The Perfect Match? How is technology affecting our relationships?

You are going to

• watch a short film
• use adjectives to describe personality
• discuss relationships 
• discuss technology 
• watch and discuss a short film

Note these are discussion activities for a speaking class based around a short 8 minute silent film called "97%"
(The film provoked considerable discussion when I used it in my FCE / CAE / CPE classes...)

Before you watch

A) Discuss personality

• Why do friends get on well with each other?
• How would you describe yourself to other people?
• Physically - choose any 3 words - eg tall, brunette, fair, dark-skinned, brown-eyed etc
• Personality - choose 5 words from the list below

• Who else in class has chosen the same words as you?

B) Discuss relationships

• How many of the personality adjectives above would you look for in a partner?
• Are you in a relationship? Do you have a partner/ boyfriend / girlfriend or are you married?
• What is a "perfect match" in a relationship? Is your partner a perfect match for you? Do "perfect matches" exist? Is personality important when choosing a partner?
• What do you look for in a partner?
• Would you accept a 50% match?

C) Discuss technology

• Do you have a smartphone?
• What do you use it for?
• Do you use social media (facebook, instragram, twitter)?
• What apps do you use?
• Are you addicted to it?

D) Watch
Watch the film below
What do you think the 97% in the title refers to?



97% (Short film) from Ben Brand on Vimeo.

E) After you watch - Discuss the film

• What do you think is the "message" of the film?
• Do you agree with it? Why / why not?
• What is the most important scene in the film? Why?
• What do you think is the man's attitude towards a) his phone? b) romantic relationships? c) other people? d) life?
• Do you think technology is changing the way we relate to each other? Can you give any examples from your own experience?
• Do you think using a phone app or a dating site is a good way to find a partner?
• Do you think technology will play an increasing role in our relationships and behaviour?

F) Write 
Choose 1

A) Write a review of the film discussing the film's ideas.

Plan
Introduction

• What is the name of the film? 
• What kind of film is it?
• What is the message of the film?
• Give a short (1 or 2 sentences) summary of the story. Do not give spoilers.

Main text

• Discuss the message of the film?
• Which scene best illustrates its message?
• Discuss the importance, prevalence and role of technology in our lives, our possible addiction to it and the effect it may be having on us and our relationships with each other.

Conclusion

• What is your opinion of the film's ideas and message?

B) "Our relationship with technology is having a damaging effect on the way we relate to each other." To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Plan
Introduction (3 sentences)

• Introduce the subject - modern technology 
• Introduce the idea to be discussed - our relationship with it.
• Introduce the question - What exactly are the effects it may be having on us?

Main text

• Discuss at least 3 examples of technology affecting our relationships or behavior. Give pros and cons. Support your ideas with specific examples.

Conclusion.
What is your opinion? Do you agree with the statement? Can you summarize your ideas in one sentence?

More

• What is beauty? Adjectives, Beauty, Crossword, Describing a person, Elementary, Fashion, Food, Health, IELTS, Intermediate, Life in the UK

•  Are the machines taking over?  Advanced, Business, Future, Future Continuous, IELTS, Shopping, Technology, Upper Intermediate

• Miss Devine Describing a person, Intermediate, Listening, Miss Devine, Past Habits,Upper Intermediate, Would  

• Are you always on your phone? Advanced, CAE, FCE, IELTS, Intermediate, Listening, Technology, Upper Intermediate, Writing, Writing an argument, Writing introductions for argument essays

• Could you live without it? Mobile phones, Living without electricity, Advantages and disadvantages, IELTS, Intermediate, Linking words, Listening, Reading, Smartphones, Writing an argument, Contrasting, Technology

Writing An Article - "The Amazon Echo"

You are going to 

• watch an advertisement
• answer some questions
• discuss technology
• write an article / review

Discuss

• What computer technology do you have / use?
• What activities do we use ICT (information and communication technology) for?
• What is your favourite device / app / website / online activity?

Watch
Watch the commercial for the Amazon Echo below
Answer

• What does it do?
• What questions do people ask?
• Would you like one?

Answers
How many of the questions can you answer?
Highlight below
What is it?
Is it for me?
How's it going?
Is it on?
Can it hear me right now?
What does it do?
What time is it?
Is that where we are going to put it?
How tall is Mount Everest?
How can it know so much?
How many teaspoons are in a table spoon?
What day is it?
What does a dog say after a long day at work?
How do you spell "cantaloupe"?




