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If you're in business it's highly likely that you'll be using one or some of these tools. Skype alone is used by 35% of small business as their primary communication service.

You might be using these programs for person-to-person calls, interviews, conference calls, instant messaging or recording audio files.

Technology today is wonderful. That doesn't mean, however, that conferencing calling in a foreign language is easy. In fact, the experience can be agonising for non-native English speakers. Even if your written and conversational English is excellent you may struggle over the phone or during video conferencing, and feel alienated from the call.

Some of the problems you encounter during conference calls are:

Poor sound quality.

Background noise.

Difficult subject matter or topic.

Large number of participants all wanting to have a say.

Ineffective leadership during the call i.e. your boss or chairperson doesn't ensure that everyone feels they can participate.

Cultural difficulties - use of complicated idioms and differing senses of humour.

In addition to the added stress of presenting yourself professionally on camera.
Many of these problems are beyond your control. Here are some of our tips on what you CAN do to make conference calls a less stressful experience.
BEFORE THE CALL

1. Learn the software you'll be using inside out, and practise using it.

2. Make sure you're somewhere quiet to take the call.

3. Prepare thoroughly. Look up some of the vocabulary that you anticipate needing. Make sure that you're absolutely confident with whatever it is you're going to have to talk about, or present during the call. Maybe you can even do some background research so that you feel well qualified to give your opinion. The British Council has some great resources for practising your conference call skills.

4. Practice some key words. Particularly if you're going to be asked to speak, run through some words and phrases with a colleague who's a native speaker. You need to make sure your pronunciation and intonation is really clear, particularly for conference calls when the sound quality might not be perfect.

5. If it's available get a copy of the agenda so that you can follow the structure of the call. This will help you to anticipate some of the language you're going to hear.

6. Before you begin ask your boss, or the person leading the call to make pauses between points.

7. You can expect to hear the following phrases before the call gets started properly:

'Are we all on?' (Checking if everyone has joined the conversation)

'Can everybody hear me?'

'Did everybody get the agenda?'

'Let's keep this short.'

'We'll just wait a few minutes.'

'Sorry I'm / we're late.'

DURING THE CALL

1. If there's a problem, say something. Politely ask the leader to speak more slowly and clearly. If there is background noise, ask for the source to be removed before continuing with the call.

2. Ask for clarification: Check that you have understood by asking questions.

3. Some useful sentences:

'Could you speak more slowly please?'

'I'm afraid I didn't get that'

'I don't follow you'

'Could you explain that in another way?'

'I'm sorry, I don't understand the word ... What does it mean?'

'Could you repeat that?'

'[your name] speaking. Can you repeat / that?

'[your name] speaking. Can we take a break?'

'[your name] speaking. I need to leave for ten minutes.' '[your name] speaking I'm back on line'

TIP If you use "a bit", "a little", "quite" or "very well", in your sentences you soften your meaning and sound more polite.

4. Useful phrases to make yourself noticed:

"Can I just come in here?" and "Can I add something quickly?"

"I´d just like to add something": 'Just' and 'quickly' tell everyone you will be brief.

If someone interrupts you should say 'Just let me finish.' or "Can I quickly finish?"

5. Help your colleagues by speaking slowly, loudly and clearly. Remember that the Internet connection or call quality may not be great which can lead to confusion and stilted conversation.

You can say 'The line / connection is very bad today' if this happens.

6. Anticipate features of spoken conversation: "Uh", "Right", "Uh-huh", "Um", "Like", and "You know" i.e. fillers that will disrupt the flow of the conversation.

7. Use names: Try to address everyone by their first or second names. This will make you sound confident and well informed.

8. Use the modal verbs could, can, may, would. This makes your speech sound more formal.

'Could we discuss the situation with our buyer in India?' 'May I just point out that there are cheaper options.'

9. If you get really stuck, use the Instant Messaging, or Chat service (if available) to try and make yourself clear.

10. Don't forget about eye contact and facial expressions. You're on camera!

11. And finally: Focus on your knowledge and don't let your insecurities stop you from communicating.

AFTER THE CALL

Give feedback to the call leader: Let them know how your colleagues can help you during a conference call.

For example, ask your English speaking colleagues not to use idioms, colloquialism, slang or cultural expressions that don't translate easily.

Ask to have the call transcribed or recorded so that you can check that you followed everything that was said.

Some vocabulary you might come across during a conference call:

Absent: Adjective, to not be present.
'A number of the team are absent today.'

'There are a number of issues that we need to Address: Verb, to formally talk about something.
address today.'

'I suggest that we Adjourn : Verb, to stop something until a later date.
adjourn now and talk about this matter next time.'

'First on the Agenda : Noun, a list or schedule of matters to be dealt with.
agenda is whether or not to give everyone a bonus.'

'Well that's everything important covered. AOB : Abbreviation, (Any Other Business) an item on the agenda where miscellaneous or random points are dealt with.
Any Other Business, anyone?'

' Hold on: informal, to wait.
Hold on, I've got another call waiting, I'll be right back.'

'We've covered everything we needed to talk about so I'm going to Hang up : informal, refers to literally putting the phone down and means to finish a call.
hang up now.'

'Good, that's everything. So to Wrap up: to conclude, or to finish something successfully.
wrap up, Alice will be in charge next week and any complaints should be forwarded to her.'

'I'd like to Turn over turn the conference over to...[someone's name]...now.' : Verb phrase, to show that it's someone else's turn to speak.

'First Log in: Verb phrase, to enter or sign into a system.
log into Skype, then join the group chat.'

For more useful phrases, vocabulary and tip on English for meetings, take a look at this site.

What do you think is the most challenging thing about conference calls in English? Share your experiences with us!

About the Author: This post comes to you from Natalie, English Trackers' current intern. After graduating with a degree in Classics and English from Exeter University she moved to Beijing for six months to learn Mandarin.

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9 Essential Short Stories You Can Read in Under 30 Minutes

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The short story is one of the most neglected areas of literature in English.

Tell someone that you love great Victorian novels, and they're likely to nod in approval. Tell them that you're a big fan of poetry and they'll think you're sophisticated and cultural. Tell them that you adore modern theatre and you'll sound like an intellectual. But tell them that you love short stories, and you're in danger of them concluding that you don't have much of an attention span.

Perhaps the problem here is that we are all taught to write short stories; churning one out in under an hour used to be a requirement of the Year 6 SATs in England. We suffer from the idea that short stories are something people write when they don't have the stamina for a novel.

Yet truly great short stories are few and far between. There are rare exceptions, many of them made into films, such as Philip K Dick's 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale' (adapted into the much less enjoyably titled Total Recall) or Annie Proulx's 'Brokeback Mountain'; in fact, it's arguable that short stories are better suited to adaptation into film format than longer fiction. But even the greatest short stories are generally ignored: how many people would first think of Ernest Hemingway as the author of 'Hills Like White Elephants' rather than, say, The Sun Also Rises or For Whom the Bell Tolls? In this article we're going to look at the top English-language short stories that everyone should read.

1. Hills Like White Elephants - Ernest Hemingway (1927)

This celebrated short story is less than 1,500 words long, and comprises mostly dialogue between an unnamed American man and woman in Spain. William Faulkner's comment on Hemingway - that "he has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary" - is certainly in evidence here, with descriptions such as "The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry."

Yet Hemingway's rebuttal to Faulkner - "does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - is also proven correct, as with a few sparse words Hemingway evokes the oppressive heat that exacerbates the tension in the couple's strained conversation. They talk in non-sequiturs, and take offence at each other's superficially inoffensive statement, such as when the woman says, "Everything tastes of liquorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe" and the man snaps back, "Oh, cut it out."

Hemingway never states outright what it is that they're talking about, and there is no commentary on the characters' interior feelings; the whole story is narrated as if observed by someone sitting silently at a nearby table, with the reader left to work out how the characters are feeling for themselves. It is that makes the story so masterful, capturing perfectly how people speak when they are attempting not to have an argument or discuss serious matters in public, but are failing to keep their emotions in check all the same.

2. Nightfall - Isaac Asimov (1941)

Of all genres, science fiction has probably embraced the short story most completely. The Golden Age of science fiction (defined roughly as the mid-30s to mid-40s) was a period of huge volumes of short stories published in books and magazines, and the tradition of science fiction short stories has continued up to the present day. Asimov is known now primarily for his themed short stories in I, Robot and for his Foundation series of novels, but among genre fans, his short story 'Nightfall' is considered among his best work.

