SPEAKING. INTERMEDIATE

Topics

Town
Services in your town

Accident
An accidente you had
Something strange that happened to you
A stupid mistake you one made
Something really funny that once happened to you
Something really frghtening that once happened to you

Sport 

 What you like/don’t like doing / watching

 Competitive/ not         get fit /keep fit        social aspect      team sport /individual

 Are men better than women?

 Sporting role models – good or bad

 A memorable sporting event you remember – why, what sport, when, what happened, etc.

Family

 Big / small? Get on well /badly? 

Who are you like – character and/or physically? Describe someone. Compare yourself with a family member

Are you named after anyone in your family?

What do you do together?

What do you argue about?

Are friends more important than family?

The changing concept of family – extended family – single parent families – more generations

Money

 Does money bring happiness?

Do you spent a lot of money

What would you buy if you had a lot of money?

Food / Diet

What do you eat in a typical day?           

Healthy / unhealthy – fast food, homemade, take-away, high fat

Changing diet – influences of other cultures

What do you look for in a restaurant – price, atmosphere, service, food, location.

Compare pre-prepared and homemade food

Recommend a healthy diet.   Make recommendations for sugar, alcohol, fats, salt in the diet.

Travel/Holidays

 Holidays- good /bad.   Best /worst ways to travel. Destination. Types of accommodation.         

 Common problems/complaints.

 Cultural differences – importance of understanding and tolerance – language. Good manners.

Talk about what you like/don't like about the following holigay activities
Talk about your best/worst ever holiday. What made it so good/bad?
Going sightseeing
Discovering the history of the area
Lying on the beach sunbathing
Meeting local people
Sitting around the swimming pool with a drink
Reading and having a quiet time
Going surfing or windsurfing
Going clubbing every night
Driving around the country
Relaxing

Appearance

Describe a person you know /from a photo.

Describe a group photo – comparisons and superlatives and position in photo.

Judging on first appearance.     Importance of first impressions.

Education

Talk about your school – size, discipline, teachers, homework. Subjects you liked/ didn’t like / were good at bad at.  What weren’t you allowed to do?  What did your teachers make you do

Arguments for and against – Uniform,   mixed ability classes/ streaming,  single sex schools

Houses

 Describe your house / your ideal house. Talk about the location, garden, rooms etc.

Compare your house with your grandparents’ house. How have houses changed in the last century?

House or flat?   Town or country?   Rent or buy?

Free time

 How do you spend your free time?   Favourite books/ authors /   films  /   music   / TV programmes / sport

Influence of TV – good or bad?
Talk about six different activities you hae done in the evening during the past month. Were they individual, as part of or club or team, with familiy or friends?. How often do you do each activity, how long have you been doing them?

Work

Type of job you have / would like to have.   Hours of work, type of contract, working conditions, well paid, holidays, stress, interesting / boring etc.  Employed /self-employed / unemployed .

Relationships

 Friends / family.   Close friends.     What is friendship?  What qualities do you want in a good friend?

Talk about a close friend – when and where you met, how long you have known them, what you did together in the past, what you do now and what you think you’ll do in the future. Lose touch / keep in touch. Physical and character descriptions. Things you have in common / differences.

New technolgies
The healthy
The weather and the enviroment: pollution, greenhouse gases, forest and desforest,recycling,...
Television- good or bad

Interactions

-Recommend a mobile phone to a friend. Ask about what features they need and suggest other useful features.

-You are dining out with a vegetarian – talk about what they can eat and make suggestions from the menu.

-You are going out with friends for dinner – make suggestions about which restaurant to go to, with reasons. Try to persuade the group that your idea is the best.

-You have been offered a new job. Talk to a friend about it and ask for advice about whether you should accept it.

-You and a friend are going to study English. You want to do an intensive course in England but your friend wants to go to a language school in Spain. Discuss the pros and cons of each option.

-You are on a blind date. Introduce yourselves and talk about hobbies, likes /dislikes, family, work etc.

-Discuss the advantages / disadvantages of computers. Common problems, laptop/ desktop, features to look for when buying a computer.

