2025-03-21

Upper Secondary B2 Exam

• Lesson Aims

  • Main Aim:
    • By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to use second, third and mixed conditionals accurately and appropriately in both speaking and writing, particularly in exam-style tasks.
  • Secondary Aims:
    • Develop awareness of common lexical chunks used in mixed conditionals
      • Recognize recurring patterns and phrases (e.g., If I had known… I wouldn’t be here now).
      • Use these chunks to improve fluency and avoid hesitation in speech and writing.
    • Apply conditionals effectively in exam contexts
      • Use them naturally in Speaking for speculation and discussion.
      • Integrate them into Writing Part 2 tasks (stories).
      • Improve accuracy in Use of English tasks, especially part 4.

• Language Analysis

  • Grammar
    • This lesson focuses on ‘unreal’ conditionals. The primary focus is on mixed conditionals, which combine elements of second and third conditionals to express hypothetical relationships between past and present.
      • Second conditional (If + past simple → would + bare infinitive) → Used for present or future hypothetical situations.
        • Example: If I weren’t so used to my routine, I would have noticed this earlier.
      • Third conditional (If + past perfect → would have + past participle) → Used for hypothetical past situations that did not happen.
        • Example: If I had woken up earlier, I wouldn’t have missed my flight.
      • Mixed conditional (past → present) (If + past perfect → would + bare infinitive) → Used for a past action affecting the present.
        • Example: If I had studied harder, I would be at university now.
      • Mixed conditional (present → past) (If + past simple → would have + past participle) → Used for a present reality affecting a past outcome.
        • Example: If I were taller, I would have made the basketball team.
  • Phonology
    • Connected speech: Students may need support with contracted forms (If I’d known…, If he’d told me…).
    • Rhythm and stress: The stress pattern in conditional sentences often falls on the result clause, influencing intonation and emphasis in spoken production.
    • Rising intonation in speculation: When using conditionals in questions and uncertainty, learners may use a rising tone: Would you have done it if you had known?

• Materials

  • Coursebook: “Ready for B2 First”
    • Pages 165, 201-202, and 228 are used as the core materials for structured practice of conditionals.
      • The tasks provide controlled grammar exercises to reinforce second, third, and mixed conditionals in a familiar format.
      • The coursebook is adapted slightly by supplementing sentence extraction from the story and adding extra controlled practice where necessary.
    • Teacher-Created Story: “The Switch”
      • This story provides a meaningful context for mixed conditionals, making the target language more engaging and personal.
      • Instead of introducing conditionals through isolated examples, students hear them naturally in a narrative, allowing for lexical noticing before analysis.
      • The story is later used as a source for sentence stems, reinforcing the structures in a more organic way.
    • Speaking Prompts & Sentence Stems (Teacher-Created & Supplemented)
      • Improvisation prompts from https://englishprompts.com/improv/ are used as warmers to encourage natural speaking and quick thinking.
      • Custom discussion prompts elicit mixed conditional structures in freer production, ensuring students use the target grammar in realistic contexts.
      • Sentence stems provide scaffolding for students who need more structured support, helping with both accuracy and fluency.
      • Homework: Online Listening & Conditional Identification
      • Students will watch an online video of their choice (e.g., TED Talks, interviews) and note down conditionals they hear.
      • This promotes independent learning, real-world listening skills, and reinforces conditionals in authentic use beyond the classroom.
    • Rationale for Adaptation & Supplementation
      • The coursebook provides structured accuracy-based practice, but additional materials make the lesson more engaging, personalized, and communicative.
      • The storytelling element makes conditionals feel real, improving retention.
      • Speaking prompts and sentence stems ensure that all learners, regardless of level, can access the target language while being pushed to use it freely.
      • The homework task extends learning beyond the classroom, reinforcing conditionals in natural spoken discourse.