The story concerns a planet - Lagash - that receives light from no fewer than six suns, so that its inhabitants never experience complete darkness - until one day a one-in-a-million alignment leads to a total solar eclipse. The story then explores, chillingly, how darkness would strike a civilisation who had never experienced it before. Science fiction of this era can rightly be accused of caring more about intriguing concepts than characters, but 'Nightfall', though concept-driven rather than character-driven, nonetheless makes you feel very strongly for the civilisation and the people it depicts. One of the greatest strengths of science fiction as a genre is to cast light (no pun intended) on how humanity might deal with circumstances and crises that we have not yet been faced with, and 'Nightfall' is an outstanding example of this.

3. The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe (1843)

One of the earliest entries on this list, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is a classic Gothic short story by one of the masters of the genre; and anyone who enjoyed it should know that there is plenty more of Poe's work to indulge in, including short stories and poetry. His writing is macabre in a thrilling way, the kind of thing that you might want to read aloud around a campfire by torchlight.

'The Tell-Tale Heart' is another very short story, at just over 2,000 words. It opens with the narrator insisting furiously that he is not mad, something which he tries and fails to convince the reader of throughout the story. Without wishing to give too much away, he then relates the story of a murder, twisted through his own clouded perception. Poe's horror writings are usually tinged with irony and the sense that he is amused by the absurdities of his own writing, and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is no exception. It delights in cliché - the Evil Eye, and the narrator's blood running cold - but uses them in such a way that it remains a thoroughly enjoyable piece of work.

4. The Garden Party - Katherine Mansfield (1922)

Katherine Mansfield was a New Zealand-born writer of modernist short stories, whose output was cut short by her early death at the age of 34. 'The Garden Party' reflects many modernist themes, and as such as is an excellent short introduction to that period in literature.

It opens with the preparations for a garden party being held by a wealthy family, focusing on Laura, one of the daughters of the family, as she self-consciously deals with workmen and her somewhat neurotic mother. Then the family come to hear of a terrible accident that has happened not far away from their house; one of the men who lives in the cottages down the road has died in an accident, leaving behind a wife and several children. Laura immediately wants the party cancelled out of respect, only to be horrified by her family's callous attitude as they refuse. When the party is over, Laura goes to visit the man's widow with a gift of food and flowers left over from the party, and is struck by a mixture of emotions that she cannot quite express at the sight of his body.

In contrast with some of the other stories on this list, mostly notably 'Hills Like White Elephants', 'The Garden Party' is all about the interiority of its main character, Laura. We are drawn into her self-consciousness about her class position relative to the workman and the dead man's family, about her status as a young woman on the cusp of adulthood - old enough to give instructions to workmen but still patronised by her parents - and about her family's insensitivity to the man's death, describing him as a 'drunken workman' before they learn anything about the manner of his death.

5. The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)

'The Yellow Wallpaper' tells the story of a woman who suffers from "temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency", and whose husband, John, has rented an old mansion for three months in order for her to recover there. As part of her cure, she is forbidden from working, stimulating company, writing or anything else that might disturb her 'rest'. Yet instead of curing her, lacking anything else to focus her attention on, she focuses on the ugly yellow wallpaper in one of the rooms, descending into a psychosis that fixates on the pattern and colour of the wallpaper.

The underlying message of the story is relatively obvious in the present day: it is clear that there is not much wrong with the main character at the start of the story, but her controlling husband forbids her any decision-making of her own in the guise of curing her (whether his intentions are innocent or not is a matter of interpretation), and she has far too little to occupy her mind. An intense boredom from which she is permitted no respite drives her into genuine madness.

Yet at the time when the story was written, a 'rest cure' of the kind that the main character is subjected to was the standard cure for 'hysteria'; 'The Yellow Wallpaper' was, when it was written, a protest against the contemporary treatment of women's health. Gilman herself wrote that it was "not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked."

6. Parson's Pleasure - Roald Dahl (1958)

Roald Dahl is best known as a writer of children's books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. Yet he was a man of many talents, with his Wikipedia page describing him, wonderfully, as "a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot." Alongside other unexpected works such as the screenplay for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, he wrote more than 60 short stories for adults. They have a macabre bent and dark humour in common with his writing for children, and are particularly known for their startling twist endings.

Cyril Boggis (naming choices are also consistent across Dahl's fiction), the main character in 'Parson's Pleasure', is typical of the petty villains encountered in Dahl's short stories. The stories are full of thieves, swindlers, confidence tricksters, and amoral people prepared to commit crimes up to and including murder for meagre personal gain. Boggis pretends to be a poor clergyman in order to scout out valuable antiques. On seeing a priceless Chippendale commode in a rundown farmhouse, he tries to persuade the men who live there to sell it to him for a bargain price, pretending that it is worthless. Yet, as with all of Dahl's short stories, the ending has a sting in the tail. It's a fine example of Dahl's unforgiving writing style, and the twist is particularly well constructed and revealed.

7. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - James Thurber (1939)

'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' is another example of a short story that has become better known as a result of being adapted for the screen, in 1947 and 2013. However, given the story is only just over 2,000 words long, and the action in it consists of Walter Mitty driving his wife to the hairdresser's, running a couple of errands and then returning to pick her up, both films take the short story as a springboard rather than adapting it faithfully.

The central idea of the story is that Mitty is a hapless dreamer. In reality he is entirely under his wife's thumb - his relationship with her in the story resembles that of a sulky teenager with his mother rather than a marriage of equals - but he escapes from mundane reality with elaborate fantasies in which he fulfills a variety of action hero clichés, such as being a fighter pilot and a genius surgeon. Drifting into a fantasy is largely consequence-free for Mitty, though it seems that his driving suffers considerably from his lack of attention to the real world. The story has been anthologised countless times, and is noteworthy mostly for how perfectly it encapsulates a particular way of approaching the world: of the small-scale, day-to-day denial of reality that enables people to endure unremarkable lives.

8.The Tuesday Night Club - Agatha Christie (1932)

Alongside science fiction, perhaps the genre that has given the greatest amount of attention to short stories is crime and mystery fiction. In particular, the short story lends itself to the style of mystery writing where the problem is set out in such a way as the reader themselves can try to guess the solution. Isaac Asimov's The Union Club Mysteries are an extreme example of this, halfway towards being puzzles rather than fiction, where a space is left in the print book for the reader to take a moment to work out the answer for themselves.

Agatha Christie's short story collection, The Tuesday Night Club, of which the first story is also called 'The Tuesday Night Club', is similar in style. It features an informal club of people from different backgrounds, each of whom relate a mystery and the others propose solutions. This marked the first appearance of Miss Marple, an unassuming elderly lady whose sharp mind and long experience of life allows her to solve each of the mysteries perfectly, to the surprise of the other guests. These stories show Christie's skill not only as a writer of mysteries, but also in producing fully formed characters in just a few short lines of writing, so even when she tells a mystery over a few pages that another writer might spin into a novel, each character feels rounded and plausible.

9. The Nine Billion Names of God - Arthur C. Clarke (1953)

The second science fiction entry on this list, 'The Nine Billion Names of God' was written by Arthur C. Clarke, who is better known for his novels, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey. 'The Nine Billion Names of God' is a fun little romp that has gained some entertainment value in the years since it was written: in the 1950s, it was an enjoyable exploration of the possibilities of contemporary computer technology, whereas now it's an enjoyable dive into the history of computer programming.

It tells the story of two computer programmers who are asked to install a computer in a Tibetan monastery that will write down the nine billion permutations that the monks believe comprise the names of God. In this way, though not exactly well-informed about the detail of Eastern religions, it's also an interesting look at the intersection between modern technology and ancient forms of worship. Many of the science fiction stories of its era that are recommended on must-read lists are grim predictions of the terrifying future that awaits humanity enslaved to the Bomb, which is an unfair reflection of a genre that is often optimistic and light-hearted. Yet like many short stories, the strength of 'The Nine Billion Names of God' rests on its startling, witty ending.

Do you have a favourite short story that we haven't included here? Share it in the comments!

Image credits: banner; Ebro; suns; Tell-Tale Heart; garden party; Yellow Wallpaper; Chippendale commode; early computer. Film and TV images used pursuant to the Fair Use doctrine.

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9 Essential Short Stories You Can Read in Under 30 Minutes

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9 Essential Short Stories You Can Read in Under 30 Minutes | The short story is one of the most neglected areas of literature in English. Tell someone that you love great Victorian novels, and they're likely to nod in approval. Tell them that you're a big fan of poetry and they'll think you're sophisticated and cultural.

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Free EFL ESL Worksheets, activities and lesson plans from Handouts Online

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Quality EFL / TEFL / ESL worksheets, handouts, lesson plans and resources for English teachers.

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Teaching English as a second language for beginners is a challenging task for anyone. No matter what your background, or experience level, you will encounter constant new challenges when teaching English as a second language. Like teaching other subjects, you'll find that every student learns differently. At the same time, depending on the primary language of each student, you'll face new challenges unique to that language. However, with some work and knowledge, you'll be able to gain the skills you need to teach English as a second language to beginners.

