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GENERAL ENGLISH · LINGUAHOUSE PODCAST · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
PODCAST: COMPLIMENTS
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1 Warm up
In small groups, answer the questions below.
1. Do you remember the last time someone said something nice about you? How did you feel?
2. Do you remember the last time you said something nice about someone? How do you think they
felt? What did they answer?
3. Is it easy for you to give compliments?
4. Do you think some people find it more difficult to give or receive compliments than others?
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
PODCAST: COMPLIMENTS
2 Focus on vocabulary
Part A: Complete the definitions with the words below.
nice numerical problem related smaller worrying
1. compliment (n) - a thing you say about someone
2. descendant (n) - a person who is to you and lives after you, for
example, your child or grandchild
3. racial minorities (n) - a group of a certain race that is compared
to the rest of the population
4. statistically (adv.) - in a way that relates to facts
5. handle (v) - have the ability to solve a
6. reassure (v) - say something to make someone stop
Part B: Match the words to their definitions.
1. modest (adj.) a. rarely talking about abilities or achievements
2. nod (v) b. something that seems larger, better, worse or more important
than it really is
3. controversy (n) c. the belief and confidence in your own abilities
4. exaggerated (adj.) d. when too many people disagree on a topic
5. self-esteem (n) e. the feeling that good things will happen
6. expectation (n) f. move your head to say yes
Part C: Complete the sentences below with the correct words.
controversies exaggerated expectations modest nodded self-esteem
1. There are some when it comes to what compliment is right or wrong.
2. Some people don’t accept compliments because they are .
3. Having low is quite common, especially if kids are not praised for
their achievements.
4. Characters from comic books are drawn with features to help you
remember them.
5. He when I asked him if he was ok.
6. When we compliment people, we have to be very careful with their .
We never know how people react.
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
PODCAST: COMPLIMENTS
3 Listening to podcast
Part A: Listen to the first part of the podcast (00:00-02:58) and say if the sentences below are true
or false.
1. Some compliments can have a bad impact.
2. Men are complimented for different reasons than women.
3. Men and women benefit from receiving compliments on how they look like.
4. Helen says some professionals prefer a certain kind of compliment.
Part B: Listen to the second part of the podcast (02:58-06:20). Put the topics in the order they are
mentioned.
1 How some societies react differently to compliments
A suggestion on how to react when kids are exposed to something good
Ways we can react to compliments
Something parents do with good intentions but might not be good for their children
Some disagreement when it comes to complimenting certain ages
Part C: Listen to the whole podcast again and complete the sentences below with the given words.
Group 1:
good impact intentions maths mother tongue underestimate
1. A study shows we the impact of saying good things.
2. Sometimes we have the best , but the compliment has a bad impact
on the other person.
3. An example of a bad compliment is when US-born Asians are told they speak good English when
it’s actually their .
4. Some students did badly in tests when they received compliments
on how they looked.
5. Teachers and managers tend to prefer certain compliments because these are jobs that try to
create a .
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
PODCAST: COMPLIMENTS
Group 2
connected to full picture praise rejecting strategies
1. Most of the information we have on the topic of compliments comes from WEIRD societies, so
we can’t have the .
2. The Japanese have a variety of to handle compliments.
3. Parents always try to children for what they do.
4. We shouldn’t teach children that their self-esteem is what people
think of them.
5. There are some options other than just a compliment.
4 Speaking practice
Imagine you have a friend who has just posted a video on social media saying that they complimented
someone and the person didn’t like it. Record a voice message to them talking about the podcast.
Mention the key points of the podcast and say what you learnt about the right way or wrong way of
complimenting people.
5 Language point
Part A: Read the box on page five, then answer the questions together with a partner.
1. Do you remember what Helen and Angus were talking about?
2. What do you think the underlined expression means?
3. Is ‘at hand’ being used in a literal way, as the real meaning?
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
PODCAST: COMPLIMENTS
I really liked that jacket. But back to the matter at hand, yes, I’ve been looking
into why we are so bad at giving and receiving compliments.
• Idioms are groups of words in a fixed order that together have a meaning that is
completely different to the meaning if the same words are used separately. They have a
non-literal meaning, which is, that the meaning is not real.
• For example: if someone says that they have had a change of heart, it probably means
that they’ve changed their opinion (non-literal) and not that they’ve had a heart transplant
(literal)!
Part B: Read the sentences below and match their definitions. Then, in pairs, say if the sentences are
true or false for you.
1. I’m up to my neck in homework!
2. I hate it when people talk behind my back!
3. I’ve got a terrible memory, I don’t know the lyrics of my favourite song by heart!
4. In some situations, I prefer biting my tongue over creating a bigger problem.
5. I always have cold feet before my exams, but I get good results most of the time!
a. memorise something
b. have a lot of something
c. stop yourself from saying something you want to
d. be afraid of doing something you had planned
e. do something without another person knowing
6 Talking point
In pairs, discuss the questions below.
1. What information did you find most surprising in this podcast?
2. Can you think of other wrong ways of complimenting people?
3. Have you ever complimented people in the wrong way without noticing it?
4. What’s your favourite kind of compliment?
5. How do you react to compliments? Is it mentioned in the podcast?
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)
PODCAST: COMPLIMENTS
7 Extension activities / homework
Task A: Listen to the teacher’s instructions.
Task B: Follow the instructions below to play Taboo.
• Form pairs.
• One student chooses a card below and explains the underlined word without using any of the
words below it (or the word itself).
• The other student has two guesses and then it is their turn to choose a word.
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