That was rubbish!!

Hello again on this lovely Sunday!

I think I've already mentioned that my students love music and they like it when I bring songs to class. However, it's never easy to make everybody happy with my song choices. Even though I always go for a track that is on the list made by my students (I frequently ask them to make a list of songs they like) ,there are always a few grumpy kids who absolutely despise the number/artist I decide to work with.

I'm hoping to make everybody happy with this lesson. The kids who enjoy certain songs will be able to listen to them while the ones who hate these tracks will have a unique opportunity to criticise them as much as they wish to.

In this lesson your students will watch a video of a famous talent show judge being very harsh to a few contestants. They will firstly learn a few ways of giving very mean feedback. Then, they will study a few ways of making criticism sound softer and more tactful. In the end they'll participate in a role-play in which they'll listen to various songs and take turns to be crude or sensitive talent show judges.

First of all, show your students this PowerPoint presentation and ask them if they know the people in the photos and elicit if they have anything in common. The photos show famous talent show judges known for being very honest but rude in their comments (Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay, Chicote). I currently teach in Spain so I included Chicote: a celebrity chef who doesn't beat around the bush when he criticises others. You might want to include some photos of other mean celebrities who your students are familiar with.

Then, tell your students to work in pairs, watch Top 10 Simon Cowell Insults and write as many mean comments as possible. Have your students share their notes but don't correct them yet.
Now give everybody this handout and get them to watch the video again in order to complete exercise 1. At this stage, depending on your students' level, you might need to explain a few words like horrendous, delusional, edge, charisma, utterly, hammy or rubbish.

After correcting exercise 1, tell your students that Simon Cowell isn't the most tactful man around and there are other, nicer ways of expressing one's dislike. Have your students work on exercise 2 and make sure you point out and explain how to use the understatements. Give them more examples if necessary.

Now your students are ready to do exercise 3 in which they have to work in pairs/individually (it's up to you), and use the expressions from the previous exercise to make Simon Cowell's statements (exercise 1) sound more sensitive.

In the last activity divide your students into two groups: group 1 will be harsh judges, group 2 should be tactful judges. Play a song (choose one beforehand) and give your students some time to come up with feedback according to their roles. Remind them to look at different aspects of the song: lyrics, melody, video, etc. Monitor to make sure they use the studied expressions correctly before they act out their roles. You can then play another song and get your students to swap roles. Alternatively, you can divide your students into three groups and add a group of friendly judges who love and compliment the song. Remember to pre-teach some useful expressions to help them give very positive feedback. 

The choice of songs depends on your students. I always pick the most controversial artists that I know my students either love or hate, for example Justin Bieber or One Direction. It's always a good idea to suss out your student's music tastes before the lesson.

This lesson might be followed up by a review writing activity in which students need to review a book/place/film, etc. they don't like: this might be ideal for those of your students who are preparing for more advanced Cambridge exams.

I prepared this lesson for my intermediate and upper-intermediate teenage students but I'll give it a go with my adult students, too. This lesson contains some harsh, offensive language so it's very important that your students are mature and responsible enough to know that their words might be hurtful so they need to think carefully before they speak out. I wouldn't conduct this lesson with my younger, less mature students. 


Let me know if there's anything you would change in this lesson!

I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you...

When was the last time you had to break some bad news to somebody? It's definitely never easy to disappoint a person. However, there are some ways in which we can deliver bad news in a less painful way. In this  lesson your adult students will learn some useful expressions we use to give and respond to bad news. They'll also get involved in a role play to put these expressions into practice.

I've prepared this lesson with my company students in mind and so far it's worked well with intermediate and upper-intermediate levels. My students have approached the topic quite lightheartedly and haven't shared any terrible news. However, remember to be sensitive if any very bad news comes up.  

Download the worksheet here . 

Have a great weekend!

Games Games Games!

The end of the academic year is fast approaching so I’d like to treat my students to more games. They’ve been working very hard and I think they deserve to relax and have a bit more fun than we usually do. In this post I’d like to write about the games I find very popular among my students, but I’d also like to ask you to tell me what games have worked for you and your students.

This course we've played a lot of games based on role-plays, which my students have thoroughly enjoyed. I was pleasantly surprised to see both my teen and adult students get into their characters and use English in “real” life situations. Even my shyest students were eager to participate! If you struggle with finding ideas for role play activities, I recommend that you get a copy of Role Plays for Today by Jason Anderson . It’s a great book with plenty of interesting ideas for EFL students of all levels.

I’ve also exploited my blackboard a bit more and have played various games such as jeopardy, pictionary, hot seat and other fun games you can read about here.


It’s not a secret that I’m addicted to Amazon. I can’t go a week without ordering something. I usually order books and DVDs, but this year I’ve bought quite a few board games which I’m happy to play both with my friends and my students (teacher’s life can be truly great!).


I’m sure you’ve all played Taboo. It’s a great game and it always gets my students excited. It can be, however, a tad difficult for younger or less advanced learners. In that case I recommend Don't Say It! It’s like the Taboo game, but it’s designed for children and lower level learners of English.

I’m also convinced you’ve heard of Rory's Story Cubes. It’s a very nice and simple game which encourages learners to use their imagination and tell a story. It’s been enjoyed by my younger and older students (including adult learners). I need to warn you though: some kids make an awful lot of noise with these cubes so you might want to use Soft Foam Story Cubes . Just saying… ;)

If you enjoy storytelling games, you’ll like What's up? What’s up? is a card game in which all the players have to create a fun story using the pictures on the game cards. To spice the game up a bit, there are some special cards which make things more complicated, thus more interesting. If you decide to buy this game, remember to have a look at the cards beforehand: there are some pictures which might not be appropriate for the age or cultural background of your students. For example, I decided to get rid of a card with a picture of a condom cause I just didn’t want to deal with my teenage students’ giggles or some possibly awkward questions from my YL.

Another game which has been pretty fun for my students is BrainBox: English.I must say I had been quite reluctant to buy this game, but following a fellow teacher’s recommendation I decided to give it a go and I’m definitely not sorry! It appeared to be quite engaging and my students like how competitive it can get. It’s also a great exercise to improve one’s memory! Definitely worth buying.

I’d like to end this post with my personal favourite…a game which, no modesty here, made me pretty famous at school…kids talk to one another about this game and play it after school with their friends and families. Even my boyfriend got hooked up on this game and wanted to play for hours and hours. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to Black Stories. Black stories are mysterious riddles for teenagers and adults. Your students will have to solve crimes by asking yes/no questions. I'm jealous of those of you who haven't played Black Stories yet. There's so much fun awaiting you :)


Well, these are some of my favourite games I like playing with my students. What are yours?