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Worksheet 1
Can you survive?
You were travelling to Australia in a private plane when it crashed on a small island. You have no radio, your mobile doesn’t work on the island, and
you cannot repair the plane. Ships don’t often come to this part of the ocean. You have made a raft and plan to sail until you are rescued.

On your raft, you already have ten packets of cookies, ten bottles of water and some fruit from the island. You are wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Choose
six more things to take with you on the raft.
buckets □ a watch □
insect spray □ boots □
books □ flip flops □
a camping-gas stove □ a warm jacket □
a first-aid kit □ trousers □
a flashlight □ a T-shirt □
a penknife □ a big plastic bag □
a sleeping bag □ rope □
sunglasses □ tins of beans □

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Worksheet 2

A ship finds
30 29 28 27 26 25
You have eaten all It is dark. You see the You see a box
your cookies. Have lights of a ship. Have
you got any tins of you got a flashlight so in the sea. You
you. You are beans, AND a
penknife to open the
tins? Yes: Great! No:
that the ship can see
you? Yes: Great! The
ship stops for you.
swim to get it.
It’s full of food
safe! You have no food.
Lose 5 points.
Move forward 4
squares. No: The ship
doesn’t stop. Bad
and drink. Win
5 points.
luck!
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17
A storm blows There is a storm for A seabird drops During a storm, you
many days. Waves are almost fall off your
you back washing over the raft. a fish on your raft. You want to tie
towards the Have you got a plastic raft. You have a your body to the raft.
bag to keep things healthy meal. Have you got any
island. Go back dry? Yes: Great! No: rope? Yes: Great! No:
3 squares. You are cold and wet. Have another You fall off the raft.
Lose 2 points. go. Lose 5 points.
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9
You cut your hand The raft is Your water bottles Dolphins start
quite badly. Have you are finished. Have swimming next to
got a first-aid kit? sinking because your raft. Perhaps the
Yes: Great! No: Your it is too heavy. you got buckets to dolphins can pull you
hand starts to smell catch rainwater? through the water.
You must throw Yes: Great! No:
bad and you become Have you got a to tie
very ill. Lose 5 points. three things off You don’t have the dolphins to the
the raft. enough to drink. raft? Yes: Go forward
Lose 5 points. 2 squares. No: Bad
luck.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
It is very cold at You realize that in The sun is
You leave night. Have you got a the open sea there dangerously bright.
the island sleeping bag or a
warm jacket? Yes:
are no insects. Have you got any
sunglasses? Yes:
Have you got
on your Great! No: Your body
temperature is too insect spray?
Great! No: Your eyes
are very painful. It is
raft. low. Lose 5 points. Throw it off the difficult to see. Lose 2
points.
raft.

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Can you survive? – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF level A2–B1)

Aim: To develop speaking skills, practise infinitives of purpose and revise vocabulary, by
playing a survival board game.

Preparation: Make a copy of Worksheet 1 for every student, and a copy of Worksheet 2
for every group of four. You will also need four counters and a dice for every group of
four.

Procedure
1 Say to the class, You were travelling to Australia in a private plane when it crashed
on a small island. What should you do? Elicit some suggestions.
2 Say, You have made a raft and plan to sail until you are rescued. What will you need
on your raft? Listen to some ideas. After each suggestion, ask Why? Encourage the
use of an infinitive of purpose in the answer.
3 Hand out a copy of Worksheet 1 to every student.
4 Give them time to read the instructions, and emphasize the fact that they can only
choose six things on the list.
5 They discuss the task in pairs, justifying their choices using the infinitive of purpose.
6 They tick six items.
7 Put students into groups of four and give each group a copy of Worksheet 2, a dice
and four counters.
8 Check meaning of any words that students might find difficult, e.g. sink, drop, tie,
bright.
9 Explain the rules of the game. - Every player starts with 10 points. - Start with your
counter on square 1. - Take turns to throw the dice, move your counter the relevant
number of squares, and follow any instructions. - Keep score of your points on
Worksheet 1, and cross out any items that you throw off the raft. - If you lose all your
points, you go back to square 1 and start again with another 10 points. - The first
person to be rescued is the winner.
10 Students play the game. Walk round the class, giving help where necessary.
11 When all the groups have finished, have some class feedback. Ask about the game,
e.g. Did you choose the right items to take on your raft? Did you disagree with any of
the instructions in the game? Which ones? Why? Do you think you would be a good
survivor? Why/Why not?

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Sports star interview

Worksheet 1

Student A
You are a sports star. You have recently given up a sport because of a health problem and
started competing in a new sport. Decide on your old sport, your new sport and your
health problem. Then plan your answers to these questions:

 What do you miss about your old sport?

