ESL WORKSHEET - Beginning a new career

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

STARTING A NEW CAREER

LinguaHouse

Aug. 20, 2025

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of language: General English
Tags: Companies and Jobs; Office Life; Work; Business People; Business Skills; Business Ethics; People and Places; Article Based; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 08/20/2025

This lesson looks at the concept of beginning a new career and what that might involve. Students will read an article on the subject and listen to a radio show with three people discussing their experience. Exercises focus on reading and listening skills, related vocabulary and offer students the opportunity to discuss questions on the topic. (by Joe Wilson)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Host: Good afternoon and welcome to our show. Have you been thinking about changing your career? Today, we’re going to be talking to three people who did just that and look at what they did and what their experience was like. First we’ve got Hannah. Hannah, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. So what did you do to prepare for a career change?
Hannah: What I wanted to do was cut people’s hair. I’d spent four years working in an office as an assistant and realized that there was nothing there for me and there was no one there who I wanted to be.
Host: So what did you do first?
Hannah: I’m lucky that I’ve got a big family. I’ve got four brothers and two sisters. It wasn’t difficult to get my brothers to let me cut their hair. I told them that if I didn’t do it well, I would pay for them to get it done by someone else. They were all young and wanted to look good, so I was cutting someone’s hair at least once a week. After a while, my sisters let me do theirs too. When I was confident, I went to a hairdressers where I used to go and asked if they would let me help for free on a Saturday. It was like free school. Now, I have three stores of my own, and I love my work.
Host: Sounds like it worked out really well for you. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Next is Daniel. So Daniel, tell me, what advice would you give to someone who wanted to change their career?
Daniel: Prepare as much as you can. Luckily now, there’s so much information available on the Internet that it’s easy to be well-informed about a particular subject.
Host: So what did you do before?
Daniel: I had a job as a postman which was great for the exercise, but I knew that what I really wanted to do was be a photographer. I spent a lot of time online learning about photography and practicing with my camera. Because I finished early as a postman, I could go home and spend time learning. After a while, I started helping a local photographer with school portraits. I took some classes to learn more about the subject and began to get some of my own customers through friends. I started working part-time as a postman, and spent the other days doing photography. When I felt I had enough business, I went full time. It took me almost six years, but I love what I do now.
Host: Fascinating, thanks so much. And finally, we’ve got Sabrina. Sabrina, what mistakes did you make when changing your career?
Sabrina: I thought that doing a job I was more interested in would not be like a job at all. I was working as a flight attendant for an airline. It was fun to travel, but the long hours and rude customers stopped me enjoying the job. I realized I was really interested in the clothes I was seeing in different places in the world and started designing some of my own.
Host: How creative. What did you do next?
Sabrina: I took a course that I could do in my free time. My dad bought me some material when he found out, and I started making some of my own clothes. I was so excited when I finally got a job in fashion design. But, it’s still a job, and although I don’t have the same problems I used to have, I still have problems. There’s more stress than before, and I still get a lot of people who are rude to me. I’m going to stay for the experience for now, but I’m going to start my own company in a few years.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/starting-a-new-career. Accessed on August 21, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.

Save your breath!

“NÃO GASTE SALIVA!”

Como se diz em INGLÊS

By Alberto Queiroz

MAIRO VERGARA

Aug. 20, 2025

Você quer pedir para o outro parar de falar – para “poupar sua energia” ou “não gastar tempo”. A razão não importa – talvez você não concorde com o que ele está falando e ache que nada que ele diga poderá mudar a sua opinião. Ou talvez você esteja recomendando a alguém que poupe suas energias ao falar com uma outra pessoa que é impossível de convencer. Como dizer isso?
“Não gaste saliva” é um jeito bastante popular, bastante evidente. Uma outra variante seria, talvez, “poupe o fôlego”. E para essa última expressão temos uma bem próxima na Língua Inglesa: save your breath (“poupe o seu fôlego”, “economize o seu fôlego”).
Breath, como você sabe, significa tanto “respiração” quanto “fôlego” (e, já que estamos falando disso, lembre-se que breathe é “respirar”, mas pronuncia-se de um jeito beeem diferente: /briːð/ – escute AQUI).
Mas “poupar o fôlego” para quê? Bem, de acordo com a frase original, para “esfriar o mingau”! Isso mesmo: a expressão, antigamente, era save your breath to cool your porridge!
Veja alguns exemplos de como utilizar save your breath em Inglês.