Discuss

1. What is it? How would you describe it one word?
2. What does it do? Give a summary of what it does in one sentence.
3. Is it important? Will it be popular? Why?
4. Is it useful? What are the advantages of having this product? Give 5 examples of the most important / useful things it does.
5. Does it have any drawbacks / disadvantages / negative aspects? Can you think of any problems it might have?
6. What do you think of it? Would you buy one? Do you think the Amazon Echo will be useful / popular? Could you use it to learn English?

Answers
Highlight below

1. A device called the Amazon Echo
2. It answers questions and performs a number of tasks
3. Student opinions
4. Student ideas - eg It answers questions, tells jokes, plays music, is an alarm clock and takes shopping orders ...
5. Arguments between family members? Privacy concerns? Is it listening to you? What does it know about you? Can it be hacked into?
6. Student opinions

Write
Write an article about the Amazon Echo (150 - 180 words)
Plan your writing

1. How many paragraphs will you use?
2. You can use your answers to the questions above to help you. How would you organize your answers into paragraphs?

Highlight below for answers
4 Paragraphs
Paragraph 1 = questions 1,2,and 3
Paragraph 2 = question 4
Paragraph 3 = question 5
Paragraph 4 = question 6




Read
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/with-amazons-echo-you-are-never-alone/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2014/11/11/amazon-echo-what-you-need-to-consider-before-buying/



 
More

• Are the machines taking over?  Advanced, Business, Future, Future Continuous, IELTS, Shopping, Technology, Upper Intermediate

• Are you always on your phone? Advanced, CAE, FCE, IELTS, Intermediate, Listening, Technology, Upper Intermediate, Writing, Writing an argument, Writing introductions for argument essays

• Could you live without it? Mobile phones, Living without electricity, Advantages and disadvantages, IELTS, Intermediate, Linking words, Listening, Reading, Smartphones, Writing an argument, Contrasting, Technology

• Who was the world's first online shopper? Business, Commerce, Communication, Differentiated Exercises, Intermediate, Listening, Pre-Intermediate, Science, Shopping, Technology, Upper Intermediate

How to be polite - Making Polite Requests

You are going to practise making polite requests


Note - this activity can be done in combination with this post
What is charm? http://efllecturer.blogspot.com.es/2014/05/what-is-charm.html



Discuss

• Why are we polite to each other?
• In what situations is it important to be polite?
• Are you likely to be more impressed by someone who is polite?
• In what ways do you show politeness or respect in your language?
• Does politeness change according to language and culture?
• How do we show politeness in English? What words or expressions do we use?

Look at the presentation.
Ask questions using the photos as prompts.

Polite Requests from David Mainwood

More
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Alphabet Quiz Game (ppt download)

You are going to

• play a game 
• practise pronouncing the letters of the alphabet
• test simple vocabulary

Instructions
This ppt game contains moving gifs, sound files and links to pages within the ppt so it should be downloaded as a ppt (see link below).
It is aimed at beginners and young learners and practises alphabet pronunciation and simple vocabulary.

1. You can play as a group or with 2 teams (there are 2 team pages - "A" and "B" with links). You can either throw a dice and move from A - Z cross the square (Snakes and Ladders) or choose a letter in the left hand column and move to the right (Word Square). Choose what's best for you class.
2. Choose a letter. Click on the sound symbol to hear the letter. You must pronounce it correctly. You get 1 point.
3. Click on the letter to go to the page. Say what you see. Click the page again to see the answer. You get 1 point.
4. Click on the arrow to go back to the team alphabet page and choose another letter.
5. Who gets the most correct answers?

Alphabet Quiz Game - (download to play game) from David Mainwood

Download the game as a ppt file here
Feel free to adapt it.



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"Been there. Done that" - Present Perfect / Past Simple Contrast + Game

You are going to

• practise the present perfect to talk about things you have done in your life
• use the past simple to give extra details about when / where / why you did it
• play a game to practise the present perfect / past simple

1) Discuss
A) How do we make the present perfect?
Answer - highlight below
The present perfect  = Have / Has  (‘ve / ‘s ) + Participle


B) Look at these verbs.
What are the participles?

 

Answers - highlight below
been  broken  caught  dressed  eaten  failed  found  flown  lost  met  played  ridden  sailed  seen  sung  skied  slept  swum  visited  won 



C) Present Perfect and Past Simple. What's the difference?

