Idioms for Natural Speech

B2 · Upper-intermediate57 minIELTS Test PreparationLesson 8 of 8 · Outline

Aims

Goal: deploy a small trusted set of idioms - a double-edged sword, an uphill battle - naturally in timed Part 3 answers, never forced.

The lesson, stage by stage

  1. Warm up5 min

    Warm-up: A trusted set, not a long list

    2 warm-up questions

  1. Reading10 min

    Reading: Using Idioms Wisely

    Read a 276-word text about Using Idioms Wisely

  2. Vocabulary8 min

    Vocabulary: Essential IELTS Idioms

    6 items

  3. Practice7 min

    Practice: Idioms in Context

    Gap-fill exercise, 6 items

  4. Practice7 min

    Practice: Idiom Meanings

    Matching exercise, 6 items

  5. Dialogue10 min

    Dialogue: Idioms in IELTS Answers

    Role-play: Incorporate idioms naturally into Part 3 discussion answers (2 lines)

  6. Discussion10 min

    Discussion: Your idiom mission

    3 discussion questions

Open the full lesson

The remaining 6 stages of this lesson, with the procedure, the examples and the exercises, are included with Starter, along with the interactive version you can teach from. Lesson 1 of this course is free: the full plan is on this site, and a free account opens it in the interactive player.

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Target vocabulary

In a Tuton account these words become your student's vocabulary deck, so they come back in practice between lessons.

a double-edged swordbreak new groundan uphill battlethe tip of the iceberga turning pointtake something with a pinch of salt

This plan comes from the Collocations & Academic Vocabulary course in the Tuton library. Browse all free lesson plans.