Well, Say Something!: Making Appointments

Well, Say Something! Was one of my first resource adaptations for ESL Expertz. Since then, the format hasn’t gotten much use, but I’m here to change that because I think it’s a fun way to discover and practice real world vocabulary and structures in a meaningful way. The activity is covered with phrases one might here while having a conversation to do with making an appointment. Maybe it’s at the doctor’s office, maybe it’s for your nails or a cat, it doesn’t matter. The words and structures are supposed to capture real world English and how it would naturally sound if your students needed to make an appointment in English.

We have two many ways to use this activity. The first is to share the poster with the class, via screen share, or on the table or with a projector. Next, call on a student at random and ask them to secretly choose a phrase and respond to it, as if they were picking up the conversation from somewhere in the middle. The other students’ goal is to pick which phrase they are responding to. Then, it’s their turn to repeat the process.

Another way to do it would be to put students in pairs and let them “finish” some of the conversations. If they land on one that is particularly good, they could write it down and share it with the class. The only constraint is that each conversation should end in a successful appointment.