Instructions for teachers
Cut up one set of cards per group of two to four students, with the middle cards in bold in different packs.
Students work together to put together just the left-hand and right-hand columns (the ones not in bold) to make basic phrases, add the middle ones (in bold) to check and extend their answers, then try to put them into categories by the stage of brainstorming that they would be used in. Students can look under the fold below for hints if they get stuck.
After checking their answers, students can test each other by reading out the long versions for their partner(s) to remember the short versions of, then read out the short versions for their partner to remember the long versions of. They can also help their partner come up with as many phrases as they can for one of the categories.
Students can then deal out the cards and try to use the words they are given during a group brainstorm, e.g. brainstorming things to mention in a presentation.
Brainstorming phrases can be done before, after or between the activities above.
Optional help for students
Suggested stages of brainstorming
- Initial brainstorming/ Asking for ideas
- Organising the ideas/ Putting the ideas into order/ Putting the ideas into categories
- Editing down the ideas/ Choosing the best ideas/ Getting rid of weak ideas
- Supporting your arguments
- Anticipating other people’s doubts and arguments
Cards to cut up/ Suggested answers
Initial brainstorming/ Asking for ideas
| Can we write anything | else | here? |
| Any | more | ideas? |
| I think we need three | or four | more ideas. |
| Let’s just write | all/ all of | our ideas down and discuss them later. |
| That probably doesn’t fit, but let’s write it | down | anyway. |
Organising the ideas/ Putting the ideas into order/ Putting the ideas into categories
| I think these two are linked | to each other | by… |
| We can put these | ones/ two | together because… |
| (I think) these (two) are | very | similar because… |
| Maybe we should move this one | over | here. |
| (I think) these (two) are | closely | related. |
| (I think) these (two) are | both/ all | kinds of… |
| Another | good | example of that is… |
Editing down the ideas/ Choosing the best ideas/ Getting rid of weak ideas
| I’d | probably | choose this one because… |
| This one doesn’t (seem to) link to | any of | the others. |
| These two are | a bit/ far/ much | too similar. |
| (I think) we should cross this | one | off because… |
| This one doesn’t make | much | sense. |
| This one doesn’t | really | match our aim. |
| The audience | probably/ might/ almost certainly | already know this. |
| This won’t interest | most of the | audience. |
Supporting your arguments
| In my | personal | experience,… |
| According to a book | that/ which | I read… |
Anticipating other people’s doubts and arguments
| If they are not convinced | by that idea | , we can/ should say that… |
Easier to cut up version
| Can we write anything | else | here? | ||
| Any | more | ideas? | ||
| I think we need three | or four | more ideas. | ||
| Let’s just write | all/ all of | our ideas down and discuss them later. | ||
| That probably doesn’t fit, but let’s write it | down | anyway. | ||
| I think these two are linked | to each other | by… | ||
| We can put these | ones/ two | together because… | ||
| (I think) these (two) are | very | similar because… | ||
| Maybe we should move this one | over | here. | ||
| (I think) these (two) are | closely | related. | ||
| (I think) these (two) are | both/ all | kinds of… | ||
| Another | good | example of that is… | ||
| I’d | probably | choose this one because… | ||
| This one doesn’t (seem to) link to | any of | the others. | ||
| These two are | a bit/ far/ much | too similar. | ||
| (I think) we should cross this | one | off because… | ||
| This one doesn’t make | much | sense. | ||
| This one doesn’t | really | match our aim. | ||
| The audience | probably/ might/ almost certainly | already know this. | ||
| This won’t interest | most of the | audience. | ||
| In my | personal | experience,… | ||
| According to a book | that/ which | I read… | ||
| If they are not convinced | by that idea | , we can/ should say that… | ||
Brainstorming brainstorming phrases
First of all without any help, write as many suitable phrases as you can in each gap below.
Initial brainstorming/ Asking for ideas
Organising the ideas/ Putting the ideas into order/ Putting the ideas into categories
Editing down the ideas/ Choosing the best ideas/ Getting rid of weak ideas
Supporting your arguments
Anticipating other people’s doubts and arguments
Use just the middle cards to help, use the other cards to help, then compare with an un-cut-up copy of the worksheet. Many other phrases not on the worksheet are possible, so please check if you wrote something different.
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PDF for easy saving and printing:
Related pages
Longer phrases card games (TEFLtastic Classics Part 12 reprised)