 Why did you choose your new sport?
 How long have you been interested in it?
 Do you think you can improve in it? Why/Why not?
 What is your life like now?
 What are your goals for the future?

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Student B
You are a sports journalist. You are going to interview a sports star who has recently
given up one sport and started competing in a new sport. Plan your questions for a TV
interview. People want to know as much as possible about:
 the sports star’s life
 his/her reasons for changing sport
 his/her feelings about the new sport
 his/her goals for the future

You must be polite, but you should ask some difficult questions.
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Sports star interview – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF level A2–B1)

Aim: To develop speaking skills and consolidate sport and health vocabulary through a
roleplay interview with a sports star.

Preparation: Make a copy of the Worksheet for each pair of students, and cut it in half.

Procedure:
1. Tell the class that they are going to roleplay an interview with a sports star.
Brainstorm sports vocabulary that they might find useful and write it on the board.
2. Say, The sports star has a health problem. What expressions for health problems do
you know? Write expressions on the board.
3. Divide the class into two groups, A and B. Give every student in each group a copy of
the corresponding roleplay card.
4. Students work with a partner from the same group to plan the roleplay. Walk around
the class, giving help where necessary.
5. Students find a partner from the other group. Give them four minutes to roleplay the
interview.
6. When they have finished, get some class feedback. Ask a few Student As, What was
the most difficult question that you had to answer? Ask some Student Bs, What was
the most interesting thing that you learnt about the star?

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Predictions
1 How likely are these newspaper headlines of the future?

will won’t may might probably maybe definitely

possibly perhaps

Chinese: the Long dresses: Flu kills

Internet’s only the new fashion thousands
language for men
New city Sixth week Runner breaks
planned for without rain in 100m world
Mars London record

2 How will these things change in the future? Make more and less likely
predictions.

jobs TVs holidays English food books homes

3 Choose three subjects from Activity 2. Write headlines for a newspaper of the
future.
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Predictions – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF level A2–B1)

Aim: To practise predictions with may, might, will and adverbs maybe, perhaps, possibly,
probably, certainly, definitely by talking about headlines from newspapers of the future.

Preparation: Make a copy of the worksheet for every member of the class.

Procedure
1 Write at the top of the board: I’ll be at English class next week.
2 Ask students, How can you change the sentences so the prediction is more or less
probable? Put 100% at the top of the board and an arrow down to 0% at the bottom.
Write their suggestions in the correct place on the arrow.
100% I’ll definitely/certainly be there.
I’ll probably be there.
Maybe/Perhaps I’ll be there. OR I may/might be there. OR I’ll possibly be
there.
I probably won’t be there.
0% I definitely / certainly won’t be there.
3 Ask, Where does definitely come in a sentence? (after will but before won’t). Which
other words have the same sentence position? (probably, certainly and possibly).
4 Tell students they are going to talk about headlines from newspapers of the future.
Hand out a copy of the worksheet to every student and ask them to look at Activity 1.
5 Put students into pairs. They comment on how likely the headlines are to become a
reality, using the expressions on the board.
6 Each pair chooses one of the headlines and prepares a 30-second TV news report.
One person should be in the news studio asking questions, and the other should be a
roving reporter, giving a brief outline of the story.
7 Pairs present their news report to the class.
8 Students work in groups. They look at the list of subjects in Activity 2 and discuss
predictions about the future.
9 As a class, discuss the language used in headlines. Ask, Which tense is usually used?
What words are often missing?
10 In pairs, students think of three headlines to write in Activity 3, on any three of the
subjects in Activity 2.
11 Students read out their headlines to the class. The class votes on the most likely, the
most unlikely and the funniest.

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 Adjectives to Adjectives to Adjectives to Adjectives to Adjectives to
describe personality describe a place describe a film or describe a leisure describe food or a
TV show activity recipe
imaginative modern depressing dangerous complicated
ambitious fashionable enjoyable relaxing traditional
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Adjectives

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Worksheet 1
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my favourite walking in the

vegetable soup my home
shop mountains

science fiction caviar sitcoms rock climbing

the perfect
reading books my best friend a good doctor
living room

a good
James Bond
computer dancing salsa chips
films
programmer

driving after
a good sales history
drinking chat shows
assistant documentaries
alcohol

spaghetti
playing chess a good teacher sailing
Bolognese

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Adjectives – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF level A2–B1)

Aim: To revise a wide range of adjectives.

Preparation: Make a copy of Worksheet 1 for every student. Make a copy of Worksheet
2 for every group of four students, and cut it up into cards.

