Speaking Skills: Workarounds

ESL Materials: Speaking Skills

14 useful phrases for quickly describing things in English.

 Workarounds (.pdf)

YouTube: Speaking Skills - Workarounds

When you speak English you sometimes forget a word, or need a word you don't know, and the conversation stops. But please don't stop talking! When you don't know a word, try to explain the word.

It's a banana!

Helpful English:

  • I don't know how you say it, but ...
  • I can't remember what you call it, but ...
  1. It's the opposite of ...
  2. It looks like ...
  3. It's similar to ...
  4. It's another word for ...
  5. You do this ...
  6. You use it ...
  7. It's used for ...
  8. For example, ...
  9. It's made of ...
  10. It's part of ...
  11. It's a kind of ...
  12. It's a type of ...
  13. It's a place where ...
  14. It's a person who ...

Write workarounds for these words:

  1. big : ________________________________
  2. apple : ______________________________
  3. swim : _______________________________

Practice using workarounds with these words:

  1. stop
  2. sing
  3. sleep
  4. green

Remember:

  • Don't stop speaking!
  • Keep guessing!
  • Gestures are okay!

Here are 20 sets of 5 words each to practice with:

  1. park, hospital, smile, angry, ride
  2. paper, shirt, umbrella, pink, excited
  3. subway, light, bedroom, grandfather, turn
  4. newspaper, television, study, jump, quiet
  5. dry, baby, sit, coffee, curry
  6. baseball, school, work, run, open
  7. eat, sing, large, water, pizza
  8. talk, tennis, write, washing machine, sister
  9. computer, table, exercise, remember, sad
  10. wear, bread, shoes, noisy, clock
  11. piano, beach, read, walk, car
  12. telephone, train, laugh, kick, little
  13. guitar, rain, watch, think, forget
  14. soccer, chair, game, push, happy
  15. answer, tall, thin, shampoo, window
  16. close, bicycle, drive, listen, clean
  17. money, hit, bag, expensive, house
  18. dog, house, apple, mother, dance
  19. question, homework, sunny, famous, oven
  20. CD, elephant, drink, tomato, spaghetti

Here are some possible workarounds for each set above:

