B1 - LET'S SPEAK!
60 Hour COURSE PROGRAMME
Contents
Part 1 – People 1-10 hrs
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0. Diagnostic Test
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1. Getting to know someone.
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2. Character and feelings.
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3. King of chess.
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4. People’s appearance.
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5. On the run.
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6. Describing jobs.
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7. Attending a job interview.
Part 2 - Out and about 11-20 hrs
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8. At the restaurant.
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9. Food and drink.
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10. Comfort food.
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11. Cooking and eating.
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12. At the clothes shop.
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13. Clothes.
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14. Banking.
PART 3 - TRAVEL AND PLACES 21-30 hrs
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15. For and against.
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16. Sightseeing.
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17. Extreme living.
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18. Extreme adjectives.
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19. At the hotel
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20. In the wild.
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21. Home improvements.
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22. Land and sea.
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23. Metro stress.
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24. Road and transport.
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25. Ecotourism.
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26. Suggesting ideas.
Part 4 - Socialising 31-40 hrs
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27. Making plans.
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28. Planning ahead.
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29. Common expressions 1.
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30. Staying with people.
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31. Helping people.
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32. Common expressions 2.
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33. Apologies, excuses and promises.
Part 5 - Health and well-being 41-50 hrs
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34. Longevity.
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35. Health and illness.
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36. Pet benefits.
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37. Population science.
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38. Sport.
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39. Making a phone call
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40. Press one.
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41. Water crisis.
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42. Emergencies.
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43. Crazy idea.
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44. War and conflict.
Part 6 - Technology 51-60 hrs
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45. Predictions.
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46. Gadgets and appliances.
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47. Difficulties on the phone.
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48. The selfie revolution.
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49. Surfing the net.
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50. Troubleshooting.
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51. Love at first byte.
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52. Artificial Intelligence.
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53. Slow television.
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51. Exit Test
Part 1 – People
1. Getting to know someone
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Listening: A dialogues between speakers asking about each other’s background, work, hobbies, travel experience, etc.
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Speaking: Getting to know one another using the language from the lesson. revision of terms for describing people you know, e.g. an acquaintance, a mutual friend, a flatmate, a colleague, etc.
2. Character and feelings
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to people’s character and feelings.
3. King of chess
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Reading: An article on an extremely gifted child chess prodigy from Ireland.
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Grammar: A review of the present simple, present perfect simple, past simple and used to + infinitive.
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Speaking: Talking about sporting talents in different countries.
4. People’s appearance
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to people’s appearance.
5. On the run
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Reading: An article about Dean Karnazes, a so-called ‘ultra-marathon runner’ who has run distances of up to 350 miles non-stop. I
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Grammar: Differences between the gerund and infinitive forms
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Speaking: Discussion about the ultra-marathon lifestyle and other feats of endurance.
6. Describing jobs
Speaking: Typical adjectives and expressions used for describing work.
7. Attending a job interview
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Speaking: Useful vocabulary for attending a job interview in English.
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Reading: An article about things candidates shouldn't say during an interview.
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Discussion activity and role play exercise at the end of the lesson.
Part 2 - Out and about
8. At the restaurant
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Speaking: Using common words and expressions for describing food and drink, restaurant service and parts of meals.
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Listening: Listening and role play on how to order a meal in a restaurant as well as discussing menu options with a guest and decide who should pay.
9. Food and drink
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Speaking: Using vocabulary related to food and drink.
10. Comfort food
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Reading: An article on the cooking repertoire of the British and study words to describe different kinds of food and cooking.
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Speaking: Talking about their different countries’ cuisines.
11. Cooking and eating
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to cooking and eating.
12. At the clothes shop
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Speaking: common words and expressions for describing clothes (in British and American English), clothing material and shopping for clothes.
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Listening and role play: Asking to try on an item, enquire about sizes and colours, and decide whether or not to buy.
13. Clothes
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to clothes
14. Banking
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Speaking: Useful words and phrases for describing banking products and services including types of bank accounts, loans, payment methods and foreign exchange.
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Listening and role play: Exchanging money from one currency to another, pay in and withdraw cash, enquire about their bank balance and check their overdraft limit
PART 3 - TRAVEL AND PLACES
15. For and against
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Grammar: Useful expressions for giving opinions, agreeing and disagreeing.
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Listening: An animated video of three travellers discussing the impact of tourism on a historical European town.
16. Sightseeing
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Speaking: Talking about a sightseeing holiday.
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Grammar: common adjectives for describing a tourist destination.
17. Extreme living
The topic of this lesson is living in an extreme environment.
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Reading: an article on how the inhabitants of Yakutsk in Russia cope with living in the world’s coldest city.
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Speaking: Discussion about how the climate in different countries compares.
18. Extreme adjectives
Speaking: Learn how to be more descriptive using extreme adjectives, e.g. brilliant, terrible, dreadful, exhausted, huge, tiny, filthy, starving, etc.
19. At the hotel
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Speaking: Common words and phrases for describing hotel facilities, service and staff, as well as practical expressions to use with a hotel receptionist.
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Listening and role play: Booking a room, check in and check out.
20. In the wild
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Reading: A text based on a newspaper interview with Jake Williams, a hermit who has lived in the Scottish wilderness for 30 years.
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Grammar: The present perfect, past simple and past perfect tenses, Speaking: Discussion on the hermit lifestyle.
21. Home improvements
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to DIY and home improvements. Grammar: The structure 'have something done'.
22. Land and sea
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to land and sea.
23. Metro stress
The theme of this lesson is transport and stress.