Procedure
1 Say, Give me some adjectives to describe a good police officer. Count as the students
give you suitable adjectives. How many can they think of?
2 Explain that you are going to give them each a worksheet. Their task is to write down
as many adjectives as they can for each category. They will get a point for every
correct adjective, and an extra point for every adjective that no one else has written
down.
3 Give them a time limit of five minutes. Hand out Worksheet 1. Students write as
many adjectives as they can.
4 Put up category headings on the board while they work.
5 When the five minutes have finished, ask for adjectives to put on the board. Confirm
which adjectives get one point and which get extra points.
6 Encourage students to copy down any new adjectives onto their worksheets.
7 Get a brief indication of students’ scores. Who was the winner?
8 Put students into groups for a game. Give each group a set of Worksheet 2 cards.
9 Say, Put the cards in a pile, face down on the desk. Take turns to pick up a card and
say a suitable adjective to describe the item. You cannot repeat an adjective that
someone else in your group has already used. Score a point for every item that you
can describe with an adjective.
10 Walk round the class as they play, giving help and adjudication where necessary.
11 When they get to the bottom of the pile, they can shuffle the cards and reuse them.
12 Stop the game when it starts to become difficult to think of new adjectives, and have
some class feedback. Who got the highest score in each group? Which were the most
memorable descriptions?

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What do you think?

Discussion topics
Tick () the topics you find most interesting. Choose at least four and discuss in
groups.

School days are the happiest days of your life.

People should travel less to help the environment.
Celebrities are good role models for young people.
People spend too much time on computers now.
Reality TV is good entertainment.
Rich countries should help poorer countries more.
Genetic cloning is a good idea.
English is easier to learn than other languages.

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I agree with That’s how I That’s what I

you. feel, too. think, too.

I see your point,

Absolutely. Definitely.
but…

I see what you Well, maybe, I’m not sure

mean, but… but… about that.

I disagree, I’m That’s not the You can’t be

afraid. way I see it. serious!

You must be
joking!

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What do you think? – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF level A2–B1)
Language point: Agreeing and disagreeing. This is from Unit 12D of Straightforward
Pre-intermediate. Topics from other units are included.

Activity: Students compete to use phrases on cards in a discussion. There are two
variations:
1 Students are dealt out cards which they must discard in a discussion.
2 Students must grab as many cards as they can from the middle of the table during a
discussion.

Preparation: Photocopy enough sets of cards. One set per three to four students. Cut up
the cards. Have enough lists of topics, one for each group. Or, prepare your own list of
topics.

Procedure:
1 Write up this phrase on the board: Travelling is important for young people. It is
important to know about other cultures. (You can start with a different sentence if you
prefer.) Ask students to put up their hands if they agree and then if they disagree.
Have a short discussion about why.
2 Put the following four headings on the board: strongly agree, agree, partly agree,
disagree, and ask students if they remember any phrases they could use for these
functions. Write phrases on the board.
3 Put the students into groups of three or four and give each group a set of phrase cards.
Ask them to organize them into four groups according to the headings on the board.
4 Check the answers by writing the phrases on the board.
strongly agree Absolutely. Definitely.
agree I agree with you. That's how I feel too. That's what I think too.
partly agree I see your point, but... Well, maybe, but... I see what you mean, but... I'm
not sure about that.
disagree I disagree, I'm afraid... That's not the way I see it. You can't be serious! You
must be joking!
5 Practise pronunciation. Drill as a group following you, individually, men and then
women, half of the class then the other, shouting, whispering and laughing to vary it,
have fun and get lots of practice!
6 Give each group the list of topics and ask the students to tick the ones they find most
interesting. (You can provide your own list if you would prefer.) Tell them they are
going to have a discussion to see if they agree with each other about the topics. Give
them a few minutes to think about it and make notes before they speak. This helps
them prepare what they are going to say!

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7 Tell the students to deal out the cards to each person in the group so they all have
three or four cards. They then speak for three to four minutes on each topic. They
must try to include their phrases and as they use them discard them. They may
only use one phrase at a time, so they don’t just keep talking and get rid of all
their cards at once. You could tell them to only use one or two cards per topic.
Demonstrate with one group and then tell them to start. Monitor and take notes of
how students use the target language – the phrases.
8 Stop the activity and do a correction slot highlighting good language and any
errors with the phrases you have heard. Try to focus the corrections on phrases for
agreeing and disagreeing, and not random errors they have made.

Variation:

Instead of dealing out the cards, put the cards in the middle of the table and tell
students to try to include the phrases in their discussion, grabbing a phrase when they
use it. The winner is the one with the most phrases at the end. Monitor during this
variation and try to ensure that stronger students are not dominating. Also group the
students carefully, so stronger students are together and less likely to dominate the
discussion. If they finish the cards quickly, tell them to replace them and move on to
another topic.

