American English File 4 Coolers

1A
Play a chain game to practice question formation. Tell students you will start with a question and
clap where the question word(s) or auxiliary verb should be. For example, you say, [clap] did you
pay for that bag? The next student says the entire question, filling in the missing word(s). That
student then makes up a new question, clapping for the question word(s) or auxiliary verb. For
example, How much did you pay for that bag? [clap] you ever been to Rio? If you think it might be
difficult for students to make up questions on the spot, you can give them a few minutes to think
of a question before you start the game. Go around the room, giving every student at least one
turn. Alternatively, have students play in small groups.

1B
Divide the class into two or three teams, and play "Write the word" with adjectives from the
Vocabulary Bank on Student Book page 146. A student from each team comes to the board.
Tell students that you are going to say a noun or verb, and they have to write the correct
adjective form using a suffix. For example, if you say help, students write helpful. The first
person to write the word spelled correctly gets a point for his / her team. Get new students to
come to the board and repeat. Continue until every student has had at least one turn. You can
have students who write the words correctly first give a sentence with the word for a bonus
point. Alternatively, have students write a sentence with the adjective.
Possible noun/verb Æ adjective formations:
adventure (adventurous) fun (funny) pessimist (pessimistic)
ambition (ambitious) help (helpful) possess (possessive)
assert (assertive) impulse (impulsive) practice (practical)
boss (bossy) irony (ironic) rely (reliable)
cheer (cheerful / cheery) irritate (irritable) response (responsible)
conscience (conscientious) mood (moody) sense (sensible)
critic (critical) optimist (optimistic) society (sociable)
forget (forgetful / forgettable)

1C
Put students in pairs. Tell them they will practice keeping a conversation going as they did in
section 4 SPEAKING on Student Book page 13. Write the following on the board:

Have you ever had to call someone for help with an emergency?

Yes No
Who did you call?
Why did you call?

Have you ever had to call someone for help with a problem that wasn’t an emergency?

Yes No
Who did you call?
Why did you call?

What are some reasons you might have to call for help in an emergency?

Have students discuss the questions in their pairs.

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -1- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

2A
Draw the following chart on the board:
size age shape / style color / pattern nationality material

Have students copy the chart in their notebooks. Remind them that this is the order in which
adjectives should go when there is more than one adjective before a noun. Tell students to write
down three adjectives in the correct order from three of the six categories in the chart, for
example, large (size), blue (color), wool (material). Say three adjectives out of order, for example,
wool, blue, large. Choose a student to say the words in order followed by a noun that makes
sense, for example, large blue wool hat. That student then reads his or her adjectives out of order
and chooses another student to put them in order with a noun. Continue until every student has
had a turn. Alternatively, have students create sentences with the adjectives in the correct order.

2B
Put students in groups of three or four. Give the whole class a story starter. One student in each
group will tell a story to the others. Encourage them to use the past perfect continuous. You can
review the story plan in section 6 SPEAKING on Student Book page 27. Give students a few
minutes to tell the story. Then give the class another story starter. Another student in each group
tells a story for that starter. Continue until every student has had a turn.

Possible story starters:

It was such a long flight/day/week!
I was so tired that I missed work/my class/my plane!
The performance was so bad that I left before it was over.
The food was so good that I went back for more.

2C
Write these pairs of adverbs and adverbial phrases on the board:

right now / actually

especially / specifically
ever / even
hard / hardly
in the end / at the end
late / lately
near / nearly
still / yet

Divide the class into four groups. Give each group a pair of words on the board. Tell them they
are going to explain to the class what the difference in meaning is for each pair. They will also
give example sentences. Give the groups about 5 minutes to prepare their explanation and
sentences. Then have each group share with the class.

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -2- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

3A
Play a chain game to practice the words from the Vocabulary Bank on Student Book page
149. Say a crime from the Vocabulary Bank (for example, robbery). The next student says
the name for the criminal (robber), and the following student says the verb (to rob). Then say
another crime and continue until every student has had a turn. You could let the students in
the “chain” chose the crimes. Alternatively, you can also have students say sentences with
the words. For example, you say, Did you hear about the robber on Park Street? The next
student says, The robber was caught outside of the bank. The following student says, He
robbed the bank and was caught with $500,000.

3B
Give students a “books-closed” memory test on climate change from the reading on Student Book
page 42. Give them a minute to read the information again. Then have students close their
books. Read the following statements, and have students say if the information is Short Term (by
2050), Mid Term (by 2100), or Long Term (by 3000).

