Employment skills & Public services

Volunteering in your community - ESOL role play prompts

Role play prompts for higher beginners (could be amended for E1).

Volunteering for a green space community charity.

Editor's note

Another great set of role play prompts from Jenny. Visit her page to find further sets.

Level

Entry Level 1

Entry Level 2

Entry Level 3

ESOL

ESOL Lr/E1.4a Listen and respond to requests for personal information

ESOL Sc/E1.3dc Ask for clarification

ESOL Sc/E2.2a make requests: ask for things or action

ESOL Lr/E2.5b Respond to requests for information

ESOL Sd/E2.1a Take part in social interaction

ESOL Sd/E2.1b Take part in more formal interaction

ESOL Sd/E2.1c Express likes and dislikes, feelings, wishes and hopes

ESOL Sd/E2.1e Relate to other speakers

ESOL Lr/E3.4a Clarify and confirm understanding through verbal and non-verbal means

ESOL Sd/E3.1a Take part in social interaction

ESOL Sd/E3.1b Take part in more formal interaction

ESOL Sd/E3.1f Make arrangements or plans with other people

Context

Voluntary & Charity

Independent living

Employment skills & Public services

Using English at Work and College

A set of tasks to practise reading and writing skills. Read about a student and his work and college life.

Practise using conjunctions.
Learn synonyms
Practise using punctuation correctly.
Write about your own experience of studying and working

Editor's notes

So practical and down to earth! Find out about Joseph's day to day college life and his busy job with Deliveroo. Also very useful for E2-E3 Functional Skills English students.

Level

Entry Level 2

Entry Level 3

English

General literacy / English

FE E2.13 Use basic punctuation correctly (e.g. full stops, question, exclamation marks)

FE E3.13 Use a range of punctuation correctly (e.g. full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, commas)

FE E2.8 Understand the main points in texts

FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts

FE E2.19 Write in compound sentences, using common conjunctions to connect clauses

ESOL

ESOL Rt/E2.1a Use a range of strategies to trace & understand main events

ESOL Rw/E2.2a Recognise a range of familiar words

ESOL Rt/E3.1a Understand how meaning is built up in a variety texts of more than one paragraph

ESOL Ws/E2.1a Construct simple and compound sentences

ESOL Ws/E2.3a Use correct punctuation, e.g. capital letters, full stops, question marks

ESOL Ws/E2.1a Construct simple and compound sentences

ESOL Ws/E3.3a Use punctuation to aid clarity in relation to beginnings and ends of sentences

ESOL Ws/E3.2a Use basic sentence grammar accurately

Context

Education and teaching

Employment skills & Public services

Independent living

Asking for time off work / At the hospital - ESOL role play prompts

Role play prompts for higher beginners to E3.

Peter needs to take his son to the hospital; he asks his manager for time off work
A doctor at the hospital speaks to Peter's son

Editor's note

Another very useful set of role play prompts from Jenny. Visit her page to find further sets

Level

Entry Level 2

Entry Level 3

ESOL

ESOL Sd/E2.1a Take part in social interaction

ESOL Sd/E2.1b Take part in more formal interaction

ESOL Sd/E2.1c Express likes and dislikes, feelings, wishes and hopes

ESOL Sd/E2.1d Express views and opinions

ESOL Sd/E2.1e Relate to other speakers

ESOL Sd/E3.1a Take part in social interaction

ESOL Sd/E3.1b Take part in more formal interaction

ESOL Sd/E3.1c Express feelings, likes and dislikes

ESOL Sd/E3.1d Express views and opinions

ESOL Sd/E3.1g Relate to other speakers

ESOL Sd/E3.1e Make suggestions, give advice

ESOL Sd/E3.1f Make arrangements or plans with other people

ESOL Sd/E3.2a Ask about people's feelings and opinion

Context

Employment skills & Public services

Health, Social care, Early years

The Astronaut

A short poem on the theme of jobs and careers. Can be used as a reading and pronunciation exercise or may be extended to include a discussion around jobs, ambitions and qualifications. Can also be used as a basis for written work.

