Oxford Learner's Pocket Word Skills is a compact, easy-to-use book which ... the
worksheets for Oxford Word Skills Idioms and Phrasal Verbs Intermediate on the
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LESSON LINK
Decisions Oxford Learner’s Pocket Word Skills is a compact, easy-to-use book which presents vocabulary in context. Students can learn vocabulary on key topics, and test themselves with the ‘cover and check’ card. These activities introduce students to some common idioms in the context of making decisions.
Lesson Length 25-40 mins Aim 1. to present and practise some common idioms 2. to encourage communication and practise pronunciation of the key vocabulary. Preparation You will need a copy of the following worksheet for each student: Activity worksheet: Decisions (from Oxford Learner’s Pocket Word Skills pages 352-353) cut into two parts as shown.
1 LEAD-IN
❚ Write this definition (from the Oxford Learner’s Advanced Dictionary) on the board, or read it aloud to the students: a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words e.g. ‘let the cat out of the bag’
❚ Which word is it defining? (idiom)
❚ What does ‘let the cat out of the bag’ mean? (to tell a secret by mistake)
❚ Idioms can sound strange or funny to students, who might not recognise them as such when they see/hear them. They can be difficult to explain and hard to learn because there is often no logical link between the words and the idiom’s meaning. Explain to the students that idioms are very common and it is important that they recognise them, even if they don’t use them.
❚ Ask them for examples of idioms in their own language. Can they translate them into English? Do they know the history of any of the idioms?
❚ This lesson uses the context of a problem page to present idioms about decision-making. Give the students one of the problems on the worksheet (e.g. Should I go and work abroad?) and get them to brainstorm some ideas/answers surrounding the topic (e.g. a disadvantage of working abroad is leaving your friends and family, an advantage is the possibility of having an adventure).
2 PAIRWORK READING ACTIVITY
❚ Put the students into pairs. Hand out the ‘problem page.org’ half of the worksheet (one each) and tell each pair to read a different text – A, B or C.
❚ Focus on the phrases in bold (idioms and phrasal verbs). In their pairs, can the students work out their meanings? Get them to write definitions for each bold phrase.
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© Oxford University Press 2013
LESSON LINK 3 GROUP ACTIVITY
❚ When they’ve finished, join text A pairs together, text B pairs together and text C pairs together to compare their definitions. As a group, get them to decide on one definition for each idiom/phrasal verb.
❚ Hand out the glossary part of the worksheet. Which of their definitions were correct?
4 EXTENSION ACTIVITY: WRITING
❚ Get students to write their own short texts asking for advice using some of the vocabulary from the lesson. Try and keep these light-hearted!
❚ Ask the students to swap texts and offer advice on each other’s problems. This could be done as another individual writing activity, as a collaborative writing activity, or as a speaking activity.
HOMEWORK
❚ Tell the students to read all the texts and the glossary.
EXTRA HELP
❚ Do your students need more practice with phrasal verbs? Direct them to unit 31 in Oxford Learner’s Pocket Word Skills.
❚ Would your students like to know more about the history of English idioms? Direct them to the worksheets for Oxford Word Skills Idioms and Phrasal Verbs Intermediate on the website www.oup.com/elt/wordskills.
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© Oxford University Press 2013
LESSON LINK
Activity worksheet: Decisions
✁
31.1
IDIoMs anD PHrasaL VerBs
31.1
DecIsIons
Decisions
make up your mind decide sth. go round in circles think or argue about sth without making any progress. get on with it stop wasting time and do what you should be doing. wait and see be patient and delay doing sth until you see what happens. turn out develop in a particular way, or have a particular result. rush into sth do sth without thinking carefully about it first. put sth off arrange to do sth at a later date, especially because you do not want to do it. play (it) safe be careful and avoid risks. stay put inf stay in one place or position. look back (on sth) think about sth in your past. syn reflect on sth. come up if a job or an opportunity comes up, it becomes available. be in two minds about sth have difficulty in making a decision to do sth. set sth up start a business, an organization, etc. have the courage of your convictions continue to say or do what you think is right, even if other people think you are wrong. go for sth inf try to achieve, get or win sth. as you go along = at the same time as continuing with another activity. cross that bridge when you come to it worry about a problem when it actually happens and not before.
problem page.org Should I ask my girlfriend to marry me? I’m finding it hard to make up my mind; I just keep going round in circles. My brother’s always telling me to get on with it, but what worries me is that Jessie and I are still young, and perhaps we should wait and see how things turn out between us. I don’t believe in rushing into things.
A
Should I go and work abroad? I’ve been offered a job in the Usa, but I keep putting off the decision because it’s a big move and a risk (I’ve already got a good job). I could play it safe and stay put, but then I might look back in ten years’ time and regret it. Jobs like that don’t come up very often.
B
Should I start a business?
C
I’m in two minds about this. I know it’s not a good time to set up a business, but at some point in my life, I have to have the courage of my convictions and go for it. I can always adapt the business as I go along, and if I lose money, well, I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.
352
4620154.indb 352
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© Oxford University Press 2013
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