4 Building supplies

Insulation
Briefing
This section focuses on materials used in the
This unit introduces words related to building
insulation of solid walls, cavity walls and pipes.
materials in the context of supplying and ordering
Vocabulary to do with insulation (such as
products. It provides practice in ordering building
plasterboard, foam tubing, felt tape and
materials from a supplier and confirming orders. It
polystyrene beads) is introduced.
introduces ways to explain problems that can arise
from placing orders or problems relating to building The section also covers telephone conversations
material on site. In addition, it practises making between a supplier and a customer, as well as
requests to borrow things. The unit also looks at problems with ordering goods which are out of
different types of insulation and materials used in stock.
wall insulation.
The Language section focuses on used to, used as
Building materials and used for to describe the purpose of a type of
material.
In this section a number of words related to building
materials are introduced in the context of companies Problems on site
advertising the products they supply (provide/sell)
This section introduces ways of explaining problems
to the construction industry. Vocabulary includes
relating to building materials on a construction site.
gravel, sand, types of insulation and timber, gates,
The language focus is on too + adjective (to say that
railings, types of electrical products (for example,
something is more than you need or want it to be)
cables, plugs) and painting supplies (products/
and not enough + adjective (to say that something is
goods) such as brushes and rollers.
less than you need or want it to be).
The section also introduces some useful phrases to
The section introduces and practises adjectives used
describe items that a supplier (someone who
with building materials. The opposites wet–dry,
provides goods/products) sells, such as a (wide)
liquid–solid, fine–coarse, light–heavy and soft–
range of sizes/products and made to order.
hard are presented. Common noun–adjective
Materials collocations are also introduced.
A roleplay provides practice in explaining a
This section looks at supplier–customer exchanges
problem on site and giving solutions.
when ordering building materials and checking that
goods are available. Several useful words and Further reading
phrases are introduced, including Can I place an
Use the following keywords to search the internet
order? and be in/out of stock (be/not be available
for websites which give more in-depth information
to buy from a supplier).
about the topics covered in this unit: building
The lesson also focuses on making requests. Phrases materials, building products, cavity wall
like Do you have ...? and Can I borrow ...? are insulation, solid wall insulation, building
introduced, along with spare (an item that you keep insulation materials.
in addition to the one you usually use, in case you
need it, for example, a spare key, a spare tyre).
The Language section focuses on requests. Students
practise the language needed to borrow things from
a colleague, accept a request or give reasons for
refusing it. In the examples, common toolbox items
are mentioned (roll of insulating tape, box of plugs,
extension cable).

Building supplies 4 27

Teacher’s notes
Warm up
Revise equipment, products and materials to do
with the construction industry from previous units.
With books closed, write Equipment, Products and
Materials on the board and ask students to copy
these headings into their notebooks. Then ask them
to work in pairs to make a list of words to do with
the construction industry for each heading. Allow
them four or five minutes to do this. Go round the
class monitoring and helping students with spelling
if necessary. Then ask pairs how many words they
have, and ask the pair with the most words to read
out their lists, checking that the words they have are
appropriate for each category. Tell other pairs to add
new words to their lists as they hear them. Students
can ask the pair to spell a word if they are not sure
and want to check that they have spelt it correctly.
Then ask the other pairs for any other words that
were not mentioned, for the class to add to their
lists. When they have finished, tell students to keep
these notes as in this unit they will be studying
building materials and products, so they can add
other words to their lists.
2 Refer students back to the website extracts in 1
Building materials
Reading
1 Ask students to look at the photos. Explain that
they show different types of material used in the
building trade. Tell students that in this lesson
they will be discussing supplying products and
materials to the construction industry. Make
sure that they understand the verb supply.
Remind them that in the third person singular
we use supplies. Explain that a supplier is the
person who supplies products and materials (or
supplies (n)).
Pre-teach some of the new words in the extracts.
You can use some of the photos to do this. Ask
students if they can identify any of the materials
or products in photos A, B, E and F. Elicit
staircase, gravel, insulation and timber. For cable,
point to the cables in the right-hand side of
photo D. For paint, point to a painted surface in
the classroom and mime painting the surface to
elicit the word.