1. Which tense do we use to talk about something we have done in our lives (but when is not important)?
2. Which tense do we use to give extra information about the action (when / where / why...)?

Answers. Highlight below
Present Perfect - I have run in a marathon.
Past Simple - I ran in the marathon last year.






2) Speak
A) Look at the presentation and make and answer the questions in the present perfect.
You can answer the follow-up questions in the past simple

Have you ever...? - Present Perfect from David Mainwood

B) Now do the matching exercise

4) Speak / Play a game
What have you done?

1. Think of some things you have done in your life.
2. Write 8 sentences in the present perfect about things you have done. Can you think of anything that (in your class) ONLY YOU have done.

For example;
I've been to New York.
I've swum 400m
I've run in a marathon

Play the  "I'm the only one" game. 

1. Everyone says a sentence in the present perfect. You win a point if you have done something that no one else in the class has done.
2. Win another point if you say when or where you did it in the past simple.

The person or pair with the most points is the winner.





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Real English: Monty Python "Dead Parrot" Sketch - Idioms for "Dead" and "Broken"

You are going to

• watch / read a TV comedy sketch by Monty Python
• listen to some slang euphemisms for "dead"
• plan / write / act out your own comedy sketch using slang euphemisms for "broken"
• write a formal letter of complaint

Note - this post is designed to get students to use common expressions often heard in the UK. There is another similar post on UK slang here






1) Discuss

• Have you ever had to complain about something?
• What things do people usually complain about?
• What's the silliest thing you have ever complained about?

2) Watch
You are going to watch a comedy sketch from the BBC TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Answer

• Where is the man?
• What is his complaint?

Before you watch look at these slang euphemisms for "dead". How many do you know?

Watch the clip. 
How many of the expressions do you hear?

3) Read
Read the dialogue from the sketch in pairs. Check any vocabulary you don't know.

The cast:

MR. PRALINE - John Cleese
SHOP OWNER -  Michael Palin

The sketch: A customer enters a pet shop.

Mr. Praline: 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint.

(The owner does not respond.)

Mr. Praline: 'Ello, Miss?

Owner: What do you mean "miss"?

Mr. Praline: (pause) I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint!

Owner: Sorry we're closin' for lunch.

Mr. Praline: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.

Owner: Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue... What's wrong with it?

Mr. Praline: I'll tell you what's wrong with it. It's dead, that's what's wrong with it!

Owner: No, no, it's  resting. Look.

Mr. Praline: Look, my lad, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

Owner: No no it's not dead, he's, it's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue. Beautiful plumage innit,

Mr. Praline: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.

Owner: No no no no, no, no! It's resting!

Mr. Praline: All right then, if it's restin', I'll wake him up! (shouting at the cage) 'Ello, Polly! I've got a lovely fresh cuttle fish for when you wake up...

(owner hits the cage)

Owner: There, it moved!

Mr. Praline: No, it didn't, that was you pushing the cage!

Owner: I did not!!

Mr. Praline: Yes, you did!

Mr. Praline: (yelling and hitting the cage repeatedly) 'ELLO POLLY!!!!!

(Takes parrot out of the cage and thumps its head on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.)

Mr. Praline: Now that's what I call a dead parrot.

Owner: No, no.....No, it's stunned!
 
Mr. Praline: Look, my lad, I've 'ad just about enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I bought it not half an hour ago, you assured me that its lack of movement was due to it being tired and shagged out following a long squawk.

Owner: Well, he's probably pining for the fjords.

Mr. Praline: PININ' for the FJORDS?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that? Look, why did it fall flat on its back the moment I got it home?

Owner: The Norwegian Blue prefers kippin' on it's back! Beautiful bird. Lovely plumage!

Mr. Praline: Look, I took the liberty of examining that parrot and I discovered the only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the first place was that it had been NAILED there.

(pause)

Owner: Well, of course it was nailed there! Otherwise it would have nuzzled up to those bars and VOOM! 

Mr. Praline: Look matey, this parrot wouldn't "voom" if Iput four thousand volts through it! It's bleedin' demised!

Owner: It's not! It's pining!

Mr. Praline: It's not pinin'! It's passed on! This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot. It's a stiff! Bereft of life, It rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the perch It'd be pushing up the daisies! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

(pause)

Owner: Well, I'd better replace it, then. 

Mr. Praline:  If you want to get anything done in this country you've got to complain until you are blue in the mouth.

