Lesson plan 2

Title: Speed dating

Subject: Question forms; helping verbs; agreeing and disagreeing.

Skills: Listening, reading and speaking.

Time duration: two hours

Level: pre-intermediate (four groups of two)

Objective: leaning how to engage in conversations and finding things in common. Using
different question forms and auxiliary verbs and responding to statements by agreeing or
disagreeing.

Materials:

 Eight copies of an advert talking about speed dating called: Quick Match
 Eight copies of a picture showing couples sitting around tables of two engaged in
conversations.
 Worksheets
 A cassette player or a CD player with a ready-to-play recording in which two people are
having a speed dating conversation.
 Sheets with the recording script on them.
 The board

Steps to follow:
1. Give each student a copy of the picture prepared beforehand. While students are
looking at the pictures, pre-teach new vocabulary: speed dating, bell, ring and a match.
Write questions about the advert on the board.
Students read the advert and answer the questions. Then the answers with them.
Students work in groups and share opinions about speed dating. (It’s preferable to have
both men and women in each group. Then groups share opinions between them.
2. Make students ready to listen to the conversation, and then let them listen.
While the students are listening, write some questions about what’s going on in the
recording.
Discuss ideas with the class.
Play the recording again and give students chance to catch details focusing on what the
partners on the recording have or don’t have in common.
3. Hand out the worksheets containing the following activity:
 a) Look at these sentences and responses. Then choose the correct words in the rule.
A I really love traveling. B So do I.
A I don’t go out much. B Neither do I.
We use so/neither to agree with positive sentences and so/neither to agree with
negative sentences.
b) Look at these sentences and responses. Do these people agree or disagree?
A I don’t like cycling. B Oh, I do.
B I’m a vegetarian. B Oh, I’m not.
c) Fill in the empty spaces in the chart.
agree Disagree
1 I’m a bit nervous. Oh, I’m not.
2 I can’t speak Turkish. Neither can I.
3 I’ve got a dog.
4 I don’t go out a lot.
5 I had a great time. So did I.
While students are doing the task, draw the table on the board. So when they finish, you can
illicit answers with the class.

4. Distribute the recording script sheets and ask students to underline all the responses.
These responses are either in the form of agreeing or disagreeing. This activity
reinforces the students’ understanding of how to respond to positive and negative
statements.
5. Feedback
Ask students to prepare statements talking about what they like and don’t like,
what they can and can’t do, what they did and didn’t do the previous night, what
they will and will not do the following day and so on. When they finish they tell
their partners and receive responses.

Adapting the activity to an elementary level

 Choose a simple passage talking about daily or weekly routines.
 Prepare questions about the passage.
 Teach yes/no questions and wh-questions.

Adapting the activity to an intermediate level

 Find a passage that compares life in the past and life today.
 Discuss the differences in the light of the passage with the students.
 Teach the use of the expression ‘used to’ to refer to a habit in the past.