English File third edition Upper-intermediate Weblink Mini-

Projects

File 1

1A
Activity type: Quiz
Language: Question forms
www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/HealthyEating.aspx
Begin by asking students whether they think they lead healthy or
unhealthy lives. Gather feedback in class, asking them to justify
their answer (e.g., I think I am quite healthy because I eat a lot of
fruit and go running everyday). Tell them they are going to do a
quiz to find out how healthy they really are. Put students into pairs,
and instruct them to ask each other the questions on the website,
marking their partners answers down. When finished, ask each
student to reveal how healthy they or their partner is in class.
Extension: This could lead into a create your own quiz on the
same or a different theme. Once you have checked the quizzes for
language errors, set the task of asking 2-3 friends or family
members the questions for homework.

1B
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Celebrities, descriptions
http://www.thefullwiki.org/List_of_show_business_families
Pre-teach the term show business if students arent familiar with it
and brainstorm in class how many show business families students
know. Assign one show business family per group of 2-3 students.
Ask them to take a look at the list of show business families and find
the family they have been assigned. Tell them to find out more
information about each family member by clicking the individual
links. They then present their famous family in class and students
discuss which show business family sounds the coolest.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 2

2A
Activity type: Speaking and Roleplay
Language: Money, advice
www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1591904/50-ways-save-
money-.html
Ask students to think of some reasons why people might want to
save money (e.g., to buy a house, go on holiday, for your childs
education, etc) and write these on the board. In pairs, get students
to research different ways to save money via the above weblink.
Students then discuss the best ways to save money for each
scenario brainstormed at the beginning of class.
Extension: Put students in different pairs. Ask student A to pick a
reason to save money, and give student B the task of giving advice.
Feedback in open class as to whether students feel the advice is
realistic and useful for their situation and why.

2B
Activity type: Information search
Language: Leisure
http://www.realgap.co.uk/top-10-adventures
Pre-teach the term gap year and ask whether any of the students
have been on or would like to go on one, and if so what they did or
would like to do. Tell them theyre going to read about different gap
year adventure ideas. Ask them to pick their favourite idea from the
weblink and write down some information about it. Once they have
finished, divide students into pairs. Ask each student to tell their
partner about their chosen gap year adventure, without telling
them what the activity actually is. Their partner must then guess the
activity they have chosen (e.g., A: I think I would like this activity
because I love wildlife, being outside and exploring different
countries. B: Safari!).
Alternative activity: Write 10 short character bios for made-up
personalities that roughly match up with the top 10 activities. Ask
students to read the bios then read about the activities via the
weblink, and try to match each characters personality to the best
activity for them. Students compare their answers in pairs before
discussing in class.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 3

3A
Activity type: Debate
Language: Transport, environment
http://www.confused.com/news-views/blogs/blog-public-transport-
versus-driving
Divide the class into two teams, one for public transport and the
other against. Get the teams to brainstorm some of the arguments
for their assigned opinion. Then ask them to research further
evidence via the weblink. Once the teams have built up a list of
arguments, hold a class debate, giving each student a chance to air
a new idea. If you have an odd number of students in the class, you
could ask one to mediate the debate, selecting who should speak
when and directing the discussion. At the end the mediator or
teacher could decide which team has the strongest argument.

3B
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Stereotypes
http://www.cracked.com/article_19780_5-gender-stereotypes-that-
used-to-be-exact-opposite.html?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Ask the class whether they believe there is any truth to gender
stereotypes, and get them to tell you a few gender stereotypes that
still exist today. Tell them they are going to read about five gender
stereotypes that used to mean the exact opposite of what they
mean now. Tell students to read the information, with a dictionary to
hand if they need it. Then put students into pairs to discuss what
they have read before discussing as a class. Did any of the
information surprise them? Has their opinion on gender stereotypes
changed?
Note: The language style of this website is very informal.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 4

4A
Activity type: Reading for gist and specific information and
Roleplay
Language: Business, Fame
http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-
first-2014-3
Ask students what success means to them, and come up with a
class definition of success. Tell them they are going to read about
some very successful people who actually failed before hitting the
big time. Pick out five names from the weblink that students will
probably know, e.g., Walt Disney, Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, J
K Rowling and Vincent Van Gogh. Ask them to scan the article to find
out how those individuals failed before becoming successful. Discuss
the answers in pairs, then in class.
Extension: Ask students to pick one of the five famous people they
have researched. Tell them they are going to pretend to be that
person appearing on a chat show talking about their journey to
success. They should then be given five minutes to research their
chosen famous persons career online. When they are ready, get
them to act out the interview, with student A playing the
interviewee, and student B the interviewer, then swap roles.

