
3. The crybaby
4. The bookworm
5. The pedant
6. The wallflower
7. The flatterer
8. Long-faced
9. The culture vulture

Talking about homes

Activity A
You’re going to buy a new home, list off your priorities.

Activity B
Inside the house, the most important thing for me is ...

Activity C
Name two or three shops you need near to your new place. The ones that are
essential for you. For example: gym.
Debate: becoming a millionaire overnight

What do you think would be the dangers of becoming a millionaire overnight?

Ideas for the teacher (don’t show it to the student):

● Leaving work
● Having too much free time
● Becoming arrogant
● Losing old friends / not knowing if your new friends really like you
● Worrying more about what to do with the new-found wealth
● Being unaccustomed to luxuries
● Making foolish investments
● Being taken in by financial advisers
● Handling media interest
● Going to too many parties
● Having nothing to fight for
● Your family asking for money
● Anxiety on your new life

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word...?

● Friday
● Africa
● Hippie
● Beauty
● Hero
● Catastrophe
● Rain
● Intelligent
● California
● Money
● Politicians
● Poverty
● Unemployment
● An ambulance siren

Have you ever played scattergories? I’ll pick a letter and you’ll have to write
something below these categories:
 1. Items you take on a trip
2. Computer parts
3. Kinds of dances
4. Things found on a map
5. Honeymoon spots
6. Something people are afraid of
7. Junk food
8. Weekend activities
9. Animals

Have you ever played “Password”? Let’s watch a video to see how to play:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=McaQMJwqn50&t=63s&ab_channel=TheTonightShowStarringJimmyFallon

So now, I’ll show you a word and your partner will have to guess:

1. Ghost
2. Britney
3. Bell
4. Apple
5. Mouse
6. Rain
7. Orange
8. Pool
9. Island
10. Candle
11. Bottle
12. Snow

Have you ever played scattergories? I’ll pick a letter and you’ll have to write
something below these categories:

1. People in uniform
2. Things you do at work
3. Things you sit in/on
4. Wireless things
 5. Reasons to make a phone call
6. Websites
7. Beers
8. Things you see at the zoo
9. Places to hang out
10. Footwear

For more scattergories: https://swellgarfo.com/scattergories/

Guess the movie with emojis: I’ll show you some emojis and you’ll have to
guess which movie I’m talking about

Key for teachers:

Think of something you could say while….

1. You are eating chicken.

2. You are watching a scary movie.
3. You are washing a car.
4. You are riding a motorcycle.
5. You are climbing a tree.
6. You are having/eating breakfast.
7. You are playing a computer game.
8. You are eating noodles.
9. You are making a cake.
10. You are thinking.

Name ten: think of 10 items that fit this particular criteria.

 1. Jobs where you have to wear a uniform
2. European football clubs
3. Sports that are played with a ball
4. Foods that contain egg
5. Animals that lay eggs
6. Parts of the body

Two truths and a lie

Write or dictate three sentences about yourself. Two statements should be true and one
false, for example: I used to be a flight attendant. I can ride a unicycle. My favourite food is
sushi.
Now discuss which statement you think is a lie.

Provide the names of at least five…

1. Reasons for dumping your couple

2. People who shouldn’t be allowed to live in society
3. Horrible smells

Have you ever played scattergories? I’ll pick a letter and you’ll have to write
something below these categories:

1. Desserts
2. Things in a medicine cabinet
3. Things that make you smile
4. Things that are cold
5. Vacation spots
6. States / provinces
7. Words associated with money
8. A Boy's name in English
9. Historical Figures

Story behind the meme: first, we’ll look at funny memes. We’ll come up with stories
behind them. Then, I’ll provide you with the real story.

The firestarter
In 2004, she was just a regular little girl named Zoe Roth from North Carolina. Zoe and her
brother, Tristan, were watching TV one afternoon when her mom came home and mentioned
a huge fire taking place up the road. When they arrived, they realized firemen were on
training, practicing how to put out fires. Zoe's dad, Dave Roth, scooped up his camera, and
the family went to get pictures.

Dave uploaded the photo online, and the image took off, becoming the Disaster Girl meme
we know today.

First-world-problems girl

The woman behind the first-world problems meme, Silvia Bottini, is an Italian born
model and actress who's been in many commercials. "This photo was taken in a
temple in Shanghai, in 2008," she told Vice in 2017. "The photographer was my then-
boyfriend — these days he's quite a big name in stock photography."

Bottini added: "We were on vacation together and he just asked me to pose for him
while crying."

Bad-luck Brian
When Kyle Craven's friend posted his yearbook photo outtake to Reddit, things got
very real, very quickly. The photo in question was actually taken as a joke. In an
interview with The Washington Post, Craven said that “Picture days were always fun
days for me,” and that he rubbed his face to make it red, squinted his eyes, and
puffed out his jaw to take what he thought would be a funny photo.

Little did he know that a goof like that would make him internet famous a few years
later.