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Snap associations Pre-intermediate Units 1 – 4 Worksheet 1

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Snap associations Pre-intermediate

Teacher’s notes
Level: Pre-intermediate

Introduction & aim

This activity provides the opportunity to recycle a large amount of vocabulary. It is
communicative and personalized and would be appropriate towards the end of a term
before a test which includes a vocabulary section. It can be used with any class size from
8 to 88 and can last from about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the procedures you
follow.

Preparation
1 The students will need to see a set of pictures. The most economical way of doing this
is to print the picture set onto an OHP transparency. Alternatively, copy a sufficient
number of picture pages so that each group in the class will have one. You will be
dividing the class into groups of six, four or/and two. Black and white copies are fine.
2 Copy a sufficient number of word lists for every student in the class. The student
worksheet includes a word list that you can use after Unit 4 of Straightforward Pre-
intermediate. The list contains important, high-frequency words (two stars and three
stars) from the corresponding four units of the book.

Procedure
1 Divide the class into groups of two, four or six students. Distribute a word list to each
student.
2 Tell the students (in their groups) to go through the words in the list, checking the
words they know. They can then turn to other groups/students for help with words they
are unsure about. Allow them to use dictionaries, if necessary, but for a maximum of
five words only (otherwise, this will take up too much time, and it is preferable that the
activity should remain collaborative). You may decide to allow students to use their
mother tongue at this stage.
3 Show the students the pictures and ask them to look at the first word on their word list.
Ask them if they can find a connection between this word and any of the pictures. Ask
them to explain the connection. Alternatively, tell the class which picture you can
associate with the first word on the list and explain why. It is important to demonstrate
that there are no right answers. Any association, however personal, is fine. Go through
four or five words from the list with the class in this way. Use only English and insist
that everyone do the same.
4 Tell the students to continue the association activity with the rest of the words on their
list. Tell them that if they can’t find associations for only some words, it doesn’t matter.
Remind them to use English only. Monitor the students’ work and make notes of any
problems they have (e.g. pronunciation, syntax, colligation) with the words on their
lists. You can use your notes for a correction slot at the end of the lesson.
5 Ask the students which words they found difficult to associate with any of the pictures.
Invite suggestions from the class and/or provide a suggestion yourself.
6 Tell the students (in their groups) to choose one of the photos. Give them a time limit
(e.g. five minutes): they must find as many words as possible from their lists that they

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can associate with the photo they have chosen. Remind them to do this in English.
Monitor their work.
7 Ask the groups how many associations they were able to find. Go through the
suggestions of one or two groups with the whole class. Correct errors connected with
the use of the target words.

Variations
• Adapt the word list! Feel free to change items or reduce the number.
• Change the photos. Use your own photos, ask students to bring in interesting photos of
their own, or tear attractive pictures out of a magazine.
• If you use your own photos, it would perhaps be appropriate to end the activity by
asking the students who they the people in the photos are and then explaining the
images to the class.
• Instead of copying word lists, you could dictate a set of words. You could then tell the
students to check their spelling in the word lists of the Language Reference pages of
Straightforward.
• With some classes, you may prefer to get the students to write their associations, instead
of simply talking about them.
• Extend stage 6 by mixing the groups. Half the students from every group should join a
different group. The new groups talk through the picture and associations they have
found.

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Compounds around you

Worksheet 1

bag wedding bag shopping age flash

card dinner book state cake guide

kit registry camera education home Mobile

pack pop glasses T office pen

park motor knife theme opera sleeping

school insect light back party sun

shirt soap phone credit singer video

system leaving speaker first-aid spray native

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Compounds around you

Worksheet 2A

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Compounds around you

Worksheet 2B

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Compounds around you – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate
Aim: Students are given practice in making and using compound nouns.

Note: this activity uses translation and is therefore only suitable for monolingual classes.

Preparation:
Make enough photocopies of Worksheet 1 so that you have one copy for every four / five
students in the class. Cut up each sheet into 24 ‘dominoes’.
Make enough photocopies of Worksheets 2A and 2B so that each group of four or five
students has two copies of one of the worksheets.

Procedure:
1 Brainstorm with the whole class as many compound nouns as they can remember.

2 Arrange the students into groups of four or five. Distribute a set of dominoes to each
group. The students must arrange the dominoes in such a way that they make compound
nouns. For example:

There are two ways that you can organize this activity: (a) the students play it as a game,
with the dominoes distributed to individual students and each student taking in turns to
place a domino on a table, or (b) the students do it collectively, with all the dominoes on a
table in front of them, working collaboratively to make a ‘string’ of dominoes that will fit
together.

Conduct feedback when everyone has finished, checking that students can remember the
meanings of the compounds they have made.

