By Gav & Em
The projector’s gone blank, the Wi-Fi’s given up and there are twelve people looking at you. What now? Put three meeting times on the board and ask everyone to rule one out on paper. You’ve already got the start of a conversation.
Here’s a 45-minute English lesson you can teach with a board, something to write on it with, and scrap paper or notebooks, and pens. Everyone gets to rehearse, speak to two partners and show what they can do on their own. If your class needs practice with the past simple, there’s a shorter story task below.
Copy the board plan · Teach the lesson · Try the story activity · Adapt it for your class
What do you keep on the board?
In S07E19, Em describes teachers who give lesson content, word lists and homework their own spots on the board. Gav asks whether they’re also the ones who put the date in the top corner. Em likes the idea and admits she doesn’t always manage it. For this lesson, try three simple areas. Keep the choices and useful phrases visible, and leave a corner free for language you hear while learners are talking.
Read the video transcript
Em: They have their board all mapped out with content from the lesson, and word lists, and homework tasks written in corners, and it’s all very organised.
Gav: And those are the people that write the date at the top corner of the board?
Em: Yeah, those sort of people.
Gav: That’s very professional.
Em: I agree. I think that is my idea of professional teaching, and I aspire to that, but I don’t always manage it, honestly. If we’re speaking really honestly.
Gav: This is the place to be honest, Em.
Em: It is.
Listen to the full S07E19 episode
A 45-minute lesson · Find a time and place to meet
Level and group A2–B1 · Teens or adults · Pairs · About two minutes of prep.
By the end Learners can suggest a meeting time or place, respond with a reason or an alternative, and confirm the final details. Each pair writes one agreement per round. Each learner writes an individual reply at the end.
Copy this board plan
Left · The task Plan a 30-minute class get-together. Choose Tuesday 4 pm, Wednesday 5 pm or Friday 4 pm. All three places are open at all three times.
| Place | Inside or outside? | Cost | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library | Inside | Free | 10 minutes from the station |
| Station café | Inside | £3 each | Next to the station |
| Park | Outside | Free | Next to the station |
Middle · Useful English
Are you free on … at …?
How about the …?
I can’t do … . Could we do … instead?
I’d prefer … because … .
So that’s … at …, at the …, right?
Right · Feedback and exit task Leave room for two short examples from pair work and the final prompt.
Teach it step by step
1. Get a decision on the board · 0–5 minutes
Tell the class, “We’re meeting for half an hour after class. Where could we go?” Point to the three places and give learners 20 seconds to pick one. Pairs compare and give one reason. Take two different choices and underline the details that made the difference, such as free and next to the station.
2. Show how the conversation works · 5–12 minutes
Ask a willing learner to take B’s part, or read both roles yourself. Ask the class to listen for the time and place you finally agree on.
A: Are you free on Tuesday at four?
B: I can’t do Tuesday. Could we do Wednesday at five instead?
A: Yes. How about the station café?
B: I’d prefer somewhere free. How about the park?
A: Good idea. So that’s Wednesday at five, at the park, right?
B: Yes. See you there!
Elicit Wednesday, 5 pm, park. Circle instead and ask when we use it. Point out that I can’t do Tuesday means Tuesday is no good for the speaker. Let pairs practise the exchange once with a different day.
3. Make private notes · 12–20 minutes
Ask learners to fold a sheet in half or draw a line across a notebook page. The top is for private notes. The bottom is for the two agreements and the exit task. Tell everyone to copy the three times and secretly cross out exactly one. Then give A and B different choices.
- A: Choose inside or outside. Write your choice privately.
- B: Choose free or next to the station. Write your choice privately.
Give learners a minute to write a possible opening and one response. Then ask them to rehearse both lines quietly using made-up details, so their real choices stay private. Ask, “Do you show your partner your notes?” and “What will you write down when you’ve agreed?” You want no and day, time and place. Because each learner rules out just one of three times, every pair has a time in common.
4. Agree a plan, then try again · 20–32 minutes
- Round 1 · 5 minutes. A starts with a time or place. B responds. Both ask about the other person’s needs and agree a plan that works for both. Say it back aloud and write the day, time and place on both sheets.