1. Start with the alphabet and numbers. One of the first things you should start with is to teach the alphabet and numbers. By teaching the alphabet and numbers, you'll create a great foundation for everything else that your students will learn.

Have your students learn the alphabet to a certain point. You can start at "a" and go to "m," if you want. Have your students finish the alphabet at a pace you are both comfortable with. The point is to push your students but to not push them too hard.

Ask your students to work on numbers. As with letters, start them and stop them depending on their capabilities. Consider creating a worksheet on which students can practice writing letters and/or numbers.

Use flashcards with a word that begins with each letter of the alphabet to reinforce your lesson.

Learning the alphabet might be easier to speakers whose native language uses the Latin or English alphabet.

2. Teach pronunciation, especially for difficult sounds. Teaching pronunciation is extremely important when teaching English as a second language. Consider focusing on sounds that are particularly hard for English as a second language students like:

The "TH." The "TH" (like in "theater" or "thing") does not exist in a number of languages. As a result, it's relatively hard for some ESL students (such as those from Romance or Slavic language backgrounds) to pronounce.

The "R." The "R" sound is also difficult for many ESL learners for a variety of reason including the fact that it is pronounced differently depending on regional dialects.

The "L." The "L" sound is another difficult one for ESL learners, especially those from east Asia. Spend extra time on the "L."[1]

The "H." The "H" sound is difficult for many ESL learners, especially Spanish speakers who are used to the letter being silent. In English, it's usually pronounced, but it may confuse students when it appears in "gh," as in "laugh," or "sh," as in "fish."[2]

3. Explain how adjectives modify nouns. Adjectives allow you to describe nouns, so they're important for good communication. It's helpful to teach adjectives right after you teach nouns because adjectives are used exclusively with nouns.

Adjectives change or describe other words. Examples of adjectives you can teach are: wild, silly, troubled, and agreeable.

4. Instruct your students on verbs. Teaching verbs will be a huge step in the process in which your students will put together full sentences (written or spoken).

Verbs describe an action. Examples of verbs you can teach are: to speak, to talk, and to pronounce.

Spend extra time on irregular verbs. The word "go" is a great example of a difficult English irregular verb. The past tense of "go" is "went." The past participle of "go" becomes "gone."[4]

5. Teach that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs allow you to add extra details to your sentence. Your students can use adverbs to clarify how or to what degree they did something. They can also use adverbs to add more detail when using adjectives to describe a noun.

Adverbs describe or change the meaning of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, adding to their meaning. Examples of adverbs include very, wearily, happily, and easily.

If a word ends in -ly, it's likely an adverb.

Part Two of Three:
Embracing Best Practices Edit

1. Provide verbal and written instructions. When explaining an activity or giving directions about homework, classwork, or a project, you should always give both verbal and written instructions. Giving both verbal and written instructions allows your students to hear words and see them in print at the same time. This will aid in word association and in pronunciation.

Print off directions to an activity and distribute them to students before you explain an activity. If you are teaching online, email directions to your students before you explain it to them via video.[9]

2. Break lessons into small pieces. When teaching beginners or very young students, break the lesson into several pieces of about 10 minutes. Breaking lessons up into small pieces will make sure you don't lose your students' attention. At the same time, it will make sure that you don't overwhelm your students.

You don't need to stay at exactly 10 minutes. Feel free to go a few minutes over if it will aid your lesson.

After each mini-lesson, switch to a totally different sort of lesson. This will help refresh students and keep their attention.

Change your mini lessons daily. Try to incorporate as many different lessons as possible to keep your students' attention and to challenge them. However, don't add too much new information at once, as your students may get overwhelmed. Instead, change your strategy often but stick to the same material until your students understand it.

Part Three of Three:
Making Learning English Fun Edit

Community Q&A

Add New Question

How can I teach my 4- and 6-year-old daughters English as a second language? What guide or books can I use to teach them at home here in Mexico? I am fluent in English, but don't know how to start.

If you are fluent, you are their best resource. Keep talking to them in English. If you have access to any English-language publications or websites, have them read those and verbally discuss them with you.

Show more answers

Consider taking some training, even a short week or month class. This can give you some more grounding and ideas and techniques in this field. These programs are available all over the world.

Always be prepared with sufficient resources to get through the class.

Have all material for the class prepared in advance and in order of use during the lesson. Have additional material ready in case you need it. In some instances, you might get through material faster than anticipated. Some of the material may be of very little interest to the student and even spending ten minutes on it is far too long.

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Article Summary

To teach English as a second language to beginners, start by reviewing the alphabet and numbers up to 100. Then, work on pronouncing more difficult sounds, like "TH," "R," and "L," which can be difficult for new English learners. Move on to learn basic nouns, like classroom objects, food, and things your students will encounter in their daily lives. From there, work on using adjectives to describe the size, shape, and color of nouns. When your students are ready, teach them about verbs and let them use verbs to describe what they're doing. For tips from our educational reviewer on forming sentences and creating lesson plans, read on!

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How to Teach English As a Second Language to Beginners

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Teaching English as a second language for beginners is a challenging task for anyone. No matter what your background, or experience level, you will encounter constant new challenges when teaching English as a second language. Like teaching other subjects, you'll find that every student learns differently.

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Warm-up activities play a crucial role in the English language classroom. Students often arrive to class feeling tired or preoccupied, making it important to gently transition them into the learning environment rather than diving straight into challenging grammar or vocabulary tasks. A well-designed warm-up can engage students, sparking their interest and encouraging active participation. It can also serve as a review of previously taught material or as an introduction to a new topic. Additionally, these warm-up activities can double as go-to fillers for those moments when your lesson plan wraps up early or unexpected issues arise, ensuring a seamless classroom experience for both you and your adult learners.

The great thing about the activities on this page is that they all require no preparation at all. However, if you keep a copy of our Collaborative Crosswords book in your bag, then you'll have another perfect class-starting activity. These crosswords designed for pair-work are great for introducing a theme and some suitable vocabulary. Read more about these activities here.

Teaching Online

We have an accompanying online-focused website LearnHip where you will discover lots more online activities which work well as warmers and fillers.

No-preparation ESL Warm-up Activities

Below, you'll find a selection of warm-up activities that require no prior preparation. These versatile exercises can also serve as convenient fillers to fill any extra time you might have towards the end of your lesson.

Quick questions

Begin your lesson by writing two or three questions on the board that introduce the theme of the lesson. For example, if your topic is books, you could write: What's your favorite book? What was the last book you read? What kind of books do you prefer? etc. Allow the students 5-10 minutes to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups, and then invite them to share their responses with the class.

If you need inspiration, check out our extensive collection of over 500 themed conversation questions on this page. For even more convenience, these questions are also available in easy-to-use card sets featuring additional exercises in our book, 50 Conversation Classes.

Make the most words

Write a topical vocabulary item on the board. In twos or threes, students make as many new words from it as they can. Use longish seed words such as apologise, dictionary or September. Score teams a point per word and award a bonus point for the longest.

Make the longest words

Write a topical target word vertically down the board, for example, WINTER. In twos or threes, students attempt to come up with the longest word that begins with each letter. Give teams a point per word and a bonus point for the longest. Waterfall Industrious Nausea Terrified Empty Retailer

What does your name mean?

Using a dictionary, google or any other resource, students find and write down an appropriate adjective that begins with each letter of their first name. For example:

Mixed-up question

It's always good to start the class with a question. Write a good one on the board but mix up the word order, then challenge students to reconstruct the question and then discuss it in pairs or small groups. For example: most item you have the ever expensive what's bought?

Mixed-up question (anagram variation)

Alternatively, write a question on the board but this time scramble the letters of each word. For example: tahw si ruyo seealirt rommey?

Letter string dictation

This is a great way to lead into the topic that you want to cover in the class and also serves as a simple activity to help students recognise letters of the alphabet. Think of a couple of questions for students to discuss in pairs or groups. Write the questions down and then dictate them as a long string of letters. For example: whatsyourfavouritecolour? whatdidyoudoattheweekend? whatkindofbooksdoyouliketoread?

After dictating the letter strings, students should attempt to form the questions and then discuss and report back to class.

For more advanced students try dictating the letters backwards and then have the students decode the question. This is more challenging because students will find it more difficult to predict the next letter and therefore must focus on the letters being dictated. For example: ?teemotekiltsomuoydluowohw

For more ideas on using dictation see the article 10 Dictation Activities.

Hangman

This popular filler can also be a great way to start a lesson with beginner learners who are still unsure of the alphabet. Just put a recently learned word on the board and let the students take it in turns to guess a letter. If you don't know how to play, you can read an explanation here.

