Tag Archives: games

Exploring the World of Work (with a little help from Brad Pitt!)

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Oh, this lesson sounds like it’s going to be SO much fun! I love how interactive and engaging it is—plus, who can resist Brad Pitt doing all sorts of jobs? Those who know me know that Brad Pitt is a constant in my life, and whenever I can, here he is—brightening my lessons or adding a little spice to the mix! And in this activity, how could I resist? 😄

By the way,  I used AI to generate the images. Hopefully, Brad Pitt won’t mind being used for educational purposes!

Step 1:  Vocabulary. The hard work.

handout

First up, hand out the vocabulary, guiding students to describe what jobs involve. Responsibilities, pros, cons, you know the drill! Here’s the handout I have used + it contains a QR code to help with pronunciation.

 

This is what I’ve done to introduce the vocabulary little by little

  1. I asked them to silently read all the information under the heading General Responsibilities.
  2. Then, I played the audio to work on pronunciation
  3. After that, I displayed the image of Brad Pitt performing a job, and they used some vocabulary to describe the general responsibilities this job involves.
  4. I repeated the same procedure for the heading Advantages and Disadvantages to ensure they were comfortable with all aspects of the vocabulary.

This is the image I have used for this part

 

Step 2: The Guided Game (a.k.a. Guess Brad's Job!)

Now for the fun part—and this one is guaranteed to get the whole class involved! Here’s the game plan and again we go from guided practice to free practice.

FROM GUIDED PRACTICE TO FREE PRACTICE.

HOT SEAT with a volunteer.

  • Pick a student to face away from the board (let’s call them the “guesser”).
  • Display one of the job images on the board for everyone else to see.
  • The rest of the class will give clues about the job, but here’s the catch—they have to use the vocabulary from the handout! So, instead of saying, “He works in a hospital,” they might say, “This job involves communication skills because you need to explain medical conditions clearly to patients.”
  • IMPORTANT:They must describe the job without mentioning the place of work or giving obvious clues! For instance, if Brad Pitt is playing a chef in the image, the student can’t say “restaurant,” but they can say things like, “This job requires excellent time management because you need to prepare things on time, and it can be physically demanding because you’re on your feet for long periods”.

Students will work together as a class, tossing out clues about the responsibilities, advantages, or disadvantages of the job, and the guesser has to figure out what job Brad is performing in the image! We’ll play a couple of rounds to give students the opportunity to use the language.

HOT SEAT in TEAMS

  • Divide class into 2 groups and ask a representative from each group to take the hot seat facing away from the board.
  • Give each representative a bell.
  • The whole class will now start giving clues about the responsibilities, advantages, or disadvantages of the job. The first representative to guess the job will score 1 point for their team.
  • Rules: they have to ring the bell every time they want to guess. If they make a mistake, they won’t be able to ring the bell again until the other team has had a chance to have a guess, too.

Here you have the rest of the images I have used.

Add a heading by cristina.cabal

Step 3: Free Practice in Pairs

Students will team up: one student will face away from the board while their partner looks at the image.

The goal is for students to dig deep into their vocabulary  knowledge to give accurate but challenging descriptions. This not only pushes them to be precise with their language but also forces them to think critically about the roles we see in different jobs.

Do you think this activity will work well for your C1 students? Are there any jobs you’re dying to see Brad Pitt doing? Let me know!

Step 4:  Personalization

Time to get students working in groups of 4 or 5. One student in each group will choose a job—it can be their real job or their dream job. The rest of the group has to figure out what it is by asking up to 10 questions.

Important: Encourage students to use their newly acquired vocabulary. Instead of asking simple questions like “Do you work in an office?” they could ask, “Does your job require strong problem-solving skills?” or “Is teamwork a key part of your role?”

This brings the lesson full circle, with students practising vocabulary while keeping the conversation interactive and personal!

Another activity further practising this vocabulary is coming. Keep posted!!!

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ChatGPT Dicey Discussions: A Grammar and Conversation Challenge

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Welcome back, everyone! I’ve missed connecting with you and sharing ideas. Another year of sharing my classroom experiences with you all—20 years publishing and still going strong! I’m just as pumped about it, even though I barely have time to write. Al least, not as much as I’d like. Over the summer, I’ve been busy testing new ways to make the most of AI in our classrooms. I can’t wait to dive in and explore these exciting possibilities together!