• Save your breath; I know all about it. (Não gaste saliva; eu sei tudo disso.)
• I could talk about the reason for a whole day, but I am really tired of it, and I’ll save my breath here. (Eu poderia falar sobre o motivo por um dia inteiro, mas estou realmente cansado disso e não vou gastar saliva nisso.)
• He’s telling her to save her breath and not tell him things he’s already heard her say. (Ele está dizendo a ela para não gastar saliva e não lhe dizer coisas que ele já a ouviu dizer.)
• Kendall should save her breath because she’s not going to change her mind. (Kendall não devia gastar saliva, porque ela não vai fazê-la mudar de opinião.)
• He apologizes for his behavior, but she tells him to save his breath. (Ele pede desculpas por seu comportamento, mas ela lhe diz para não gastar saliva.)
• Fans go out their way to give their opinion on the calls, but they might as well save their breath. (Os fãs fazem grandes esforços para dar a sua opinião em suas ligações, mas eles bem que poderiam não gastar saliva.)
• I tried to explain, but she told me to save my breath. (Eu tentei explicar, mas ela me disse para não gastar saliva.)
• She might as well have saved her breath. (Ela bem que podia ter poupado o fôlego.)
• Save your breath, Tom. There’s no way they’ll agree to the deal. (Não gaste saliva, Tom. Eles não vão concordar com o acordo de jeito nenhum.)
• I was going to complain to the phone company about the extra charges, but I decided to save my breath. (Eu ia reclamar com a companhia telefônica pelas cobranças adicionais, mas decidi não gastar saliva.)
• Save your breath. He never listens to anybody. (Não gaste saliva. Ele nunca escuta pessoa alguma.)

Clique AQUI para baixar o PDF com as frases acima.
Clique AQUI para baixar a gravação com todas as frases em Inglês.

Adaptado de: https://www.mairovergara.com/como-se-diz-nao-gaste-saliva-em-ingles/. Acesso em: 20 ago. 2025. © Reis Vergara Idiomas 2025. Todos os direitos reservados.

Child’s play

“É MOLEZA”

Como se diz em INGLÊS

By Alberto Queiroz

MAIRO VERGARA

Aug. 19, 2025

Já vimos aqui no blog algumas formas de dizer em Inglês que alguma coisa “é fácil demais”, “é moleza”. É isso que significa, por exemplo, a expressão a walk in the park. Ou então: a piece of cake. Mas, além dessas expressões um pouco mais sinuosas, temos outra da Língua Inglesa cujo sentido fica imediatamente óbvio: child’s play, ou “brincadeira de criança”. É essa a expressão que vemos neste post.
Vamos lá?

• For her, computer programming is child’s play. (Para ela, programação é moleza.)
• Using computers nowadays is child’s play. (Hoje em dia, usar computadores é brincadeira de criança.)
• Figuring out the password was child’s play. (Foi moleza descobrir a senha.)
• Landing a job should be child’s play for someone with his skills. (Conseguir um emprego deve ser moleza para alguém com as competências dele.)
• He thought the work would be child’s play. (Ele achava que o trabalho deveria ser moleza.)
• It’s child’s play. (É moleza.)
• Oh, please, I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years – that song is child’s play. (Ah, sem essa, eu toco violão faz 20 anos – essa música é moleza.*)
• The test was child’s play to those who took good notes. (A prova foi moleza para quem tinha boas notas.)
• Finding the right street was child’s play with a map. (Era moleza encontrar a rua certa com um mapa.)
• Finding the answer was child’s play for Robert. (Para Robert, foi moleza descobrir a resposta.)
• Tapping telephones is child’s play. (Grampear telefones é moleza.)