Draw students’ attention to the six extracts and
explain that they are extracts from suppliers’
websites. Tell them that they are going to match
the extracts to photos A–F. Tell them not to
worry about vocabulary they do not know at
this stage. Allow students to work in pairs for
the matching task, then check answers with the
class.
During feedback, go through some useful verbs
from the text with the students. Ask them to find
two more verbs in the texts which mean ‘have/
supply’ (offer, extract 1; stock, extracts 1 and 3).
Then ask them to look for a verb that means
‘make’ (produce, extract 4). Finally, ask students
what they think specialise in extract 2 means.
1C 2E 3F 4A 5D 6B
Extra activity
You could write down the following in a table
and ask students to copy it in their notebooks.
Ask them to complete the missing words.
Verb Noun Noun (person)
supply supplies _____
design _______ designer
_____ product producer
It would be useful for students to keep word
formation tables like this when appropriate.
Answers: supplier, design, produce
and ask them to underline all the materials and
products they can find. Then ask them to write
three things that each of the suppliers sells.
Get students to compare answers in pairs before
checking with the class. During feedback, you
might like to check the pronunciation of the
following words:
aggregate /ˈӕgrəgət/, acoustic /əˈku:stɪc/, thermal
/ˈθɜ:məl/, insulation /ˌɪnsjəˈleɪʃən/.
Suggested answers
1 brushes, rollers, clothing, spray equipment,
paint
2 gravel, sand, concrete mix
3 (steel) staircases, (steel) gates, (steel)
railings
4 acoustic insulation, thermal insulation, fire
protection insulation
5 electrical products, cables, alarm systems,
plugs, sockets, PVC conduits, steel
conduits, other electrical fittings
6 timber, plywood, chipboard
Building supplies 4 28
 Extra activities
1 Put students in pairs and ask them to
underline any other words on page 28 that
they do not know. If you or the students
have dictionaries in the class, they can check
the meaning of any unknown words in
them, otherwise go round the class giving
help as needed. When the students have
finished, ask pairs in turn to name one of the
words they have underlined and tell the
class which photo in 1 this word relates to.
2 Put students in pairs. Write the following
verbs on the board: stocks, sells, supplies,
designs, offers, produces. Tell students to take
turns asking and answering questions about
the suppliers in 2, using the verbs on the
board. You could demonstrate the activity
by doing an example with a confident
student:
A: Which supplier offers a range of insulation
products?
B: Watson’s Goods Ltd. Which supplier sells
paint?
Vocabulary
3 Draw students’ attention to words 1–7 and check
that they understand them. Tell students that
they need to choose the best word to complete
the word pairs. Tell them to try to do the
exercise without looking back at the extracts on
page 28. You could do the first item as an
example with the class. When students have
finished, they can look at the extracts in 1 to
check their answers.
1b 2b 3c 4b 5a 6a 7c
4 Ask students to look at phrases 1–5 and to
complete them with the words in the box. They
can then compare answers in pairs. Finally, tell
them to look back at the extracts in 1 to check
their answers.
1 standard 2 everything 3 your 4 wide
5 order
5 Put students in pairs and ask them to label
photos A–K with the words in the box. They
could then join up with another pair to compare
answers before checking with the class. During
feedback, ask students what the difference is
between the staircase in photo F and the
staircase in photo A in 1 on page 28. (The
staircase in photo F is for escaping a fire. The
one on page 28 is a normal staircase.)
A insulation B floor boards C roofing
D timber E chipboard F steel fire escape
G railings H gate I fire alarm J electrical
fittings K gravel path
Extra activities
1 Write the words from the box in 5 on strips
of paper, or list them alphabetically on the
board. Ask students to work individually or
in pairs to sort the words into categories of
products the suppliers in 2 sell. You could
set this up as a competition. Tell students to
raise their hand when they have finished.
Explain that items could go into more than
one category.
2 Ask students if they have any words to add
under the headings in 2 on page 29.
Speaking
6 Put students in small groups. Ask them to think
about a supplier that they know and to discuss
what products they sell. Start them off by asking
which supplier in their town/city sells paint.
You could review some useful verbs and nouns
here to help students with their discussions (for
example, offer, sell, supply and (range of)
products/goods). Go round the class monitoring
and helping with any vocabulary queries.
Materials
Listening
1 ► 22 Tell students that they are going to listen
to a telephone conversation and that they have
to identify which company is the supplier and
which is the customer. Play the recording for
students to choose the correct answers.
