It’s relatively easy for students to find polite phrases for classroom language. However, in reality we use idioms that are much trickier to understand. In this lesson, I introduce students to common idioms they can use as responses when they aren’t sure of the correct response or need the speaker to repeat.

Lesson overview

Doing a warmer activity

then   5 minutes

Procedure: Prepare a short reading passage. It can be the one you’ll distribute later in the jigsaw task. After general introductions, tell students to get ready for a short dictation by getting their pens and paper out. They have to write down whatever you say. Then, deliberately frustrate them by reading the text first ridiculously quickly then by muttering it so that the words are unintelligible.

When they’re unable to write, ask students what the problem is in an exaggeratedly innocent fashion, so they understand you’re playing with them, and see whether they can express the problem in English. Note what they say on one side of the board; for example, ‘Too fast!’ or ‘Not clear!’ Explain that today the lesson is about idioms they can use when they have problems in your classroom or in the outside world.

Vocabulary discussion 1

  6 minutes

Procedure: Write these expressions on the rest of the board.

In small groups, students must brainstorm other ways of saying these six things. For example, they may suggest ‘I have no idea’ for ‘I don’t know’.

Don’t allow dictionaries for this stage of the lesson. This exercise is a good revision tool.

  10 minutes

Procedure: Ask representatives from each group to write their suggestions on the board under each expression from Vocabulary discussion 1. As a peer correction exercise, let the rest of the class say whether they agree with each group’s suggestions. Make sure the final version on the board is correct and give students time to write all the expressions down.

Jigsaw task

  10 minutes

Procedure: The story below contains all the key vocabulary in context. You can use my story or one that you create to suit your students, but you need two versions. Have the complete text ready to read, and then another copy of the same text that you’ve cut up into little sections. Each section should contain one or two sentences and they areand distributed equally amongst the class.

If you create your own story, make sure that the text contains structural clues. That means that there are connecting words that refer to previously mentioned information (such as after that happened) or ones that continue the story (such as next). In this way you subtly train students to notice connecting words.

Students cheat! They’ll try to match the pieces by shape, like a literal jigsaw puzzle, instead of going by the story content. So use straight lines to divide the segments; a guillotine will help.

The students must now co-operate to put all the pieces of the story together and make one complete tale. To do this they all show their segments of the story and together work out which is first, second and so on. Eventually, they should all stand up in a line holding the story segments in order from start to finish. Read the students’ version of the story aloud and help them correct any parts that are in the wrong order.

You could give each pair of students a full set of segments to organise. However, for a first-day lesson, it’s good to get all the students interacting.

Full text

Richard was planning a family holiday. The only problem was that he didn’t have a clue where to go. One day he saw an advertisement for a hotel in Cornwall. ‘That rings a bell,’ he thought. ‘I’m sure my wife went there with her grandfather when she was a child.’

He decided to call the hotel. When the receptionist answered, he began to organise the room, but the telephone line was very bad.

‘Sorry, sir, I didn’t catch that! Did you say Mr Richards for one night?’ asked the receptionist at the hotel.

‘No, I said Mr Richard Smith! It’s a family room for May 1st. We want to stay four nights, leaving May 5th.’

Richard repeated the details many times because the receptionist just didn’t get it. In fact, he thought that the receptionist might be very old and a little deaf.

After a few minutes the receptionist began to explain some necessary information. Richard asked the receptionist to hold on while he got himself a pen. He asked his young son, who was playing in the room, to help. ‘David, could you give me a hand, please? Pass that pencil and notebook over there.’

As soon as David stood up, the living room door opened and Richard’s wife walked in. Richard quickly put the phone down.

‘We did your secret surprise, Mummy! We’re all going on holiday to Cornwall!’ said little David.

The text in segments

Richard was planning a family holiday. The only problem was that he didn’t have a clue where to go.

____________

One day he saw an advertisement for a hotel in Cornwall.

‘That rings a bell,’ he thought. ‘I’m sure my wife went there with her grandfather when she was a child.’

