A list of higher-level phrases which can be incorporated into the majority of speaking tasks. They constitute my main toolkit for Advanced speaking activities since they can be practised regularly and incorporated into everyday speech.
Obviously, this is not a list of everything you need to know to be an Advanced English speaker, which would be the thousands of words built up over years of study (5-10 thousand for C1 level apparently). This is just a few phrases that can help give students that final push towards more polished speaking (a kit for showing off in exams).
I've attached the list without the waffle at the bottom, but I'd recommend reading the post first for a couple of ideas of how and why to use them.
Rationale
Most of our conversations are about the everyday topics that matter to us: Food, family, hobbies, etc. Things which most pre-intermediate learners can feel perfectly comfortable discussing. As language skills progress, it is still these simple themes which most inspire communication, rather than abstract topics which necessitate advanced vocabulary.
The problem is that without the right help, students can easily become stuck in a wheel, discussing the same topics year after year using language with which they are already familiar.
To avoid the trap, learners can be made to incorporate new or challenging language in communicative tasks and continuously push their boundaries.
This might mean lexical sets related to the topic at hand, which is great so long as you resist the temptation to teach ever-more obscure (and less useful) nouns. However, for me the biggest gains have come through incorporating functional lexical chunks which can be used in a variety of contexts.
Imagine one learner studies concrete nouns such as “teaspoon”, “sieve” and “spatula” whilst a second is taught phrases such as “at the end of the day”, “give or take” and “sooner or later”. The second student will clearly find far more opportunities to show off (and practise) their newfound knowledge than the poor guy praying for an opportunity to get “teaspoon” into the conversation.
Here I’ll share some of my top phrases in the following categories:
Padding & Introducing ideas – natural phrases to buy time at the start of each utterance. Also, because English is a very subjective language it’s important to use a variety of phrases to differentiate personal views and speculation from objective facts (more than in most other languages).
Responding to ideas – It takes two to tango and a good conversation means responding and adding to the ideas of the other person.
Structural words and phrases – These encourage the speaker to develop their ideas and organise thoughts effectively.
Quantifiers and comparatives – Surprisingly common phrases such as “precious little” and “an awful lot” are hardly ever given the attention they deserve in coursebooks.
Idiomatic phrases – these sound great, but it’s important to focus on the ones that can easily be used in a conversation (“it’s raining cats and dogs” may be visual and easy to remember, but harder to get into the conversation than “a piece of cake”)
Padding & Introducing Ideas.
Native speakers often use padding phrases before expressing their ideas. These can prepare the reader for what is about to come (e.g. I am about to offer you a personal opinion) or just buy thinking time and avoid an awkward silence.
Initially such phrases are just one more thing to think about for our students, but they eventually become natural crutches just as they are for us. They make English sound more authentic and polished and avoid clumsy eeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrr’s.
Let’s see it in action:
What’s your favourite food?
Student A: …. Pizza.
Student B: Hhhmmm good question…. I don’t know… I guess for me it's probably pizza.
Apparently, in one experiment, examiners were played two recordings which were identical except that in the second "well actually," was added to the beginning of several utterances. The first was assessed as being at B1 (intermediate) level, whilst the second was awarded B2 (upper intermediate) – a simple tweak for big gains!
Here are the “padding phrases” I use most:
I don’t know,
to be honest,
Well actually,
Personally speaking, I would say
For me
I guess
Let’s see
As I see it,
As far as I’m concerned,
More advanced students can use a combination of them before each utterance:
“Well, I don’t know to be honest, I guess personally speaking I would say dogs make great pets.”
Agree and Disagree
Actually, in English this is more like “agreeing or agreeing, then saying but…”
Students need to be comfortable with 3 or 4 phrases for this – you can find lists of 20 on the internet, but there is little benefit to having more than a few. The most important part is justifying why you agree (or not)
I know (just) what you mean Because……
I see (exactly) where you’re coming from What’s more, ……..
I’m with you on that one And I’d also add…….
I think that’s true up to a point Having said that……
Initially, I write these phrases on the board specifying that students must use them to respond to their partners ideas before they can move on with any of their own. As students become more comfortable with them I gradually erase parts until they are left with acronyms which will be used as simple prompts for the rest of the course.
Structuring Ideas
Nothing out of this world in this list, but it’s important to consistently push students to use linkers in order to ensure good discourse management.
On the other hand
Having said that
Although/ whilst ….
What’s more
Despite
And another thing is…
Not only ……….. but also …
What I mean is...
I often give each student a linking word or phrase which they must use on a piece of paper. Their objective is to use the phrase without their partner figuring out what it is. In order to be successful, the speaker has to use the phrase in a natural (discrete) way and hide it in amongst a series of other linkers which aren't on their paper, thereby forming a number of complex phrases.
Comparatives and Advanced Quantifiers
These can often be incorporated into speaking activities, particulary given that many exam tasks revolve around comparing things or choosing between different options.
A is nowhere near as adjective as B
A is not nearly as adjective as B
B is much/far more adjective than A
Few/little, if any
Every single one/time/day
Precious few/An awful lot
Give or take
Second to none
Idioms and Fairy Dust
Students often enjoy learning idioms as they are colourful and fun, but all too often I invest a lot of class time on phrases like "steal the show" or "a sitting duck" which are tricky to get into a conversation and get forgotten through lack of practice. Here I’ve chosen phrases which replace common words or concepts and can easily be incorporated into a variety of contexts.
Relax A great way to unwind…
I wouldn’t I wouldn’t be caught dead….
I enjoy I get a kick out of …
It’s easy A piece of cake
I don’t understand I can’t get my head round…
Stop/Give up Throw in the towel
Busy A lot on my plate
In the future Sooner or later
Without thinking In the heat of the moment
It's not all good A bit of a double-edged sword
I tend to teach idioms like these with picture. Later in speaking tasks I can throw the pictures on the table and students have to use and then pick up as many as they can.
Here is a powerpoint which I use to teach these idioms. I've learnt that it's better to pick a few and stick with them until students are comfortable using them, rather than learning lists of phrases without really mastering their use.
Final Message
Next time you approach a speaking task in class, give your students some of the phrases from one of these categories and insist they use them. As they progress give them bits of the phrases or just the first letters as a nudge. Gradually, after consistent pushing students come to use the phrases naturally with less prompting – they will now feel and sound like advanced English speakers!
If you want more information about teaching Advanced English and the lexical approach, I recommend you check out some of the articles on Leo Selivan's Blog Leoxicon He has some great lesson plans too!
Here is the list of phrases from this post