Possible answers:
backpack, credit card, dinner party, education system, first-aid kit, flash light, guide
book, insect spray, leaving age, mobile phone, motor home, native speaker, pen knife,
pop singer, registry office, sleeping bag, soap opera, shopping bag, state school, sun
glasses, T-shirt, theme park, video camera, wedding cake

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3 Distribute Worksheets 2A and 2B. The students work in groups and one worksheet is
given to each group: half the groups receive Worksheet 2A, the other half 2B.
In their groups, the students must prepare, in their mother tongue, explanations of the
signs that are illustrated on their worksheets. Even if, in translation, these compound
nouns use English words (e.g. cocktail or disco), they must avoid these words in their
explanations.
4 Rearrange the groups so that the new groups contain two students who worked with
Worksheet 2A and two who worked with 2B. With both sets of illustrations in front of
them, students should take it in turns to give an explanation that they prepared in the
previous stage. The students who have not previously seen this worksheet must identify
the sign that is being referred to. The students continue in this way until they have
matched all the illustrations.
5 Conduct feedback when everyone has finished, checking that students understand all
the signs.
Ask the students if they have seen any of these signs in their town.
Ask the students to identify places in their town where it might be possible to see these
signs.
Ask the students if they can make any other compounds using the words in the signs

body piercing burger restaurant cash point

disco bar gift shop Irish pub
money transfer rent a car sandwich bar
shopping mall sightseeing bus tax free shopping
tea room travel centre 24 hour banking
call shop car wash city tours
cocktail bar copy center (N.B. US spelling) discount shop
fashion shoes grill room happy hour
help desk meeting point night shop
steak house

6 As homework, you could ask the students to find other examples of English in the
streets of their town. If this is not possible, you could direct them to the website
www.manythings.org/signs/ which contains many examples of English signs.

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I’ve never tried that …

1 With your group, agree what to include in the lists below and complete the chart.
A: I think everyone should see Titanic. It’s a beautiful film.
B: I didn’t really like it. It was too long. But what about Ocean’s Thirteen?

3 films everyone should see 3 kinds of food everyone should try

________________________________ _________________________________
________________________________ _________________________________
________________________________ _________________________________

3 fun activities everyone should try 3 books everyone should read

________________________________ _________________________________
________________________________ _________________________________
________________________________ _________________________________

3 songs everyone should hear 3 places / countries everyone should visit

________________________________ _________________________________
________________________________ _________________________________
________________________________ _________________________________

2 Exchange your list with another group. Discuss the other group’s list and circle all the
things which no-one in your group has done yet. Each student should then choose an
activity they would really like to do from the other group’s list.
Example:
A: I’ve never read The Da Vinci Code. Have you read it?
B: No, I haven’t read it yet. Have you read A Hundred Years of Solitude? I hear it’s
amazing.

3 Work with the other group. Take turns asking each other about the activities you circled
on your lists.
Example:
A: None of us have eaten sushi. What’s it like?
B: Oh, you should try it! It’s delicious! It’s Japanese ...

4 Speak to a person who has done an activity you would most like to do. Ask for advice
about that activity. Give advice about activities other students would like to do.
Example:
A: You’ve been to Sicily, Miguel. Where should I go for a holiday there by the sea?
B: What about going to Syracuse? It’s a fascinating place ...

Useful Language
What should I…? What about (+ verb + ing) …?
Should I…? You should / shouldn’t…
Why don’t you…? (If I were you,) I’d …

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I’ve never tried that … – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate
Aim: To practise using the present perfect simple in recommending great experiences.
Grammar: Present perfect simple; language used for asking for and giving advice.

Preparation:
Copy one Worksheet for each group of 3 or 4. An even number of groups is needed.

Procedure:
1 Tell the class they are going to discuss some things they think everyone should do at
some point in their lives. Put students into groups of 3 (pairs or larger groups are also
possible). Give one copy of the Worksheet to each group. Each group should choose a
‘secretary’ to write the group’s choices.

2 Focus students’ attention on the titles of the six lists. Together, each group should
discuss three things to include in each category: things of cultural importance,
excellence, or simply ‘great’ experiences, which at least one student in the group has
done. Have a volunteer pair demonstrate the example dialogue. Set a time limit of 10
minutes for this activity.

3 Instruct the students to begin working in groups. Go around the class helping with
spelling where necessary and encouraging students to try to convince each other of their
choices. Take notes of any typical problems with the pronunciation of common lexis
from previous units in the book.

4 After ten minutes, or when most groups have completed the chart, bring the activity to
an end. Briefly elicit correction of any pronunciation problems you noted during the
activity.