OBSERVAÇÃO:
* Outra tradução: eu toco guitarra faz 20 anos! Afinal, guitar pode ser traduzido por "violão" ou "guitarra". Se você quiser deixar bem claro a qual instrumento está se referindo, use acoustic guitar, classical guitar e electric guitar.

Clique AQUI para baixar o PDF com as frases acima.
Clique AQUI para baixar a gravação com todas as frases em Inglês.

Adaptado de: https://www.mairovergara.com/como-se-diz-e-moleza-em-ingles/. Acesso em: 20 ago. 2025. © Reis Vergara Idiomas 2025. Todos os direitos reservados.

A walk in the park

A WALK IN THE PARK

O que significa esta expressão em INGLÊS

By Mairo Vergara

MAIRO VERGARA

Oct. 16, 2017

A walk in the park é uma expressão usada para dizer que algo é “fácil”. Tão fácil quanto fazer “uma caminhada no parque” – tradução literal de a walk in the park. Neste post, trazemos uma dezena de exemplos em Inglês para você aprender a usar essa expressão.
Essa expressão é usada na Língua Inglesa equivalendo a um adjetivo: você diz que algo é a walk in the park quando é “fácil de realizar”. Seguem os exemplos.

• He’s used to hard physical work - this is a walk in the park to him. (Ele é acostumado com trabalho físico pesado - isso é fácil para ele.)
• As any director will tell you: doing Shakespeare isn’t a walk in the park. (Qualquer diretor lhe dirá: fazer Shakespeare não é fácil.)
• This period was a walk in the park compared to next. (Esse período foi fácil comparado ao próximo.)
• Prostate cancer is not a walk in the park. (Câncer de próstata não é fácil.)
• Go on, it’ll be a walk in the park. (Vá em frente, vai ser fácil.)
• My life is a walk in the park compared to Ferret’s these days. (Minha vida é fácil comparada a do Ferret, esses dias.)
• This is a walk in the park compared to a couple of years ago. (Isso é fácil comparado a alguns anos atrás.)
• You think that’s going to be a walk in the park? (Você acha que isso vai ser fácil?)
• Let me start off by telling you this will not be a walk in the park. (Deixe-me começar dizendo-lhe que isso não será fácil.)
• High school was difficult, but it was a walk in the park compared to college engineering classes. (O ensino médio foi difícil, mas foi fácil comparado às aulas de engenharia da faculdade.)

Clique AQUI para baixar o PDF com as frases acima.
Clique AQUI para baixar a gravação com todas as frases em Inglês.

Adaptado de: https://www.mairovergara.com/a-walk-in-the-park-o-que-significa-esta-expressao/. Acesso em: 20 ago. 2025. © Reis Vergara Idiomas 2025. Todos os direitos reservados.

A piece of cake

A PIECE OF CAKE

O que significa esta expressão em INGLÊS

By Mairo Vergara

MAIRO VERGARA

Dec. 10, 2014

Você sabe o que significa “a piece of cake”? Provavelmente a primeira vez que você ouviu essa expressão pensou que era “um pedaço de bolo”, não? Na verdade, “a piece of cake” é uma expressão idiomática da Língua Inglesa. Pode não fazer sentido para nós, brasileiros, por causa da diferença cultural, mas “a piece of cake” é equivalente ao nosso “moleza”. Se você achou complicado, não se preocupe: a seguir teremos vários exemplos contextualizados em Inglês, todos com tradução e áudio.
So, get your notebook and let’s go!