4B
Activity type: Speaking and Writing
Language: Technology
http://www.debretts.com/british-
etiquette/communication/technology/mobile-phone-etiquette?
cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Ask the class what is meant by etiquette, allowing them to look it
up in a dictionary if necessary. What kind of etiquette is appropriate
in the classroom? Once a student mentions mobile phones, tell them
they are going to make a poster about mobile phone etiquette. Give
them time to read the weblink for ideas. Give out poster paper and
pens and put them in groups of 3-4. Allow students the freedom to
design their poster as they wish, but perhaps suggest dos and
donts columns. When they are finished, put the posters up on the
walls and get students to walk around to look at each others. You
could also get them to vote on the best poster, in terms of language
and design.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 5

5A
Activity type: Game
Language: Sports, Superstitions
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9433073/London-2012-
Olympics-athletes-superstitions.html?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Preparation: Before the lesson, write down a list of the sportsmen
and women mentioned in the article, cut them up and jumble them.
Do the same for the superstitions they have. Repeat this so that you
have enough sets for each group of 3-4 students.
When the class starts, tell students about a silly fear you or
someone you know has, eliciting the word superstition. Taking the
names from the article, ask students what fears they think some of
their sporting heroes might have. Dont correct at this stage. Then
divide students into groups and give them a set of the sports names
and the superstitions, plus a copy of the text for each student. Tell
them that they must race to match the sports star with the correct
superstition by reading the article for information. The fastest team
to correctly match all the sports stars to their superstitions wins.
Extension: Instruct students to quiz 3-4 people they know about
their superstitions, and report findings back in class. Which is the
strangest / funniest / silliest?

5B
Activity type: Reading for information and Speaking
Language: Love, Relationships
http://www.womansday.com/life/personal-stories/3-cinema-worthy-
love-stories-114593?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Ask students what is the most romantic love story theyve ever
heard. Divide the class into groups of three and give each student in
each group a different story from the weblink. Tell students to read
their story, with a dictionary to hand, and then summarise it for the
rest of the group. Then ask groups to vote on which story is the
most romantic and why. Gather feedback in open class.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 6

6A
Activity type: Information search
Language: Film
http://www.wheredidtheyfilmthat.co.uk/index.php
Preparation: Choose a selection of 8-10 films featured on the
weblink and find and print out a picture that identifies each. Put the
pictures up on the wall before the lesson.
Explain that the UK has many famous film locations and studios and
ask whether students know of any films that were shot in the UK,
hinting towards the pictures on the wall. Ask students whether they
can name the films, helping with any they get stuck on. Then direct
them to the weblink and ask them to find out where each was
filmed, and a fact about each location from the subsequent links
they are directed to. Which film studio or set sounds the coolest?
Would you like to visit any of them? Feedback in open class.

6B
Activity type: Reading for specific information and Roleplay
Language: Work, job interviews
http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/10/19/career-
management/employees-who-made-horrible-first-impression-at-
work-789/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Discuss how important first impressions are at work, and brainstorm
some of the worst things you could do to make a bad first
impression. Put students in pairs and ask student A to read about
Robert Sollars first impressions experience, and student B to read
about Amber Dixons first impressions experience via the weblink.
Discuss in pairs: Which person made the worst first impression?
Would the students have done things differently if they had been in
that situation?
Extension: Tell students to roleplay a job interview similar to Amber
Dixons, with student A as the interviewee and student B as the
interviewer. Student A must give a bad first impression through
doing some of the things brainstormed earlier in class, and student
B has to decide whether or not they would hire them.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 7

7A
Activity type: Listening and Writing
Language: Childhood
http://www.cracked.com/article_16266_8-child-prodigies-so-amazing-
theyll-ruin-your-day.html
Preparation: Print out and cut up each of the eight child prodigy
stories from the weblink. Make copies so that there is one story per
student (you dont have to use all of them).
Ask the class what is meant by the term child prodigy, and see if
they know of any famous child prodigies (if they dont, you could
lead with Mozart as an example from the weblink). Explain that you
will now read about some of the biggest child prodigies, and
students task will be to retell their amazing stories in their own
words. Pair the students and hand out the stories, ensuring that
student A has a different story to student B. Ask student A to read
the story twice, slowly and clearly, while student B listens. At the
end of the readings, student B can begin rewriting the story. When
they are finished, swap roles with student B reading their story and
A rewriting it. At the end, ask students to compare their versions to
the real stories. Who managed to remember all the facts? Did
anyone forget something important? Encourage students to share
their retold stories. Which child prodigies sound the most
incredible/inspiring? Discuss as a class.

