Teacher s notes and key Level: lower-intermediate and above. Aims: to discover the meaning of various health problems to learn different ways of describing them. Timing: between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on the number and level of the students. Task 3 can be done for homework. Preparation Print out a copy of the worksheet and word list for each student. Print out a copy of the cards for each group of three to four students and cut them up. Task 2 Split the students into groups of three or four, named, say, A, B, C and D and give each group a different selection of cards. The students then regroup, so that each new group contains someone from A, someone from B, someone from C and someone from D. They should share their answers, giving definitions where necessary. Note that some of the expressions are countable, some are uncountable, and some may vary depending on the context: e.g. migraine is countable in I ve got a migraine, but uncountable in We ve got a family history of migraine. Task 4 To increase the authenticity of the situation you could bring in props such as magazines for the waiting room, boxes from various medicines, a bandage, etc. www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 1 of 7
Answers: allergic to e (a) cold d/f eczema d (a) migraine c/h angina d/h constipation c feverish e/f mumps d appendicitis d constipated e flu d nauseous/ sick f arthritis d a cough c food poisoning d piles d asthma d cramp c a headache c pregnant e backache c (a) cut c/g had a heart attack g a rash c been bitten g cystitis d incontinent e rheumatism d been sick / vomited g diabetes d indigestion c/d a sore throat c bleeding a/c diabetic e (an) infected a/c (a) sprained a/c /g a blister c diarrhoea c an infection d stomach ache c (a) broken a/g dizzy f an insect bite c had a stroke g burned g earache c insomnia c sunburn c cancer d/h epileptic e a lump c (a) swollen a/c chicken pox d epilepsy d/h measles d toothache c www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 2 of 7
Cards: allergic to (a) cold epilepsy (a) migraine angina constipation feverish mumps appendicitis constipated flu nauseous/sick arthritis a cough food poisoning piles asthma cramp a headache pregnant backache (a) cut had a heart attack a rash been bitten cystitis incontinent rheumatism been sick / vomited diabetes indigestion a sore throat bleeding diabetic (an) infected (a) sprained a blister diarrhoea an infection stomach ache (a) broken dizzy an insect bite had a stroke burned earache insomnia sunburn cancer eczema a lump (a) swollen chicken pox epileptic measles toothache www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 3 of 7
List of health words/expressions: Problem a-i Translation Problem a-i Translation allergic to angina appendicitis arthritis asthma backache been bitten been sick / vomited bleeding a blister (a) broken burned cancer chicken pox (a) cold constipation constipated a cough cramp (a) cut cystitis epilepsy feverish flu food poisoning a headache had a heart attack incontinent indigestion (an) infected an infection (an) insect bite insomnia a lump measles (a) migraine mumps nauseous/sick piles pregnant a rash rheumatism www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 4 of 7
Problem a-i Translation Problem a-i Translation diabetes diabetic diarrhoea dizzy earache eczema epileptic a sore throat (a) sprained stomach ache had a stroke sunburn (a) swollen toothache www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 5 of 7
Worksheet Task 1 Lead-in Work in a group of three or four. How many health problems can you name in English? Make a list. Read them out to the class. You win a point for each health problem that no one else thought of. Task 2 Describing health problems The signs of an illness, for example, difficulty breathing, are called symptoms. You will need to explain your symptoms to the doctor. We can use the following expressions to explain the problem: a) My (+ part of the body) hurts. My (+ part of the body) is (+ adjective / verb in the -ing form). e.g. My head hurts. e.g. My leg is broken. e.g. My finger is bleeding. b) I ve got a pain here. (Point to the place.) I ve got a pain in my (+ part of body). e.g. I ve got a pain in my head. c) I ve got (a) (+ symptoms). e.g. I ve got a headache. e.g. I ve got diarrhoea. e.g. I ve got a swollen leg. d) I think I ve got (+name of the problem). e.g. I think I ve got flu. e.g. I think I ve got a broken leg. e) I m (+ adjective for the illness). e.g. I m anaemic. f) I feel (+ adjective). e.g. I feel ill. g) I ve (+ verb in the past participle). e.g. I ve broken my leg. e.g. I ve put on weight recently. www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 6 of 7
You may also need to describe the serious illnesses that other members of your family have had. These are your family history. You can describe your family history like this: h) We ve got a family history of (+ name of the illness). e.g. We ve got a family history of heart disease. i) We ve got a history of (+ name of the illness) in the family. e.g. We ve got a history of heart disease in the family. Your teacher will give you some cards with health problems on. Check their meanings in a dictionary and decide how you can use the words/expressions. Sort them into columns, a-i. There may be several possible answers. Task 3 Follow-up Your teacher will now give you a list of all the health problems. Write the correct letter(s) a-i next to each word/expression. You can also use a dictionary and write the translation. Task 4 Role-play Work in pairs and write a role-play between a doctor and a patient. Practise it then perform it in front of the class. www.teachitworld.com 2010 15018 Page 7 of 7