A selection of English ESL ability printables with discussion starters, speaking cards, speaking practice

I created this game to give the usual can or can’t lesson a funny twist. I had a lot of games and material and exercises with various can or can’t sentences, so I picked some out and gathered them together on this grid. Print the grid and cut it out, put it in a bag and get the students to pick one each. You can either get them to do it themselves and “prove” to the class that they actually can do what the slip of paper they picked says, or you can get them to pick a random classmate and ask them the question on the slip of paper. The picked classmate will then need to prove to the classroom that they can or can’t do what the slip says.



The worksheet is editable so feel free to suit it to your needs. Enjoy!

Alice



Can and Can't game. Can you prove it?

Your students have to answer "Can you?" questions. I tried to write questions that are a little bit out of the ordinary, e.g. Can you teach a monkey to tell the time?, Can you rap?, etc. First, they answer with a short “Yes, I can” or “Yes, I can.” Then they tell their partner a bit more, e.g. “I can dance, but in my own style.” See sample answers for each question on Page 2. With elementary speakers, just omit the long answers and stay focused on the short answers. Bless up, Kisdobos

Can you? (Ability: Questions & Answers Set 2.))

Get the updated PDF version of the lesson here..





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This is a great game to develop fluency and bring some fun into the classroom. Students take turns to choose a topic/card and talk about the topic for a minute/2 minutes.





We have a teacher’s copy (including teacher’s notes) and a student version which you can email to your class for online lessons.





Level: This is most suited to A2 / B1 level students.





Time: 30 minutes +





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You can access over 100 FREE worksheets and posters on our site when you register as a FREE member. :)Conversation topics and starters for A2-B1 level.


Grab and go lesson for when you have to jump into a class at the last minute.


30mins.



Talk for a minute about... A2-B1 level

**Description of Present Simple**

The present simple tense is used to describe habitual actions, general truths, and routines. It is formed using the base form of the verb for all subjects, except for the third person singular, which adds an -s or -es (e.g., "he walks," "she watches"). 

Common uses of the present simple include:

1. **Habitual Actions:** "I go to the gym every day."
2. **General Truths:** "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius."
3. **Scheduled Events:** "The train leaves at 6 PM."


Present—- simple

Dialogues to express abilities using can, could and be able to.

Ask them to read and swap roles. The dialogues are simple and dinamic. Feel free to make the changes you desire.

Can, could, be able to dialogues

Print this sheet two times and hang them on separate walls of the classroom. Put your students into two groups and tell them that they should work as a group and match the verbs with the pictures. Tell them that 4 are missing which they must find out!

After, tell your students to work as pairs and ask each other questions with "Can you..." and the verbs written.

This is a very good exercise to bring the students to speak!

Can you...?

Define what superlative adjectives are and explain their function in comparing three or more entities.
Provide examples of common superlative adjectives (e.g., fastest, biggest, most expensive).





Superlative Adjectives

Activity to practice the modal verb CAN to express ability. Each student gets a handout. They walk arounf the classroom asking their classmates if they can do any of the activities written on the worksheet. When they found someone who has that ability, they write the student's name inside the square. Whoever gets all the squares signs first wins.

abilities bingo can/can't activity

A conversation based worksheet on asking and answering questions on what you are able to do. The aim of this worksheet is to put the focus on the students. Have the students discuss the topic in pairs or small groups.

Can you?

This is a practice for giving advice. You can either ask your students to give these Disney characters advice or just a general idea for regular folks. To make it more interesting, find out if they will give different suggestions if it's for the character or the ordinary people. 

Giving advice Disney

A very simple questionnaire literally drilling the verb 'can' for ability. Ideal for beginners and elementary students. Students can break the routine of a typical grammar class and ask one another to demonstrate some of the skills in the classroom. :) 

Can you...? - survey

This worksheet will encourage your students to speak. Students have to walk in the classroom and find out what his/her classmates can do and what are their qualities. The aim is to practice asking basic questions like "Do you have blue eyes?". If the answer is positive, the student should write the name of his/her classmate in the box.

Find someone who

Discussion starters, speaking cards

Ability

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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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

24 Ability, Discussion starters, speaking cards, Speaking Practice English ESL worksheets pdf & doc