Unimpressed Chloe

In 2013, Chloe and her sister Lily received a surprise: They weren't on their way to
school. Instead, they were going to Disneyland. Lily immediately burst into tears, but
Chloe didn't seem to care one way or another. Her blasé expression made her an
instant internet star.

Woman yelling at a cat

The woman-yelling-at-a-cat meme origin story is probably the darkest yet. It comes from
season two of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, when Taylor Armstrong had a very heated
row with fellow cast member, Camille Grammer.

Taylor had just told her friends about her late husband allegedly abusing her. Camille was
then filmed gossiping with other cast members about it, which reportedly made Taylor
worried what her current husband would think. This sparked a HUGE row.

The cat in the meme is Smudge, the table cat. Smudge first went viral when the picture of
him sitting and the table captioned: “he no like vegetables” was posted on Tumblr.

Distracted boyfriend

This meme, which shows a stock image of a dude checking out another woman while his
horrified girlfriend watches, took off in 2017 despite it being accused of sexism by the
Swedish government (really). The original stock image was taken by Barcelona-based
photographer Antonio Guillem for a series on infidelity for Shutterstock. The meme image
itself wasn't even a popular one and was purchased only 700 times that year from the stock
image site. So when the two models from the photo told Antonio that their image was turned
into a meme, he was a little surprised but happy with the popularity.

“Regarding what I think about the photo that has gone viral, I think the image was a good
foundation to whoever had the great idea to turn it into a metaphor that works for almost
everything,” he told Wired.
Guy Tapping His Head

This meme, which took off in 2017, showed a guy tapping his head to really bad advice like,
"You can't be cheated on if you don't get into a relationship." The guy in the pic is British
actor Kayode Ewumi. The screenshot was taken from comedic web series Hood
Documentary, which was hugely popular in the U.K. However, in the States most people
only know Kayode for the meme that was created from the videos. To date, it's one of the
few transatlantic memes to resonate with both Brits and Americans.

Interesting Icebreaker Questions

1. What would your historical nickname be? (Think: Ivan the Terrible, William the
Conqueror, Alfred the Great.)
2. Would you rather be an Olympic gold medallist or an astronaut?
3. If you could go back in time and pay more attention to any class in high
school, what would you choose?
4. What was the first thing you thought about when you woke up this morning?
5. If you were a refrigerator, what item would you hate holding?
6. If you could say one thing to the whole world right now, what would you say?
7. If this company had a mascot, what would it be?

Have you ever played scattergories? I’ll pick a letter and you’ll have to write
something below these categories:

1. Trees
2. Things found at a bar
 3. Parts of the body
4. Types of drink
5. Bad habits
6. Things in a Grocery Store
7. World Leaders/Politicians
8. Tropical Locations
9. Capitals
10. Things you buy for kids

Caption the meme

What would be the perfect caption for this meme/cartoon/awkward photo? I’ll give
you 2 minutes to think :)
More meme templates: https://imgflip.com/memetemplates

Fun Ice Breaker Questions

 1. What's your current cellphone wallpaper?
2. What's your go-to dance move?
3. Name one thing still on your bucket list
4. What would your entrance theme song be?

Interesting Icebreaker Questions

1. Where would you travel if you knew there was a chance you would have to
stay there for up to a year?
2. What would your superhero costume look like?
3. If you could keep only one appliance in your house, which one would you
choose and why?
4. Break up with yourself. How do you let yourself down easy?
5. What excuse do you use all the time?
6. Which character from a kids’ book or movie reminds you of yourself?
7. If you had to pick a new part of your body to sit on, what would you choose?
8. What’s something you wish you could stop people from assuming about you?

Would you rather…?

1. …live by “Hakuna Matata” or “YOLO”?

2. …talk like Yoda or breathe like Darth Vader for the rest of your life?
3. …eat only cheese for 1 year or not be able to eat cheese for 1 year?
4. …your only mode of transportation be a donkey or a giraffe?
5. …be a clown who distracts the bull or the cowboy who rides the bull?

Critical thinking ice-breaker

If you were alone in a dark cabin, with only one match and a lamp, a fireplace,
and a candle to choose from, which would you light first?

Roses/Thorns Icebreaker

Share your rose (any positive that makes them feel grateful, happy, etc.) and
also your thorn (a challenge) of this week.
For example…

Rose: They gave me a refund for a faulty product I’d purchased.

Thorn: There was no time to go for a walk today.

Fun Ice Breaker Questions

1. Have you ever had an imaginary best friend?

 2. Who is your favorite cartoon character?

3. Who would you want on your team in a zombie apocalypse?

4. What's your favorite family tradition?

5. Who was your childhood actor or actress crush?

6. Describe your dream house

Would you rather…?

1. …have a rewind button or a pause button on your life?

2. …master a musical instrument or have a photographic memory?
3. …be always cold or always hot?
4. …be the smartest person or the funniest person?
5. …become an unknown superhero or a famous average person in history
books?
6. …have your own robot or a private jet?
7. …be in a ballet class or a salsa class?

