Topic 1.6.4 Suggesting Ideas
SUGGESTING IDEAS
Warm up
In pairs, discuss these questions:
- Are you good at coming up with new ideas?
- Do you think some people are better at coming up with ideas than others?
- If you have a new idea at work, do you suggest it to your team?
- Why might some people feel nervous when suggesting new ideas?
Vocabulary
Part 1
Part 2: Phrasal Verbs
Practice activity
Speaking Activities
Group Brainstorming Challenge
Target words: come up with, brainstorm, bring up, put forward
Activity: In small groups, choose a topic (e.g., planning a holiday, starting a new business, organizing a community event). Brainstorm ideas together, encouraging everyone to come up with at least one idea, bring up any challenges, and then put forward a final proposal to present to the class.
Follow-up: Present your final ideas, using the vocabulary as you explain the decision-making process.
Role-Play: The Company Takeover
Target words: taken over, summoning, wonder, turn into
Activity: In pairs, one student can play the role of a CEO and the other a department head. The company is about to be taken over by another company, and the CEO is summoning the department head to discuss how things will turn into the new structure. The department head can express their feelings about the takeover, using phrases like, “I wonder how this will affect the employees.”
Follow-up: After each role-play, the rest of the class can offer suggestions or comments.
Encouragement Dialogue
Target words: encourage, mates, mindless
Activity: In pairs, create a short dialogue where one friend is feeling down about something (e.g., failing a test, a difficult project at work). The other friend tries to encourage them to keep trying. They can mention their mates and how doing something mindless (like watching TV) can be relaxing but isn’t the best way to tackle the problem.
Follow-up: Pairs can act out their dialogues for the class, and other students can suggest additional ways to encourage a friend.
Mindless Entertainment Debate
Target words: mindless, feeds, come up with, put forward
Activity: Divide into two teams.
Team A: argue in favour of mindless entertainment (e.g., watching reality TV)
Team B: argue that it feeds bad habits and is a waste of time.
Each team comes up with arguments and puts forward their points in a debate format.
Follow-up: After the debate, the class can vote on which side they agree with more, and discuss the outcome.
Reading
Coming up with new ideas – How to set that light bulb off
Reading Comprehension
Group Discussion: Ideation Process
In small groups, discuss the following questions based on the text:
- Have you ever been in a situation where you struggled to come up with ideas?
- What do you think about the suggestion of focusing on quantity over quality?
- How do you think the media you consume affects your ability to generate ideas?
Personal Reflection: How Do You Feed Your Brain?
Take a few minutes to reflect on your media habits, as mentioned in the final paragraph of the text. Afterward, share with a partner:
- What kind of content do you consume regularly?
- Do you feel it helps or hinders your creativity?
- What changes could you make to improve your ideation?
Listening
You are going to listen to two people suggesting ideas for a trip to Eastern Europe.
Before you listen, predict what you they will talk about when planning their trip.
- Restaurants
- Flights
- Architecture
- Shops
- Hostels
- Language
- Atmosphere
- Taxis
- Hotels
- Car hire
- Accommodation
- Money exchange
Now listen to the dialogue
Comprehension Activity
Speaking
Suggestions Look at the images below and make suggestions to your partner for places to travel to, your partner has to accept or reject your suggestion and also give a reason. Make sure you use the expressions from the previous exercise.
Role Play
Each of the situations below asks for you to suggest an idea.
With your partner take turns to choose one from the list. Practise asking for, making, accepting and rejecting suggestions with the expressions from the lesson. Create extra details and give reasons for why you are rejecting any suggestions.
- You and your friend are deciding where to eat. One suggests going to an Italian restaurant, while the other prefers sushi.
- You are deciding what movie to watch with a group of friends. Some want to watch a comedy, while others suggest a thriller.
- You and a friend are discussing how to spend the weekend. One suggests going to the beach, while the other prefers hiking in the mountains.
- Your team is organizing a team-building event. Some suggest bowling, others propose an escape room. Decide which activity to choose.
- You and your partner are planning a holiday. One suggests visiting a tropical island, while the other wants to explore a European city.
- Your office is planning to buy a gift for a colleague. Some suggest getting a gift card, while others think a personalized item would be better.
- You are helping a friend plan their birthday party. One suggestion is to host it at home, while another option is to rent a venue.
- You and a friend want to join a fitness class. One suggests yoga, while the other prefers a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) class.
- You and your classmates are planning a group study session. Some suggest meeting in the library, while others propose studying at a coffee shop.
- You are helping a friend choose a new phone. One suggests getting the latest model, while the other prefers a more affordable older version.
Vocabulary for conversation
Look at the examples of natural language from the article, with your partner and from the context, and try to guess the meaning of each one. To help you remember the expressions, have a chat with your partner and use them to talk about your life.
- …when your mind goes blank in these situations…
- …allows yourself to be better prepared later down the line when someone asks for an idea…
- Try and let your mind run wild and you may surprise yourself…
Let’s chat.
- When was the last time your mind went blank? What happened?
- Is there any part of the world you would like to visit later down the line?
- Is it a good thing to let your mind run wild sometimes?