Remember when we used to spend hours crafting conversation games? Well, those days are over! This prompt will save you tons of time while sparking lively discussions in your classroom. Plus, it’s a breeze—just roll a die! The best part? It also sneaks in some essential grammar practice during conversations.

OPTION 1. THE TRADITIONAL TOUCH I AM SO FOND OF.

Now, this is the prompt I’ve written on ChatGPT. I have used ChatGPT, but you can use any of his friends-Gemini, Bard, Claude, Llama…etc.

Create a conversation game using a die, where each number corresponds to [six] questions. The questions should cover [advanced] grammar points such as [conditionals, relative clauses, modal verbs, passive voice, reported speech], and other [complex] structures. Some other questions should explore a variety of semantic fields such as [emotions, travel, relationships, work, and technology]. Group the questions under each dice number according to the grammar points or to the semantic fields.

Now, let me walk you through how to use this in your classroom:

  1. Go to ChatGPT and paste in the prompt. (Easy peasy, right?)
  2. Watch in awe as it generates a full set of questions grouped by die numbers.
  3. Copy the results and print them out. (Or go paperless and display them on your smart board)
  4. Grab a die and roll it twice for each conversation. The first roll picks the category, and the second roll selects the question students will answer.
  5. Put your students in pairs and let conversations flow.
  6. Add movement: after about 5 minutes, have students stand up and switch partners, roll the dice again to get a new question and keep the discussions lively and engaging. It’s a simple and effective way to spark interaction while reinforcing key grammar points!
  7. Wanna add to the fun? Then, use a giant foam dice and let students roll it!!! Have a look at mine!

Note: These questions have been created by ChatGPT with the input of the prompt above. You can modify the prompt to fit your students’ needs.


Click here to go full screen. Roll the die and answer the question by cristina.cabal

OPTION 2. INTERACTIVE AND TECH-POWERED

If you can think it, you can probably make it happen! Tech has never been more accessible. Everything’s at your fingertips—you just need to know where to look.

So guess what? I’ve taken the game above and given it a fresh, interactive twist! We’re talking paperless, more engaging, and way more fun. Imagine the same game, but now it’s fully interactive and tech-powered.

This is the prompt I have used  to feed the amazing website Websim. https://websim.ai/c/nXmnW5OcZ7UNFCbWN

Create an interactive page with this prompt. Create a conversation game using a die, where each number corresponds to [six] questions. The questions should cover [advanced] grammar points such as [conditionals, relative clauses, modal verbs, passive voice, reported speech], and other [complex] structures. Some other questions should explore a variety of semantic fields such as [emotions, travel, relationships, work, and technology].  The questions should be grouped by grammar category or semantic field. State which grammar point or semantic field each number corresponds to and include a text “www.cristinacabal.com” which will link to this website. The background should be light red.

And this is what I got. Well, what do you think?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t AI taking over our jobs?” Fear not! This is where our expertise comes in. We can use the AI-generated questions as a starting point, then tweak and personalize them to fit our students’ needs and interests. This is really the perfect blend of efficiency and personalization!

We are not replacing our teaching skills; we’re enhancing them. We’re eliminating the tedious prep work so we can focus on what really matters – connecting with our students and creating those “aha!” moments we live for.

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The Animal Kingdom: A Multi-Skill Lesson Plan for C1 Students

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Packed with engaging activities, this lesson plan about the animal kingdom is going to become your favourite. Trust me!!!

Have you noticed that it seems like everyone’s got a furry friend these days, and not so many babies? Parks are full of dog walkers, not strollers, you know what I mean? This is one of the things we’ll talk about in this lesson.

I was actually planning to publish this when I was not so busy with classes and teacher’s sessions, but I could not wait to get this into your hands because it is a lesson that worked really well. So before I forget, here it is! A lesson plan for C1 students about the animal kingdom and endangered species.

What you will find in this post is:

  • 2 Warm-up Activities
  • Revising and introducing the name of some animals
  • Vocabulary to talk about endangered species
  • Personalized Listening Comprehension
  • Grammar Game: Impersonal Passive
  • Out of their Seats: Controversial statements + some help
Warm-Up One: Sparking Discussion

If you have been reading me for some time, you know how much I like to play with IA, so to engage my students and spark discussion I have generated this image using Microsoft Designer.

In my experience, displaying the image is enough to create debate, but in case you need it, here is some help.

