Do It Yourself: Explanation

Do It Yourself

• Details

Name of Item	Do It Yourself?
Activity Type	Discussion / Vocabulary
Student Level	Intermediate - Upper intermediate
Time Allowance	15 - 25 minutes
Preparation Required	preparing to explain any vocabulary
Other Items Needed	none
Vocabulary	with my eyes closed / limited experience / a challenge / servicing / refurbishing / wallpapering / installing / mangled / reupholstering / extractor unit
Grammar	nothing special

• Instructions

The five difficulty ratings are in descending order of difficulty. So students may be able to work out what they mean for themselves, but be prepared to explain / point them in the right direction.

Once the rating phrases are clearly understood, students should decide for themselves how difficult they consider the various items. Once they have decided, put them into groups of four or five to compare their answers and debate any they disagree about. I find this technique, of getting students to commit themselves to opinions in writing, before they discuss their ideas, is a good way of creating a higher level of contention, especially where some class members have a tendency to always agree with what other speakers said.

As a further activity, if you wish to extend this topic further, the same groups could select the DIY tasks that they agreed were easy enough to attempt, and decide what tools and materials they would need to do them