Tractor Failure: Contact Between a Customer and the Dealership. Speaking, Listening, and Grammar (past simple and progressive).

Students learn useful expressions to deal with a customer when diagnosing a mechanical breakdown, practise their speaking and listening skills through a role play, and revise how to talk about the past.

Useful expressions

Students can also practise and learn the expressions by using the following website that contains the dedicated list I created for them:

https://wordeys.com/lists/first-contact-1af537577baf2851

Grammar: Talk about what happened (past simple and progressive)

Roleplay

Writing:

Think of three mechanical issues farmers can have on their tractor.

(This list allowed me to create the flashcards below)

Speaking:

Imagine a dialogue between a farmer and a mechanic.

The farmer explains to the mechanic what is wrong with his tractor.

The mechanic asks questions to understand the problem and explains what he is going to do.

Rubric (evaluation chart)

Cécile Sohier 

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About the Author

Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts.

Teaching Technical English focuses on:

• Technical English vocabulary and communication

• ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Business English activities and resources

• EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers

• Practical English for real-life and workplace situations

All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials.

© Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English

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How Well Do You Know Your Tractor Features? - English For Mechanics

Students read and answer questions related to tractor features. They practise their reading, speaking skills and learn some new technical vocabulary for mechanics.

You can check the answers by filling out the online version of the quiz with your students:

How Well Do You Know Your Tractor Features Blogger

You can print the following JPEG version of the quiz if you don't plan to modify it

Cécile Sohier 

How well do you know your tractor features in English?

Try out this quiz and find out how much you know about tractor features!

1. What does "PTO" stand for? Power Took-Off Power Take-Off Power Take-Over 2. Depending on where the PTO is located on the tractor, we say it is a rear, mid or front PTO back, side or up PTO left, right or wrong PTO 3. Which one is a synonym for "driver"? buyer commander operator 4. Which one is an option that helps you steer the wheel? power steering all-wheel steering power direction 5. What is the advantage of a diesel particulate filter (DPF) on a tractor? less fuel consumption less exhaust emissions more operator comfort 6. Which engine specification can be measured in foot-pounds (ft.-lbs.)? hydraulic power flow torque 7. What does "rpm" stand for? rotation per minute round per minute rent per month 8. What is the result of this equation torque (N.m) x rotation speed (rad/s)"? flow horsepower hydraulic power Cécile Sohier --- About the Author Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts. Teaching Technical English focuses on: • Technical English vocabulary and communication • ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies • Business English activities and resources • EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers • Practical English for real-life and workplace situations All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials. © Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English ---

9. Which one is used for attaching ploughs and other implements to a tractor? PTO three-point hitch counterweight 10. What do you measure at the three-point hitch? HP RPM lifting capacity 11. Gears can be: back and forth front and rear forward and reverse 12. When a vehicle is equipped with a transmission system which provides power directly to all four wheels, we say it is a two-wheel drive power-wheel drive four-wheel drive 13. The main advantage of a four-wheel drive system on a vehicle is less fuel consumption less exhaust emissions better control on slippery ground 14. In the cab, the space between the seat, the steering wheel and the pedals is called legroom feetspace feetroom 15. What is the difference between a basic model and a deluxe model? the deluxe model is less comfortable than the basic model the basic model is more expensive than the deluxe model the deluxe model has more options than the basic model

16. Which one is not a synonym for basic model? standard model economy model regular model comprehensive model 17. How do you measure the hydraulic flow in the US and the UK? in rpm in ft-lbs in gpm 18. What does "gpm" stand for? gear per month gallon per minute gallon per month 19. How many liters are in a US gallon? 3.78541 3.14159 3.52653 20. How much is 1 hectare in acres? 0.40 2.47 1.47 21. What is the advantage of adjusting the tyre pressure? less gas emission less compaction of the ground for better yields a tighter turning radius 22. A longer wheelbase means: a smaller surface area of contact with the ground a tighter turning radius a more stable and comfortable ride

First Lessons: ABC, Numbers and Past Simple (Speaking, Listening and Writing Activities)

Plenty of ideas on what to teach or revise with students during a first lesson: ranging from numbers, the ABC to past simple.