Statements:
Many glaciers will have melted completely. (short term)
One third of the world will be suffering from extreme droughts. (long term)
Fifty percent of the world’s ski resorts will have closed down due to lack of snow. (short term)
Sea levels will have risen by more than 36 feet (11 meters). (long term)
The number of serious coastal storms and tsunamis will have doubled. (mid term)
Temperatures will have risen by about 59°F (15°C). (long term)
More than a third of the world’s plant and animal species will have become extinct. (short term)
Sea levels will have risen by 6-27 inches (16-69 centimeters). (mid term)

3C
Put students in pairs. Write the following phrases on the board:

If I go on vacation, I’ll …
I’ll go skydiving as soon as …
If I have to take a class, I’ll …
I’m not going surfing unless …

Tell students that one of them is a student that takes risks and the other doesn’t. They complete
the sentences based on this. Pairs share their sentences with each other and then with another
pair.

Possible answers:
If I go on vacation, I’ll try deep sea diving. (risk)
If I go on vacation, I’ll be sure to pack food I’m used to from home. (no risk)
I’ll go skydiving as soon as I can! (risk)
I’ll go skydiving as soon as the ground is made of pillows. (no risk)
If I have to take a class, I’ll take something challenging, like advanced calculus. (risk)
If I have to take a class, I’ll take something I’ll be sure to get a good grade in. (no risk)
I’m not going surfing unless the waves are really big. (risk)
I’m not going surfing unless there is an instructor with me. (no risk)

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -3- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

4A
Have students write a very simple letter to an advice columnist. Tell them to describe the problem
and say how they feel. Give them an example, e.g.: My friends want to go hiking in a national
park that they’ve never been to before, and they have no experience hiking! How can I persuade
them to go with a guide or somewhere that they know? I’m very worried. Have students exchange
papers. They write advice to their partners including at least one sentence with If I were you….
For example, If I were you, I would give them some information on the park they want to go to.
Try to find a map of the park that explains the dangers of certain areas, or a schedule of guided
hikes through the park. And tell them that you just want them to be safe because you care about
them.

4B
Write the phrase How I trained my _______________ on the board. Ask students to brainstorm
words that could complete the phrase. Put students in pairs. Have one person in each pair
choose one of the words and tell a story. Tell them it can be true or made up. The story should
include behaviors that the person (or animal) had and how they trained the person (or animal) to
act differently. The partners comment on the story when finished. Encourage them to use past
modals when possible. Then the partners change roles. If students have trouble thinking of words
to complete the phrase, you can suggest a few from the following list to get them started.

Possible words:
dog / cat
gold fish
mother / father
sister / brother
cousin
best friend
brain
boss

4C
Act out a feeling, condition, or situation using as many parts of your body as you can. Use noises
as well, such as sighs, coughs, or breathing heavily. For example, you could stand slumped over
and coughing, looking exhausted. Have students describe your feeling, condition, or situation using
sense verbs. Have them follow-up saying why you look/seem/sound that way or if you are doing
anything to show taste and smell. For example, She looks tired because she can’t keep her eyes
open. She sounds as if she’s been running because she’s out of breath. She seems sick because
she’s coughing. Allow several guesses and then tell students what you were showing. Have
another student come to the front of the class to act something out as the class guesses. Continue
until every student has had a turn. Alternatively, have the students do the activity in small groups. If
students have trouble coming up with their own ideas, you could assign each student something to
act out.

Possible ideas:
You’re tired.
There is loud music on and you don’t like it.
You’re outside and are cold.
You have the flu.
You’re angry.
You’re hungry.
You’re sad and are crying.
You’re confused.
You’re eating something sour.
You tripped and you’re embarrassed.
You’re holding something that smells wonderful.
You hurt your arm.
You’re nervous.

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -4- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

5A
Write these words on the board:
forget remember try need
Have students write two sentences with each verb, one followed by a gerund and one followed by
an infinitive. Tell them to write sentences about themselves. For example, I forgot to close my
bedroom window this morning. I’ll never forget the summer of 2007. Put students in pairs. Have
them read their sentences aloud. Then have each pair work with another pair. Each student tells
their new partner what their previous partner told them. For example, (Julie) forgot to close her
bedroom window this morning. (Julie) will never forget the summer of 2007.

5B
Write the following on the board:

Tom is tired. He’s not used to …

Tom is tired. He’s used to …
Tom is tired, but he’ll get used to …

Have a few volunteers complete the sentences or give examples yourself.

Possible completions:
Tom is tired. He’s not used to staying up so late.
Tom is tired. He’s used to sleeping in, but he had to get up early today.
Tom is tired, but he’ll get used to the new schedule.

Then put students in pairs. Write a few more sentence starters on the board:

Possible starters:
Kendra hasn’t been able to sleep lately. She’s not used to … (having loud neighbors.)
Kendra hasn’t been able to sleep lately. She’s used to … (sleeping in a quiet room.)
Kendra hasn’t been able to sleep lately, but she’ll get used to … (her new apartment.)