- Change partners · 2 minutes. Ask the Bs to move one seat along. Learners switch roles, cross out a different time and choose a new preference privately. In a fixed-seating room, turn to someone behind or across the aisle.
- Round 2 · 5 minutes. Ask the new A to begin with a place this time. The pair confirms and writes the new agreement. While they talk, note one useful expression and one line the class can improve together.
Quick teacher key Inside + free gives the library. Inside + next to the station gives the station café. Outside + either condition gives the park. The day and time depend on the two private notes.
5. Use what you heard · 32–40 minutes
Invite two pairs to share a plan and the reason for their choice. Write one useful line you heard and one anonymous line for the class to improve. If you need an example, try I can’t Wednesday. We meet Friday? Ask pairs to rewrite it, then compare with I can’t do Wednesday. Could we meet on Friday instead?
Give pairs one more spoken turn. Say, “Your partner has just suggested Friday. You can’t make it. Offer a different time. Your partner can accept it or suggest another. Read back the plan when you agree.” Have each partner take a turn responding.
6. Check what each learner can do · 40–45 minutes
Ask learners to turn over their notes. Put this message on the board: Shall we meet at the station café on Friday at four? Add: You can’t do Friday. You’re free on Wednesday at five. You need somewhere free and indoors. Keep the venue table visible. Ask each learner to write a two-line reply independently and underline the alternative.
Sample answer I can’t do Friday. Could we meet at the library on Wednesday at five instead? Scan replies for the changed day and time, a suitable place and a clear suggestion. If several learners miss a detail, start next class with a one-minute reply to a new invitation.
Try it with a story · The blue bag mix-up
A2–B1 · 18 minutes · Pairs. Learners ask about missing events and use the past simple to put a story in order. Give each partner two clues to jot down on scrap paper.
What to put on the board
Left · Opening and ending. At eight, Maya left home with a blue bag. Twenty minutes later, she and her brother were laughing at the station. What happened in between?
Middle · Questions and links. What did she find? Who did she call? What happened next? First … Then … After that … In the end … Leave the right-hand side free for the private clues and erase them after each group has copied.
Run the task
- Predict · 3 minutes. Read the opening and ending. Ask everyone to jot down one guess about what was in the bag. Take two guesses and leave the mystery open.
- Give out the clues · 3 minutes. Ask Bs to turn away while As copy the A clues. Erase them, then ask As to turn away while Bs copy theirs. In a small class, you can quietly dictate each set to its group. Ask learners to keep their notes private.
- Reconstruct · 6 minutes. Pair an A with a B. A starts with Do you know what happened after Maya left home? Partners ask questions and explain their clues aloud. They write a four-event timeline using keywords and agree why the two characters laughed.
- Retell · 4 minutes. Ask one pair to tell the story, taking turns. Invite another pair to add a detail. If you hear a past form worth practising, put it on the board and let pairs try that sentence again.
- Exit check · 2 minutes. Erase the clues and ask learners to turn over their notes. Each person writes two sentences that explain the mix-up, using at least one time link. Look for two events in a plausible order and past-tense verbs that make the meaning clear.
Private clues for A
• At the station, Maya opened the bag and found her brother’s football shirt.
• After they spoke on the phone, her brother came to the station with another blue bag.
Private clues for B
• At the station, they swapped bags and saw that the two bags looked exactly the same.
• After finding the shirt, Maya phoned her brother. He checked his bag and found her swimming kit.
Teacher key Maya found the shirt → she phoned her brother and he found her kit → he brought the other bag → they swapped. They laughed because they’d each picked up the other person’s bag. A possible exit answer is First, Maya and her brother took the wrong bags. In the end, they swapped them at the station.
Adapt it for your class
- More support. Read the board choices aloud and point to them as you go. Keep I can’t do … . How about …? visible for the exit task if learners still need the frame.
- More challenge. After pairs agree in Round 2, say their venue has closed. They negotiate which preference they can relax and explain their compromise.
- One-to-one. Write your own private note and play the second role. Swap roles for the next round and give the learner an independent exit task.
- A different topic. For workplace English, make it a team meeting. Keep three shared options and give each partner one piece of private information that changes the decision.
If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, try one of our five-minute fillers and coolers. For more on modelling the first conversation, see our guide to open and closed pairs.