Owner: Sorry Guv, we're right out of parrots.

Mr. Praline: I see. I see, I get the picture.

Owner: (pause) I got a slug.

(pause)

Mr. Praline: Does it talk?

Owner: Not really.

Mr. Praline: WELL IT'S HARDLY A REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!!???!!?

Owner: Look, tell you what, if you go to my brother's pet shop in Bolton, he'll replace the parrot for you.

Mr. Praline: Bolton, eh? Alright.

(The customer leaves.)

(The customer enters the same pet shop. The owner is putting on a false moustache.)

Mr. Praline: Excuse me, this is Bolton, is it?

Owner: (with a fake moustache) No, it's Ipswich.

Mr. Praline: (looking at the camera) That's inter-city rail for you.

(Mr. Praine goes to the train station. He addresses a man standing behind a desk marked "Complaints".)

Mr. Praline: I wish to complain.

Attendant: I DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS JOB, YOU KNOW!!!

Mr. Praline: I beg your pardon...?

Attendant: I'm a qualified brain surgeon! I only do this job because I like being my own boss!

Mr. Praline: Excuse me, this is irrelevant, isn't it?

Attendant: Yeah, well it's not easy to pad these programs out to 30 minutes.

Mr. Praline: Well, I wish to make a complaint I got on the Bolton train and found myself deposited here in Ipswich.

Attendant: No, this is Bolton.

Mr. Praline: (to the camera) The pet shop owner's brother was lying!!

Attendant: You can't blame British Rail for that.

Mr. Praline: If this is Bolton, I shall return to the pet shop!


Mr. Praline: I understand that this IS Bolton.

Owner: (still with the fake moustache) Yes?

Mr. Praline: You told me it was Ipswich!

Owner: ...It was a pun.

Mr. Praline:  A PUN?!?

Owner: No, no...not a pun...What's that thing which spells the same backwards as forwards?

Mr. Praline: (Long pause) A palindrome?

Owner: Yeah, that's it!

Mr. Praline: It's not a palindrome! The palindrome of "Bolton" would be "Notlob"!! It don't work!!

Owner: Well, what do you want?

Mr. Praline: I'm sorry, I'm not prepared to pursue my line of inquiry any longer as I think this is getting too silly!

Sergeant-Major: Quite agree, quite agree, silly, silly... Right. Get on with it!

Adapted slightly from http://montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Series_1/53.htm





4) Speak
The comedy sketch is very silly isn't it?
In pairs plan / write / act out a similar silly sketch / dialogue about someone making a complaint about something which is broken.
Look at these euphemisms for broken. How many do you know?

You must include the sentence "I wish to register a complaint" in your dialogue and as many of the "broken" expressions as you can.
Make it silly. Act out or film your dialogues. The funniest one wins.



 
Write
Write a formal letter of complaint based on your dialogue. DO NOT use any of the slang expressions above.

• Start - I am writing to complain about..."
• Describe the problem
• Say what solution you want - a refund. a replacement...
• Finish in an appropriate formal way - I look forward to hearing from you, Yours sincerely...

More 
BBC News - "Mullered" and 61 other words for beaten at sport



Real English - Popular UK slang Intermediate, Phrasal Verbs / Idioms and Slang, Pre-Intermediate, Upper Intermediate

Carry on Doctor  Film and TV,  Intermediate, Past Continuous, Past Simple, Writing, Writing a letter of complaint

Giving Up Marilyn Manson Fashion, Giving Up Marilyn Manson, IELTS, Intermediate, Listening, Phrasal Verbs / Idioms and Slang, Upper Intermediate, Writing

Haunted House Advanced, Listening, Past Simple, Reading, The Haunted House by Dave Allen, Upper Intermediate, Writing, Writing a story

What is charm?

You are going to

• listen to a discussion about "charm"
• talk about being charming and being polite
• look at adjectives to describe personality / character

1) Discuss

• What is "charm"?
  
• In what jobs do you need to be charming?
• Can both women and men be charming?
• Are people less charming than they used to be?
• What are the origins of the word?
• Are charm and charisma the same thing?
• Can charm be learnt?

2) Listen
Author and critic Stephen Bayley has said the UK is becoming less charming. In this discussion from Radio 4's Today program he debates the subject along with columnist Rowan Pelling.
1) Listen to the clip. How many of the questions above are answered?

