Contextual Resources

Here are few things on cooking verbs and recipes for E1-E2 ESOL and Entry Level 1 Functional English classes. Includes reading, spelling and saying the letters of the alphabet. Includes a recipe for pancakes but useful at any time of year.

Editor's notes

Fully mapped to the new Reformed Functional English content.

This resource has a range of activities to help students learn useful expressions/ language to make a complaint.
It is useful in building confidence in making complaints in person and on the telephone.

Editor’s note
Includes sample dialogue with questions (can also be used as a reading comprehension), matching cards, sammple scenarios, curriculum mapping and teaching notes.

A speaking and listening activity designed to practise asking where food items are in a supermarket. Also involves practise with the numbers 1 to 8.
The sheet is repeated five times – with food items in different positions (numbered supermarket aisles) on each sheet.

Linked to Cambridge Pre-entry ESOL Activities 7a Excuse me …

Rugby themed task on reading (use of quotations and dialogue, facts versus opinions), researching and writing a short article. Topic links to ICT, suitable for use during e.g. Rugby World Cup, Six Nations Tournament or with any group keen on sport![img_assist|nid=5708|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=100|height=71]

This is a combination of speaking & listening, note taking & writing, that I have used successfully as an ice breaker with new groups. It involves learners talking to several people and finding out about their food likes & dislikes (plus allergies, religious considerations etc) before planning a menu for a dinner party. The menu must be acceptable to all the guests! Finally each learner produces their menu presented in a conventional style.

Editor's note (18.11.19)  - download PDFs temporarily removed for minor corrections and updated mapping

Two listening exercises based on everyday events. Each provides a transcript and written questions so they could also be used as reading comprehension exercises.
1) Asking where the pasta is in Asda
2) Listening to a weather forecast
Fully mapped to E2 Reformed Functional English (speaking, listening and communication). Also suitable for ESOL.

Editor's note

Updated September 2019: new reformed Functional English mapping and amended author information.

Find out and record everyone’s favorites from a diverse list of foods. Use as an icebreaker in any Entry Level literacy, numeracy, Functional Skills or ESOL lesson.

Also ties in well with lessons on diversity, healthy eating, collecting data, making / taking simple surveys, tallies, counting, asking questions, etc.

Mapped to Functional Maths and SfL adult numeracy, Functional English (speaking, listening and communication) and SfL adult literacy.

A dialogue (between the pharmacist and the customer) ordering exercise followed by paired speaking and listening practice. Easily adapted to many situations.

Set of interactive and paper based activities based on buying and describing clothes. The on-screen activities (match words and pictures, drag and drop sentences, cloze activitiy, crossword) make a good group activity on an interactive whiteboard and can be extended and consolidated using the dialogue prompts, vocabulary cards and other activities in the PDF document.