____________

He decided to call the hotel. When the receptionist answered, he began to organise the room, but the telephone line was very bad.

____________

‘Sorry, sir, I didn’t catch that! Did you say Mr Richards for one night?’ asked the receptionist at the hotel.

____________

‘No, I said Mr Richard Smith! It’s a family room for May 1st. We want to stay four nights, leaving May 5th.’

____________

Richard repeated the details many times because the receptionist just didn’t get it.

____________

In fact, he thought that the receptionist might be very old and a little deaf.

____________

After a few minutes the receptionist began to explain some necessary information.

____________

Richard asked the man to hold on while he got himself a pen.

____________

He asked his young son, who was playing in the room, to help. ‘David, could you give me a hand, please? Pass that pencil and notebook over there.’

____________

As soon as David stood up, the living room door opened and Richard’s wife walked in. Richard quickly put the phone down.

____________

‘We did your secret surprise, Mummy! We’re all going on holiday to Cornwall!’ said little David.

____________

Text comprehension

  6 minutes

Procedure: Students can put their story segments from the jigsaw task on the floor and then read the story again for themselves. Allow a couple of minutes for this. Then make sure that the students have understood the gist of the text by asking some basic questions. Here are some simple yes/no questions (more confident students can provide an explanation for their answers):

1. When Richard wanted to organise a holiday, was he worried about the cost of the hotel?
2. Did Richard want to go on holiday with his wife’s grandfather?
3. Did Richard want to take his child on holiday?
4. Why did Richard repeat what he was saying on the phone a few times?
5. Was little David helpful?

Vocabulary discussion 2

  5 minutes

Procedure: Focus on the phrases in bold in the story in the jigsaw task. Explain that each of the six highlighted phrases is a synonym for one of the six phrases you wrote on the board during Vocabulary discussion 1. By reading the story again in context, students should be able to guess the meanings of the phrases. For example, ‘Hold on’ matches ‘Wait, please’. Depending on how many students you have, they can do this as a whole class or in smaller groups.

Elicit the correct answers and write them on the board under the six phrases. Make sure students take notes.

Idioms in context

  10 minutes

Procedure: In pairs or small groups get students to discuss the following, or similar, questions. Monitor their language use and have a brief feedback session.

• Give an example of British culture you just don’t get. For example, why do Brits always talk about the weather?
• When American people speak, are you able to catch what they say most of the time? How can you improve your listening skills?
• In what situations do you prefer to ask the teacher for a hand and in what situations do you prefer to do things yourself?
• Do the names of any of these movie stars ring a bell with you? Which films are they famous for? Angela Bassett; Anthony Hopkins; Lucy Liu; Hugh Grant
• Which of these English-speaking countries can you say you haven’t got a clue about? Say what you know about the others in this list.

  Republic of Ireland	Canada	Bahamas
  Sierra Leone	Guyana	New Zealand

Getting student feedback

individually or   10 minutes

Procedure: Give your students a say: use the questionnaire in Table 10-1 with your class so that they can tell you what they’d like to include in the course. Collate the results and tell the students which topics proved to be most popular.

Table 10-1 First day class questionnaire

If you want the students to spend more time thinking about this, you can give out personal copies and ask them to hand back the questionnaire next lesson.

Doing a cooler activity

Repeat the warmer activity with another text. Students don’t have to write, but they need to respond to you with the new vocabulary. Slow down your reading when the students say ‘Hold on!’ or ‘I didn’t catch that!’ but not for long – keep giving them a reason to stop you.

Extension activities

Have a revision session in which you cover issues raised by ‘I was taught this but I just don’t get it!’ in the questionnaires from ‘Getting student feedback’. Pair students who get it with those who don’t get it to do an activity based on the topic. One will help the other.

Cover the ‘I haven’t got a clue about this but I’d like to learn more!’ topics highlighted in the questionnaires as warmers and coolers, or the basis for whole lessons if the subject matter warrants it.