Getting to know you- Adjectives of Personality

[K.Hardwicke]

Overview

This is an introductory lesson that concentrates on communication. Students get to know each other and start to experience the dynamics of the class by talking about their experience. The assumption is that students can form questions and can uses most English tenses. The lesson is primarily a self- learning activity and students discover the new vocabulary which are adjectives to describe people. The focus of the class is on allowing students to find definitions for new vocabulary thereby helping them to remember the meaning.

Learning Objective	Aid self-learning. Develop fluency. By the end of the class, students should have learned 16 new adjectives to describe people. Build general fluency and confidence in spoken English https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168045bb52
Success Criteria	Students will have achieved the above and will only be making a small number of functional errors. Students will be able to use most of the new words introduced as part of their active vocabulary and all in their passive vocabulary. Students will have improved their pronunciation and increased their awareness of word stress. .
CEFR Links	Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices Global scale - Table 1 (CEFR 3.3): Common Reference levels www.coe.int

Resources and materials
Pencil, pen, worksheet, whiteboard and vocabulary cards.

Key Vocabulary
Students find the definitions of the words. Phonology- Teacher checks students know the stressed syllable. Concept check after students have found the meanings. Before concept checking, put students into pairs and ask them to decide if the adjective has a positive, negative or neutral meaning.

LEXICAL ITEM & WORD CLASS	CONCEPT CHECK QUESTIONS	PHONOLOGY See high-lighted syllable
Fussy	If a child will eat everything they are given are they fussy (a. No). If you are fussy do you want everything done in a very specific way? (a. Yes)	???? /ˈfʌsi/
Impulsive	Is a person who does things suddenly and without thinking about the effects impulsive? (a. Yes)	???? /ɪmˈpʌlsɪv/
Meddlesome	Do meddlesome people allow others to behave how they want, or do they try to become involved in situations where their help isn't wanted? (a. they try to become involved in situations where their help isn't wanted)	???? /ˈmedlsəm/
Plain-speaking	Does a plain-speaking person say exactly what they mean or do they first try to be polite? (a. say exactly what they mean)	???? /ˌpleɪn ˈspəʊkən/
Absent-minded	Has an absent-minded person got a good memory or are they always forgetting because they are not paying attention? (a. they are always forgetting because they are not paying attention)	???? /ˌæbsənt ˈmaɪndɪd/
Blunt	Do blunt people say what they think without considering other people's feelings? (a. Yes)	????/blʌnt/
Cranky	Are you cranky if you are easily annoyed or upset? (a. Yes) When do people feel/get cranky? (a. When they are hungry/tired/stressed/frustrated)	???? /ˈkræŋki/
Eagar	Is an eager person always ready or really want to do something? (a. Yes). What are people eager to do? (a. go on holiday/please other people/find the result of something important)	??/ˈiːɡə(r)/ ??/ˈiːɡər/
Gloomy	If you are gloomy are you happy or unhappy? (a. unhappy)	???? /ˈɡluːmi/
Inventive	What are you if you are good at thinking of new ideas? (a. inventive)	???? /ɪnˈventɪv/
Morose	Is a morose person happy and willing to smile? (a. No) When do people become morose? (a. When a relationship has ended/on Monday mornings/when they are tired)	???? /məˈrəʊs/
Petulant	Is a petulant person easily upset? (a. Yes) Do they react to situations they dislike in a rude way, like a child? (a. Yes)	???? /ˈpetʃələnt/
Able	If you can't do something because you don't have the strength or skill are you able? (a. No) If you possess the ability, what are you? (a. able)	???? /ˈeɪbl/
Boisterous	Is a boisterous person quiet? (No) Are they noisy and energetic? (a. Yes) What is usually more boisterous a puppy or a tortoise? (a. puppy)	???? /ˈbɔɪstərəs/
Conscientious /kɒn.ʃiˈen.ʃəs/	If you try to do your job well and you work hard are you conscientious? (a. Yes) Would you prefer to have a conscientious person working for you or someone who wasn't interested?... Why?	?? /ˌkɒnʃiˈenʃəs/ ?? /ˌkɑːnʃˈenʃəs/
Evasive	If you give a direct answer to a question, are you evasive? (a. No) Which people have a reputation of being evasive? (a. politicians) Why are some people evasive? (a. Guilty/untruthful/shy/very sensitive)	???? /ɪˈveɪsɪv/

Procedure

Lead in / Warm Up / Introduction ( 30 minutes )

Divide the class into two - A & B. Students should work in pairs. (i.e. A&A and B&B) Give each student the correct vocabulary cards. (A for group A student or B for group B students) Students should find out what the word means. ℹ They can combine their knowledge, use dictionaries and/or mobile phones.? The class teacher will need to monitor this to check that they have found the right meaning. The students then change partners A works with B, and each student explains the meaning of their words to the other.

Presentation / Teacher Model ( 15 minutes )
Elicit from students that an adverb can precede an adjective e.g. A hugely successful person.​ And that an adjective is generally* used with the verb 'be' e.g. She was a hugely successful person.​ * The following verbs can also precede an adjective: seem, become, feel, smell, taste Phonology- Check word stress and any problematic sounds that may arise

Tip ?⏱

It is better to limit the time students spend with one partner, or they may not keep mingling.

Setting the timer on a phone for two-minutes and keeping students moving works well.

Main Activity (50-70 mins)

Controlled/Scaffolded Practice (20 mins) Using their lists of adjectives, students chose three. The students then mingle and ask questions (the teacher can make this a little more complicated by asking students to only ask closed/'Yes/No' questions) to discover the three adjectives their classmates have chosen e.g. Are you bad-tempered? Yes. Do you like to cooperate with people? No. Are you cantankerous? Yes!​ Students make a note of the adjectives the person choose and then move on to someone else. Feedback (5-10 mins) Ask students in turn to tell the class which adjectives their classmates had chosen and briefly decide why they chose the words. i.e. Did the words describe them or were they just easy to remember? Free practice (30 mins) Tell me about a time. True or False? Put students into small groups of 4 or 5. Each student starts with an individual score of 50. One student chooses an adjective, e.g. 'Cantankerous' and says to another student ''Tell me about a time when you were cantankerous.'' The student then has to tell a story about a time when they were cantankerous. The story can be true or false. The group can question the storyteller and try to find out if they think the story was true or false. The group then decide. If they were correct, each member receives 5 points, and the storyteller loses 5. If they were incorrect, the storyteller receives 10 points.

Extension Task
In pairs, students think of three adjectives they know to describe people. Their partner then asks closed 'Yes/No' questions to try to find the adjective.

Plenary / Assessment ( 5 minutes )
Guess the Adjective The teacher acts out one of the adjectives in front of the class e.g. If you want my opinion, I think he's awful? (Answer: Blunt) Students try to guess the adjective. The teacher provides more clues if necessary. The student who guesses correctly acts out (or chooses another student to act out) the next word.

Problems that might occur	What I will do
Students may forget or not use the target language.	Monitor to keep them on task.
Students may say they have finished too early.	Move students and create new pairings. Give more examples of what you want them to do. Use extension activities.

Worksheet/Handout Previews
Vocabulary Cards ​