Life skills teacher’s notes
Expressing yourself
SELF STUDY
The Life skills worksheets are designed for self study,
but can equally be used in class. Below are procedural
notes for using the worksheets in class. If students are
working alone, note that 1, 3b, 4a, 4b and the REFLECT
ON IT box all have open answers. If possible, give self-
study students the opportunity to show you their work
or to exchange their work with other students.
  Before watching
WARMER
Write the following words on the board: assertive,
aggressive, defensive. Ask students for a definition
of each word. Then ask them what can happen in
a dispute or disagreement if you are assertive or
aggressive. Which attitude is more likely to make
the other person defensive? In what way might
the outcome change if you’re assertive rather than
aggressive? (You’re more likely to find a solution.)
1 When students have done the exercise and checked
their answers, ask them if they agree with the results.
Answers
1 Yes = assertive; No = aggressive
2 Yes = assertive; (No is neither assertive nor aggressive.)
3 Yes = assertive; No = aggressive
4 Yes = assertive; No = aggressive
5 Yes = assertive; No = aggressive
6 Yes = aggressive; No = assertive
7 Yes = assertive; No = aggressive
8 Yes = aggressive; No = assertive
  While watching
2a 01  VIDEO SKILLS  Ask students to read through the video
skills box before doing this exercise. Ask students to
focus on the main points here, and not details.
Answers
Hector and Robert
Problems: Robert wants to exchange a pair of shoes, but
he doesn’t have the receipt. Also, the shop doesn’t have
his size in stock.
Solution: Hector finds the right size in another branch of
the shop.
Anna and Aisha
Problem: Aisha hasn’t done the Powerpoint for a
presentation that she said she would do.
Solution: Aisha will do the Powerpoint at the weekend.
VIDEO SKILLS: Recognising conflict
Both situations in the video involve a level of conflict
between the speakers. The focus is designed to help
students recognise the linguistic clues that tell us when
someone’s being aggressive.
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B2+ Unit
2b 01 This exercise focuses on the specific details.
Answers
1 … they are faulty. (= not made correctly)
2 … he says Hector served him.
3 … he’s going to a wedding tomorrow.
4 … emphasises how expensive the shoes were (and
reminds him they’re faulty).
5 … she has done her part of the work.
6 … she’s been very busy.
7 … she says she’s been busy, too./Aisha promised
she’d do it.
8 … they have to do the presentation in class in two weeks.
3a 01 This exercise develops the life skill by getting
students to evaluate the speakers’ behaviour in the
two role-plays and assess how well they communicated
their feelings. Note that the answers given below
involve interpretation, so accept other answers as
correct if students can justify them with reference to
the speakers’ words or behaviour.
Answers
1 Robert starts off being assertive, but becomes more
aggressive. He starts to tell Hector what he wants
rather than making requests, and he refuses to accept
his explanations. In the end, he accepts the solution.
Anna becomes aggressive quite quickly. Rather than
explaining how she feels calmly and asking Aisha
to explain why she didn’t do the work, she is critical
of Aisha, and doesn’t want to listen to her excuses.
This makes Aisha defensive. However, she suggests a
solution at the end which Anna accepts.
2 Hector doesn’t get defensive. He remains calm and
tries to find a solution. Aisha gets a little defensive,
but that’s because she feels attacked by Anna, who
won’t listen to her excuses.
3b Here, students are encouraged to think about whether
it is OK to be aggressive if you get what you want.
Encourage students to see that they should consider
the other person’s feelings even if they feel angry.
  After watching
4a This exercise really homes in on the life skill by getting
students to reflect on a real situation in their recent
lives that reflects the ones in the role-plays. Encourage
students to talk about their disagreement in pairs.
4b SKILLS 4 LIFE  This research project is designed to
encourage students to find out how to be more
assertive. It connects communicating what you feel
clearly with listening well, staying calm and not making
other people feel defensive.
REFLECT ON IT
The idea here is to encourage students to reflect
on why so many people find it hard to be assertive.
In class, ask the more assertive students to talk
about what they think their secret is.
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