Word ladders

In this activity, a word must be transformed step by step into a target word. To illustrate the idea, write the word run on the board and explain that the target word is fit. For each turn, only one letter can be changed. See if the class can find a valid sequence together. Some possible sequences are:

Students will need access to a dictionary in order to check if their words are valid. If you want to find possible word pairs, there is a site with a handy word ladder generator. Put students in pairs and have them create their own word ladders to test their classmates with.

The A to Z game

Give students a theme, for example, jobs, things you take on holiday, food. Write the letters A to Z on the board. Teams of students must race to write an appropriate word next to each letter on the board. Read more about the A to Z game here.

What's the missing word?

Find a group of compound words or collocations which share a common word. For example, bedroom, bathroom, living room, classroom, showroom, etc. Give students one of the word/collocation parts, such as bed and have them guess the missing part, add to the list writing bath, living, class, etc., until they successfully guess the word. Here are some more examples:

ear, boxing, diamond, finger, wedding (ring)

tea, soup, table, dessert (spoon)

kitchen, tea, bath, beach (towel)

green, light, ware, boat, work, wife (house)

What do you know about bananas?

Set a five-minute time limit and in groups have students think up and write down as many facts as they can about bananas (or cats, Belgium, David Beckham, etc.). One point should be given for each true sentence.

Things to do with a potato

One of many brilliantly simple warm up ideas from one of my favourite teaching books. Produce a potato (if that's not possible, introduce the concept of a potato). Ask students to come up with a list of as many unconventional uses for it as they can. For example paperweight, weapon, pen holder, smartphone dock. The longest list wins the potato.

How many sounds can you hear?

Students sit in silence for two minutes and write down every sound that they hear. Let them compare their lists with their neighbours before seeing who has the longest list? If you like this activity try doing a guess the sound quiz.

Odd one out

Give the students a couple of examples to guess, then get students to come up with their own ideas. Here are some examples: apple, peach, banana, tomato - a banana doesn't have seeds strawberry, branch, bowling ball, boat, iceberg - bowling balls don't float window, river, envelope, client, oregano - client doesn't begin and end with the same letter comb, champagne, knife, plum - the word plum doesn't contain any silent letters. Yards, feet, stone, litres. Note: There can be more than one correct answer.

Name ten

Have students think of 10 items that fit particular criteria. For example:

Jobs where you have to wear a uniform

English football clubs

Sports that are played with a ball

Foods that contain egg

Animals that lay eggs

Three letter parts of the body - eye, arm, leg, hip, ear, toe jaw, rib, lip, gum

Two truths and a lie

An ESL classroom staple. Write or dictate three sentences about yourself. Two statements should be true and one false, for example: I used to be an air steward I can ride a unicycle My favourite food is sushi Now invite students to discuss in pairs which statement they think is the lie. Ask each pair which statement they think is untrue and have them explain why. Reveal your answer, and ask students to come up with three sentences about themselves. I find students need quite a lot of time (at least five minutes) to come up with three ideas. If some students are still short of a sentence or two, start the game anyway, and they can finish their statements during play. Check students' statements and then have them take it in turns to read them out to the class. In each case, the other students have to guess which is the untrue statement. See this page for more ideas on using dishonesty for fun and profit.

Homophone Quiz

Say a word from a list of homophones and challenge students to write both (or more) forms of the word. Possible words include: bear,bare,piece,peace,not,knot,here,hear,witch,which,flower,flour,would,wood,be,bee,heal,heel,soul,sole,air,heir,break,brake,mist,missed,read,red,board,bored,buy,bye,pair,pear,male,mail,jeans,genes,not,knot,where,wear, so,sew,sow

Mastermind (AKA Bulls & Cows, Jotto, Wordle)

Based on the code-breaking board game where players have to deduce the order of 4 coloured pegs which the other player had hidden behind a plastic guard. It's slightly complicated to grasp but fun when you get the hang of it. Think of a four-letter word and write XXXX on the board, each X represents one of the letters of your word. Invite the first student to guess what the word is. Start a new line underneath your original XXXX. If the first letter in the student's word is the same as the first letter in your word put a ✓ in the first position. If the first letter is not the same as the first letter in your word but is contained somewhere in your word put a half-tick /. If the first letter of the student's word is not contained anywhere your word put an X. In the following example, the teacher chooses the word FIRE. XXXX XXXX - COAT X/XX - BEST X✓X✓ - HIKE /✓X✓ - RIDE ✓✓✓✓ - FIRE A word of warning. Stick to 4 or 5 letter words. It's much more difficult to guess longer words and it can also be tricky trying to mark each guess. When students are familiar with the game you can get them to come and put their own words on the board.

I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking a ...

This is a guess the rule type game. Think of a rule which governs which items can be taken on a picnic, for example, it must be six letters long, or it must start with a vowel. In this example, the rule is that the word must be an uncountable noun. Teacher: I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking milk. Student A: I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking eggs. Teacher: No, you can't take eggs. Student B: Can I take orange juice? Teacher: Yes, you can take orange juice. And so on. Continue adding items to your picnic list until a student correctly guesses the rule (the choices don't have to make sense within the picnic scenario e.g. love, information, air ). When you've finished, invite the students (alone or in pairs) to come up with their own rules and let them run the game.

Word Association

This must be one of the oldest ESL warm-up activities, but sometimes the simplest ideas turn out to be surprisingly effective and word games don't get any simpler than word association. Give an initial word, for example, banana and each student takes it in turns to say a word which they associate with the previous word. If the connection isn't obvious, challenge the student to justify their choice. banana - monkey - zoo - tourists - hotel - bible ...

Tell a story

This is another circle game. Going around the class students take it in turns to add three words to your story stem. You could start it off with relatively mundane stems such as Yesterday I went ..., If I won ..., I have never or something more imaginative like, A wolf howled, the rocket landed ..., Princess Martha kissed ... Write the story on the board and elicit corrections as you go along.

Party Trick

This is a great way to practise can & can't. Ask the class to think of one thing they can do which nobody else in the class can do. For example a student could ask the class, can you count to ten in Chinese? You could turn it into a knock-out competition - playing until there is one person left standing.

Three things in common

This is a great icebreaker, but you can also use it as a lead-in to a theme or to test your students' knowledge of a grammar point. Simply ask students to work in pairs and find three things that they have in common and then report back to the class. You can narrow the topic down to areas like t hree things we both did at the weekend, three foods we both like, three things we both don't like about this city, three things neither of us has done yet but would like to, etc.

Free Speaking Tic Tac Toe

Similar to the long-running BBC Radio show. Draw a Tic Tac Toe grid on the board and in each space write a topic that you think some of your students might be interested in or have some knowledge of. Play the game with two teams, to claim their X or O, a team member must attempt to talk about the topic in the chosen square for 45 to 60 seconds (depending on their level) without pausing or repetition. Possible topics for your Tic Tac Toe board might include Sport, Breakfast, Smartphones, Family, Movies, Cats, Rock Music, Soap Operas, Chocolate, etc.

One-upmanship

I discovered this great activity at BusinessEnglishResources.com. Start off by explaining the concept of one-upmanship, that some people always like to appear to be more interesting or superior to others in their company. Tell the students a relatively mundane story about something that happened recently and invite a student to tell a similar story but to top it in some way. Each student, in turn, tries to top the previous student's tale. For example: You: Yesterday I overslept and was five minutes late to class. Student: That's nothing, I overslept and was an hour late. Student B: An hour! I once overslept a whole day! If the students are sufficiently advanced you could have them watch and read through Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch which is a very funny skit on the subject of one-upmanship.

Spontaneous Scatter Sheet

Scatter Sheets are a great way to review vocabulary, introduce a theme and get students talking. As a warmer, have students brainstorm words connected to a theme, for example, the seaside, London, marketing, etc. Write these words on the board randomly, not in straight lines or columns but higgledy-piggledy and at jaunty angles. When you have around 20 words on the board, go around the room asking each student, in turn, to describe one of the words, when it's been successfully guessed, circle it and move on to the next student. Encourage students to let the describer produce at least two sentences before shouting out the answer.

Spin the marker

Sometimes students just want a chance to talk and express themselves in an unstructured way and it's a good idea to encourage this. Spin the marker pen and whoever it points to can dictate the conversation, ask questions, suggest the topic, etc. Spin the marker again when you feel the conversation has run its course. I find this activity works best when students are sitting in a small circle not too far apart.

Fortunately / Unfortunately

English learners often have trouble remembering and correctly pronouncing these two useful words. One way to practice it is to start a story and have learners alternately advancing the story using these adverbs. For example: Teacher: Yesterday my car was stolen. Student A: Fortunately, it was insured. Student B: Unfortunately, the insurance company went bankrupt. Student C: Fortunately, my grandfather said he would buy me a new car. Student D: Unfortunately, he's lost his mind and doesn't have any money. Etc.

