ESL WORKSHEET - Math and English

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

SMOOTH OPERATOR

LinguaHouse

Nov. 22, 2022

Level: Pre-Intermediate (A2-B1)
Type of English: General English
Tags: 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; Dealing with Communication Difficulties; Ordering and Paying for Food and Drinks; Numbers; Education, Teaching and Learning; Science and Technology
Publication date: 11/22/2022

This lesson supports students to talk about basic math operators in English. After a short warmup, student explore how high and low numbers are expressed and pronounced and listen to two dialogues where people are using math in everyday contexts. A range of functional language is identified and activated in two practice activities. There is also an optional extension about the number zero (0). (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 1 in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio 2 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 1 in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio 2 in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPTS

Dialogue 1
Jane: Well, that was a lovely meal, but now we have to figure out the bill. I know we all had different drinks, but we had more or less the same food, so shall we just split it four ways?
Dave: OK with me. But did they remember to subtract that order of salad that the waiter forgot to bring?
Jane: They didn’t charge us for that, don’t worry. So, the bill is eighty-three twenty. Let’s divide that by four ... and I make it just over twenty-seven each.
Dave: Really? That can’t be right. Twenty-seven is not a quarter of eighty-three twenty.
Jane: Let me just check. Yeah, I made a mistake, sorry. It’s twenty-eighty each. But service isn’t included so now we should also work out the tip. It’s usually fifteen percent...
Dave: I’ve got it! Fifteen percent of eighty-three twenty comes to twelve forty-eight. Let’s say twelve-fifty.
Jane: Thanks - you’re fast! But we have to split the tip four ways too.
Dave: It’s around three-thirteen each - let’s just say three twenty.
Jane: Sure, so twenty-eighty plus three-twenty equals twenty-four dollars exactly.
Dave: That sounds right. And if anyone doesn’t have change, they can just pay twenty-five and the waiter will get a bigger tip.
Jane: That’s fine, but I don’t think anyone is going to pay cash.

Dialogue 2
Shop assistant: Hi, can I help you?
Customer: Yes, please. I’m putting up some tiles in my bathroom. I’ve never done this before, so I wanted your advice about how many packs of tiles to buy. The area I need to cover is two point five feet high and two feet across.
Shop assistant: So, first you multiply the height by the width. Two point five times two makes five square feet. And each pack of tiles tells you how many square feet it covers. This one says it covers six square feet - and it costs ten fifty. And that other pack only covers four square feet, so you’d need two packs. The second pack costs seventeen dollars exactly.
Customer: Seventy? I know they’re trendy but that’s super expensive.
Shop assistant: No, seventeen. In fact, there’s a fifteen percent discount on them this week. So, they really used to cost four dollars more.
Customer: Are you sure? That doesn’t sound right. Fifteen percent of twenty is three, isn’t it? And twenty minus three is seventeen.
Shop assistant: Sorry, that must be right. Math is not my strong point, unfortunately!
Customer: Hmm, it’s such a good discount. I’ll take two packs - seventeen times two is thirty-four. I have all the tools I need at home, but I need some cement to stick the tiles on with.
Shop assistant: A small bag of cement costs six-fifty.
Customer: That’s perfect because I have a discount code - two-fifty off if I spend over forty dollars.
Shop assistant: All right, just come over to the front desk and I’ll let the register do the math. Forty-fifty take away two-fifty makes just thirty-eight to pay. Cash or card?
Customer: Card please...

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/smooth-operator. Accessed on October 7, 2024. © 2008–2024 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.