1a 2b
2 Draw students’ attention to the email. Tell them
that they are going to listen to the conversation
again to complete the email with the missing
information. Ask them to look through the email
quickly to see what information they need to
listen for (for example, the customer number)
and go through any vocabulary issues with
them. Check that they understand the difference
between delivery and pick-up. Then ask: Can the
customer have timber XP6754? Why not? Elicit It’s
out of stock. Ask students what the opposite of
out of stock is (in stock).
Building supplies 4 29
 Play the recording for students to complete the
email. Then play the recording a second time,
pausing after each piece of information to allow
students to check their answers.
1 25673929 2 AJ437 3 10 (pieces)
4 HB392 5 4 (pieces) 6 HB396
7 9 (pieces) 8 no 9 yes 10 8 July
3 ► 23 Explain to students that they are going to
listen to a telephone conversation between the
same customer and supplier later that day. Ask
them to note down new information as they
listen. Then check answers with the class.
Jenny Jones now needs eight pieces of
plywood for item number HB392 (instead of
four).
4 Ask students to look at the audio scripts for
tracks 22 and 23 on pages 74–75 and to underline
useful phrases for telephone conversations.
Allow students to compare answers in pairs
before checking with the class.
22
ES: Smith and Sons Construction Supplies.
Customer services. Ernest Smith
speaking. Can I help you?
JJ: Hello, this is Jenny Jones from Apex
Building. I’d like to place an order, please.
ES: Certainly. One moment, please. OK, go
ahead.
JJ: My customer number is 25673929.
ES: 25673929. Thank you.
JJ: I’d like to order some chipboard, please.
That’s item number AJ437 and I’d like ten
pieces, please.
ES: OK. So that’s ten pieces of AJ437.
JJ: Yes. I’d also like some plywood, item
numbers HB392, four pieces, and HB396,
nine pieces.
ES: HB392, four pieces, and HB396, nine
pieces.
JJ: Yes, that’s right.
ES: Anything else?
JJ: Yes, one more thing. I’d like some timber,
please. Item number XP6754. Is it in
stock?
ES: Just one moment. I’ll check.
JJ: Thank you.
ES: No, I’m sorry. We’re out of stock. We
expect some next week.
JJ: No problem.
ES: OK, thank you. Is that for delivery or pick-
up?
JJ: Pick-up, please. Is tomorrow morning OK?
ES: Yes, that’s fine. So that’s for pick-up on 8
July. Thank you very much.
JJ: Thank you.
ES: Just one more thing. Your order number is
GGC 33471. I’ll send you an email to
confirm.
JJ: That’s great. Thank you. Goodbye.
ES: Thank you. Bye.
23
ES: Smith and Sons Construction Supplies.
Customer services, Ernest Smith
speaking.
JJ: Hello, this is Jenny Jones from Apex
Building. I’d like to change an order,
please.
ES: Certainly. Just a moment, please. OK, go
ahead.
JJ: My customer number is 25673929. The
order number is GGC33471.
ES: OK. What’s the change?
JJ: The item number is HB392, that’s
plywood. I ordered four pieces but we now
need eight pieces.
ES: OK, so change the order to eight pieces?
JJ: Yes, that’s right.
ES: Anything else?
JJ: No, that’s all. Thank you.
ES: OK, thank you. Goodbye.
JJ: Goodbye.
Vocabulary
5 Ask students to read the conversations and
underline the correct word or phrase in italics to
complete them. Then ask them to compare the
words and phrases in italics to the ones they
underlined in 4. You could ask them to make a
list of these words/phrases in their notebooks.
1 out of stock 2 customer number
3 delivery 4 change an order
Speaking
6 Put students in pairs. Ask them what the
opposite of supplier is (customer or buyer). Tell
them that they are going to practise a telephone
conversation between a supplier and a buyer.
With their books closed, ask them first if they
can remember any useful phrases they could use
in their conversation. Then tell them to decide
what type of supplier they are and what type of
products they sell. Explain that the buyer starts
the conversation and places an order with the
supplier. Ask them to sit back to back so as to
make the telephone conversation more
authentic. Tell them that they can look at the
words and phrases in 4 and 5 or in their
notebooks to help them. They then swap roles
and repeat the activity.