Organise yourselves!

Have students arrange themselves in order according to a given criterion. For example by age, alphabetical order of first name or surname, the number of shoes owned, etc.

Whose weekend?

Give each student a slip of paper and ask each student to write down three things they did at the weekend. Collect up the slips of paper and randomly read each one out. The students must guess whose weekend is being described.

Provocative statements

Write a provocative statement on the board and then put students into small groups to discuss their opinion of it. For example, some drugs should be legalised, Facebook should be banned, Breaking Bad is overrated, one child is enough, organic food is a waste of money, etc. Have students report back to the class. You could make a list of arguments for and against the thesis.

Draw the kitchen

I often use this when I work in-company. Ask the students to think of a room or area which they are all quite familiar with and then have them guide you as you try to draw a plan of the room on the board. This is great for practising there is and there are as well as prepositions of place and furnishing vocabulary.

The Categories Game

I tend to use this as a filler rather than a warmer. Put students into teams and write on the board six vocabulary categories. Now give them a letter of the alphabet and the teams must race to think of a word beginning with that letter for each category. Writing stops when the first team yells finished! and points are given for each correct answer. See The Categories Game post for a more detailed explanation as well as a list of possible categories.

Compound word quiz

This is a fun little quiz you can do at the beginning of a lesson to get your learner's brains buzzing. Choose five groups of three compound words with the same stem and write them on the board without their stem. For example paste, ache, brush (the stem is tooth) or ball, man, board (the stem is snow). Put them on the board (as below) and give students five to ten minutes to figure out what the missing stem is.

Here are some more examples:

doorbell, doorman, doorstep | headline, headcount, headlight, headset, headhunter | backpack, backseat, backfire | timeline, timetable, timesaver | blackbird, blacklist, blackout | lighthouse, lightbulb, lightweight | daydream, daylight, daytime | nightlife, nightclub, nighttime, nightmare | sunburn, sunset, sunshine, sunrise | waterfall, waterbed, waterproof, waterfront, watercolour | lifeboat, lifetime, lifeguard | paperback, paperwork, paperweight, paperboy/girl

Kim's game

If by rifling through your bag, your pockets and the classroom store cupboard you can come up with about 15 smallish items, you can play an impromptu version of Kim's game. This is a fun memory game which is great for introducing and practising some useful vocabulary, and also for reviewing there is, there are, there was and there were.

Pit Pat Putt

This is a fun pronunciation game for practising tricky vowel sounds. It needs zero preparation, just a board or flip chart. Students practise giving each other their phone number using a code.

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Engaging ESL Warm-ups and Fillers: Over 30 Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Class

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Warm-up activities play a crucial role in the English language classroom. Students often arrive to class feeling tired or preoccupied, making it important to gently transition them into the learning environment rather than diving straight into challenging grammar or vocabulary tasks. A well-designed warm-up can engage students, sparking their interest and encouraging active participation.

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Warm-up activities play a crucial role in the English language classroom. Students often arrive to class feeling tired or preoccupied, making it important to gently transition them into the learning environment rather than diving straight into challenging grammar or vocabulary tasks. A well-designed warm-up can engage students, sparking their interest and encouraging active participation. It can also serve as a review of previously taught material or as an introduction to a new topic. Additionally, these warm-up activities can double as go-to fillers for those moments when your lesson plan wraps up early or unexpected issues arise, ensuring a seamless classroom experience for both you and your adult learners.

The great thing about the activities on this page is that they all require no preparation at all. However, if you keep a copy of our Collaborative Crosswords book in your bag, then you'll have another perfect class-starting activity. These crosswords designed for pair-work are great for introducing a theme and some suitable vocabulary. Read more about these activities here.

Teaching Online

We have an accompanying online-focused website LearnHip where you will discover lots more online activities which work well as warmers and fillers.

No-preparation ESL Warm-up Activities

Below, you'll find a selection of warm-up activities that require no prior preparation. These versatile exercises can also serve as convenient fillers to fill any extra time you might have towards the end of your lesson.

Quick questions

Begin your lesson by writing two or three questions on the board that introduce the theme of the lesson. For example, if your topic is books, you could write: What's your favorite book? What was the last book you read? What kind of books do you prefer? etc. Allow the students 5-10 minutes to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups, and then invite them to share their responses with the class.

If you need inspiration, check out our extensive collection of over 500 themed conversation questions on this page. For even more convenience, these questions are also available in easy-to-use card sets featuring additional exercises in our book, 50 Conversation Classes.

Make the most words

Write a topical vocabulary item on the board. In twos or threes, students make as many new words from it as they can. Use longish seed words such as apologise, dictionary or September. Score teams a point per word and award a bonus point for the longest.

Make the longest words

Write a topical target word vertically down the board, for example, WINTER. In twos or threes, students attempt to come up with the longest word that begins with each letter. Give teams a point per word and a bonus point for the longest. Waterfall Industrious Nausea Terrified Empty Retailer

What does your name mean?

Using a dictionary, google or any other resource, students find and write down an appropriate adjective that begins with each letter of their first name. For example:

Mixed-up question

It's always good to start the class with a question. Write a good one on the board but mix up the word order, then challenge students to reconstruct the question and then discuss it in pairs or small groups. For example: most item you have the ever expensive what's bought?

Mixed-up question (anagram variation)

Alternatively, write a question on the board but this time scramble the letters of each word. For example: tahw si ruyo seealirt rommey?

Letter string dictation

This is a great way to lead into the topic that you want to cover in the class and also serves as a simple activity to help students recognise letters of the alphabet. Think of a couple of questions for students to discuss in pairs or groups. Write the questions down and then dictate them as a long string of letters. For example: whatsyourfavouritecolour? whatdidyoudoattheweekend? whatkindofbooksdoyouliketoread?

After dictating the letter strings, students should attempt to form the questions and then discuss and report back to class.

For more advanced students try dictating the letters backwards and then have the students decode the question. This is more challenging because students will find it more difficult to predict the next letter and therefore must focus on the letters being dictated. For example: ?teemotekiltsomuoydluowohw

For more ideas on using dictation see the article 10 Dictation Activities.

Hangman

This popular filler can also be a great way to start a lesson with beginner learners who are still unsure of the alphabet. Just put a recently learned word on the board and let the students take it in turns to guess a letter. If you don't know how to play, you can read an explanation here.

Word ladders

In this activity, a word must be transformed step by step into a target word. To illustrate the idea, write the word run on the board and explain that the target word is fit. For each turn, only one letter can be changed. See if the class can find a valid sequence together. Some possible sequences are:

Students will need access to a dictionary in order to check if their words are valid. If you want to find possible word pairs, there is a site with a handy word ladder generator. Put students in pairs and have them create their own word ladders to test their classmates with.

The A to Z game

Give students a theme, for example, jobs, things you take on holiday, food. Write the letters A to Z on the board. Teams of students must race to write an appropriate word next to each letter on the board. Read more about the A to Z game here.

What's the missing word?

Find a group of compound words or collocations which share a common word. For example, bedroom, bathroom, living room, classroom, showroom, etc. Give students one of the word/collocation parts, such as bed and have them guess the missing part, add to the list writing bath, living, class, etc., until they successfully guess the word. Here are some more examples:

ear, boxing, diamond, finger, wedding (ring)

tea, soup, table, dessert (spoon)

kitchen, tea, bath, beach (towel)

green, light, ware, boat, work, wife (house)

What do you know about bananas?

Set a five-minute time limit and in groups have students think up and write down as many facts as they can about bananas (or cats, Belgium, David Beckham, etc.). One point should be given for each true sentence.

Things to do with a potato

One of many brilliantly simple warm up ideas from one of my favourite teaching books. Produce a potato (if that's not possible, introduce the concept of a potato). Ask students to come up with a list of as many unconventional uses for it as they can. For example paperweight, weapon, pen holder, smartphone dock. The longest list wins the potato.

How many sounds can you hear?

Students sit in silence for two minutes and write down every sound that they hear. Let them compare their lists with their neighbours before seeing who has the longest list? If you like this activity try doing a guess the sound quiz.

Odd one out

Give the students a couple of examples to guess, then get students to come up with their own ideas. Here are some examples: apple, peach, banana, tomato - a banana doesn't have seeds strawberry, branch, bowling ball, boat, iceberg - bowling balls don't float window, river, envelope, client, oregano - client doesn't begin and end with the same letter comb, champagne, knife, plum - the word plum doesn't contain any silent letters. Yards, feet, stone, litres. Note: There can be more than one correct answer.

