Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

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 …

One of the Level 2 Functional English Writing exam papers asked students to write a speech.

I found a speech online and showed them how to use repeated words, emphasis, subheadings and to think about their audience. I then used the Drink Aware website to create this resource to enable students to practise speech writing.

This resource could also be used to practise writing letters or emails to colleagues to encourage them to think about drink driving, and to practise other aspects of writing styles for Level 2 exams.

A counting game along similar lines to Snakes and Ladders. Learners will learn turn-taking, following instruction & basic counting skills. In addition, they will pick up social and communication skills along the way.

(Print onto A3 – a dice and counters needed)

Editor’s note
A PPT version is also included to enable the game to be played on a smartboard.

This is a series of short job ads for a hotel (+ one for a school caretaker). Simple language and uncluttered layout..
Good for introduction to language of employment. I have used these with E1 to E3 and they work well as a differentiated resource

Higher levels can gauge implict information, especially for the school caretaker advert in writing covering application letters to include attributes such as working with children, being trustworthy and reliable etc)

A railway safety PowerPoint to be used as a discussion on why we need to stay safe around railway lines. Can be used as a speaking and listening tool to form discussion points or as a reading comprehension.

This resource helps learners hear rhymes and recognise corresponding letters/digraphs, rimes and onsets etc. Take simple limericks and poems and get your learners to put them together.

I created my own limericks to match work we had been doing on long vowel sounds (it is not that difficult to do once you get started). Well-known poems and nursery rhymes also proved particularly popular as many knew them already by heart from childhood and some were doing them now with their children.

A list of passport prices (converted into £ January 2012) and a set of associated questions.
Useful in Functional English as a discussion or research prompt, especially just before the summer holiday season.

Based on an hilarious Comics Relief YouTube clip. A great way to get students to look at conversations in speaking and listening or to look at humour, irony and sarcasm.

You can vary the questions or just use them as a discussion prompt. I have found it works well with lower level learners and with higher ones as well. Even students who don’t like the shows or the people will have some comments

Many of these common spellings used to crop up regularly in the former Level 1 literacy tests. They will also be useful for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills students.

They have been categorised to make learning more manageable for learners, but some spellings will fit into more than one group.

A mingling exercise to get students talking to one another. Great as an induction activity for new classes or for ESOL learners to practise speaking and listening.