Short answer
Use a quiz-show format with categories and clues, and ask learners to identify or produce the idiom. In S06E10, Gav and Em play a Jeopardy-style game with examples such as “hit the nail on the head” and “take the bull by the horns”.
A game can make review lively, but learners still need to understand the meaning and how the idiom is used. If you use AI to draft questions, check every clue and answer before the lesson.
Try this in your next lesson
Give a clue or situation, not only a definition.
👇 Scroll down for our practical checklist or activity and download.
Listen to the whole S06E10 discussion in our podcast episode guide here🔊.
Choose clear categories
Use categories learners can recognise, such as animals, food, body language or familiar expressions. Make each clue specific enough that learners have a fair chance to work out the answer.
Ask for meaning as well as the phrase
After learners guess, ask them to explain the idiom or use it in a new sentence. That helps you check understanding beyond remembering a quiz response.
Review AI-generated material
In the episode, Gav says an AI-generated quiz had a couple of small errors that he corrected. Read every question, answer and explanation before sharing it, and edit anything that is inaccurate, ambiguous or unsuitable for the class.
Explain the question-answer twist
Gav’s game has five idiom categories and point values from 100 to 500. Players choose a category and value, then respond to the clue in question form. In the recording, Em sometimes needs help with that format. Demonstrate one easy turn before keeping score. For a class that finds the extra question form distracting, use an ordinary clue-and-answer version and explain that you have adapted the game.
Reward the meaning, not just the phrase
The recording includes hitting the nail on the head and taking the bull by the horns. Follow a correct answer with a brief explanation in plain English and a fresh situation. We can also let teams discuss before answering, so the quickest speaker does not do all the work. Points are a useful wrapper, but the language check is what tells us whether the idiom is understood.
Check clues before the learners see them
Gav says he checked the AI-created quiz and corrected small errors. Try every clue yourself, look for multiple possible answers, and make sure the points reflect the difficulty. Our downloadable mini-quiz uses new clues with answers included. It is a classroom adaptation, not the complete quiz from the recording. Invite alternative answers when they fit the situation, then explain the intended expression.
Gav and Em suggest: check the quiz before playing
- ☐ Give a clue or situation, not only a definition.
- ☐ Ask learners to identify the idiom.
- ☐ Then ask what it means in ordinary English.
- ☐ Use it in one fresh context.
- ☐ If AI created the quiz, check every clue and answer before class.
Our classroom adaptation: Download the S06E10 practice resource (PDF).
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