Cambridge English Empower B1+
n i t
ULanguages 1
1 SPEAKING
a Begin by telling students about some of your own
language learning experiences. Mention which languages
you have studied, where, and to what level. Ask a
selection of students if they speak or have studied any
other languages. Put students in pairs, and direct them
to the questions. Set a short time limit, and monitor,
helping with grammar and vocabulary where required.
Ask a selection of students to provide their answers for
both questions 1 and 2. Note their ideas on the board,
and ask the class as a whole to decide the easiest / most
important.
2 VOCABULARY
a Explain that the short text here is a quote from a person
who speaks a number of different languages for work.
Elicit from students what some of the challenges of this
might be. Note their ideas on the board. Ask students to
read the quote, paying attention to the words in bold.
Once students have read the quote, ask them to identify
the part of speech for each word (using the sentence
context to guide them.) They should then match the words
in bold to the definitions. Check answers as a whole class.
Answers
1 tricky
2 translate
3 pronounce
4 update
5 accents
b Ask students to work in pairs and discuss whether
they agree or disagree with Karen. As they do this
encourage them to use the bold words from the
vocabulary set, and some of their ideas from the board.
Elicit several opinions from different pairs in a feedback
stage. Ask the class if they agree or disagree with the
opinions given.
Cambridge English Empower B1+ © Cambridge University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE
READING PLUS
3 READING
BETTER READING: USING TITLES TO PREDICT CONTENT
This aims to give students a strategy to help with their
reading. The title and/or sub-title activates a reader’s
background knowledge on a topic. This helps a reader
understand as they read. Telling students to consciously
make such predictions can help them understand a text
more easily.
Before they read, remind students to read quickly (you
could set a time limit), and tell them it is not important to
understand every word.
Students read the title. In pairs, they tick any of predictions
1–6 that they think the article will be about. You could write
their predictions on the board and refer to them in feedback.
They read to check their ideas.
Answers
1 People who speak many languages (polyglots) ✓
2 How polyglots speak so many languages ✓
3 How people learn languages generally ✓
4 How people learn generally
5 The importance of motivation ✓
6 The importance of talent ✓
a This activity provides practice in reading more intensively.
Students read the article again and decide if the sentences
are true or false. Ask students to justify their answers by
reading the relevant section of the text. This will show
that they really understand and are not simply guessing.
Answers
1 False. They don’t understand other people because people
speak so many languages.
2 False. They have existed for a long time.
3 True. There are lots of polyglots in India and some countries in
Africa, for example.
4 True
5 False. Professor Cook doesn’t think this is true. He thinks it’s
about motivation.
6 False. He says you have to study for 15 minutes a day, seven
days a week.
1

b This reading activity requires students to skim read
the text to find the relevant speaker, then read more
intensively to match the information. Explain that the
information in the text will be the same, but the words
used will be different. Explain that paraphrase, saying
the same thing in different ways, is a key skill in writing,
and that recognising it in reading texts can help students
to build their range of language. Explain that paraphrase
is often used in exam questions. Ask students to read
through statements a–f and underline any key words, e.g.
more than … anyone else in a. Once they have done this,
set a time limit and ask students to complete the task.
Check answers as a whole class.
Answers
1 c  2 a  3 b  4 d  5 f  6 e
Cambridge English Empower B1+ © Cambridge University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE
Unit 1
4 SPEAKING
a You may wish to introduce this activity with
your own personal example. Individually, students
read questions and make notes. Monitor and help with
language. In pairs, students tell each other their ideas.
Monitor and help with language, if necessary. Take
feedback as a class and ask if any pairs had similar ideas.
Give feedback on language you heard when monitoring –
both good examples and errors.
b Again, you may wish to introduce this activity by
discussing a personal experience, noting the easy and
difficult aspects. Ask students to choose at least two of the
skills, and note down their ideas on why it was easy or
difficult. Monitor, helping with language where necessary.
Once students have their ideas noted down, ask them
to work in pairs sharing their experiences. Elicit some
examples from the class as feedback.
c For this activity, ask students to work in groups. Set
a brief time limit for them to note their ideas individually,
and then ask them to share ideas. Monitor, noting
interesting ideas or suggestions. Once the discussion has
finished, share these with the class as feedback.
2