-You are planning a holiday with a friend. Discuss the best points about going to the coast, the mountains, abroad. Different styles of accommodation, travel, etc. Talk about previous experiences.

- You meet an old friend and you ask him about your life, family, job, etc.

- You are in a party with other people, and you talk with another person about things that you/him like and dislike, travel, music, cinema, etc.
- You have to prepare a meal for a birthday.
- Internet for our children. It's a good or bad idea.
-at the doctor

 -You have been in a forening country for a year. You are on holiday in your home country. Answer your friend's questions about how you found: the language, the food, the weather, being away from  your family, the culture.
You would like to work abroad. Ask for advice from your friend. Ask them about their experiencies, people, culture, weather, food, family, etc.

- You have just arrived at your holiday hotel.The room is tiny , dirty, cold and there is not hot water. Complain politely to the recepcionist.
You are the recepcionist in a holiday hotel. Respong to the guest's complaints.

-You are a waiter/waitress in a restaurant. Deal with the costumers complaints. Try to persuade the customer that they ordered ham and mushroom.
You ordered a seafood pizza but the waiter has brought you a ham and mushroom pizza. You don't eat ham.

-You are going to rent out a room in your house. Answer the questions from the person who wants to rent it.
You are looking for a room to rent. Ask quewstions about: the room, the house, the area, local facilities, any rules, pets or no, price.

- You and a friend are organising a night out. Suggest where to go and give reasons. When you both agree, decide where and when to meet and confirm the arrangements.

- In the following situations student 1 they are making the right decision and the student 2 thinks the opposite.
Discuss the situations (conditionals would be useful!)

- hablar de tu trabajo actual, como fue la ultima entrevista de trabajo, que esperas de un trabajo, el trabajo de tus sueños y los problemas que habitualemente hay en el trabajo ( el jefe, la situacion laboral actual, etc

- 2 amigas que hacia tiempo que no se veian y se contaban cosas de su vida actual, recordar viejos tiempos y algun cotilleo de alguna antigua amiga.

1. Andrew is thinking of going to work in China
2.Maria's thinking of leaving her husband and taking the children with her because he's been having an affair.
3. Tina's thinking of becoming a teacher
4.Sharon's thinking of dropping out of university.
5. Rob's thinking of forming a rock band


WRITING

- ABOUT A FILM
- A MOTHER HAS TO ADVICE HER DAUGHTER ABOUT THE ENVIROMENT
- Apply for a job
- Good and bad manners: phone, driving car, in the school...
- Smoking. Advantages and disadvantages. Are you agree with the law about it?

Questions based on New English File Intermediate

 ‘People in my country eat very healthily.’

 

 ‘Nowadays we spend too much time watching sport on TV.’

     ‘Money always brings happiness.’

‘All cities should have a pedestrian area in the centre.’

     ‘It is important to find out about good manners in other cultures.’

‘It is impossible not to judge people by their appearance.’

     ‘Children should only be allowed to eat healthy food at school.’

      

‘All city centres should be for pedestrians only.’

    

     ‘Nobody can enjoy doing a job that is badly paid.’

     ‘Professional sportspeople earn too much money.’

     ‘Fast food should never be sold to children.’

     ‘The driving age for driving a car should be sixteen.’

     ‘Good teachers are always very strict.’

‘Some friendships are very difficult to keep.’

‘A good work–life balance is very important.’

     ‘Men and women have very different interests.’

     ‘Nothing happens if you complain in shops and restaurants.’

‘Famous people should use their status to make the world a better place.’

     ‘People are either born lucky or unlucky.’

‘People nowadays spend too much time watching TV.’

‘Films should never be dubbed.’

‘Physical punishment is always wrong.’

     ‘There is no such thing as luck.’

     ‘Teachers have more influence over children than their parents do.’

     ‘It’s more important to be happy at work than to earn a high salary.’

     ‘Parents should control what and how much TV their children watch.’

“People over 65 should take their driving test again”

“In the future we will spend less time with our families and more with our   friends”

“Cheating in sport is very common nowadays”

‘You should never give up on a dream.’

‘Schools nowadays are not as strict as they used to be.’

‘It is impossible for a man and a woman to be close friends.’