Splinter, Sprinter, Spinster, Speedster - Words that sound alike! B2+

Splinter Sprinter Spinster Speedster...

What do they mean? Have you tried saying these words quickly? Difficult, right?

Splinter; (noun) that tiny little piece of wood that gets stuck in your hand, finger, foot or toe... 

Jack: "Ouch! I have a splinter in my finger and I can't get it out!"  

Jill: "How did you manage that?"

Jack: "I was lifting up that wooden table, when I felt something sharp go into my middle finger,"

Sprinter; (noun) someone who runs really fast.  Sprinting; (verb) Running really fast.

Jack: "I wanna be a 100 m sprinter when I grow up".

Jill: "You know you have to train really hard to be a sprinter!"

Jack: "Yeah, I know... It'll be a piece of cake."

Spinster; (noun) an unmarried woman, who lives on her own nor has a partner.

Jack: "If you don't go out with me, you're gonna end up an old Spinster!"

Jill: "So be it... I'd rather be a spinster than put up with you!"

Jack: "How rude!"

Speedster; (noun) a person or a thing that operates well at high speed, for example a fast car!

Jill: "Please don't speed in the car Jack! It's dangerous!"

Jack: "No need to worry Jill! I'm a speedster!"

iFriendly tour - Please save the Koala! B1, B2, C1 level.

Please save the Koala...

This is not a plea for funding...

I fell in love with Koalas on our trip... We saw them in the wild and we got to cuddle a tame one too... Her name was Wilma and (as far as I was concerned) we bonded immediately!

Here are some facts you should know about the Koala:

They are not bears, so the term Koala bear is incorrect... they are really marsupials, they've been around for 42 million years. Yet today they're in danger.

1. Not a bear but a marsupial with a backwards pouch.

2. A blind jelly bean at birth, the baby Koala climbs unaided into its mother's pouch. Six months later it pops its head out.

3. They're main threat is us... Our farms, cars, pets... and their diseases...

Koala in the wild

A little cuddle from Wilma

Paul and Wilma

Homework

B1: Find out two more facts about the Koala. 70 - 100 words

B2: Reasearch and write an essay about the Koala.. Find out why they cannot be found anywhere else in the world; What they eat; Where they sleep; What could we do to save them from extinction?  150 - 200 words.

C1: Research and write a report about another endangered animal. 

Vocabulary builder:

a plea; (noun) a request made in an urgent and emotional manner.

a tame koala; (adj) not wild.

pouch; (noun) a small bag in which Koalas carry their babies... For further reading, click on the link below.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/koala