5 Ask the secretaries of each group to exchange worksheets with another group. Tell the
students to discuss the things that the other group included in their list and circle all the
things they haven’t done. Each student should then choose one activity they haven’t
done which they would like to learn more about. Ask volunteers to read the example
dialogue and set a time limit of about 5 minutes for this activity.

7 After 5 minutes or more, bring the activity to an end. Each group must now join the
group whose Worksheet they have seen. Together they should discuss the things they
have circled on each other’s Worksheets and ask for more information. Set a time limit
of 5 minutes for this activity.

8 After 5 minutes, ask students to speak to people in the other group who can give them
advice about the things they would most like to do. Focus attention on the useful
language and have a volunteer pair read the example dialogue. Set a time limit of 5
minutes for this activity.

9 After 5 minutes, elicit from each group what they have learnt about that they would like
to do.

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Together forever?
A You and your partner are film stars who used to be married to each other. Choose
which film stars to be and discuss your answers to the questions. (You may have
different answers!) Make brief notes below.

Useful language:

ask somebody out go out together ring

be crazy about get married to ceremony
have a lot in common have an argument about marriage
fall in love with split up (with) wedding
be in love with relationship romantic
go (out) on a date with partner reception

1 Which films made each of you famous?

_________________________________________________________________

2 How did you and your ex-partner meet?

_________________________________________________________________

3 What was your first date like together?

_________________________________________________________________

4 Why did you decide to get married?

_________________________________________________________________

5 What was your wedding day like?

_________________________________________________________________

6 How long were you married for?

_________________________________________________________________

7 What are your best and worst memories of your married life together?
_________________________________________________________________

8 Why did you get divorced?

_________________________________________________________________

9 How do you feel about your ex-partner now?

_________________________________________________________________

B Take turns interviewing other ex-couples using the questions from Part A.
1 Which marriages do you think were the most and least happy?
2 Which couple had the most unusual wedding ceremony?
3 Did any couples divorce for the same reasons?

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Together forever? – Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate
Aim: To activate key vocabulary for describing relationships and marriages.
Vocabulary: Relationships and marriage.
Note: This is a light-hearted activity that could fit well with the completion of Unit 4.
Preparation: Make one copy of the Worksheet for each pair.

Procedure:
1 Put the students into pairs. Each pair should choose which famous ex-couple they want
to be (e.g. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman). Emphasize that students can invent these
relationships or use the internet to do some research. Ask the pairs to tell you their
names and make sure that no pairs are identical.
2 Give one copy of the Worksheet to each student. Focus attention on the ten questions.
Each pair should discuss their answers together using as much of the ‘Useful language’
as possible. Remind students that they do not have to agree about their past
relationships together! Set a time limit of ten minutes for this activity.
3 Have students begin working. Go around the class encouraging students, if necessary, to
use the ‘Useful language’. Note any typical problems with the pronunciation and form
of this lexis, especially the use of prepositions in phrases.
4 After ten minutes, bring the activity to an end. Highlight any problems with the ‘Useful
language’ and elicit corrections. Ask each pair to join two other pairs (1-3 other pairs
depending on class size). Explain that the three couples should interview each other
about their previous marriages using the same questions. Set a time limit of ten minutes
for this activity.
5 Go around the class monitoring students’ use of the ‘Useful language’ and encouraging
students, where necessary, to invent extra details.
6 After ten minutes, bring the activity to an end. Elicit the answers from each group to the
three questions in part B. What were the most common reasons for divorce? Does this
reflect the marriages of non-celebrities?
7 Highlight any typical problems you noted in the use of the ‘Useful language’.

Extension:
To wrap up this activity and generate the functional language of invitations and
suggestions, ask volunteer students to list the film stars in the class they would most like
to ask out on a date. Tell the students they have five minutes to try to get a date with their
chosen film star.

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Snap associations Units 5 – 8 Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF levels A2 – B1)

Introduction & aim

This activity provides the opportunity to recycle a large amount of vocabulary. It is
communicative and personalized and would be appropriate towards the end of a term
before a test which includes a vocabulary section. It can be used with any class size from
8 to 88 and can last from about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the procedures you
follow.

Preparation
1 The students will need to see a set of pictures. The most economical way of doing this
is to print a set of pictures onto an OHP transparency. Your pictures could be from
magazines, the internet or from your personal collection. You will be dividing the class
into groups of six, four or/and two. Black and white copies are fine.
2 Copy a sufficient number of word lists for every student in the class. The student
worksheet includes a word list that you can use for Units 5 – 8 of Straightforward Pre-
intermediate. The list contains important, high-frequency words (two stars and three
stars) from the corresponding four units of the book.