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Reading: An article on the problems faced by commuters and workers on the metro in the Russian capital Moscow.
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Grammar: The passive voice
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Speaking: Talking about the transport systems in different countries.
24. Road and transport
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to road and transport.
25. Ecotourism
Reading and Speaking: A text about the potential dangers of ecotourism.
Grammar: The structure be/get used to doing something.
26. Suggesting ideas
Using vocabulary for describing and discussing ideas.
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Listening: A dialogue between two friends planning a weekend break
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Speaking: asking for, making and responding to suggestions.
Part 4 - Socialising
27. Making plans
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Speaking: Making plans and arrangements.
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Listening and role play: Learn how to schedule, cancel and re-schedule a meeting.
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Grammar: use of the present continuous for stating future plans is also studied, as well as common phrasal verbs used when making arrangements.
28. Planning ahead
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Reading: An article on an unusual, statistical approach to planning their week.
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Grammar: Collocations for describing several routines and activities are studied. In the grammar exercises, students learn how to express probability and chance using modal verbs and other useful structures.
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Speaking: Talking about a list of topics and discussing what will happen in each case.
29. Common expressions 1
Speaking: Common social expressions that English speakers use in a variety of situations, including be careful, bless you, congratulations, cheers, good luck, never mind, etc.
30. Staying with people
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Speaking: Using vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of staying and living with other people.
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Listening and role play: Welcome a guest, make small talk, make offers and requests, as well as thank somebody for their hospitality.
31. Helping people
Speaking: Using expressions for offering, accepting and refusing help. Common phrases for responding when other people express their gratitude.
32. Common expressions 2
Speaking: Common social expressions that English speakers use in a variety of situations, including by all means, calm down, get well soon, what a pity, get well soon, it doesn’t matter, etc.
33. Apologies, excuses and promises
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Speaking: Common expressions for making apologies, excuses and promises.
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Listening and role play: Apologise for something, accept or reject an apology, explain a problem or mistake and promise action.
Part 5 - Health and wellbeing
34. Longevity
The theme of this lesson is longevity.
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Reading: an article on the habits that can lead to a longer life and study common collocations for describing healthy lifestyles.
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Grammar: Structures for speculating and explaining.
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Speaking: Discussion on the article topic.
35. Health and illness
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to health and illness.
36. Pet benefits
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Reading: an article about the health benefits of keeping a pet.
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Speaking: talking about health and well-being as well as functional expressions for connecting ideas and developing an argument.
37. Population science
The theme of this lesson is education and the problem of rising global population.
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Reading: an article about a proposed strategy to limit global population growth by putting more girls in the developing world through secondary school.
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Grammar: The first and second conditionals are studied and practised.
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Speaking: Discussion about population problems in different countries.
38. Sport
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to sport.
39. Making a phone call
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Speaking: describing telephone equipment and using a telephone.
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Listening and role play: useful expressions for making and answering a phone call, as well as taking and leaving messages.
40. Press one
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Reading: an article about why a British man built a website to help people save time and avoid getting frustrated when phoning company call centres.
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Speaking: Discussion of the topic.
41. Water crisis
The topic of this lesson is Brazil's water crisis.
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Reading: a short text about how a recent drought is affecting Brazil's largest city.
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Speaking: Discussion about the topic.
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Grammar: review activiAty on the present perfect simple.
42. Emergencies
Speaking: Emergency services as well as expressions for reporting an emergency.
43. Crazy idea
The theme of this lesson is the migrant crisis in Europe.
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Reading: A text about an Egyptian billionaire who wants to accommodate desperate refugees on two privately-owned Greek islands.
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Speaking: Discussion about the topic.
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Grammar: reported speech
44. War and conflict
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to war, conflict and terrorism.
Part 6 - Technology
45. Predictions
The theme of this lesson is prediction.
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Reading: an amusing article on eight embarrassing predictions made by well-respected experts at different periods of modern history.
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Grammar: Structures for reporting a prediction made in the past are learnt and the use and omission of the definite article for talking in general is studied.
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Speaking: practise making and reporting predictions.
46. Gadgets and appliances
Speaking: Using vocabulary related to gadgets and appliances.
47. Difficulties on the phone
Speaking: expressions for dealing with difficulties on the phone. Common technical and communication problems such as weak signals, crossed lines, battery problems, language barriers etc.
48. The selfie revolution
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Reading: an article examining the modern fad of taking selfies (self-portrait photographs).
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Speaking: A discussion on the topic of selfies.
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Grammar: A few common uses of the present perfect simple and present perfect continuous.
49. Surfing the net
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Speaking: Talking about the internet.
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Reading: A short text and discussion activity on the principle of 'net neutrality'.
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Writing: Writing short sentences based on 8 short webcast clips.
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50. Troubleshooting
Speaking : Talking about and troubleshooting technical problems.
51. Love at first byte
The topic of this lesson is online dating and relationships.
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Reading: an article on a trend called ‘network dating’ – the use of social media websites and mutual friends to help single people get together. Speaking: Common expressions for describing the different stages of a relationship.
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Grammar: The use of the present continuous, present perfect and past simple tenses for describing trends.
52. Artificial Intelligence
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Speaking: A discussion about artificial intelligence.
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Reading: an article on how technological progress over the next 20 years will result in the development of machines that are able to match the intelligence of human beings.
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Grammar: part of the worksheet, comparative forms and structures are studied and practised.
53. Slow television
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Reading and Speaking: an article about a Norwegian trend called 'Slow TV' -- hours and hours of television coverage by fixed cameras on one single subject.
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Grammar: defining and non-defining relative clauses.