In this post, you will find activities and worksheets on:

1. Numbers

2. The ABC

3. Past Simple (Speaking Activity Holiday Liars)

1. Numbers

What students ought to know very well when they learn technical English are numbers. Therefore it is useful to revise them at the very beginning ... and also a few times along the way ;)

Numbers worksheet

Numbers powerpoint answers

Once you have been through numbers, you can get students to play a guessing game with numbers to practise saying and listening to numbers. Student A chooses a number and the rest of the group has to guess which number it is. Students A has to tell students if the number that he has in mind is higher or lower by saying 'more' or 'less'.

Example:
B. 500
A. more
C. 1000
A. less
D. 750
A. more
...

Finally, you can introduce them to the American pronunciation of numbers. Students are often taken aback by the American pronunciation of numbers, which leads them to miss crucial information during listening activities. Here is a listening activity for them to practice understanding numbers when they are said by North-American people within a flow of spoken information, namely a presentation.

Students listen and write down 4 numbers that are said by R. Saik during the first minute of his TedxTalk.

Pushing the Boundaries of Agriculture

There is a whole set of activities based on this talk in this article:

 TEDx Talk Listening, Grammar and Pronunciation Skills Lesson: How to Introduce Yourself, Present Perfect Progressive, Since and For  



2. ABC

The objective is to revise the pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet and more specifically those that are confusing for students such as A, E, I, G, J, R.

ABC sounds

Then by spelling PARIS, you can check if students really got their heads around the pronunciation of A, I and R. Then they can practise in groups by choosing names of places, people and/or technical references of parts or vehicles



3. Grammar

Here is a speaking activity that will enable your students to practise speaking using the past tense, while also practising their listening skills.

Holiday Liars: Students talk about their summer break, whether they worked or just stayed home. But they must include a lie. The rest of the class has to listen and find the false element in their description.

It is a good idea to revise the pronunciation of -ed beforehand through a simple exercise like this one:

Pronunciation of -ed

You can also find an A3 printable poster of my making for the classroom in this article:

Poster: Pronunciation of Final -ED

Cécile Sohier 

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About the Author

Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts.

Teaching Technical English focuses on:

• Technical English vocabulary and communication

• ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Business English activities and resources

• EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers

• Practical English for real-life and workplace situations

All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials.

© Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English

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Difficult Keywords Explained - Roxana: The Fortunate Misstress Glossary

A glossary of difficult words from the novel by Daniel Defoe, Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress. For each word, this glossary provides a definition in English and a page number.

Given that I am such a "word lists freak", I thought of doing this glossary on the last novel that I read and sharing it on this blog. 

The glossary can be used upfront, by reading it before starting the novel. This way you know what to expect and watch out for. It is also probably more effective in memorizing the words. I have managed to narrow the glossary down to 36 difficult words which are either critical to understanding important passages of the novel, or recurrent throughout the novel. That way I have managed to make the glossary fit on one page so that it is more manageable should you wish to print it out and use it as a reference.

Here is the link to the Google Doc Document:

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress Glossary

Also, the edition of the novel that I worked with uses the original edition of 1724 so the spelling is sometimes different (i.e. myrth (mirth), sculk (skulk), dumfounded (dumbfounded)...) 

The page number allows the reader to find the words in the book, providing you have the same edition of course, namely:

Daniel Defoe. Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress [1724]. John Mullan, ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World’s Classics), 2008.

To finish I would like to share a little story with you. Until recently I was never really aware that it was a little weird to enjoy listing vocabulary so much, I just thought it was the sinequanon condition to effective language learning. As I was trying to praise the virtues of listing to my students (rather painfully I have to say), I shared an anecdote with them on how I used to place vocabulary lists on top of one another on my bedroom wall. I was living in Russia as an English teacher at the time so I had a myriad of words to memorize in both English and Russian. Then I heard one of the students say:"We don't have the same idea of fun." It really took me aback at first but I quickly (and as kindly as I could)replied: "This is not how I have fun, This is how I learn vocabulary". 

I often tell students that the best way to effectively memorize vocabulary is to use it and/or to see it in context (i.e. in a text or audio). Good luck trying to use 'dismal' or 'hitherto' in a conversation, unless you want to sound like you are a Quaker who travelled through time.