Question: It’s interesting to note the trend of more people opting for pets over having children. What do you think are some of the factors driving this shift in lifestyle choices?

Follow-up Questions: Have you observed this trend in your own social circles or community? How prevalent do you think it is? What do you believe are some of the advantages and disadvantages of having pets instead of children?

Warm-Up Two: Revising Animal Names Students already Know

Building upon prior knowledge is essential for effective learning, wouldn’t you agree?

In this spirit, I have asked my  C1 students to write a list of 10 wild animals excluding the usual : tiger, elephant, lion, zebra…. OK, you get it! I have given them one minute, and we have written the most interesting ones on the board, practising pronunciation.

Ready to revise and introduce some new ones?

Introducing New Vocabulary + Pronunciation
  • Endangered species
  • Threatened ,
  • On the verge of extinction
  • To become extinct
  • Deforestation
  • Habitat
  • Carnivore, herbivore, omnivore
  • Predator
  • food chain,
  • environmentalist,
  • ecosystem,
  • conservation effort,
  • global warming, recover,
  • vulnerable,
  • reforestation,
  • poach,
  • wildlife
  • to decline,
  • overhunt, overharvest, overfish,
  • To breed in captivity,
Helping Students pronounce better:

A word of warning: I forgot to insert some pauses in-between words, so you might need to stop the audio after each word. Sorry, but I realized once I was playing it for my students and I didn’t feel like doing it all over again.

ANIMALS VOCABULARY by cristina.cabal

Personalized Listening Comprehension
PDF here

Animals Listening comprehension by cristina.cabal

If you are wondering why I like using AI so much, I think this lesson is a good example. Most of the time, I am pressed for time and I don’t feel like trawling the internet or the hundred books on the shelves of the English department looking for the right listening comprehension, so now, I just create my own listening comprehension activities with the vocabulary that is relevant for my students. In this case, I have asked ChatGPT to create the text and then used Eleven Labs to read it. Easy-peasy!!

Grammar: Animals: Fact or Myth? Working with Impersonal Passive
Grammar and exercises here

That was fun.

  • I divided the class into teams and asked Team 1 to choose an animal. A representative read the sentence aloud and all teams – and this is really important-have to work  on their notebooks writing two impersonal passive sentences for each statement. Give them about  2 minutes to write both sentences. For example:

People believe that opossums are hanging by their tails.

  • It is believed that opossums are hanging by their tails
  • Opossums are believed to be hanging by their tails
  • When time’s up, ask the representative for Team 1 to read both sentences. If both are correct, Surprise!!!!! they’ll  get 1 point. If they are wrong or one of them is wrong, shout “NO” and the first team to raise their hand have the chance to say the correct sentence and get 1 point. Click on the PASSIVE button in the infographic to check it.
  • Now, back to Team 1. Ask, do you think the statement is a fact or a myth? Hover over the picture to read the answer.

 

 

Speaking: The Three Corners.
Material: Posters
Cards: here and here
  • Take 3 pieces of paper and write the following words on each: “I AGREE”, “I DISAGREE”, and if you have many students, “I AM UNSURE”. Place these papers in different corners of your classroom.
  • Explain they will see a poster with a debatable statement about animals and they will need to choose the corner that best represents how they feel about the statement.
  •  Explain that in their corners, they will need to talk about the reasons for their choice and develop strong arguments to support their opinion, as they will be challenged by students with opposing views. Encourage the use of vocabulary.
  • Give them enough time to come up with their own arguments to justify their position.
  • After a 10-minute discussion, ask students from both corners to face each other.
  •  Battle: This is the part I like best. Ask students to choose someone from the opposing corner. Pair them up and tell them they have 5 minutes to try to convince each other, using strong arguments,  to switch corners. For drama, ask them to use the phrase: “I challenge X”.

Note: Again, using AI, I have helped my students with some ideas to support their opinion. Of course, this is entirely optional, but I felt my class needed some modelling to get started. Here you’ll find the cards for two of the statements. Animal testing here and Animals in circuses here

I know writing is missing from this lesson plan. Keep posted! It’s coming!

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No Batteries Required: A Translation Game with Tic Tac Toe

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Who can resist playing tic-tac-toe with a wooden board and small wooden Xs and Os? If you can’t, then you’re gonna love this game!

Do you like giving your students short translation activities? I do. They allow me to target specific vocabulary and grammar structures and help students to make fewer mistakes.