Procedure
1 Divide the class into groups of two, four or six students. Distribute a word list to each
student.
2 Tell the students (in their groups) to go through the words in the list, checking the
words they know. They can then turn to other groups/students for help with words they
are unsure about. Allow them to use dictionaries, if necessary, but for a maximum of
five words only (otherwise, this will take up too much time, and it is preferable that the
activity should remain collaborative). You may decide to allow students to use their
mother tongue at this stage.
3 Show the students the pictures and ask them to look at the first word on their word list.
Ask them if they can find a connection between this word and any of the pictures. Ask
them to explain the connection. Alternatively, tell the class which picture you can
associate with the first word on the list and explain why. It is important to demonstrate
that there are no right answers. Any association, however personal, is fine. Go through
four or five words from the list with the class in this way. Use only English and insist
that everyone do the same.
4 Tell the students to continue the association activity with the rest of the words on their
list. Tell them that if they can’t find associations for only some words, it doesn’t matter.
Remind them to use English only. Monitor the students’ work and make notes of any
problems they have (e.g. pronunciation, syntax, colligation) with the words on their
lists. You can use your notes for a correction slot at the end of the lesson.
5 Ask the students which words they found difficult to associate with any of the pictures.
Invite suggestions from the class and/or provide a suggestion yourself.
6 Tell the students (in their groups) to choose one of the photos. Give them a time limit
(e.g. five minutes): they must find as many words as possible from their lists that they
can associate with the photo they have chosen. Remind them to do this in English.
Monitor their work.

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7 Ask the groups how many associations they were able to find. Go through the
suggestions of one or two groups with the whole class. Correct errors connected with
the use of the target words.

Variations
• Adapt the word list! Feel free to change items or reduce the number.
• Change the photos. Use your own photos, ask students to bring in interesting photos of
their own, or tear attractive pictures out of a magazine
• If you use your own photos, it would perhaps be appropriate to end the activity by
asking the students who they the people in the photos are and then explaining the
images to the class.
• Instead of copying word lists, you could dictate a set of words. You could then tell the
students to check their spelling in the word lists of the Language Reference pages of
Straightforward.
• With some classes, you may prefer to get the students to write their associations, instead
of simply talking about them.
• Extend stage 6 by mixing the groups. Half the students from every group should join a
different group. The new groups talk through the picture and associations they have
found.

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Family and friends Pre-intermediate

A Talk to your classmates about family and friends. Write the names of the students
who answer ‘yes’ to your questions. Ask extra questions to find out more.

Example:
A: Do you have a best friend who is also a member of your family?
B: Yes, I do. I think my cousin Ana is my best friend.
A: Really? What kind of person is she?

Find someone who … Name

1 has a best friend who is also a member of their family. __________________

2 gets on very well with their grandparents. __________________
3 hasn’t got a lot in common with their cousins. __________________
4 knows a family that is not at all typical. __________________
5 has friends from very different backgrounds. __________________
6 has a best friend who lives in a different country. __________________
7 keeps in touch with a friend they met more than ten years ago. __________________
8 has used a website to contact old friends. __________________
9 has a neighbour they get on very well with. __________________
10 feels they have a lot in common with someone famous. __________________

B Compare your answers to Part A with your group. Which answers were most
surprising?

C Tick () the quotations you think are true about family, friends or neighbours. With
your group, discuss your choices and agree which three quotations are most true.

a The only way to have a good friend is to be a good friend yourself.

b We wouldn’t have any friends if we heard everything we said about each other.

c It's the friends you can call at four o’clock in the morning that are important.

d To find a friend you must close one eye; to keep a friend you must close two.

e It's no good trying to keep old friends. The fact is, one grows out of people.

f Your true family are not always the members of your real family.

g The happy times you spend with your family will be the happiest in your life.

h Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close family … in another city.

i A good neighbour smiles at you over the fence, but doesn't climb over the fence.

j It is easier to think you love all humanity than to really love your neighbour.

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Family and friends Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF levels A2 – B1)
Aim: To practise question forms and to use key vocabulary about family and friends.
Vocabulary: Verb collocations (friendship); family-related lexis
Preparation: Make one copy of the worksheet for each student in the class.