• It’s a piece of cake to work with Sarah. (É moleza trabalhar com a Sarah.)
• This is a piece of cake compared to some activities you must have done in the past. (Isso é moleza comparado à algumas atividades que você deve ter feito no passado.)
• Let’s face it this is not going to be a piece of cake, this is the worst mission ever. (Vamos encarar a realidade isso não vai ser moleza, essa é a pior missão de todas.)
• This English test was a piece of cake! (O teste de Inglês foi moleza!)
• I’ve been training a lot lately, it’s gonna be a piece of cake! (Eu treinei muito ultimamente, isso vai ser moleza!)
• That project was a piece of cake. It only took me two hours! (Aquele projeto foi moleza. Eu só levei duas horas!)
• Mother: Can you finish your homework in ten minutes? Son: It will be a piece of cake. (Mãe: Você consegue terminar seu dever de casa em 10 minutos? Filho: Isso vai ser moleza.)
• Character 1: Do you expect to win your tennis match today? Character 2: It will be a piece of cake.(Personagem 1: Você espera vencer a sua partida de tênis hoje? Personagem 2: Isso vai ser moleza.)
• I’ve always had a hard time studying history, but math is a piece of cake. (Eu sempre fui mal estudando história, mas matemática é moleza.)

That’s it guys, wasn’t it a piece of cake? (É isso aí pessoal, isso não foi moleza?). Bom, agora com todos os exemplos, basta praticar. Bons estudos!

Clique AQUI para baixar o PDF com as frases acima.
Clique AQUI para baixar a gravação com todas as frases em Inglês.

Adaptado de: https://www.mairovergara.com/o-que-significa-piece-cake/. Acesso em: 20 ago. 2025. © Reis Vergara Idiomas 2025. Todos os direitos reservados.

ESL WORKSHEET - Present Perfect usage

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

PRESENT PERFECT 1

Updated Lesson

LinguaHouse

Aug. 18, 2025

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of language: General English
Tags: Paraphrasing and Explaining; Present Perfect; Grammar Practice; Probability and Chance; Challenges; Sport and Fitness; Society and Change; Hobby; Describing People; Health and Well-being; 10-12 Years Old; 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 08/18/2025

In this updated lesson, students review and extend their understanding of present perfect simple forms and usage and contrast it with past simple. The target language is contextualized in an interview with a (fictitious) Paralympic athlete, and students define three phrasal verbs in context. They also activate the target language by completing gap-fill and error correction exercises. There is an optional extension video activity related to the Paralympic sport of goalball. (by Stephanie Hirschman)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/watch the video (MP4)