So, Tic Tac Toe or a translation exercise? Why not have both?  I’ve had this version of a tic-tac-toe game sitting on the shelves for some time now, but life! Time! Work! Life! More work! You get it.

Recently I’ve met several teachers who shared how much they have enjoyed the games I have published on the blog over the years, and though it is not the best time of the year for me, this encouraging feedback gave me the push I needed to sit down and write this post. So, let’s dive right in!!

First things first. You know how to play Tic Tac Toe, right? Well, if you have never played, I suggest you have a look at the rules before you continue reading. I had originally planned to play Tic Tac toe with pen and paper, but then, I saw these beautiful miniature sets. They were inexpensive, so I bought 14 – one for each student pair.

Preparation
  1. Prepare some sentences to be translated. I would recommend, at least, 8 sentences.
  2. Ask students to pair up and explain how to play Tic Tac Toe, if necessary. One student can choose X’s, the other O’s
  3. Provide each student pair with a Tic Tac Toe game. Alternatively, you know, the pen and paper option.
  4. Students who choose X’s go first. They play against each other.
Time to learn!

  1. Display the first sentence for translation or, alternatively, write it on the board. All students have to translate the sentence, even though it’s X’s turn.
  2. Allow time for translation. The time will vary depending on sentence length and difficulty.
  3. When time is up, display the correct translation on the board. Be prepared to discuss and accept alternative translations, but emphasize the importance of accuracy. Small mistakes or typos will result in an incorrect sentence. O’s can monitor X’s translations for accuracy.
  4. If X’s sentence is correct, they place their wooden X on an empty square. If X’s sentence is incorrect, but O’s sentence is correct, then O places their wooden O on any empty square. If both X and O have correct translations, X gets to place their wooden X (since it’s their turn).
  5. Display a new sentence for translation and repeat the procedure. Now, it’s O’s turn!.

Just like in regular Tic Tac Toe, the goal here is to be the first to score three of your marks in a row – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally! Don’t forget, you can block your opponent’s moves to prevent them from winning.

Keep on playing until you have run out of sentences to translate and have fun!!!

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Tic Tac TALK with a Fun Twist

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Today, I am sharing  with you an activity that’s as fun, as it is effective. Drumroll, please… introducing Tic Tac Talk with a Fun Twist!

Picture this: the traditional Tic Tac Toe grid is on the board and each square contains a conversation question related to the lesson or topic at hand; in my case, it was questions related to personal identity. If you pay attention to the picture  of my board, you will see another difference; instead of the traditional 9-square grid, I designed a 12-square grid. More questions. More talk. More fun.

Another difference? They play in teams. Two teams: Xs and Os. And everybody talks here.

 

How to go about it. Let’s pretend Os start.
  • Pair up students; let’s say Student A chooses O and Student B,  X. From now on, they will be called Os and Xs
  • Display the grid with the overhead projector. Less paper, more trees.
  • Ask a representative of Os to choose a square and read the question aloud.
  • Tell Os they have 90 seconds to talk to their buddy X answering the question. Encourage students to use target vocabulary. What do Xs do? They listen. Not for long. Soon, it will be their turn to speak.
  • Monitor the time and signal when the time’s up.
How  Os win the Square

  • The teacher chooses a random O as representative of their team. (a different one each time, of course)
  • To win the square containing the question they have just answered, this representative will have to speak for 45 seconds, trying to deliver a continuous articulate monologue without repeating himself. If they manage to do so, their team, ie, Os, will have their icon written on the square but if they make pauses, repeat information or talk nonsense then the teacher, will a lot of drama and an apologetic face, will not grant them the desired square.
Now, it is Xs’ turn.
Who wins?

The rules for the traditional Tic Tac Toe apply here, too.  Players take turns placing their “X” or “O”. The goal is to be the first to make a row of three of your marks, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. If all the boxes are filled up and no one has three in a row, it’s a tie. Needless to say, players can strategize to prevent the other players from getting three in a row, which adds to the fun.

How did I mark the Xs and the Os?

Remember that the grid is displayed on the board. I played the game with two different classes. In one of them, I had a digital board, so it was fun to draw the Os and Xs in different colours. In the other one, I used different coloured sticky notes. It was a colourful display and brightened up the whole board.

Here’s the grid with the questions I displayed in class

Tic Tac Talk by cristina.cabal

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