Building supplies 4 30
 With weaker students, you could prepare the
following handout and ask them to complete it
in pairs before they practise the conversation.
[Student A: Buyer; Student B: Supplier]
B: [Company name]. ______ speaking.
A: This is ______ . I’d like to place ______ .
B: Certainly. What’s your ______?
A: It’s ______ .
B: What’s your order?
A: I’d like ______ . The item number is ______ .
B: OK, that’s ______ .
A: Yes, that’s correct. Is it in stock?
B: Yes, it is. Anything else?/No, I’m sorry, it isn’t.
We expect it next week.
A: Yes, please./No, thanks./No problem.
B: Thank you. Goodbye.
A: Bye.
Listening
7 ► 24 Ask students to look at the three objects
in the photos and to tell you what they are (a roll
of insulating tape, a drill, a cable). Tell them that
they are now going to listen to a conversation
between Alex and Isaac about these things. Ask
them to read the two questions, then play the
recording for students to answer them. During
feedback, ask: Why doesn’t Alex give Isaac the
drill? (Because it’s broken.)
1 roll of insulating tape, (15-metre) extension
cable, drill
2 roll of insulating tape, (5-metre) extension
cable
8 Ask students to match questions 1–4 to answers
a–d to make short conversations. During
feedback, choose one student to ask the question
and another student to reply.
1b 2c 3a 4d
9 If you have brought in two identical keys, show
one of them to the class. Otherwise, show them a
pencil/pen and say: I have a key/pencil/pen. Then
10 Put students in pairs. Tell them that they are
take out your spare key (or another pencil/pen)
and say: And I have a spare key/pencil/pen. Ask
students what they think spare means. Go
through the rubric and questions with the class
and make sure they understand what they have
to do. Do an example with the class, then ask
students to write three more questions. Have a
feedback session to check the questions the
students wrote.
Students’ own answers
Extra activity
Addressing one student, ask: Do you have a
spare key/pencil/pen? Elicit Yes, I do./No, I don’t.
Ask students to think of the spare objects they
have. Then put students in pairs and explain
that they should take turns asking and
answering questions about spare objects, using
the questions in 9 as a model. Go round
helping with vocabulary if needed.
Language
With books closed, ask students which question
Isaac used to ask Alex for the drill. Elicit Can I
borrow ...? Check that students understand the
meaning of borrow (take and use something
someone else has and give it back to them later).
Then ask students to open their books and go
through the Language box with the class. Draw
students’ attention to the short answers for Do
you have ...? and Does Alex have ...? (Yes, I do./No,
I don’t. and Yes, he does./No, he doesn’t.). Explain
that short answers sound more polite than just
yes or no. Also explain that when we answer the
question Can I borrow ...? with no, we usually
give a reason why not (for example, I’m using it
or it’s broken). You may need to mention, if
students ask, that in British English we often use
Have you got ...? instead of Do you have ...? In
American English only Do you have ...? is used.
Extra activity
Before students do Exercise 10, you could ask
them to look at the audio script for track 24 on
page 75 and underline the phrases Alex uses
when Isaac asks for things. Then ask them to
underline the phrases Isaac uses to thank Alex.
Tell students to make a note of any useful
phrases.
Speaking
going to roleplay a conversation between two
people, similar to the one in 7. Explain that they
have both got a list of items they have in stock
and a list of items they need to borrow. The list
for A students is on page 31 and the one for B
students is on pages 68–69. Allow students some
time to look through their lists and answer any
vocabulary questions. Then read through the
example conversation with the class. During the
activity, go round monitoring and giving help as
needed.
Building supplies 4 31

Extra activity
You could extend the roleplay if you wish. If
you have brought in tools or pictures of tools,
show them to the class and ask B students (the
lenders) to use them for a new conversation.
Insulation
Listening
1 ► 25 With books closed, ask students if they
can remember what insulation the supplier in
the first lesson of the unit sold (acoustic, thermal
and fire protection insulation for walls and
floors). Explain that this lesson is about types of
insulation used for walls.
Ask students to open their books and to read the
labels in the first illustration on page 32. Ask
them what type of insulation it shows (cavity
wall insulation). Make sure they understand
cavity wall and teach solid wall.