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Host: Today on Sporty Speakers, we’re interviewing Paralympian cyclist Lauren Tracey. Can you start by telling us a bit about your family, Lauren?
Lauren: Well, I’m one of three children. We were all born with very poor vision, so we can only see light and dark. But I’ve never thought of myself as someone with a problem. I’ve had to work a little bit harder to find a way to do what I wanted to do, that’s all.
Host: Have you always been an athletic person?
Lauren: No, I haven’t! In fact, as a young child, I was usually indoors playing with Lego or listening to music. But when I was older, at secondary school, everything changed. I got into exercise in a big way and became a long-distance runner. Because of that, I decided to study sports medicine at university.
Host: What was university like for you?
Lauren: It was great! I loved living away from home and meeting new people. I should also say that I met my husband David at university. We met at a party, and he’s been, at my side since 2010.
Host: How did you discover cycling?
Lauren: I was following the cycling events at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, and I thought – I want to do that! So, I looked into how to get started and the local team soon fixed me up with a bike, a pilot and a coach.
Host: A pilot?
Lauren: Yeah, the bikes have two seats, and the pilot sits in front to steer the bike so we don’t crash. I sit at the back – it’s me who does all the work!
Host: It seems like you reached the top levels of competition really quickly.
Lauren: Yeah, I suppose so. I’ve competed in the Paralympics, and I’ve won a couple of gold medals.
Host: Have you ever thought of taking up another sport?
Lauren: I’ve thought about it, of course. Goalball looks like really good fun, but there just isn’t enough time!
Host: And it’s not just your work and your cycling that you do. You’ve recently started a project called “Sports for All.” What’s that about?
Lauren: It’s a project where I go into schools to encourage young people to be more active. I’ve already visited over twenty schools to talk about disability and sports. In fact, I’ve just returned from a visit to my old school, and I’m still on a real high.
Host: Tell us about your other interests.
Lauren: My other main interest is travel. We haven’t been to Australia yet, so my David and I are planning a tour next year. And before you ask, yes, we’ll be doing some cycling there!
Host: And who have you brought into the studio with you today?
Lauren: Yeah, this is Max. He hasn’t been with me long. I’ve only had him for about 3 months, since June. Before Max, I had a dog called Cindy.
Host: Lauren, I’m afraid we’re out of time now, but thanks so much for coming in!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Presenter: Have you ever heard of goalball? Here’s a quick introduction to this exciting game. Goalball is a Paralympic sport, played by athletes with visual disabilities. The aim of the game is to score points by rolling the ball into the opponent’s goal. Each participant is classified according to the level of their impairment. B1 players are completely blind, while b2 and b3 players can see a short distance. When playing, all athletes must wear a mask over their eyes so that participants with different vision levels can compete against each other fairly. The ball has two bells inside to help the players to know where it is at all times. This means that spectators must be silent during the match.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/present-perfect-1. Accessed on August 19, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.

ESL WORKSHEET - Transportation

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

ROAD AND TRANSPORTATION

LinguaHouse

Jul. 31, 2025

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of language: General English
Tags: Transportation; Road and Transportation; Idioms; Vocabulary Lesson; 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 07/31/2025

In this updated lesson plan, students work with two travel stories to review and extend a large volume of vocabulary in this lexical area, including compound nouns, phrasal verbs and expressions with make. These items are activated in text reconstruction and board game design tasks and there is also an optional extension activity about car-related idioms. (by Stephanie Hirschman)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Katia: I had to be at the airport for midday, so I set off in plenty of time at eight because I knew the rush hour traffic would be terrible at that time of the morning. I was in a good mood when I got in the car, but on the main road the traffic lights at the intersection were broken and there was a long line of cars. So, I decided to take a shortcut down one of the side roads. Unfortunately, there was a road sign that said No entry on the first one, and on the second there was a sign warning of roadworks ahead. I couldn’t even make a U-turn anywhere. I finally found a way through and was making good time, only to get stuck at a pedestrian crossing while what seemed like an entire elementary school crossed the road. It took ages, but of course I had to wait - I didn’t want to hit any of the kids! Anyway, I finally got onto the highway to the airport, but even there I ran into problems as there was a temporary speed limit, due to heavy traffic. At last, I drove into the airport car park and got out of my car. It was ten minutes to twelve. I had just made it, which is just as well as I was on my way to work. I’m a pilot!
Gregory: Check-in for my flight opened at twelve, and I was taking public transportation to the airport, so I made sure to leave nice and early. I was standing at the bus stop by half past seven so as not to miss the bus. When it arrived, I got on and found a seat at the back. The first problem we encountered was a motorbike that had broken down right in the middle of the bus lane! When we finally got past that, the driver tried to make up the time we had lost and was driving far too fast. I felt really sick, especially on the roundabouts. Lots of vans and trucks were trying to overtake us all the time. I really thought one of them was going to crash into us! By the time we got to the airport, I was exhausted. Next time I fly, I think I might catch the special tram to the airport. It can’t be any worse than the bus. Of course, I know we shouldn’t be flying so much these days, so I should really investigate booking a vacation close to home and go by coach instead. I was only fifteen minutes late, but as I was making my way to the check-in desk, I heard an announcement that my flight was delayed by two hours! So that whole rush to the airport was for nothing!

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/road-and-transport. Accessed on August 19, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.