7B
Activity type: Speaking
Language: Homes
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/house-tours
Ask students to close their eyes and imagine their dream house.
Where is it? How many rooms does it have? What key features does
it have? Talk through some ideas as a class. Tell students that they
are going to go online to find a house that looks the most like one
they would like to buy. Direct them to the weblink and explain that
they have 10 minutes to choose a house and prepare a short speech
justifying why it would be a good property to buy. When students are
ready, have them present their dream house to the class, flicking
through the online gallery as they speak and explaining the
advantages of such a property. At the end, the class could vote on
the best house.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 8

8A
Activity type: Reading and Writing
Language: Complaints
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16812545?
cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Ask students whether they have ever written a letter of complaint.
What was it about? What was the result? Tell the class that they are
going to read about an unusual letter of complaint, and then write
one themselves. Write the following questions on the board: Who is
the complainant? What did she complain about and to who? Did her
complaint work? Why/why not? Would you have complained about
the same thing? Ask students to read the weblink and discuss the
questions in pairs. When they are finished, talk over the questions in
class. Extension: Ask students to think about a product or service
they were recently unhappy with and explain that they have to write
a letter of complaint to the makers or providers of it. Give them a
few minutes to brainstorm ideas in pairs, then write the letter, either
in pairs or individually. Take in the letters after class to correct them,
or ask students to share the letters with the group.

8B
Activity type: Quiz
Language: Work
http://www.careers.govt.nz/tools/work-life-balance/?
cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Ask students to think about a typical week for them, and estimate
what percentage of that is dedicated to work (or studies) and what
percentage is dedicated to enjoyment. Discuss answers as a class.
Explain that they will now take a quiz to find out their work/life
balance, and whether they prioritise work or life too much. Direct
students to the weblink. When they are finished, ask students to
discuss their results in pairs: Did they get the same score? Do they
feel the quiz is right about their life? Did it give any good advice?
Discuss as a class.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 9

9A
Activity type: Reading for specific information
Language: Lifestyle
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-miglani/making-your-own-
luck_b_3988785.html
Ask the class whether they believe in luck. Do people create luck for
themselves or are they just blessed by good fortune? Do any of the
students consider themselves to be lucky? Explain that they will now
read about how to make your own luck. Direct them to the weblink
and tell them to read the article, with a dictionary if necessary for
reference. Discuss the reading as a class. Has their opinion on luck
changed? If they did all the things advised in the article, would they
be luckier? Has the article changed their attitude on luck and life?
Why/why not?

9B
Activity type: Reading for specific information and Writing
Language: Technology
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/9406420/Texting-more-
popular-than-face-to-face-conversation.html?
cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Put students in pairs and ask them to draw a pie chart estimating
the percentages of the following different methods of
communication among young adults: calling, texting, social
networking, meeting face-to-face. Direct them to the weblink to find
the answers (but tell them not to read the whole story yet). Discuss
the answers as a class. Is it surprising that more people prefer to
write a message than say it? How does the article compare with
these students habits? Now tell the class to read the article again,
in detail. What are the effects of the change in methods of
communication? Texting and social networking are popular now, but
will they last? What do they feel the future will be? Discuss as a
class.
Extension: For homework, you could ask students to write a
paragraph or two predicting the future of communication for young
people, drawing from the facts presented in the article.

Oxford University Press 2015

File 10

10A
Activity type: Information search
Language: People
http://content.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1681791,00.html?
cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Discuss heroes and icons as a class. What makes a hero? What
makes someone legendary after they are gone? Direct students to
the weblink and ask them to choose one hero or heroine from the
gallery. Students can click the embedded links to find out more
about that person. Tell students to gather information about their
chosen hero to present to the class, focusing on why they are
heroes in their eyes, and what makes them special. Hold a class
presentation at the end of the session.
Alternative activity: This could also be set as a writing task rather
than a presentation. Students could choose someone close to them
rather than a famous person, and write a paragraph explaining why
and how that person is heroic.
Note: You could also get students to do this before the 5 Speaking
activity on p.95 of the Students Book, to make sure they have
plenty of information.

10B
Activity type:
Language: Crime
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,2956
9,1867198,00.html?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
Ask students whether they know of any unsolved crime mysteries
and put any ideas on the board. Choose one from the weblink and
read the story out to the class. Put students into groups of 3-4 and
ask them to hypothesize on what might have happened. Give the
groups copies of the other stories and ask them to read them
together, discussing and theorising in their groups as to the fate of
these unsolved crimes.
Extension: You could turn this into a creative writing exercise,
asking students to finish the story of one of the unsolved
mysteries. Tell them to take the facts from the article to build the
basis for the story, and write a conclusion revealing how and why
the crime took place. Share the stories with the class in the next
lesson. Which conclusion is the most shocking/exciting?

Oxford University Press 2015