Ask students to close their books. Tell them that
they are going to listen to the beginning of a
conversation between a client and a building
contractor about wall insulation. Ask them to
identify which speaker is the client and which is
the building contractor. Play the recording and
then ask students to open their books and to
read through the conversation to find out if they
were correct. With weaker classes, students
could read the conversation as they listen.
1A 2B
2 ► 26 Ask students to look at the other two
illustrations at the top of the page. Explain that
they show material used for insulating pipes. If
you have brought in samples of felt and foam,
show them to students. Pre-teach polystyrene by
showing students a sample if you have one.
Then draw their attention to the sentences.
Explain that these sentences are the rest of the
conversation between the client and building
contractor in 1 but that they are not in the correct
order. Ask students to read through the
sentences and to put them in the correct order.
Allow them to do this in pairs if they want. Then
play the recording for students to check their
answers.
The correct order is: 4, 2, 1, 3, 9, 7, 5, 6, 8
3 Explain to students that 1–5 are all statements
about insulation. However, some of them are
incorrect. Ask them to read the statements and
decide if they are true or false. Allow them to
compare answers in pairs and then ask them to
correct the false statements with their partner.
1 T
2 F (Felt tape is used to insulate pipes.)
3 T
4 T
5 F (Polystyrene beads are a type of
cavity wall insulation.)
Extra activity
If you have any in-work students who install
insulation, you could ask them to prepare a few
sentences about what they do, choose some
photos or materials they use to support their
sentences and bring them into the next class.
The rest of the class can prepare four or five
questions to ask these students, about what
they do in their job or what their company does
(for example, What type of insulation do you
use?). At the beginning of the next lesson, the
in-work students answer the questions the
other students in the class put to them.
Language
Draw students’ attention to the Language box.
Read out the examples to the class and ask
students to repeat the sentences after you. Check
their pronunciation of used (/ju:zd/). Explain
that used to is followed by a verb, whereas used
as and used for are followed by a noun or an
adjective and a noun. Tell students that we use
these phrases to explain why we do something.
However, point out that used as and used for are
only interchangeable when they refer to a
purpose (for example, Polystyrene beads are used
as/used for cavity wall insulation.) When talking
about using something in a general context, we
only use used for (for example, Felt tape is used for
pipes, not Felt tape is used as pipes.)
4 Ask students to read sentences 1–5 and complete
them with to, as or for. They can then compare
answers in pairs. During feedback, ask
individual students to read out the sentences
and check their pronunciation.
1 to 2 as/for 3 to 4 to 5 as/for
Building supplies 4 32
5 Draw students’ attention to questions 1–4. Tell
them that they can find the answers to these
questions in the illustrations on page 32 and in
the conversation in 2. Ask them to try and
answer the questions first. They can do this in
pairs. Then ask them to look back at page 32 to
check their answers.
1 cavity wall insulation
2 foam, mineral wool, polystyrene beads
3 felt tape, foam tubing
4 gap
Extra activities
1 If you have brought in tools or pictures of
tools, you could use them here to practise
used to, used for and used as. You could also
use other small objects (for example, a key, a
pencil or a mobile phone). Put students in
pairs or small groups and hand out some
tools or pictures to each pair/group. Ask
students to take turns choosing one of the
items and describing it to the other
student(s). Go round monitoring and
checking that they are using the forms
correctly.
2 Play a game to practise used to, used for and
used as. Ask one student to choose a tool or
material, either from the ones you have
brought in or from the unit, without
telling the the class what it is. Tell the
class that they must find out what the tool is
by asking yes/no questions with used to, used
for or used as (for example, Is it used for cavity
wall insulation?). Tell them that they have a
maximum of ten questions to guess the
word. The student who guesses correctly
then chooses another tool for the class to
guess. If no one guesses correctly, ask for a
volunteer to continue the activity.
Speaking
6 Put students in pairs. Tell them that they are
going to practise telephone conversations with
their partner. Ask A students to look at the
information on page 33 and B students to look at
the information on page 69. Tell students to read
through the instructions and the email extract
and make the phone calls. Make sure that they
understand what they have to do. During the
activity, go round the class monitoring and
giving help as needed.
Problems on site
Listening
1 ► 27 If you have brought in items or pictures
to demonstrate wet, dry, liquid, solid, coarse, fine,
light, heavy, soft, foam and felt, use them to
pre-teach the words with books closed.
