Speaking Skills: Workarounds
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 long."
- » "It's yellow."
- » "You can peel it."
- » "It's a fruit."
- » "It give you energy."
- » "Monkeys eat it."
It's a banana!
Helpful English:
- I don't know how you say it, but ...
- I can't remember what you call it, but ...
- It's the opposite of ...
- It looks like ...
- It's similar to ...
- It's another word for ...
- You do this ...
- You use it ...
- It's used for ...
- For example, ...
- It's made of ...
- It's part of ...
- It's a kind of ...
- It's a type of ...
- It's a place where ...
- It's a person who ...
Write workarounds for these words:
- big : ________________________________
- apple : ______________________________
- swim : _______________________________
Practice using workarounds with these words:
- stop
- sing
- sleep
- green
Remember:
- Don't stop speaking!
- Keep guessing!
- Gestures are okay!
Here are 20 sets of 5 words each to practice with:
- park, hospital, smile, angry, ride
- paper, shirt, umbrella, pink, excited
- subway, light, bedroom, grandfather, turn
- newspaper, television, study, jump, quiet
- dry, baby, sit, coffee, curry
- baseball, school, work, run, open
- eat, sing, large, water, pizza
- talk, tennis, write, washing machine, sister
- computer, table, exercise, remember, sad
- wear, bread, shoes, noisy, clock
- piano, beach, read, walk, car
- telephone, train, laugh, kick, little
- guitar, rain, watch, think, forget
- soccer, chair, game, push, happy
- answer, tall, thin, shampoo, window
- close, bicycle, drive, listen, clean
- money, hit, bag, expensive, house
- dog, house, apple, mother, dance
- question, homework, sunny, famous, oven
- 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:
- sky, cook, bed, juice, warm
- door, soft, cheese, quick, cat
- friend, yellow, ball, coat, river
- teacher, cold, star, flower, pencil
- fish, sleep, bird, garden, slow
- mountain, cup, smart, taxi, book
- doctor, horse, keyboard, purple, ice
- street, bright, movie, green, moon
- forest, orange, sun, milk, loud
- hill, picture, bus, cry, kitchen
- dress, white, night, play, summer
- fast, dream, nurse, tree, lamp
- wake up, fly, carrot, sand, pen
- stretch, rabbit, winter, sweet, leaf
- blue, cake, ticket, sea, bear
- building, boat, chopsticks, climb, fall
- wind, morning, cough, evening, price
- jacket, fruit, storm, pay, snow
- install, space, gold, tired, dolphin
- candy, cool, sweat, wood, breeze
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