Useful vocabulary
You will hear these words. Do you know what they mean?

commodity, acquire, manipulative, sinister, "glass ceiling", detrimental, deprecating, tag, ooze, attribute, disparage, charisma, Machiavellian

listen to ‘Are we becoming less charming?’ on Audioboo

https://audioboo.fm/boos/1988206-are-we-becoming-less-charming


2) Listen again and do the quiz


Printable version here





3) Vocabulary
A) Look at these adjectives

• Do you know what they mean?
• How many are positive ways to describe someone?
• How many are negative?
• How many would you associate with someone who was "charming"

Highlight below to see the positive words
=  appealing, attractive, bewitching, captivating, charismatic, enchanting, engaging, entrancing, glamorous, magnetic, seductive, spellbinding, exciting, hypnotizing, interesting, pleasant


B) Write
Think of some people you know. Describe them in a sentence. Use the adjectives in the list. Say why he / she is appealing, engaging, glamorous etc




4) Discuss
Look at the postcard
What does it tell you about being polite in English?

• Do you think being polite or having good manners is the same as being charming?
• Are being charming and having good manners important?
• Why are we polite to each other?
• In what situations is it important to be polite or charming?
• Are you likely to be more impressed by someone who is polite or charming?
• In what ways do you show politeness or respect in your language?
• Does politeness change according to language and culture?
• How do we show politeness in English? What words or expressions do we use?

More
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Talking about Music - Why do we listen to music?

You are going to

• discuss music and use vocabulary to describe music
• listen to a discussion about the role music plays in our lives and do some comprehension activities

1) Discuss
Do you listen to music?

• What music do you like?
• Is music important in your life?
• Do you like to listen to music quietly or do you prefer to "crank it out" (play it loud)
• Does listening to old music transport you back to when you were younger?
• What is the role of music in our lives? Why do we listen to music?

2) Discuss
Vocabulary
In one minute how many words connected with music can you think of?
Think of these categories

• Musical instruments - guitar, cello...
• Kinds of music - classical, dance...
• Words to describe music - fast, melodic, jazzy...
• Feelings to describe listening to music - How does it make you feel? - happy, energetic, relaxed...

3) Discuss
Vocabulary for describing music / musicians / singers
Look at these words to describe music.

• How many were in your list?
• Do you understand them all?
• Think of some singers / groups / songs / kinds of music. In your opinion which adjectives describe the music / singer / song best? eg I think ______ is depressing / catchy / funky...

A racket (n.) Amazing Avant garde Awful Awesome Beautiful Bluesy Boring Catchy Commercial

Depressing Fast Funky Gentle Gorgeous Heavy Hypnotic Jazzy Makes you want to cry / dance / sing Melodic

Noisy Modern Old-fashioned Passionate Peaceful Popular Pretty Relaxing Repetitive Rocking Sad

Slow Soft Soulful Soulless Spiritual Stunning Swinging Traditional Tuneless Uplifting Violent

4) Discuss
Music in our lives
Look at these sentences. 
How many do you agree with?

1. All human beings are born musical.
2. Music can take us back to bad times in our lives
3. Music has a useful psychological effect.
4. Music makes you feel more positive about bad experiences
5. Music plays an important part in our lives even before we are born
6. Music transports people back to their formative years.
7. People often listen to music to make themselves sad.
8. People often say the best music was made during their adolescence.
9. Playing music loud at night helps children to sleep.
10. Singing and learning a musical instrument improves hearing.

5) Listen
You are going to listen to psychologist Victoria Williamson discussing the role of music from BBC Radio 4's "Today"
Put the sentences above in the order you hear them (see interactive exercise1 below).




http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01tclqw



1) Drag and drop the sentences on the right to put them in the order you hear them in the radio clip.

2) Listen again and do the comprehension quiz

6) Write
Answer. Why do we listen to music?
Use the ideas in the radio interview to help you.





7) Practise
Try the Interactive Crossword.
Click on a number in the crossword to see the clue and type the answer in the space.




Printable worksheets here
Activities
Crossword with answers




More
Go here and do a listening exercise about the sounds of music in nature
Is There Music in the Sounds of Nature? - The Rhythm of Life Advanced, Environment, Music, Nature, Upper Intermediate

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My favourite kinds of music
Finally, for anyone who is interested I have a blog where I write about my favourite kinds of music here stranger than known

The Mystery Person Game - Past Simple

You are going to 

• play a revision game
• look at some pictures and practise the past simple
• write about someone's life using the past simple

1) Before you play. Check
Do you know the past simple form of these verbs?