If I had to rewrite the above story using the words from the glossary (by no means would I ever pretend to write in Defoe's style), it would probably go like this (although most are words I have quite frankly just found out about so there might be some inaccuracies):

I was extolling the virtues of listing to my students when one of them slighted me with the most inappropriate comment that I had not forboded. I was dumfounded and a little fuddled. But I own he was only jesting so I did my best not to take it as slander and scold or harangue him, lest the lesson should not be glutted with the usual myrth and laughter. I got out of this snare notwithstanding the dismal particulars of the situation :). 

I can't really think of a situation in which I would want or need to write like this, but I have to admit I am likely to remember these words for some time! 

Cécile Sohier 

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About the Author

Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts.

Teaching Technical English focuses on:

• Technical English vocabulary and communication

• ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Business English activities and resources

• EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers

• Practical English for real-life and workplace situations

All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials.

© Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English

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Poster: Pronunciation of final -s (present simple)

A printable A3 educational poster on the three different ways to pronounce the final letter "-s" of verbs in present simple.

This poster was designed using Piktochart.

Check out my other posters:

Poster: Phrasal Verbs Related to Farm Equipment and Farming

Poster: Pronunciation of Final -ED

Cécile Sohier 

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About the Author

Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts.

Teaching Technical English focuses on:

• Technical English vocabulary and communication

• ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Business English activities and resources

• EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers

• Practical English for real-life and workplace situations

All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials.

© Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English

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Poster: Pronunciation of Final -ED

A printable A3 educational poster on the three different ways to pronounce the final letters 'ED' of verbs in preterit and/or past participle.

This poster was designed with Piktochart, which I find to be more suitable for the purpose of designing educational posters than other tools such as Google Draw or Libre Office Draw. (as you can read in the post I wrote on my first intent to create a poster: Phrasal Verbs Related to Farm Equipment and Farming).

Also, my 9-year-old son helped me pick the space theme for the poster and advised me on the design. So it is a family creation if you will ;)

 

 Check out my other posters:

Poster: Phrasal Verbs Related to Farm Equipment and Farming

Cécile Sohier 

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About the Author

Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts.

Teaching Technical English focuses on:

• Technical English vocabulary and communication

• ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Business English activities and resources

• EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers

• Practical English for real-life and workplace situations

All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials.

© Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English

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Poster: Phrasal Verbs Related to Farm Equipment and Farming

A printable A3 educational poster on phrasal verbs that can be used to talk about farm equipment and farming. 

I compiled a list of 11 phrasal verbs related to farm equipment and laid them out on the poster along with a definition and an example. This poster can be printed out and taped (or blu-tacked ;) ) on the walls of the classroom. 

If you think of any other phrasal verbs, please leave them in the comments below. I will add them and/or create another poster :) 

You are welcome to use the jpeg file. However, if you are going to print it on A3 paper, I would strongly recommend using the link to the Google Draw file above the JPEG picture. Google Draw doesn't give the choice of resolution when you convert the file to jpeg or pdf; so note to myself: never use Google Draw again to create a poster! Beginner's mistake!

I made a second attempt eventually on LibreOffice Draw which is slightly more conclusive, despite the fact that I had to change some font that I really liked from Google Draw. The main advantage here was that I was able to convert my work into a good resolution JPEG file (not possible on Google Draw)

Farm Equipment Phrasal Verbs Google Draw

Check out my other posters:

Poster: Pronunciation of Final -ED

Cécile Sohier 

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About the Author

Cécile Sohier is an English teacher specialising in Technical English, ESP (English for Specific Purposes), Business English, and EFL/ESL teaching. She creates classroom-ready resources and shares practical ideas for teaching English in secondary schools, vocational education, and professional contexts.

Teaching Technical English focuses on:

• Technical English vocabulary and communication

• ESP lesson plans and teaching strategies

• Business English activities and resources

• EFL/ESL classroom materials for teachers

• Practical English for real-life and workplace situations

All articles are written to support English teachers, language educators, and learners looking for clear, usable, and authentic teaching materials.

© Cécile Sohier – Teaching Technical English

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