Editor's notes

Super for many levels and situations - includes a list of suggested questions/prompts.

Level

Entry Level 2

Entry Level 3

Level 1

English

Poetry

FE SL&C Discussion

FE READING and understanding words

ESOL

ESOL Speak clearly & with appropriate register

ESOL Engage in discussion

ESOL: Follow/participate in exchanges or discussions

ESOL Trace and understand main events of a text

Context

Employment skills & Public services

Independent living

Extra questions for John's Crazy Socks

Two pages of extra questions for our very popular "John's Crazy Socks" resource by Eleanor Kliffen (Jan 2018). Ideal for homework or stretch & challenge. Questions are mixed levels with a focus on *parts of speech, punctuation and grammar (tense). Language features are also touched upon.

Editor's note

Although parts of speech are not specifically covered in the FS Content descriptors, a basic knowledge of nouns, verbs and subjects can be very useful when teaching sentence structure.

Level

Entry Level 3

Level 1

English

FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts

FE E3.15 Use mostly correct grammar e.g. subject-verb agreement, consistent use of tense, definite & indefinite articles

FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes

Context

Business & Money management

Employment skills & Public services

English - Applying to university as a mature student

Why might we decide to go to university as a mature student? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about their career choices (in this case, applying for a university level course) while building their Functional English skills.

Editor's note

Level

Level 1

Level 2

English

FE L1.4 Communicate information / ideas / opinions clearly & accurately on range of topics

FE L1.5 Express opinions and arguments and support them with evidence

FE L2.5 Communicate information/ideas/opinions clearly/effectively with further detail/development if required

FE L2.6 Express opinions and arguments and support them with relevant and persuasive evidence

FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings

FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context

FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts

FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes

FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes

FE L1.22 Communicate information, ideas & opinions clearly, coherently & accurately

FE L2.23 Communicate information, ideas and opinions clearly, coherently and effectively

FE L1.24 Use format, structure & language appropriate for audience & purpose

FE L2.25 Organise writing for different purposes using appropriate format & structure e.g. standard templates, paragraphs, bullet points, tables

FE L2.27 Use language & register (e.g. persuasive techniques, supporting evidence, specialist words) to suit audience & purpose

Context

Education and teaching

Employment skills & Public services

English - Career based session - Nursing and Healthcare

Interested in becoming a nurse or working in the Healthcare sector? What are the benefits? What do you need to know before you get started? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about their career choices (in this case, joining the healthcare sector) while building their English skills.

Editor's note

Level

Level 1

Level 2

English

FE L1.1 Identify relevant information & lines of argument in explanations & presentations

FE L2.1 Identify relevant information from extended explanations or presentations

FE L1.3 Respond effectively to detailed questions

FE L2.3 Respond effectively to detailed or extended questions & feedback

FE L1.4 Communicate information / ideas / opinions clearly & accurately on range of topics

FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes

FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)

FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context

FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts

FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes

FE L2.17 Analyse texts, of different levels of complexity, recognising their use of vocabulary and identifying levels of formality and bias

FE L1.23 Write text of appropriate level of detail & length to meet needs of purpose & audience

FE L1.25 Write consistently & accurately in complex sentences, using paragraphs where appropriate

FE L2.24 Write text of appropriate level of detail & length to meet needs of purpose & audience

FE L2.28 Construct complex sentences consistently & accurately, using paragraphs where appropriate

FE L1.24 Use format, structure & language appropriate for audience & purpose

FE L2.27 Use language & register (e.g. persuasive techniques, supporting evidence, specialist words) to suit audience & purpose

Context

Health, Social care, Early years

Employment skills & Public services

English - Career based session - Care work

Why might we become a care worker, and what are the benefits? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about their career choices (in this case, becoming a care worker) while building their English skills.