A selection of English ESL society and culture printables with general vocabulary practice, vocabulary practice

General vocabulary practice

Society and culture

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

A brief summary of TikTok. They read the passage and do the true or false. Although the language is at quite a high level, it is accessible and the the true or false statements are not difficult. Key included. 

RC: What is TikTok?

This is a B1 intermediate level English reading lesson about Japan, generated using Cathoven AI tools. It includes the reading and reading comprehension exercises in various formats together with the answer keys and explanations.

1) True/False questions
2) Multiple choice questions
3) Short answer questions

B1 - Reading Lesson - Traveling the World: Japan

Teacher divides the students into a's and b's and gives each a photo accordingly. Students then work in pairs and describe the photo, students must not show the photo to their partners. The worksheet contains some useful words and a tip to help students describe the photo.

Picture Descriptions

This is a B1 intermediate level English reading lesson about Memorial Day. It includes the reading and reading comprehension exercises in 3 different formats together with the answer keys and explanations.

1) True/False questions
2) Multiple choice questions
3) Short answer questions

B1 - Reading Lesson - Memorial Day

Reading comprehension. General vocabulary. Picture description. Talking about: ageing, being older or younger, the best way to calculate age, birthday parties. Synonym and phrase match. True or false. Multiple choice. Vocabulary exercise.

How to be YOUNGER in South Korea - Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Find out what is colloquial language and try to guess some of the most common colloquial terms coming from different English speaking countries - the UK, the USA, Autralia

Colloquial language

This lesson explores the evolution of slang and encourages students to create their own slang terms. Students will begin by discussing how slang changes and sharing examples they know. Then, they’ll read an article on slang through the decades and answer comprehension questions to deepen their understanding. Next, students work in small groups to invent 3-5 original slang words, including definitions and examples. Afterward, they will swap dictionaries with other groups to guess the meanings, followed by class presentations where each group explains their terms. The class will vote on the most creative slang word, fostering engagement and teamwork. To extend learning, students can scan a QR code to access additional online resources, such as quizzes or flashcards, to practice their new terms or explore modern slang. By the end of the lesson, students will have practiced collaboration, creativity, and language skills while gaining insight into how slang reflects cultural and social identity. This activity helps students connect language use with social trends and gives them the opportunity to reflect on the role slang plays in everyday communication.

Slang Through the Decades: A Look at How Language Changes

Vocabulary about the topic People and Society taken from Destination B2.
With the list of the words, phrasal verbs and various collocation, it is a good source for practice.

B2 - U10 - People and Society

Задания по аудированию (в т.ч. в формате ЕГЭ) на тему "Epilepsy Awareness" с использованием интервью с Кессиди Меган - девочкой, придумавшей День больных эпилепсией. 

The Interview with Cassidy Megan

The worksheet includes a reading comprehension task (four questions to the article from the link), one gap-filling exercise, and one matching exercise. The answers are included.

Partial decriminalization of Cannabis in Germany

Practice A2-B1 CEFR vocabulary. Listen to the song, read the lyrics if needed, answer the ABCD questions, pick the right summary for the song, match the target vocabulary to their definitions, then read a dialogue on the related topic and answer the ABCD questions. 

We'll Change the World - Practice A2-B1 CEFR vocabulary with my original We'll Change the World song.

Short text about the Sistine Chapel where he cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church gather to elect a new pope, and where Michelangelo pained the ceiling. There is a comprehension QUIZ (key included). Fully editable.

12 Society and culture, General vocabulary practice, Vocabulary Practice English ESL worksheets pdf & doc