Name ten

Have students think of 10 items that fit particular criteria. For example:

Jobs where you have to wear a uniform

English football clubs

Sports that are played with a ball

Foods that contain egg

Animals that lay eggs

Three letter parts of the body - eye, arm, leg, hip, ear, toe jaw, rib, lip, gum

Two truths and a lie

An ESL classroom staple. Write or dictate three sentences about yourself. Two statements should be true and one false, for example: I used to be an air steward I can ride a unicycle My favourite food is sushi Now invite students to discuss in pairs which statement they think is the lie. Ask each pair which statement they think is untrue and have them explain why. Reveal your answer, and ask students to come up with three sentences about themselves. I find students need quite a lot of time (at least five minutes) to come up with three ideas. If some students are still short of a sentence or two, start the game anyway, and they can finish their statements during play. Check students' statements and then have them take it in turns to read them out to the class. In each case, the other students have to guess which is the untrue statement. See this page for more ideas on using dishonesty for fun and profit.

Homophone Quiz

Say a word from a list of homophones and challenge students to write both (or more) forms of the word. Possible words include: bear,bare,piece,peace,not,knot,here,hear,witch,which,flower,flour,would,wood,be,bee,heal,heel,soul,sole,air,heir,break,brake,mist,missed,read,red,board,bored,buy,bye,pair,pear,male,mail,jeans,genes,not,knot,where,wear, so,sew,sow

Mastermind (AKA Bulls & Cows, Jotto, Wordle)

Based on the code-breaking board game where players have to deduce the order of 4 coloured pegs which the other player had hidden behind a plastic guard. It's slightly complicated to grasp but fun when you get the hang of it. Think of a four-letter word and write XXXX on the board, each X represents one of the letters of your word. Invite the first student to guess what the word is. Start a new line underneath your original XXXX. If the first letter in the student's word is the same as the first letter in your word put a ✓ in the first position. If the first letter is not the same as the first letter in your word but is contained somewhere in your word put a half-tick /. If the first letter of the student's word is not contained anywhere your word put an X. In the following example, the teacher chooses the word FIRE. XXXX XXXX - COAT X/XX - BEST X✓X✓ - HIKE /✓X✓ - RIDE ✓✓✓✓ - FIRE A word of warning. Stick to 4 or 5 letter words. It's much more difficult to guess longer words and it can also be tricky trying to mark each guess. When students are familiar with the game you can get them to come and put their own words on the board.

I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking a ...

This is a guess the rule type game. Think of a rule which governs which items can be taken on a picnic, for example, it must be six letters long, or it must start with a vowel. In this example, the rule is that the word must be an uncountable noun. Teacher: I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking milk. Student A: I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking eggs. Teacher: No, you can't take eggs. Student B: Can I take orange juice? Teacher: Yes, you can take orange juice. And so on. Continue adding items to your picnic list until a student correctly guesses the rule (the choices don't have to make sense within the picnic scenario e.g. love, information, air ). When you've finished, invite the students (alone or in pairs) to come up with their own rules and let them run the game.

Word Association

This must be one of the oldest ESL warm-up activities, but sometimes the simplest ideas turn out to be surprisingly effective and word games don't get any simpler than word association. Give an initial word, for example, banana and each student takes it in turns to say a word which they associate with the previous word. If the connection isn't obvious, challenge the student to justify their choice. banana - monkey - zoo - tourists - hotel - bible ...

Tell a story

This is another circle game. Going around the class students take it in turns to add three words to your story stem. You could start it off with relatively mundane stems such as Yesterday I went ..., If I won ..., I have never or something more imaginative like, A wolf howled, the rocket landed ..., Princess Martha kissed ... Write the story on the board and elicit corrections as you go along.

Party Trick

This is a great way to practise can & can't. Ask the class to think of one thing they can do which nobody else in the class can do. For example a student could ask the class, can you count to ten in Chinese? You could turn it into a knock-out competition - playing until there is one person left standing.

Three things in common

This is a great icebreaker, but you can also use it as a lead-in to a theme or to test your students' knowledge of a grammar point. Simply ask students to work in pairs and find three things that they have in common and then report back to the class. You can narrow the topic down to areas like t hree things we both did at the weekend, three foods we both like, three things we both don't like about this city, three things neither of us has done yet but would like to, etc.

Free Speaking Tic Tac Toe

Similar to the long-running BBC Radio show. Draw a Tic Tac Toe grid on the board and in each space write a topic that you think some of your students might be interested in or have some knowledge of. Play the game with two teams, to claim their X or O, a team member must attempt to talk about the topic in the chosen square for 45 to 60 seconds (depending on their level) without pausing or repetition. Possible topics for your Tic Tac Toe board might include Sport, Breakfast, Smartphones, Family, Movies, Cats, Rock Music, Soap Operas, Chocolate, etc.

One-upmanship

I discovered this great activity at BusinessEnglishResources.com. Start off by explaining the concept of one-upmanship, that some people always like to appear to be more interesting or superior to others in their company. Tell the students a relatively mundane story about something that happened recently and invite a student to tell a similar story but to top it in some way. Each student, in turn, tries to top the previous student's tale. For example: You: Yesterday I overslept and was five minutes late to class. Student: That's nothing, I overslept and was an hour late. Student B: An hour! I once overslept a whole day! If the students are sufficiently advanced you could have them watch and read through Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch which is a very funny skit on the subject of one-upmanship.

Spontaneous Scatter Sheet

Scatter Sheets are a great way to review vocabulary, introduce a theme and get students talking. As a warmer, have students brainstorm words connected to a theme, for example, the seaside, London, marketing, etc. Write these words on the board randomly, not in straight lines or columns but higgledy-piggledy and at jaunty angles. When you have around 20 words on the board, go around the room asking each student, in turn, to describe one of the words, when it's been successfully guessed, circle it and move on to the next student. Encourage students to let the describer produce at least two sentences before shouting out the answer.

Spin the marker

Sometimes students just want a chance to talk and express themselves in an unstructured way and it's a good idea to encourage this. Spin the marker pen and whoever it points to can dictate the conversation, ask questions, suggest the topic, etc. Spin the marker again when you feel the conversation has run its course. I find this activity works best when students are sitting in a small circle not too far apart.

Fortunately / Unfortunately

English learners often have trouble remembering and correctly pronouncing these two useful words. One way to practice it is to start a story and have learners alternately advancing the story using these adverbs. For example: Teacher: Yesterday my car was stolen. Student A: Fortunately, it was insured. Student B: Unfortunately, the insurance company went bankrupt. Student C: Fortunately, my grandfather said he would buy me a new car. Student D: Unfortunately, he's lost his mind and doesn't have any money. Etc.

Organise yourselves!

Have students arrange themselves in order according to a given criterion. For example by age, alphabetical order of first name or surname, the number of shoes owned, etc.

Whose weekend?

Give each student a slip of paper and ask each student to write down three things they did at the weekend. Collect up the slips of paper and randomly read each one out. The students must guess whose weekend is being described.

Provocative statements

Write a provocative statement on the board and then put students into small groups to discuss their opinion of it. For example, some drugs should be legalised, Facebook should be banned, Breaking Bad is overrated, one child is enough, organic food is a waste of money, etc. Have students report back to the class. You could make a list of arguments for and against the thesis.

Draw the kitchen

I often use this when I work in-company. Ask the students to think of a room or area which they are all quite familiar with and then have them guide you as you try to draw a plan of the room on the board. This is great for practising there is and there are as well as prepositions of place and furnishing vocabulary.

The Categories Game

I tend to use this as a filler rather than a warmer. Put students into teams and write on the board six vocabulary categories. Now give them a letter of the alphabet and the teams must race to think of a word beginning with that letter for each category. Writing stops when the first team yells finished! and points are given for each correct answer. See The Categories Game post for a more detailed explanation as well as a list of possible categories.

Compound word quiz

This is a fun little quiz you can do at the beginning of a lesson to get your learner's brains buzzing. Choose five groups of three compound words with the same stem and write them on the board without their stem. For example paste, ache, brush (the stem is tooth) or ball, man, board (the stem is snow). Put them on the board (as below) and give students five to ten minutes to figure out what the missing stem is.

Here are some more examples:

doorbell, doorman, doorstep | headline, headcount, headlight, headset, headhunter | backpack, backseat, backfire | timeline, timetable, timesaver | blackbird, blacklist, blackout | lighthouse, lightbulb, lightweight | daydream, daylight, daytime | nightlife, nightclub, nighttime, nightmare | sunburn, sunset, sunshine, sunrise | waterfall, waterbed, waterproof, waterfront, watercolour | lifeboat, lifetime, lifeguard | paperback, paperwork, paperweight, paperboy/girl

Kim's game

If by rifling through your bag, your pockets and the classroom store cupboard you can come up with about 15 smallish items, you can play an impromptu version of Kim's game. This is a fun memory game which is great for introducing and practising some useful vocabulary, and also for reviewing there is, there are, there was and there were.

