Introduction: 

These are activities for upper intermediate students to introduce and practise communication idioms. Students unscramble the expressions, match them with the correct definitions and play a game.

Level: B2

Time: 45 minutes

Objectives:

1. To introduce communication idioms and expressions.
2. To use the new expressions in context whilst playing a game.

Materials:

1. You talkin’ to me? Worksheet, one per student.
2. Dice, one per group.

Procedure:

1. Put students into pairs and ask them to briefly discuss the following questions: What makes communication effective? Who do you struggle to communicate with and why? How has technology changed the way we communicate?
2. Hand each student ‘You talkin’ to me? Worksheet ’.
3. Individually, students put the jumbled words in the correct order to discover the expressions.
4. When the students have finished, they compare their answers with their partner.
5. Check the answers as a class.
6. Now, the students match the expressions to the definitions and compare their answers with their partner.
7. Check the answers as a class.
8. Put students into groups of 2 or 3 and give each group a die.
9. Using the expressions from the worksheet, the first student rolls the die and depending on the number thrown must follow the instructions below. The point is given to the first player to correctly guess the expression. The player with the highest number of points wins.

1. Act out the expression.
2. Define it.
3. Give an example.
4. Draw the expression.
5. Give an example of something that means the opposite.
6. Give 3 clues to help their classmates guess the expressions.

Fast finishers/ homework:

1. Individually, students choose 7 expressions they would like to use more often and write their own sentences.

You talkin’ to me. Worksheet

Solutions