Have students write an ending for each sentence. Alternatively, put students in small groups and
have them write down as many endings as they can for each starter in three minutes.

5C
Tell a story around the room. Give students a headline, for example, Umbrella Takes Woman for
th
a Ride. Start with the first sentence of the story, for example, On January 5 , an especially strong
gust of wind lifted an 80-year-old woman’s umbrella into the air, while she was still holding the
handle! The next student continues the story. Continue until every student has had a turn. If the
story is going on too long, you can ask a student to end the story and start a new story with the
next student. Encourage students to use the reporting verbs in the Grammar Bank on Student
Book page 140.

Possible headlines:
Man and Woman Shop for 24 Hours
Girl Finds Diamond in the Snow
Police Asked to Protect City Rats
Boy Doesn’t Sleep for Two Days

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -5- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

6A
Give students a “books-closed” memory test on the article on Student Book page 84. Give them a
minute to read the information about Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 trip to the moon. Then
have students close their books. Read the following statements and have students write if they
are true or false.

Statements:
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo 13 spacecraft on the moon. (False; Their
spacecraft was the Apollo 11.)
500 million people were watching Neil Armstrong on TV. (True)
Buzz Aldrin was the third person to walk on the moon. (False; He was the second person.)
Armstrong first walked on the moon on July 20, 1959. (False; It was July 20, 1969.)
James Hansen wrote a biography about Armstrong. (True)
New technology proved what Armstrong actually said when he walked on the moon. (True)
An American computer expert figured out what Armstrong really said. (False; The computer
expert was Australian.)
Neil Armstrong really did make a grammatical mistake in his sentence. (False; He didn’t
make a mistake.)

6B
Put students in pairs. Have them each choose a town or city they know. Have the students take
turns describing the town or city using words from the Vocabulary Bank on Student Book page
155. They try to guess each other’s city. If they cannot guess after the description, have them ask
five questions about the town or city and guess again. Alternatively, to make guessing easier,
have the pairs make a list of towns or cities they both know before they choose one to describe.

6C
Have students look at the LISTENING & SPEAKING activity on Student Book page 93. Have
them repeat number 3 in Exercise e, but with 12 circles instead of squares. After they have added
lines to make different objects, put them in pairs. Have them describe the objects to their
partners. You could also draw the circles on the board for students to copy as follows:

You can repeat the activity with triangles.

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -6- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

7A
Put students in teams of three or four. Draw the chart below on the board. One person on each
team should draw it on a piece of paper.

verb -ed adjective -ing adjective

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Tell students that you are going to say a verb, and the first person in each group has to write it
down. The first student passes the paper to the next person in the team. That person writes down
the -ed adjective form of the verb. Then the students pass the paper to the next person, who
writes the -ing adjective form. Then start again with word number two. When they have completed
the chart for number eight, write the correct answers on the board. Have the teams count their
points. They get one point for each correct word that is spelled correctly. The team with the most
points wins. Alternatively, or as a follow-up, have students write sentences for each word.

Suggested verbs:
1. annoy (annoyed, annoying)
2. frustrate (frustrated, frustrating)
3. terrify (terrified, terrifying)
4. shock (shocked, shocking)
5. exhaust (exhausted, exhausting)
6. embarrass (embarrassed, embarrassing)
7. amuse (amused, amusing)
8. worry (worried, worrying)

7B
Put students in groups of three or four. Tell them they are going to create a business. They must
decide together what the business is and what their business plan is. Have groups use the
following questions to create their plan:

What type of business is it?

What’s the name of the business?
What product do you sell?
Are there any items you need to import for your business?
Is your business a chain? If so, how many branches does it have?
Is your business a local, national, or multinational company?
Where is the company’s headquarters? Why?
Who is the CEO of your company? (Choose one person in the group. Assign company roles for
other members. For example, manager, staff)
Who is your typical client?
What’s your company’s slogan?

Once students have had a chance to answer the questions, have the groups present their
businesses to the class.

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -7- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile

7C
Write the following words on the board:

who which whose of

Then write these sentences on the board without the answers:

Six Word Memoirs is a book _____ memoirs by writers. (of)

The memoirs _____ are in the book only contain six words each. (which)
Larry Smith is one of the editors _____ collected the memoirs. (who)
The authors _____ memoirs are in the book are both famous and not famous.(whose)

Ask volunteers to read the sentences with the correct answers. Then have students write
sentences for each word on the board, leaving a blank where the word should go. Put students in
pairs. Have them exchange papers and complete each other’s sentences. Students correct their
partners’ work. Ask a few volunteers to read their sentences to the class.

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2009 -8- www.oup.com/elt/teacher/americanenglishfile