Pit Pat Putt

This is a fun pronunciation game for practising tricky vowel sounds. It needs zero preparation, just a board or flip chart. Students practise giving each other their phone number using a code.

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Engaging ESL Warm-ups and Fillers: Over 30 Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Class

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Warm-up activities play a crucial role in the English language classroom. Students often arrive to class feeling tired or preoccupied, making it important to gently transition them into the learning environment rather than diving straight into challenging grammar or vocabulary tasks. A well-designed warm-up can engage students, sparking their interest and encouraging active participation.

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As you open your lesson you want to motivate students to start talking in the target language. Use these CLIL activities to start a lesson in a effectively.

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Feel free to download, re-use, or share the following English grammar lessons with your friends, colleagues, or students.

To view the following lessons you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, simply click on the red icon next to the topic for the grammar lesson you wish to view and it will open automatically. If you do not already have Acrobat Reader installed, click here for instructions on how to download a free copy.

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Feel free to download, re-use, or share the following English grammar lessons with your friends, colleagues, or students. To view the following lessons you need

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Business English Materials: Ready-to-print handouts (102 so far) for English lessons on famous companies. FREE Word and PDF downloads.

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Business English Conversation Lessons - Business English

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A collection of business English conversation Lessons on a variety of topics.

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Business English is no longer only about stats, margins and PowerPoint presentations!

Break those old business classroom rules, because this unique type of class has become a trending topic in the ESL world.

As with any hot topic, it is constantly and quickly evolving.

Companies and corporations, large and small, are expanding their global reach, so employees from countries around the globe are seeking ESL skills that are vital to their professional growth.

Your students may be from all walks of life, but chances are good that they are learning English to grow professionally at some stage. That being said, they are bound to have some diverse experiences in a wide variety of industries. Who knows where their English skills will take them?

That is exactly why you should introduce them to a huge spread of business topics. Then they will be prepared, no matter what!

But how can you best dig into those topics?

How to Explore Business English Topics with Discussion

Professional communication is one key skill that can shoot them straight up the ladder. So, close those textbooks and spark communication that will build confidence and key business-minded ESL skills your students crave.

Starting conversations with business-oriented questions in your ESL classroom will be a welcome break from the textbooks and worksheets they may be focused on for most of the week.

Business topics-and essential questions about those topics-will build communication into your lessons effortlessly, and it will allow students to put vocabulary and grammar lessons to good, practical use. For example, if you spend most of the week discussing customer service and sales, make Friday a day to discuss those topics openly!

To get these conversations off the ground, you will need to discern which questions and topics are important for your students. What topics do they most care about? What is most immediately relevant to their lives? What is hot in the business world? Once you have identified these kinds of topics, you can easily keep communication flowing with deeper questions.

Opening up business conversations may be overwhelming for some of your students, but keeping it fun and informative will develop the perfect atmosphere for communication. Don't just let your students get away with yes or no answers. Challenge them to respond thoughtfully, in full sentences, and then keep it flowing naturally with follow-up questions that intrigue or expand the topic.

After all, business English is not about long faces and statistical presentations. Show them a side of business English that will make them comfortable and excited to work.

Develop their professionalism through your conversations, encouraging them to speak smartly and politely, but don't be too strict-let your students try new things without the seriousness they often get enough of at the office.

If all this sounds like a lot to do, just remember, you don't need to have a master's in business administration to teach business English effectively. You only need to be a diligent teacher with well-developed lesson plans and thoughtfully-crafted material that you researched and pondered yourself.

But are you going to be asking the right questions? There's an easy way to find out. Ask yourself the questions you intend to ask your students. This does wonders for the classroom conversations to come. Do they get you excited? Do they spur creative thinking? Do they have multiple layers? What do you wish you knew about this?

From conferences to business ethics, let's take a look at the topics and questions that will assist your students in their professional growth!

25 Business English Discussion Questions That Go from Classroom to Boardroom

English in Business Warm-up

Chances are, if these students are seeking your vast, teacherly knowledge in a business class, they already have a good concept of the importance of business English. You can build on this, since the topic of English in business is familiar.

Discussing the very nature of the relationship between business and English is an exceptional way to warm your students up for what is to come later in the lesson. Students are often asked why they are learning English, and having the ability to discuss the topic in a clear and informative way will do wonders for their confidence as well.

To get warmed up, let your students ask you hypothetical questions about what you would do as a language learner, needing to use a foreign language in business. This will get them more comfortable, learning that you too would have the same challenges and fears when speaking another language for business purposes.

You could also ask them similar questions related to their native languages. How are they important for business?

After that, dig into the questions about English usage in the business world.

Here are a few questions about how English is used in business.
Discussion Questions:
Do you think English is the global business language? If so, what does that mean in your country?

How often do you use English in your career?

Do you feel more comfortable emailing or calling someone in English? Do you feel that writing formal English is challenging?

Do you think English will get you promoted? Are there any annual English tests that are mandatory for you to take in your company?

Do you get nervous speaking to foreign colleagues or clients in English? What is your best story for this question?

Conference Conversations

Conferences are often an overlooked aspect of business English. Many students may be in your class for this very topic. Even if it is not a driving reason, they may well have an important conference in the very near future and want to prepare.
Discussion Questions:
How would you open a conversation with someone in English at a conference? Is it any different in your native language?

Do you normally see all the presentations at a conference? What are some good and bad reasons you might miss a presentation or two?

Do you find it more challenging making small talk or discussing business at conferences? Why do you think that is?

Do you go out of your way to meet new people at conferences, or do you stick to your pack of colleagues? What are some great reasons to meet new people?

Are there parties at conferences? Any good stories?
Discussion Questions:
What parts of customer service does your company focus on?

What is your worst customer service experience? What is your best, and why?

Can you think of any companies known for their exceptional customer service? Do you support these companies as a consumer?

How do you ensure your clients and customers get great customer service from either you or your subordinates?

Is customer service part of a company's culture? How is that beneficial to a company?
Discussion Questions:
Do you believe that company culture is important? If yes, how do companies steer clear of negative company culture aspects as listed on the board?

What is the company culture of your company? Do you like it?

Do you think your company could create a more positive, well-rounded company culture?

What are some of the perks in your company?

What perks or benefits do you look for in a prospective company's culture? Why are these important to you?
Discussion Questions:
What are "business ethics" and how do they affect your community?

Would you consider your company ethical? Are there any business practices you may disagree with on an ethical level?

What are a few companies that have been known for bad business ethics? How about good ones?

How often do you think about or discuss business ethics with colleagues or managers in your current career?

What are some ways companies can improve their business ethics in the future?

Taking some time in your lesson to explain the types of communication your students will encounter at conferences is vital. Networking, detailed job descriptions, presentation discussions, gathering information and the general culture exchange are all key areas of a professional conference.

It is also an excellent idea to take some of the pressure off your conference-goer students by explaining that conferences are usually fun and not so serious. Many business professionals find conferences exciting and a much needed diversion from the day-to-day grind at the office.
Bring English immersion to your classroom!
Let your students explore opening conversations and networking before breaking out your arsenal of conference questions. Have them pair up and open discussions with their partners, allowing them to continue confidence building.

Here are some conference questions for your students to mull over.

Customer Service Situations

Customer service is essential to businesses large and small. It is one aspect of business that may vary by country and culture, however, it remains the backbone in boardrooms worldwide.

Exploring customer service with your students is an important attribute to this business English topic. Ask your students what customer service is like in their country and how they think it differs from other places in the world. Get their minds moving in the right direction while addressing all questions your students might have about customer service first.

Business English customer service questions are also a perfect aspect of your student's professional growth. Since client or consumer feedback is so important, have your students give some feedback of their own about your service as a quick warm-up. This will be enjoyable for the students and you may even learn a bit of useful information about your lessons.

Creating Company Culture

What exactly is company culture anyways? This may be a question your students will enthusiastically ask and be eager for your answer.

Company culture is an essential aspect to any company and your students will need to understand the value of a good company culture versus a bad one. One way to spark this business English topic is to draw a line down the center of your classroom's whiteboard. On one side is good aspects of company culture, while the other side is for the bad and ugly side. Let your students respond freely as you write down their thoughts.

They may think overtime is a bad aspect of company culture, but they may continue to work overtime at their current company. This would be an excellent question for those students, as to why they put up with bad company culture aspects. This topic could quickly turn negative, so keep your positives rolling in and move to your well-crafted questions after a bit of warm-up.

Building Business Ethics

Your eager business English students have most likely studied a bit of business ethics in their native language, so why not bring it to life in English? You don't necessarily need to crack open the Hippocratic Oath in order to discuss business ethics with your students.

