LESSON PLAN: Asking for and Giving Personal Information

/ A1, A2, Speaking and Conversation, Teachers

This is a lesson plan with worksheet for A1-A2 classes who are learning or revising how to ask for and give personal information.

BULLETPOINTS:

Level: A1-A2 (Elementary);
Age: adults;
Group size: any;
Aim: to practice question formations
– to ask questions about personal information;
– to give information about personal details;
Skill: speaking;
Grammar: questions, to be, have got;
Vocabulary: personal details;
Length: 90 min;
Preparation time: 5 min (print and cut student’s worksheet);
Material: student’s worksheet (one sheet per two students), whiteboard + marker.

Warm-up (5 min):

Anything you need or want to do with them (correct homework, ask them welcome questions, play a quick game with them, like hang-man, etc.)

Lead-in (10 min):

Write onto whiteboard three data about yourself, eg. 40; Palermo; English, German and Italian. Tell students that these are the answers to 3 questions about you.

Elicit what the questions might be.

Write correct questions onto the whiteboard:
– How old are you?
– Where do you live?
– What languages do you speak?

Ask students to repeat your answers to these questions in complete sentences:
– I’m 40 years old.
– I live in Palermo.
– I speak English, German and Italian.

Clarify that both version, short and long answers are correct, however, short answers sound more natural.

Main Part (20-25 min):

Put students in pairs.

Give students handout (cut in half for Student A and Student B).

Elicit (if necessary, teach) questions and answers going through the categories of the first column. Use the first and second person singular forms at this stage (YOU and I):

QUESTIONS	ANSWERS
What’s your name?	My name is Pietro.
What’s your surname?	My surname is Barrafranca.
How old are you?	I’m 33 years old.
Are you married?	No, I’m not.
Have you got children? / Do you have children?	No, I haven’t. / No, I don’t.
What do you do?	I’m a doctor.
What’s your mobile number?	My mobile number is 335-8964572.
What’s your email address?	My email address is pietro.barrafranca@gmail.com.
Where are you from?	I’m from Italy.
What nationality are you?	I’m Italian.
Where do you live?	I live in Munich.
What languages do you speak?	I speak Italian and a little English.
Have you got a car? / Do you have a car?	No, I haven’t. / No, I don’t.

If necessary, pretend to be the first person in the chart and repeat the exercise with your students in open class.

Student’s practice (25 min):

Tell students that they can pick three identities from the chart and interview each other in pairs.

Monitor students. Give feedback.

If necessary, go through the remaining identities in open class.

Follow-up exercises (20 min):

Think of one of the people in the chart. Tell students that they can ask 10 questions and based on these 10 questions they need to identify who you are thinking of.

They can ask questions like: Are you a woman? Do you live in Russia? etc.

You can answer only YES or NO.

NB: You can also change into a third person singular game, eg. Is your person a woman? Does she live in Russia? etc. After students guessed who you chose, ask them to repeat the game in pairs, switching roles.

Monitor them. Give feedback.

Wind-down (5 min):

Anything: assign written homework (e.g. write a short email introducing yourself as one of the people in the chart) or a quick game, like spelling surnames (also important in oral exams), etc.