A selection of English ESL explain printables

The fourth set of cards for the Explain It game. Students love to play it. You need the board for the game; it is uploaded. Check my profile.

Explain It Intermediate Students Cards 4

This is a speaking/listening activity based on a youtube video.  It explores the relationship between Canada and the United States, from the American perspective.  This was aired during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Educational video.  Have students  write a video summary using comparatives with intensifiers.  Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_041oYDjg

Video:  Tom Brokaw Explains Canada to Americans

Here s the new video game that my students love, Batman. I've decided not to use the video because it's way too violent but instead, an mp3 recording of the text to train their oral comprehension.
So here is the link to the mp3 recording of the text : http://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables_page?id=61725

Batman new video game to explain comparison

Get the class in groups and find 6 different creative stories!
It's very good to practise Past Simple / Past Continuous. 

How do you explain it? Make up stories!

all the English language tenses are explained in a table with their use, form, key words, and examples.  
This document can be used by student and Teachers and for different Level of Learners as well.

All Tenses explained (Form, Use, Key words, Examples)

Simple activity to practice past perfect continuous and past perfect simple. Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students. Cut out the sentence cards, shuffle them, and give one pile to each group.

The students will take turns to take a card and read out the sentence written on it. The other students in the group must form a response explaining the situation on the card using the past perfect or past perfect continuous.

Example:
Student A: "When I saw you, you were sweating"
Student B: "Because I had been playing badminton with Kenko."
Student C: "Because I had eaten a spicy curry." 
Student A will then decide who gave the best/funniest/most imaginative answer and award the card to that student. The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.

We have provided an easy print version of the game on the last page to save on coloured ink. but do you really want to hit print? This is also a QR code activity, so you could save yourself the time and paper and have them do it, in colour, on their smartphones. Visit english-able.com for QR codes and more.

This is an official Englishable activity uploaded by the copyright holder.

Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous Explain Yourself Game

The world as we know it has changed immeasurably during 2020 as a result of the worldwide catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question in everyone's mind, from the smallest rural towns to the planet's most populous cities, is... When will a vaccine be available? 



This upper-intermediate  lesson plan examines the practicalities of this burning question, presented by Bill Gates who is actively funding research and development into finding this precious, highly sought-after treatment for one of humanity's most deadly diseases to date. If you sign up with Fluentize, this lesson is available to download completely free of charge until September 8th for use as a class printed handout or online for interactive use. Here is the link to the Fluentize lesson page below:



https://app.fluentize.com/lesson/covid-vaccine



The lesson opens with discussion questions about the effects of COVID-19 and students' understanding of vaccines and vaccine trials.



Vocabulary related to vaccines and viruses is introduced, including words like "pathogen" and "receptors". New verbs are explained, including "inject", "multiply" and "prevent" along with new adjectives like "urgent" and "exposed".



Students can then watch a video where Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates explains the concept of how coronaviruses work and different methods being explored to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 in record time. There are then a series of questions based on the video content including a true/false exercise and choosing numbers stated by Bill in the video to fit the correct statement.



Here you can find the first half of the lesson plan with these Preview and Viewing activities described above. 



You can navigate to the full lesson plan materials on Fluentize to download everything for free until Tuesday, September 8th. The post-viewing activities contain a section on prepositions that Bill Gates used in the video, and then the grammar section includes an exercise filling in the correct pronoun used in sentences heard in the video, and a practice section on the usage of the structure "get + object + infinitive". This is based on a statement explained by Bill in the video: 



"The idea of a vaccine is to get your body to make a lot of antibodies that can take these viruses and actually kill them."



The final activities in this pertinent current events lesson offer the student an opportunity to discuss various related topics, such as: what positive effects have come out of the pandemic, how cautiously they currently live their lives and imagining what life will be like after the production of a working vaccine. There is a bonus writing task at the end expanding on the idea of imagining life post-COVID-19.



Hope you and your students enjoy!



- Jake from Fluentize



The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine, Explained

Hi teachers,



I recently published a free lesson plan on Fluentize based on a news report video about the turbulent history of Russia and Ukraine.



I would say this lesson plan is probably most suitable for advanced (C1) students.



In order to view the video, please visit the lesson page on Fluentize via the link below.



https://app.fluentize.com/lesson/ukraine-russia-conflict



This post contains the first half of the lesson materials. You can download the full lesson lesson directly from Fluentize when you're registered and logged in.



As you'll see in the lesson plan, students discuss topics and questions related to war in general and what they know about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Students also learn a few really important vocabulary words from the video, including escalation, annexation, sovereignty, ousting, and a buffer.



In the second Post-Viewing Activity on Fluentize, there is a short grammar activity on the usage of irregular past simple with a passive voice construction based on a quote from the video:



"Yanukovych fled the country after being impeached by parliament.”



You can follow everything up with additional discussion based on the following topics...



- Some of the potential global, economic, and political consequences of the military invasion by Russia into Ukraine



- The extent to which other countries are involved in the war between Ukraine and Russia



- How is the world reacting to the war between Russia and Ukraine



- What kinds of sanctions specifically have been imposed on Russia



- Information about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky



***IMPORTANT NOTE***



I would just like to note here that due to the sensitivity of the situation, I would use your best judgment on whether to use this topic and proceed with discussions about it in class. You know your students best, and you could probably even ask students whether they wish to discuss it or not. A teacher may have students who wish to discuss it, and other students maybe not. It could very well be too sensitive or distressing for some students. Of course, I also understand the importance for students to be able to have discussions and express their ideas and opinions about such an important global topic. All in all, a lot of it may depend on the background of the students and how closely they are tied to the situation. If teachers decide to proceed with this topic, I would advise them to steer things as objectively as possible and focus on the history and background of the conflict itself.





Thanks,



Jake from Fluentize

Russia & Ukraine’s Turbulent History Explained (C1 Advanced) - ESL Lesson Plan

This worksheet is designed for A2 level students to explore and understand strange dog behaviors. It includes activities like warm-up questions to connect with personal experiences, vocabulary matching to reinforce key terms, and a reading comprehension section with multiple-choice, true/false, and open-ended questions. These activities help students grasp the content while practicing English skills. The discussion questions encourage deeper thinking and class interaction, making the topic both engaging and educational. Teachers can use this worksheet to create an interactive lesson that enhances language learning through the interesting topic of dog behavior.

Why Do Dogs Do Strange Things? Five Curious Behaviors Explained

This worksheet helps students at the A2 level understand and discuss the curious behaviors of cats. It includes warm-up questions to engage students, vocabulary matching for key terms, and a variety of comprehension questions to test their understanding. The discussion prompts encourage students to think critically about their own experiences with cats, making the lesson both interactive and educational.

Why Do Cats Do Strange Things? Five Curious Behaviors Explained

Football Quiz – Choose and Explain (B1/B2)
For each question, choose one option and explain your choice. You may add your own idea if you like.
No solution - it is about opinions.


Which One..? - Football Quiz – Choose and Explain (B1/B2) - discussion

2as sustainable development waste not want not DEAR FUTURE GENERATIONS. Prince Ea
I think I speak for the rest of us when I say, sorry, sorry we left you our mess of a planet. 

DEAR FUTURE GENERATIONS most suitable video that explains well sustainable development

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

For personal or classroom use only. Uploading on other internet sharing platforms or any commercial use NOT PERMITTED. Share Alike.

Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License

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Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License

how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

1,278 Explain English ESL worksheets pdf & doc