• Plan

  • Warmer-Improv Speaking
    • Get students engaged and speaking as they arrive
      • Students participate in a couple brief improvised speaking activites to activate their English skills before the lesson starts. The “What Would You Do?” activity will serve as a gentle introduction to conditionals.
        • Test Phase
    • Assess students’ ability to use mixed conditionals in speaking, encourage self-awareness of missing structures
      • Students discuss real-life hypothetical situations that naturally prompt mixed conditionals. Give them a list of speaking prompts (e.g., If you had moved to another country last year, how would your life be different now?). (see handout)
      • Pair Discussion—Pairs discuss their chosen prompt while the teacher listens and takes notes.
      • Error Collection & Mini Feedback—Teacher writes common errors on the board and guides students to self-correct.
      • Storytelling & Discussion–Teacher tells a story, making it sound like a personal experience. Teacher engages students in the ideas from the story before moving on.
      • Quick Comprehension Check–Before moving on, ask students: “What happened in the story? What past events affected the present? How do we know?”  As with all parts of the lesson, any incidental language that comes up as unknown or as an upgrade will be boarded.
        • Teach Phase—Noticing Mixed Conditionals in Context
    • Guide students to recognize second, third, and mixed conditionals through lexical chunking alongside isolated grammar rules (coursebook task)
    • (A purely lexical approach wouldn’t work for this lesson because mixed conditionals are highly flexible structures, not fixed chunks, and learners need to understand how tense combinations create meaning, not just memorize set phrases.)
      • Coursebook Task (Page 165) Language Focus Conditionals)—Students underline verb forms and categorize sentences into zero, first, second, third, and mixed conditionals.
        • Discussion: – Which sentences talk about the past (third)? – Which talk about the present (second)? – Which mix the two (mixed)? Which are real (zero, 1st)? Which are unral (2nd, 3rd)? Then we’ll move on to how mixed conditionals are formed and elicit some examples.
        • 1st mixed:
          • -If I had studied harder, I would have a better job now.
          • -If she had taken the earlier train, she would be here by now.
        • 2nd mixed:
          • -If I were more confident, I would have spoken up in the meeting.
          • -If he weren’t so disorganised, he wouldn’t have missed the deadline.
        • Lexical Focus: Students highlight recurring conditional phrases (e.g., If I had known, I wouldn’t be here now.).
        • Students receive a copy of the teacher’s story and extract examples of each conditional type, writing them on the coursebook page under each type of conditional.
          • Teach Phase— Controlled Rewrite & Error Correction
    • Ensure students accurately form mixed conditionals using real-life contexts
      • Coursebook Task (Page 165, Exercise 3—Rewrite Conditionals)
        • Students rewrite sentences into second, third, or mixed conditionals.
          • Before writing, students identify cause & effect (past vs. present) and match them (e.g., I didn’t study hard — I’m struggling now).
        • Peer Check: Students compare their rewritten sentences with a partner before whole-class feedback.
          • Teach Phase — Speaking-Based Controlled Practice
    • Get students producing mixed conditionals in a structured, meaningful way before freer practice
      • Coursebook Task (Pages 201 and 202 – Additional Speaking Materials) – Student A and B complete each other’s sentences orally before writing them.
      • Encouraging Variation: After the first attempt, challenge them to rephrase their answer using a mixed conditional alternative (e.g., If I had moved to Britain, I’d be complaining about the weather now).
        • Teach Phase – Grammar Reinforcement
    • (Optional Support, Page 228 – Ready for Grammar)
      • Provide students with additional mixed conditional rules if needed.
        • Students refer to Page 228 (Ready for Grammar) for further explanation of mixed conditionals.
        • Teacher prompts discussion:
          • Which mixed conditional structure do you use the most?
          • Can you think of an example from today’s lesson where this rule applies?
      • Mini Challenge: Students write one real-life sentence using a mixed conditional that applies to them using stems taken from the story or coursebook.
        • Test Phase – Freer Speaking Task
    • Develop fluency in using mixed conditionals to discuss hypothetical situations.
      • “What If…?” – Pairs or small groups discuss an alternative reality scenario (e.g., What if plastic had never been invented?).
      • What if you had grown up in a different country?
      • What if mobile phones had never been invented?
      • What if school only started at midday?
      • What if your parents had chosen a different name for you?
      • What if humans could live to 150 years old?
      • What if social media had been around in the 1800s?
      • What if you weren’t allowed to use the internet for a week?
      • What if the pandemic had lasted five more years?
      • What if nobody ever needed to sleep?
      • What if your best friend had gone to a different school?
      • What if money didn’t exist?
      • What if you had been born 50 years earlier?
      • What if people could teleport?
      • What if everyone had to change careers every 10 years?
      • What if homework had been banned last year?
    • Students must incorporate mixed conditionals naturally in their responses.
    • Follow-up question challenge: Students take turns asking follow-up questions using mixed conditionals (e.g., If that had happened, how would the world be different today?).
      • Test Phase – Writing Task
    • Reinforce mixed conditionals in writing, preparing for the exam.
      • Based on their discussion, students write a short narrative incorporating at least two conditional structures, one of which is mixed.
      • Peer Swap and Review: Partners exchange stories and check for mixed conditional use.
      • If time allows, selected students read aloud their best sentences with mixed conditionals.
        • Final Error Correction and Wrap-Up
    • Reinforce key learning, address final errors, and encourage self-correction.
      • Teacher boards common mixed conditional mistakes from the lesson.
      • Students self-correct in pairs and discuss why the corrections are necessary.
      • Quick Review: Students recall one mixed conditional phrase they found useful today.
        • Continuation
    • Transition to the second half of the lesson.
      • The remainder of the lesson (after a short break and a brain break involving excercise) will be spent on a speaking board game, finishing up the writing task if not done before the break and Reading and Use of English tasks involving the conditionals.

• Homework

  • Students choose an online video (a TED Talk, interview, short documentary, TV show) and note down at least two conditionals they hear. They must also prepare a short retelling of what they watched, incorporating at least one mixed conditional.

• Language Spotlight

  • Mixed Conditionals in speaking, writing and Use of English
  • New Vocabulary
    • grandkids
    • vice versa
  • Incidental Language
    • put your foot in it
  • Error Correction
    • I think my English better if studied earlier.
      • … my English would be better if I’d started studying earlier.
    • They would learn things by dictionary.
      • … from a dictionary
    • It had drown.
      • My phone sank to the bottom of a lake.
    • People would ride bike.
      • … bikes