ESL Guess the Valentine’s Day idiom is a simple warmer/cooler for teens and adults on the topic of Valentine’s Day. In this activity, students try and guess the Valentine’s Day idiom. After, students need to think what the idiom means by looking at an example sentence. This simple no-prep activity is a great way to get students speaking about Valentine’s Day while developing their knowledge of idioms. Encourage students to compare expressions from their own language. Are they similar or different? Age/Level: Teens and adults – upper-Intermediate and above (B2+) Time: 10 – 15 minutes Preparation: None! Just use the prepared online presentation below Aim: To guess the Valentine’s Day Idioms and their meaning.

Method

1. In pairs, students look at the different images and try and guess the idiom. 2. Above each image students will see how many words are contained in the idiom.  For each word they guess correctly, they receive one point. Make sure students understand that they do not need to guess the entire idiom.  3. After they see the idiom, show students the idiom in use and ask them to guess the meaning of the idiom.  Award points for correct guesses. Before moving on to the next idiom, get students to discuss whether the idiom is similar in their own language. 

Alternative Method

To make this activity easier, you can play the game as if it is hangman. Done this way, students will find it easier. Give students a number of lives and award points for correctly chosen letters.