As I warned in a previous post, this is an idea that I really am exploiting as much as humanly possible. I don’t feel too guilty, though, because it is a good one:

How to do tips and useful phrases in ESL classes

Students discuss a list of tips they are given and do a task such as choose the best, cross off wrong ones, or change the wording of the tips to make them better. They then brainstorm language to do the things that they’ve chosen as good tips, e.g. “Hmmm, let me think” and “That’s a difficult question” for the IELTS Speaking tip “Think aloud, because there are no marks for body language”. They can then compare their phrases with the class, the teacher and/ or the answer key. You obviously have to design the task carefully so that the tips they choose all have phrases associated with them, but in these cases I’ve done the hard work for you:

Photocopiable tips and useful phrases worksheets on many topics

Look further down the list for ones not in e-books

Negotiating tips and useful phrases (in this bargain new e-book)

Starting and ending negotiations tips and useful phrases (in this bargain new e-book)

IELTS Listening the same or different simplest responses (in this e-book) 

Numbers in IELTS Listening the same or different (in this e-book) 

IELTS Speaking Part One tips and useful phrases (in this bargain e-book) 

IELTS Speaking Part Three tips and useful phrases (in this really reasonable e-book) 

IELTS Speaking Part Two tips and useful phrases (in this great value e-book) 

IELTS Speaking Parts One, Two and Three tips and useful phrases (in this really cheap e-book)

Body of IELTS Writing Task One tips and useful phrases (in this cheap as chips e-book) 

IELTS Academic Writing Task Two tips and useful phrases (in this dirt cheap e-book) 

IELTS Writing Task One tips and useful phrases (in this absolute bargain e-book) 

Business emails tips and useful phrases (in this cheaper than cheap e-book) 

Ending presentations tips and useful phrases (in this penny a page e-book)

Starting presentations tips and useful phrases (in this big but cheap e-book)

IELTS Academic Writing Task Two tips and useful phrases (for all kinds of useful language for the exam – see above for an improved version)

Opinions on IELTS Writing Part Two tips and useful phrases Expanded version (for advice and the language of opinions)

Opinions on IELTS Writing Part Two tips and useful phrases Version 1 (opinions language)

IELTS Listening tips and useful phrases

IELTS Speaking Part One tips and useful phrases

IELTS Writing Part One tips and useful phrase (and see above for an improved version)

FCE Writing Part One essay tasks advice and useful phrases 

University applications tips and useful phrases

Business emails tips and useful phrases

Emails to academic staff Tips and useful phrases

Presentations Tips and useful phrases

Teleconferencing tips and useful phrases

Telephone enquiries tips and useful phrases

Academic writing tips and useful phrases

Business cultural differences tips and useful phrases

Job interviews by telephone tips and useful phrases

Meeting people tips and useful phrases

This can be used with all kinds of other things, e.g. functional language like requests (“Give a reason for refusing requests”), giving presentations, chairing meetings, etc etc etc, so please let me know if you do so!

For more on the most reliable and adaptable activities in TEFL, click on the TEFLtastic classics tag below.

Updated 20 October 2026