Ask students to open their books and to look at
the illustrations and labels. Check that they
understand wet, fine, coarse and soft. Explain that
coarse is the opposite of fine and ask them what
the opposites of wet and soft are (dry and hard).
Tell students to look at illustration C and ask:
What is the problem? (The ground is too soft./The
scaffolding is too heavy.). Then do the same for
illustrations A and B.
Tell students that they are now going to listen to
two engineers on a building site talking about
problems with the things in 1–7. Point out the
adjectives in italics and explain that they are
opposites. Tell them that as they listen, they
must choose the correct adjective. Play the
recording. Allow students to compare answers
in pairs. Play the recording a second time for
students to check their answers, then check
answers with the class.
1 liquid 2 solid 3 dry 4 too coarse
5 heavy 6 too soft 7 too small
Vocabulary
2 Explain to students that some words do not go
together in English. Ask them to choose the
adjective in italics that does not go with each
noun. You could get students to compare
answers in pairs before checking with the class.
1 coarse 2 liquid 3 hot 4 soft 5 fine
6 soft
Language
Go through the Language box with the class.
Point out the word order in the two examples
and give students another two examples.
Explain that the correct structures are too +
adjective (for example, The pain is too wet.) and
not + adjective + enough (for example, The toolbox
is not big enough.).
Building supplies 4 33
 Extra activity
Ask students to look back at 1. Remind them
that there were five problems with the things
in the recording. Ask them if they can
remember what the problems were. Ask them
to work individually to write five sentences
about the problems using too + adjective. If
necessary, do an example with the class (for
example, The concrete on the second floor is too
liquid.). Check answers with the class, then ask
students to rewrite their sentences using not +
adjective + enough.
3 Draw students’ attention to the conversation.
Tell them not to worry about the missing words
and to read through it and say what it is about (a
problem with a delivery). Ask them what they
think a mat is. Get them to complete the
conversation, then check answers with the class.
1 coffee 2 soft 3 deliver 4 coarse
5 order
4 Do the first item as an example with the class:
ask students to find the adjectives in 1 and 2 that
are used to describe steel (heavy, hard, solid).
Then ask them to do the same for items 2–6.
Allow them to compare answers in pairs before
checking with the class.
1 heavy, hard, solid 2 heavy, hard, solid
3 heavy, hard, solid 4 coarse, fine
5 fine, soft, coarse 6 wet, dry
Speaking
5 Put students in pairs and ask them to make a list
of problems on site using too, not enough and
vocabulary from this lesson. They can then
discuss the solutions. Alternatively, ask each
pair to give their list to another pair, who then
discuss the solutions. When they have finished,
they can explain their solutions to each other.
Review
Vocabulary
1 This exercise reviews vocabulary from the unit.
Students write three types of insulation,
electrical products and paint supplies. Check
answers with the class.
Suggested answers
1 acoustic, thermal, fire protection
2 cables, plugs, sockets, alarm systems,
electric drills, metal conduits
3 brushes, rollers, paint, clothing, spray
equipment
2 This exercise reviews adjectives. Ask students to
write the opposites of the words in 1–5. You can
get them to compare answers in pairs before
checking with the class.
1 light 2 big 3 dry 4 hot 5 fine
Writing
3 Explain that the email is from a supplier to a
customer, about an order. Ask students to
complete it with the words in the box, then
check answers with the class.
1 telephone 2 order 3 Item number
4 Quantity 5 insulating 6 spray
7 Services
4 Ask students to complete the telephone
conversation and explain that it is about the
email in 3. You could check answers by asking
two confident students to read out the
conversation. Ask the rest of the class to listen
carefully and check that they are correct.
1 speaking 2 about 3 not 4 please
5 problem 6 Thank 7 Goodbye/Bye
5 Ask students to imagine that they are a supplier
of construction materials. Tell them to write
three sentences about their company and the
products they sell.
Students’ own answers
Now do Unit test 4 and Progress test 2. For the
Listening part of the Progress test, use track 24.
Preparing for next unit
In Unit 5 students will learn to give directions. You
could bring in some maps of the local area for the
extra activity following Exercise 5 on page 38.
Students will also learn some food and drink
vocabulary. Look through the text on page 42 and
bring in as many magazine photos of these food and
drink items as you can, other than the ones already
illustrated on that page.
Building supplies 4 34