Be  Break  Brush  Buy  Can  Clean  Cut  Do  Drink  Drive  Eat  Fly  Go  Have  Learn  Like  Listen  Lose  Play  Ride  See  Send  Speak  Study  Swim  Talk  Travel  Use  Visit  Watch  Wear  Write





2) Play
Game Instructions.
Someone has disappeared. You have to make sentences using the past simple about the person's life using the pictures as prompts.

1. Decide if the "mystery person" is a man or a woman (He or She)
2. Click the page forward.
3. Make sentences about the photos in the past simple.
4. Continue. Play in teams. You can get a point for each correct sentence. Some photos can have more than one sentence so you can win more points for each one you make.

The Mystery Person - What did he do? Past Simple from David Mainwood

Download the ppt here





3) Write
What can you remember about the mystery person?
Give him or her a name and write about them. You can invent new information.
What happened to him or her? Why did he or she disappear?





4) More Practice

1. Look at the sentences in the ppt presentation
2. Say each sentence in the past
3. Make the question in the past.
4. Click to continue

Say the sentences and questions in the past simple from David Mainwood


Download the ppt here





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Rolling Question Game Elementary, Games, Pre-Intermediate, Kids, Speaking, Young Learners

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The Rolling Question Game

(Beg.s > Pre-Int)

You are going to  

• play a revision game
• practise and revise vocabulary by answering questions

Teacher's note. I uploaded this here as, along with the Rolling Word Game here,  it has been very popular with my younger classes.
You can start or finish at any point depending on the level of the class. The questions are more or less ordered according to level from beginners vocab through to prepositions, present continuous, simple past, comparatives  etc


Instructions

1. Throw 1 or 2  dice.
2. Click the page forward according to the number on the dice.
3. Answer the questions
4. Continue. Play in teams. You can get a point for each correct answer. More points can be given if the answer requires more information.

Rolling question game from David Mainwood

Download as ppt file here

More

Rolling Word Game Elementary, Games, Intermediate, Kids, Speaking, Young Learners

Games and Quizzes EFL SMARTblog list

Real English - Popular UK Slang

You are going to 

• look at and practise some very common British slang expressions.
• try and guess the meanings of words from visual context
• do some matching and gap fill exercises

 
Teacher's note
I have seen many students come to the UK thinking they had a good level of English, FCE for example, but still struggle at doing basic things like talking to bus drivers or shop assistants. It's sometimes quite important to teach students "real" English instead of that boring, artificial and antiseptic textbook stuff.

Here is an example. How often do your students come into class with the odd and imperative sounding "Hello! How are you?" instead of the more natural sounding and (in the UK) now ubiquitous "Hiya! Y'alright?"
How many of us actually teach them to use "Hiya!", "Alright?" or "Cheers!" or "See ya!"?
Yet, informally, this is how most people in the UK actually speak to each other.

So, anyway, here are some informal expressions you won't find in many coursebooks or in any exams  but you will definitely hear when you come to the UK.

Warning. Be careful when you use some of these expressions. They are informal and a few may not be suitable for use in class, to your teacher or boss.







1) Discuss
1. How many of these very common expressions do you know?

2. Look at the presentation.

• How many of the words do you know? 
• Can you guess the meanings from the photos?

UK Slang Expressions from David Mainwood

Adapted from 17 British Slang Terms Americans Should Start Using Immediately







2) Practise
1. Try these matching exercises. 
Match the meaning on the right with the slang word on the left. One is done for you.

2. Now try this gap fill

Download printable worksheet (with answers) here






3) Write
Write some short dialogues using as many of the expressions as you can






More
1. One Direction explain some British vocabulary and slang.
How many of the expressions above do they talk about? 

2. English and American slang is different.
Hugh Laurie in The Ellen DeGeneres Show playing a game of American slang VS English slang.
How many of the expressions above do they talk about?

Slang links

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mackenziekruvant/british-slang-americans-should-start-using

http://www.effingpot.com/slang.shtml

http://thoughtcatalog.com/nico-lang/2013/09/71-simple-british-slang-phrases-everyone-should-start-using/

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/

http://www.slang.org.uk/




Of course there is a lot of UK slang and new expressions come into the language all the time. How many of these do you know?
Maybe we'll look at these next time.
Cheers!
See ya!

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