Instant Lessons

This worksheet looks at some common idioms taking 'time' as the theme. Your students will learn about: * from time to time * in the nick of time * have time on your hands * have a whale of a time * it's only a matter of time There are exercises where students guess the meaning and rewrite sentences using the new expressions. Finally, there are discussion questions, which give your class the opportunity to personalise the language.

Find out about your students reading habits with this discussion worksheet! The lesson starts out with a pre-discussion task, with students making notes on the book they're currently reading, or one they have read recently. This is followed by discussion questions where students talk about their favourite books and authors. They can also ponder whether it's important to read books, and discuss the growing trend of e-books. This worksheet is written for intermediate-level classes.

Can your students explain to a plumber about a pipe that is leaking? Could they ring up an electrician and explain how the circuit breaker keeps tripping? This handout has great vocabulary and expressions - and if you have students planning to live abroad, they're bound to need this!

Your students can improve their reading, vocabulary and discussion skills with this worksheet on pets. After the lead-in question, there's a graded reading, looking at the history of pets (and the future with robopets) plus some of the benefits of keeping pets. There are exercises practising common collocations and lots of discussion skills at the end. This worksheet is written for intermediate-level students.

How much do your students know about Bill Gates? What do they think of Windows and Office? This worksheet has a gap-fill reading (which isn't too long) and exercises to build your students' vocabulary. They'll learn expressions such as: * instantly recognizable * play a major role * drop out of * step down from ..and much more! The lesson rounds off with lots of discussion questions at the end. This worksheet is written for intermediate-level classes.

If you're looking for a lesson which could be used in both business and general English lessons, this could be the answer. The reading covers the topic of 'Fairtrade' (also known as 'Fair Trade'), with consumers paying a little more for goods produced more ethically. There are vocabulary building exercises, a role-play and lots of discussion questions. It's great for upper-intermediate level classes.

This lesson starts out with a quick quiz on Mt Everest, followed, by a short reading. There are vocabulary building exercises (find a word in the text meaning...), question writing practice, and more. There are discussion questions to finish the lesson with. Why do people take such risks? Have your students ever climbed a mountain? What other dangerous sports and activities are popular? This worksheet is written for lower-level students.

How well can your students talk about their country? The worksheet starts off with by asking students to list three things they like / dislike about their country. There are then a series of questions which students can use as starting points for an extended discussion on their country / countries. Topics covered include other people's image of the country, the media and more. This worksheet will work well with students from different countries, or just the one. It's written for intermediate-level classes, but can easily be adjusted for other levels.