A selection of English ESL olympic athlete printables

Reading comprehension + writing test about the environment

Polluted air puts Olympic athletes at risk

This worksheet explores the achievements of the five greatest Olympic athletes of all time: Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi, and Larisa Latynina. Designed for EFL students, the worksheet aims to enhance reading comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills. Students will learn about Michael Phelps, who won 23 gold medals in swimming across five Olympics, showcasing his versatility and endurance. Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, set world records in the 100m and 200m sprints, winning multiple gold medals. Carl Lewis dominated track and field with nine gold medals in events like the long jump and sprints over four Olympics. Paavo Nurmi, the "Flying Finn," won nine golds in distance running, revolutionizing training methods with precise pacing and interval training. Larisa Latynina, a gymnast, earned 18 medals over three Olympics, setting high standards for future gymnasts.

The worksheet includes warm-up questions to activate students' prior knowledge and interest, reading comprehension questions to ensure understanding, and discussion topics to encourage deeper thinking about dedication, inspiration, and personal connections to these athletes. A creative activity invites students to draw and write about their favorite Olympic moment, fostering creativity and personal expression. This resource provides a comprehensive and engaging way for EFL teachers to introduce students to legendary Olympic athletes while developing essential language skills.

The 5 Greatest Olympic Athletes of All Time

1. & 2. page: short reading text about the Native Americans' history - JIM THORPE (Native American’s and one of the world's greatest athletes in history) + short notes about the US state he came from;

 3. page: short quiz (reading comprehension), matching sentences + writing task (student must write a short text with his own opinion);

 FULLY EDITABLE.

Native Americans (USA): Athlete; Olympic gold medalist JIM THORPE  - 3 pages

This fun and informative worksheet introduces students to the exciting inclusion of breakdancing in the Olympics. Students will learn about the history of the Olympics and how breakdancing became an official event. The worksheet explains the four main elements of breakdancing: Top Rock, Down Rock, Freezes, and Power Moves. Each section is written in an engaging and entertaining style to keep students interested and excited about the topic. The worksheet also includes warm-up questions, vocabulary matching, reading comprehension questions, discussion topics, and a creative activity to draw their favorite breakdancing move. This resource is perfect for EFL teachers looking to blend culture, sports, and language learning in a fun and dynamic way.

Break into the Olympics

This worksheet, designed for CEFR Level B1 students, delves into the remarkable story of Michael Phelps and explores whether his physiological traits give him an unfair advantage in swimming. The text examines Phelps's unique body proportions, such as his long wingspan, large hands, and feet, as well as his extraordinary lung capacity and muscle composition. These factors, combined with his intense training regimen and mental toughness, contribute to his unparalleled success in the sport. 

The reading comprehension questions are crafted to enhance students' understanding of the text and encourage them to think critically about the fairness of natural advantages in sports. Discussion questions prompt students to engage in meaningful debates about the role of physical attributes, training, and mental strength in athletic performance. Additionally, a creative activity invites students to draw Michael Phelps in action and write about his achievements, fostering both artistic expression and language skills. This worksheet is ideal for teachers aiming to inspire students with the story of an exceptional athlete while reinforcing their reading and comprehension abilities.

Michael Phelps: The Swimmer with an Unfair Advantage?

This worksheet, designed for CEFR Level B1 adult EFL students, centers on the illustrious career of Mijaín López, the Cuban wrestler who made history by winning gold medals in five consecutive Olympic Games. The biography details his early life, rise to fame, and unprecedented success, culminating in his retirement after his fifth gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The reading comprehension questions encourage students to engage deeply with the text, enhancing their understanding and retention of key details. Additionally, the worksheet includes a focused grammar exercise on the use of articles ("a," "an," and "the"), providing clear rules and practical examples to solidify their grasp of this fundamental concept. Students will fill in the blanks with appropriate articles in various sentences, reinforcing their ability to apply these rules in context. This comprehensive approach ensures a balanced and effective learning experience, combining the inspiring story of a sports legend with practical language skills development.

Articles With The Legendary Wrestler: Mijaín López

This engaging worksheet is based on the entertaining real-life race between Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt and comedian Kevin Hart, which took place on a beach as part of a promotional event. The worksheet is designed to enhance students' reading comprehension, vocabulary, and discussion skills while providing a fun and relatable context.

 
The worksheet begins with warm-up questions that activate students’ prior knowledge and encourage them to think about their own experiences with races and competitions. The vocabulary matching activity introduces seven key words from the text, helping students to better understand and use these terms in context.

 
Comprehension questions follow, ensuring students grasp the main ideas and details of the event, such as Kevin Hart's head start and Usain Bolt's good-natured response to losing. Finally, the discussion questions allow students to express their opinions and engage in meaningful conversations with their peers, fostering both language development and critical thinking.

 
This worksheet is ideal for teachers looking for a fun and educational resource that combines sports and humor in an engaging way. It is suitable for various classroom settings and will surely capture students' interest while enhancing their language skills.

The Epic Showdown: When Usain Bolt and Kevin Hart Raced on the Beach

This worksheet is designed to engage students with a light-hearted and educational activity centered around the viral moment when Zhou Yaqin, a Chinese athlete, captured the internet's heart by biting her gold medal on the podium. It includes vocabulary matching exercises that introduce students to key terms such as "tradition," "authenticity," and "curiosity," helping to build their language skills. The reading comprehension section prompts students to reflect on the article by answering questions about the significance of the medal-biting tradition and why Zhou Yaqin's gesture became so popular online. Additionally, the worksheet encourages discussion, allowing students to explore other viral moments and the role of social media in spreading such content. This engaging and relatable topic not only helps students develop their reading and comprehension skills but also stimulates conversation and creative thinking, making it an ideal resource for a fun and educational classroom session.

Zhou Yaqin Steals the Internet

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)

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Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License

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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>

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8 Olympic athlete English ESL worksheets pdf & doc