However, covering the main ethics that pertain to business today is important. Environmental issues, ecological responsibilities, labor rights, health and wellness are all components of business ethics trending in the news daily.

You can use soda beverage companies as a warm-up activity before delving into your other business English questions. Ask your students what soda they drink, why they drink it and if they think it is ethical for soda companies to sell sugary drinks linked to certain health problems? This will raise an eyebrow or two, as most of your students may not have considered the ethical side of things.

As you can see, business English topics and questions are a fun way to provoke your students into thinking about the business realm in different or new ways.

Engage your students and challenge them to look at the issues in business that are important to their future.

Keeping your questions focused and having conversation building follow-up questions is an essential component to your lesson.

Not allowing your students to pass with the scripted answer or common "yes" or "no" is vital to building their confidence and exploring new business topics from classroom to boardroom.

Stephen Seifert is a writer, editor, professor of English and adventurer. With over 7 years of teaching experience to students worldwide, he enjoys the many aspects of culture and traditions different from his own. Stephen continues his search for writing inspiration, boldly enjoying life to the fullest.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos.

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25 Exciting Business English Discussion Questions That Get Students Thinking

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Business English is no longer only about stats, margins and PowerPoint presentations!Break those old business classroom rules, because this unique type of class has become a trending topic in the ESL world.As with any hot topic, it is constantly and quickly evolving.Companies and corpora

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Using softening phrases to make polite requests

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Using softening phrases to make polite requests

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In this lesson, students learn some softening phrases for making polite requests.

Warm-up

Write the following on the board. "Can I have Friday off?" Ask your class if this is an appropriate way to ask a supervisor for a day off (assuming the supervisor isn't a friend or someone the student has known for a long time). Then, put students in pairs and have them come up with a more polite way to make this request. Give students a few minutes and then put their ideas on the board.

Intermediate students usually come up with something like this:
Could I have Friday off?
Could I have Friday off, please?
Softening Phrases

Explain that using "could" instead of "can" does make a request more polite but that there are phrases we use to be less direct and more polite when we make requests. Explain that we mostly use these phrases in the following situations:

1. When the person to whom we are making the request does not have an obligation to say yes.

2. When we are making a big request.

3. When we are making a request to someone who is at a higher level within the company.

Write the following softening phrases on the board:

I was hoping you/I could...
I was hoping you could work this Saturday.
I was hoping I could take Friday off.

I was wondering if you/I could...
I was wondering if you could cover my shift next Tuesday.
I was wondering if I could take an extended lunch break to run some errands.

Do you think you/I might be able to..?
Do you think you might be able to help me out with these reports?
Do you think I might be able to leave a few minutes early so I can pick up my child from school?

Emphasize that these are polite, indirect ways of asking for something.

Practice 1

Have students look at the following scenarios and write an appropriate request for the situation. Remind them to use softening phrases.
1. You need to give a presentation in two weeks. Someone you used to work with has recently written an excellent article on the same topic that you have to present on. You would like to print the article and hand it out to the attendees at your presentation. How would you ask your former coworker for permission to do this? 2. Your company has just purchased a new projector for the conference room. You don't know how to use it yet, but a coworker of yours has already used it several times. You would like your coworker to show you how to use the projector on his lunch break. How would you ask him to help you? 3. Your car is in the shop and you had to take the bus to work. It's raining really hard, and you don't want to take the bus home. One of your coworkers lives a few miles from you. You want her to give you a ride home. How would you ask her for a ride? 4. You own a construction company. Your company has just completed an addition to a customer's house. The job was finished on time and the customer is happy. You'd like to put a small promotional sign outside of your customer's house that says "Another quality job done by (your company's name)." How would you ask your customer if you can do this?
Go over the possible answers with the class. Emphasize that all 5 of these examples probably require softening phrases because of one or more of the following reasons:

1. The person to whom we are making the request does not have an obligation to say yes.

2. We are making a big request.

3. We are making a request to someone who is at a higher level within the company.

Practice 2

Now, break students into groups. Give each group a copy of the scenarios below. Tell the class that they need to do the following:

1. Read the scenarios.
2. Decide if the situation calls for a softening phrase or not.
3. Make an appropriate request and say it out loud for the group.

Walk around the class and listen to their requests. Make sure that students are using softening phrases when appropriate and using simple requests with "can" or "could" when a softening phrase is unnecessary.
Scenarios: 1. You have a conference call in English tomorrow. You'd like your English teacher to stay after class and help you prepare for the call. How would you ask her to help you? 2. You are at a restaurant and would like the check. How would you ask the waiter to bring the check to you? 3. Someone from outside the company visited your office and gave a presentation. You thought it was a great presentation and you would like a copy of the Power Point slides. How would you ask the presenter for the document? 4. Your daughter has a championship soccer game tonight. Unfortunately, the game starts at 4:30 p.m. and you don't get off work until 5:00 p.m. How would you ask your supervisor to leave an hour early so that you can see the start of the game? 5. Something unexpected happened this morning and you are late for work. You realize that you do not have your supervisor's phone number. You decide to call a coworker and ask her to tell the boss that you will be late. How would you ask your coworker to do this for you? 6. You work in sales. A customer has just called you and complained about always receiving his shipments late. He's very upset and wants you to expedite his current order. The computer system shows that your customer's order won't ship until tomorrow, so you decide to call the warehouse manager and ask if she can make sure the order ships by the end of the day. How would you ask her for this favor? 7. Some members of your team are having some technical issues with their computers. You decide to ask Gary, the company's network administrator, to come by and see what the problem is. How would you ask Gary to do this? 8. You are looking for a new job and are sending applications to prospective employers. You would like to supplement your applications with letters of recommendation from previous employers. You decide to call Carol, your former supervisor, and ask her to write you a letter of recommendation. What would you say to Carol? 9. Your department has a company car. Typically, only senior members of your team can use the car. However, you have an important meeting with a client, and you want to use the company car to make a good impression. How would you ask your supervisor to use the car for your upcoming meeting with your client?
Answers: Numbers 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9 would most likely require softening phrases. Numbers 2, 5, and 7 would require a more direct request.

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Using Softening Phrases to Make Polite Requests - Business English

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In this lesson, students learn some softening phrases for making polite requests. Write the following on the board. "Can I have Friday off?" Ask your class if this is an appropriate way to ask a supervisor for a day off (assuming the supervisor isn't a friend or someone the student has known for a long time).

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Being tactful and polite

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Linguistic deficiencies can cause non-native English speakers to come off as rude or offensive. In this game, students practice being tactful and polite. The cards below describe delicate situations that might arise in the workplace. Students take turns choosing cards and saying what they would say to handle the situation.

For more lessons related to being polite and tactful in the workplace, please see:

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Business English Game: Being Tactful and Polite - Business English

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Linguistic deficiencies can cause non-native English speakers to come off as rude or offensive. In this game, students practice being tactful and polite. The cards below describe delicate situations that might arise in the workplace. Students take turns choosing cards and saying what they would say to handle the situation.

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Plans for teachers

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Warm-ups and Activities for Teachers Warm-ups and Activities for Business English Classes Fluency Activities for Business English Business Collocations Game Collocations Game Odd-one-out Collocations Game Business English Taboo Cards Business English Scattergories Lists Business English Game: Being Tactful and Polite Conversation Starters Skills and Functions Lessons Using Signposts in an Informal Presentation Writing Polite ...

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ttps://www.usingenglish.com/articles/100-most-useful-emailing-phrases.html

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Business material

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Harvard Business Review - Ideas and Advice for Leaders

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Find new ideas and classic advice on strategy, innovation and leadership, for global leaders from the world's best business and management experts.

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El curso de Business English está orientado hacia todas aquellas personas que ya tienen conocimientos intermedios o avanzados de inglés y que necesitan ampliar o reforzar su léxico o determinadas estructuras para su uso en el entorno profesional.

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© British Council
The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).

ICP#: 10044692

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Business English skills are essential for getting ahead at work. Improving your business English vocabulary and knowledge will help you work more effectively and open up new career opportunities. Here you can find activities to develop your interview skills, write clear emails and increase your awareness of business topics and issues.

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efl tefl rsa tesol esl worksheets lesson plans qualifications qualification course courses handouts teaching english supplementary materials resources  handout free grammar exercises

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Elementary to Pre-Intermediate Business English ESL EFL ESOL Worksheets from Handouts Online

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Elementary to Pre-Intermediate Business English EFL / TEFL / ESL worksheets, handouts and lesson plans with teaching notes.

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Free Resources for teachers and students

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Free Resources for teachers and students

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Business English Resources Free for Teachers and Students.

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Free Business English Resources. Ready-to-go lessons for teachers. Business vocabulary lists, grammar guides, and more for students.