Fun IceBreaker Questions

1. If you were a potato, what way would you like to be cooked?

2. Would you go to space if you knew that you could never come back to earth?

3. Have you ever been mistaken for someone famous?

4. What is the strangest gift you have ever received?

5. What kind of reality show would you appear in?

6. What song describes your life right now?

Pit Pat Putt – A Pronunciation Game for Practicing Vowel Sounds

Read these combinations out loud

1. Pit Pat Put Putt Port Pert Part Pet Pot Pete

2. Cut Court Cute Cat Kit Cot Cart Coat Kite Coot Kurt

3. But Bet Bat Bit Bought Bait Beat Bite Bot Boat But Bert

4. Ten Tan Ton Tune Teen Tone Torn Turn Tin Tyne

5. Men Man Mine Min Moon Mean Moan Mourn Main

Let’s talk about worsts

1. What is your worst personality characteristic?

2. What is the worst food you have ever eaten?

3. What is the worst advice you’ve ever given?

4. Describe your worst day ever

5. What is the worst trouble you go into as a kid?

6. Describe the worst movie you’ve ever watched?

7. What is the worst pickup line you’ve ever heard?

8. What is the worst holiday you’ve ever been on?

9. What is the worst grade you ever got?

Would you rather…?

1. …lose the ability to lie or believe everything you’re told?

2. …lose all of the money you've earned this year or lose all of the memories
you've gained this year?
 3. …how you will die or when you will die?
4. …ace a job interview at your dream job or go on a date with the hottest person
you know?
5. …know the world’s secrets or live ignorantly forever?
6. …live in a real haunted house or in the middle of a desert?
7. …always have the urge to pee or have to always wear a diaper?

Surf these categories and ask some questions to your partners:

https://learnhip.com/conversation/

More ice-breaking questions

1. If you could take a week off from your regular life to immerse yourself in
learning something new, what would it be?
2. What do you consider a relationship deal breaker?
3. Would you rather have 10 hobbies or one passion?
4. What do you consider as the best gift you could receive on your next
birthday?
5. What is something that hasn’t happened yet, but would certainly break the
internet?
6. What's the most spontaneous thing you've done in your life?
7. What is something you have accomplished as an adult that your younger self
would be proud of?

Would you rather…?

1. …be a genius and know everything or be amazing at any activity you tried?
2. …dine alone or watch a good movie by yourself?
3. …wear pants 3 sizes too big or shoes 3 sizes too small?
4. …go into the past and meet your ancestors or go into the future and meet your
great-great-grandchildren?
5. …only be able to whisper or only be able to shout?

Vocabulary game: clothes

Make up a story in which you include all these elements

Let’s discuss time

Think of possible stories behind these songs

1. Somebody to hate
2. Dancing king
 3. Sweet dog o’ mine
4. She hates you, yeah yeah yeah
5. Every drink you take

Let’s talk about…

Bluff

Musicalize this moment

I’ll give you different scenarios and you’ll have to suggest a song that could fit that
moment perfectly.
 1. You’re walking hand in hand with your couple.
2. You’re celebrating your birthday with friends.
3. You’re traveling to work.
4. You’re walking around the park.
5. You feel sad.

Guess the idiom by looking at two pictures. One illustrates the literal meaning
of the idiom and the other the non-literal.

Example:

The answer is “hang up”

Now guess: (Teacher’s answers on gray)

Answer: break down

Answer: take off

Answer: pick up

Answer: pass out

Answer: blow up

Answer: give away

Answer: work out

Phrasal verb: make up

Activity for group lessons

Whose desk is it anyway?

 ● Ask each team member to take a picture of his or her ‘office’ and get them to

upload it to a shareable file.

● When taking the picture, encourage participants to leave their desk and

working space as it is. This gives a true representation of them.

● Then, get everyone else to try and guess who’s desk is who’s.

Every picture tells a story

Share one of your favorite photos from your phone and tell us why you love it.

Rank it

Pick five random objects (make sure these are rare and unusual items, not things
such as a pen and pencil).

Ideas:

1. Enamel / Nail polish

2. Lotion
3. Headphones (but no phone)
4. A broken CD
5. A box of mints
6. A remote control

Create various scenarios from a zombie apocalypse to a sinking ship and get every
team member to rate the items’ usefulness in a particular scenario.

Do you know what a bucket list is?

Think of 5 things you want to do before you die.

Do you remember these movie lines?

Which movies are these lines taken from?

1. May the force be with you.

2. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
3. I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.
4. Show me the money!
5. I see dead people.
6. Come back, Jack.
7. My precious!

Answers:

1. Star Wars
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Notting Hill
4. Jerry Maguire
5. The Sixth Sense
6. Titanic
7. The Lord of the Rings

Warm-up questions

● What's the most interesting country you've been to?

● What school subject are/were you worst at?
 ● What's the tallest building you've been in?
● Who's the strangest person you've met?
● What's the greatest problem in the world today?

Baby photos

Ask each participant to send you a picture from their childhood. Get the rest of the
team to guess who they are.