    • park: It looks like a big garden. You can play and relax.
    • hospital: It's a place where doctors work.
    • smile: You do this with your mouth when you're happy.
    • angry: It's a type of feeling. You feel this when something bad happens.
    • ride: You do this on a bike, a horse, or in a train.
    • paper: It's made of trees. You write or draw on it.
    • shirt: It's a kind of clothing. You wear it on your upper body.
    • umbrella: You use it for rain. It keeps you dry.
    • pink: It looks like light red. It's a colour you see in flowers.
    • excited: It's a type of feeling. You feel this when you're looking forward to something.
    • subway: It's similar to a train. It runs under the ground.
    • light: It makes things bright. You use it to see in the dark.
    • bedroom: It's a part of a house. You sleep there.
    • grandfather: It's another word for your parent's father. He's older than your dad.
    • turn: You do this to change direction. Like when walking or driving.
    • newspaper: It's made of paper. You read news in it.
    • television: It's a type of screen. You watch shows and movies on it.
    • study: You do this to learn. It's similar to reading and writing.
    • jump: You do this with your legs. It's a kind of movement to go up.
    • quiet: It's the opposite of noisy. There's little sound.
    • dry: It's the opposite of wet. Your clothes are like this after hanging in the sun.
    • baby: It's a very young child. It cries a lot.
    • sit: You do this on a chair. It's the opposite of stand.
    • coffee: It's a kind of drink. You drink it to wake up.
    • curry: It's a type of food. It can be spicy and is eaten with rice.
    • baseball: It's a kind of game. You hit a ball and run around bases.
    • school: It's a place where you learn. Children go there to study.
    • work: You do this to earn money. It's similar to a job.
    • run: It's faster than walking. You do this for exercise or to catch a bus.
    • open: It's the opposite of close. You do this to doors and windows.
    • eat: You do this with food. It's how you get energy.
    • sing: You do this with songs. It's making music with your voice.
    • large: It's the opposite of little. It's another word for big.
    • water: You drink it. It's clear and important for life.
    • pizza: It's a kind of food. It has cheese, tomato, and can have other toppings.
    • talk: You do this to communicate. It's using words. It's another word for speak.
    • tennis: It's a kind of game. You hit a ball with a racket over a net.
    • write: You do this with a pen or pencil. It's putting words on paper.
    • washing machine: It's used for cleaning clothes. You put clothes and soap in it.
    • sister: She's a person in your family. She's not your mother.
    • computer: It's a machine for the internet, games, and work. You use it by typing.
    • table: It's a piece of furniture. You put things on it, like food or books.
    • exercise: You do this to be healthy. It's activities like running or swimming.
    • remember: It's the opposite of forget. It's keeping something in your mind.
    • sad: It's a feeling. You feel this when you're unhappy or things don't go well.
    • wear: You do this with clothes. It's putting them on your body.
    • bread: It's a type of food. You eat it, often with butter or jam.
    • shoes: You wear them on your feet. They protect your feet and can look nice.
    • noisy: It's the opposite of quiet. It's when there's a lot of sound.
    • clock: It tells the time. You look at it to know what hour it is.
    • piano: It's a kind of musical instrument. You play it by pressing keys.
    • beach: It's a place by the sea. You go there to swim and sunbathe.
    • read: You do this with books. It's the opposite of write.
    • walk: It's moving by putting one foot in front of the other. It's slower than running.
    • car: It's a type of vehicle. You use it to go places faster than walking.
    • telephone: It's a device for talking to people far away. You use it to call people.
    • train: It's a type of transport. It runs on tracks and takes you places.
    • laugh: You do this when something is funny. It's a happy sound.
    • kick: You do this with your foot. It's hitting something like a ball.
    • little: It's the opposite of large. It's another word for small.
    • guitar: It's a musical instrument. You play it by strumming strings.
    • rain: It's water from the sky. It makes things wet.
    • watch: You do this with TV or when you look at something for a while.
    • think: You do this with your brain. It's when you consider or plan something.
    • forget: It's the opposite of remember. You do this with a bad memory.
    • soccer: It's a game with a ball. You play it by kicking the ball into a net.
    • chair: It's a piece of furniture. You sit on it.
    • game: It's something you play. It can be fun and has rules.
    • push: You do this to move something away. It's the opposite of pull.
    • happy: It's a feeling. You feel this when things are good.
    • answer: It's what you say or write back. It comes after a question.
    • tall: It's similar to height. It's the opposite of short.
    • thin: It's the opposite of thick. For example, paper.
    • shampoo: You use it to clean your hair. It makes bubbles.
    • window: It's part of a house. You look through it to see outside.
    • close: It's the opposite of open. You do this to books, doors, and eyes.
    • bicycle: It's a vehicle with two wheels. You pedal it to move.
    • drive: You do this with cars. It's controlling a vehicle to go places.
    • listen: You do this with your ears. It's when you hear sounds or people talking.
    • clean: It's the opposite of dirty. You do this to your room or clothes.
    • money: You use it to buy things. It can be coins or paper.
    • hit: You do this to something with force. It's like punching or smacking.
    • bag: You carry things in it. It can be made of cloth or plastic.
    • expensive: It's another word for pricey. It's the opposite of cheap.
    • house: It's a place where you live. It has rooms like a kitchen and bedroom.
    • dog: It's a pet. It can bark and is often friendly.
    • friend: It's a person you like. You hang out together.
    • apple: It's a fruit. It can be red or green and is sweet.
    • mother: She's married to your father. You might call her 'mum'.
    • dance: You do this to music. It's moving your body to the beat.
    • question: It's the opposite of answer. You ask this to get information.
    • homework: You do this after school. It's something given by teachers.
    • sunny: It's the opposite of rainy. The sky is clear.
    • famous: It's another word for well-known. For example, a movie star or singer.
    • oven: It's used for baking. You cook things like bread and pizza in it.
    • CD: It's a disc. You play music with it.
    • elephant: It's a large animal. It has a long trunk and big ears.
    • drink: You do this when you are thirsty. For example, water, juice or soda.
    • tomato: It's a red fruit. You use it in salads and pizzas.
    • spaghetti: It's a type of food. It's long, thin pasta you eat with sauce.

Here are 20 more sets of 5 words each to practice with:

  1. sky, cook, bed, juice, warm
  2. door, soft, cheese, quick, cat
  3. friend, yellow, ball, coat, river
  4. teacher, cold, star, flower, pencil
  5. fish, sleep, bird, garden, slow
  6. mountain, cup, smart, taxi, book
  7. doctor, horse, keyboard, purple, ice
  8. street, bright, movie, green, moon
  9. forest, orange, sun, milk, loud
  10. hill, picture, bus, cry, kitchen
  11. dress, white, night, play, summer
  12. fast, dream, nurse, tree, lamp
  13. wake up, fly, carrot, sand, pen
  14. stretch, rabbit, winter, sweet, leaf
  15. blue, cake, ticket, sea, bear
  16. building, boat, chopsticks, climb, fall
  17. wind, morning, cough, evening, price
  18. jacket, fruit, storm, pay, snow
  19. install, space, gold, tired, dolphin
  20. candy, cool, sweat, wood, breeze

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