English with Jo

This is the preparation material for an English conversation lesson about our five senses.  The sensory system is the way humans and animals find out about their nearby environment – we have ears to hear sounds, eyes to see, hands to touch, tongues to taste and noses to smell. The information which comes in is then rapidly processed by the brain. This whole arrangement is called the sensory system. Some animals have senses that we don’t have. For example, fish can sense movement and vibration in the water and other animals can sense electrical currents.

Audio

Download audio conversation about being blind

Download transcript of audio discussion 

• If a person loses one of their senses, like vision, do you think it’s possible for other senses to take over? What examples have you heard about this?
• Do you believe that people can have a sixth sense? What about animals?

* Audio courtesy of elllo.org. 

Vocabulary 

Conversation Questions

• Which do you think is our most important sense?
• Which do you think is our least important sense?
• Which is your favourite sense?
• Do you think we have senses we don’t know we have?
• If you could strengthen one of your senses, which one would it be?
• Which of your senses is the most sensitive?
• Which of your senses is the least sensitive?
• What gives you more pleasure, lovely music, a delicious taste, a beautiful scene, a nice smell, or the touch of the warm sun?
• What is your favorite sense? Give some examples why it is so good.
• If you had to lose one sense, which would it be?

Sight

• Do you have good vision?
• What is your favourite thing to see?
• Do you feel uncomfortable if someone stares at you?
• What are the social norms regarding making eye contact?
• Do you like to gaze at the stars?
• Would you say that you have good observation skills?

Taste

• What are your favourite flavours?
• What is the best thing to taste?
• Which flavour do you like the least – sweet, salty, bitter, sour or spicy?
• Do you like eating spicy foods?
• Are there any foods or flavours which you didn't use to like when you were young but which you now do like?

Smell

• Do you associate any smells with any time in the past? Which smells?
• What smells do you love? What is your favourite smell?
• Do you think smell affects the food we choose to eat?
• Do you like to wear a fragrance?
• Do you put nice scents in your home?
• Some dogs have a sense of smell that is 10,000 times stronger than a human’s. What do you think this would be like?

Touch

• What materials or textures are the most pleasant to touch?
• What things don't you like touching? (Many people don't like the sensation of raw fish, for example.)
• Are some people more sensitive to touch than others?
• It is said that human touch can heal. Do you believe this?
• Experts say that massaging a baby every day can reduce their crying by 30%. Why do you think this is?

Hearing

• Do any sounds put you on edge?
• What noises do you find irritating?
• What music do you enjoy listening to?
• What is the most enjoyable sound to hear?
• Do you prefer to have silence around you or do you like to hear noises?