Procedure:
1. Tell the class they are going to find out more about each other’s friends and families.
Give one copy of the worksheet to each student. Focus attention on the list of Find
someone who … descriptions and answer any questions about vocabulary. Tell the
students they will interview different students and write the names of people who
match the descriptions. Ask volunteers to demonstrate the example dialogue and set a
time limit of ten minutes for this activity.
2. Tell all the students to stand up and begin interviewing different students. Go around
the class taking notes on any typical problems with key vocabulary and question
forms. Encourage students, if necessary, to ask each other follow-up questions and to
move on to a new student after about a minute.
3. After ten minutes, bring the activity to a close and ask students to return to their seats.
Briefly highlight any language problems for the class to correct.
4. Put students into groups of 3 – 6 students, depending on class size. Explain to the
groups that they should compare their answers to the Find someone who …activity
and identify any surprising answers. Set a time limit of five minutes for this activity.
5. After five minutes, elicit from the class any surprising answers the groups identified.
6. Focus attention on the list of quotations. Ask some students to read each quotation
one by one, stopping to answer questions about meaning. Each student should tick the
quotations they think are generally true.
7. Put students into groups of 3 – 6 students. Each group should discuss the quotes and
try to agree on the three quotations they think are most true. Set a time limit of six
minutes for this activity.
8. After six minutes, or when most groups have completed the activity, ask each group
to name the three quotations considered to be most true.

Variation:
After the Find someone who … activity, you could ask students to compare their
worksheets in groups of 3 – 6. Together they should decide if the following statements are
true or false for their group. Set a time limit of ten minutes for this activity.

1. Most of us get on very well with our grandparents T/F

2. Most of us come from families that are not ‘typical’ T/F
3. Most of our friends are from similar backgrounds T/F
4. Most of us don’t keep in touch with friends we met more than ten years ago T/F
5. Most of us are not very close to our neighbours T/F
6. None of us feel we have anything in common with anyone famous T/F

After ten minutes, bring the activity to a close and elicit each group’s answers. (Are the
statements true or false for the whole class?) Then proceed with the quotations activity.

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Snap associations Units 9–12 Teacher’s notes

Level: Pre-intermediate (equivalent to CEF levels A2–B1)

Introduction & aim

This activity provides the opportunity to recycle a large amount of vocabulary. It is
communicative and personalized and would be appropriate towards the end of a term
before a test which includes a vocabulary section. It can be used with any class size from
8 to 88 and can last from about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the procedures you
follow.

Preparation
1 The students will need to see a set of pictures. The most economical way of doing this
is to print a set of pictures onto an OHP transparency. Your pictures could be from
magazines, the internet or from your personal collection. Black and white copies are
fine. You will be dividing the class into groups of six, four or/and two.
2 Copy a sufficient number of word lists for every student in the class. The student
worksheet includes a word list that you can use for Units 9–12 of Straightforward
Pre-intermediate. The list contains important, high-frequency words (two stars and
three stars) from the corresponding four units of the book.

Procedure
1 Divide the class into groups of two, four or six students. Distribute a word list to each
student.
2 Tell the students (in their groups) to go through the words in the list, checking the
words they know. They can then turn to other groups/students for help with words
they are unsure about. Allow them to use dictionaries, if necessary, but for a
maximum of five words only (otherwise, this will take up too much time, and it is
preferable that the activity should remain collaborative). You may decide to allow
students to use their mother tongue at this stage.
3 Show the students the pictures and ask them to look at the first word on their word
list. Ask them if they can find a connection between this word and any of the pictures.
Ask them to explain the connection. Alternatively, tell the class which picture you can
associate with the first word on the list and explain why. It is important to
demonstrate that there are no right answers. Any association, however personal, is
fine. Go through four or five words from the list with the class in this way. Use only
English and insist that everyone do the same.
4 Tell the students to continue the association activity with the rest of the words on their
list. Tell them that if they can’t find associations for all the words, it doesn’t matter.
Remind them to use English only. Monitor the students’ work and make notes of any
problems they have (e.g. pronunciation, syntax, colligation) with the words on their
lists. You can use your notes for a correction slot at the end of the lesson.
5 Ask the students which words they found difficult to associate with any of the
pictures. Invite suggestions from the class and/or provide a suggestion yourself.

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6 Tell the students (in their groups) to choose one of the photos. Give them a time limit
(e.g. five minutes): they must find as many words as possible from their lists that they
can associate with the photo they have chosen. Remind them to do this in English.
Monitor their work.
7 Ask the groups how many associations they were able to find. Go through the
suggestions of one or two groups with the whole class. Correct errors connected with
the use of the target words.

Variations
• Adapt the word list! Feel free to change, increase or reduce the number of items.
• Use your own photos or ask students to bring in interesting photos of their own, or tear
attractive pictures out of a magazine
• If you use your own photos, it would perhaps be appropriate to end the activity by
asking the students who they think the people in the photos are and then explaining the
images to the class.
• Instead of copying word lists, you could dictate a set of words. You could then tell the
students to check their spelling in the word lists of the Language Reference pages of
Straightforward.
• With some classes, you may prefer to get the students to write their associations, instead
of simply talking about them.
• Extend stage 6 by mixing the groups. Half the students from every group should join a
different group. The new groups talk through the picture and associations they have
found.

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complete pages. Downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/straightforward