Topical lesson: 15 May 2010
Gamblers enjoy losing too
Task 1 Lead-in
1. Work in pairs. You will each have a dice and you will play for 30 seconds. If you
throw a double six three times, you will win a prize.
2. How many times did you throw a double six? How did you feel at the end of the
activity?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/mararie/2478644158
© conorwithonen 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmogle/3526750763
Task 2 Reading
Choose the best word/phrase to complete each sentence.
1.
a) Everyone
b) Only regular gamblers
enjoy(s) winning.
a) Everyone
b) Only regular gamblers
enjoy(s) nearly winning.
2.
3.
Enjoying nearly winning is not
logical for
a) games of skill
b) games of chance
because you cannot improve
with practice.
Task 3 Speaking
1. Give three examples of a game of skill.
2. Which do you prefer, games of skill or games of chance? Why?
3. How do you feel if you lose? Are you a ‘bad loser’?
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Topical lesson: 15 May 2010
Gamblers enjoy losing too
Task 4 Language: probability
It has no bearing on the likelihood of winning in the future.
‘Likely’ means the same as ‘probable’, but the grammar of the two words is slightly
different.
1. Look at the sentences below. What class / part of speech is each word in bold?
a) Rain is likely tomorrow.
b) It’s likely to rain tomorrow.
c) It is likely that it will rain tomorrow.
It is probable that it will rain tomorrow.
d) It will likely rain tomorrow. (informal)
It will probably rain tomorrow.
e) The likelihood of rain tomorrow is
high. (formal)
The probability of rain tomorrow is high.
(formal)
f) The likelihood that it will rain
tomorrow is high. (formal)
The probability that it will rain tomorrow
is high. (formal)
g) There is a high likelihood of rain
tomorrow. (formal)
There is a high probability of rain
tomorrow. (formal)
h) There is a high likelihood that it will
rain tomorrow. (formal)
There is a high probability that it will rain
tomorrow. (formal)
i) Rain is unlikely tomorrow.
Rain is improbable tomorrow (formal).
j) It’s unlikely to rain tomorrow.
k)
It probably won’t rain tomorrow.
l) The likelihood of rain tomorrow is low. The probability of rain tomorrow is low.
(formal)
(formal)
2. Now circle the correct word to complete the rules:
a) Likely is usually a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It is followed by to / that and a(n) verb phrase / infinitive
or
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to / that and a(n) verb phrase / infinitive.
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Topical lesson: 15 May 2010
Gamblers enjoy losing too
b) Unlikely is always a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It is followed by to / that and a(n) verb phrase / infinitive
or
to / that and a(n) verb phrase / infinitive.
c) Probable is always a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It is followed by of / to / that and a(n) noun phrase / verb phrase / infinitive.
d) Improbable is always a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It is formal / informal.
It is followed by of / to / that and a(n) noun phrase / verb phrase / infinitive.
e) Likelihood is always a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It is formal / informal.
It is followed by of / to and a noun phrase / verb phrase
or
to / that and a(n) verb phrase / infinitive.
f) Probably is always a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It comes before / after will, but before / after won’t.
g) Probability is always a(n) noun / verb / adjective / adverb.
It is followed by of / to and a noun phrase / verb phrase
or
to / that and a(n) verb phrase / infinitive.
3. Complete the sentences using the best word from the list in 2 above.
a) You _______________ won’t need your passport.
b) Which party is _______________ to win the next election?
c) The situation will _______________ remain unchanged for some time.
d) The _______________ of the economic situation improving in the near future is
low.
e) Finding humanoid life on Mars is highly _______________
f) It is _______________ that polar ice will continue to melt.
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Topical lesson: 15 May 2010
Gamblers enjoy losing too
Task 5 Language: comparing figures
When they nearly won, problem gamblers showed notably more brain
activity than the other participants.
1. Put these expressions on the scale below: notably more, marginally more, slightly
more, vastly more.
big difference
small difference
2. Complete these sentences from the article:
‘Habitual gamblers enjoy losing almost as _____________ as winning.’
‘They all enjoyed winning to a similar _____________.’
3. Now use them to compare the figures below.
a) Class survey on cat and dog ownership:
cats: 24% of the class
dogs: 29% of the class.
b) Class survey on sport:
People
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
watch football
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watch tennis
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play football
play tennis
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Topical lesson: 15 May 2010
Gamblers enjoy losing too
Task 6 Language: connectors
1. The sentences below come from the article, but the connectors, in bold, are
different. What connectors were used in the original article?
‘Habitual gamblers enjoy losing … provided that they seem nearly to have
won.’
‘A near-miss ought not to activate the brain’s reward centres because it has
no bearing on the likelihood of winning in the future. … However, for those
with a gambling habit, that’s just what it does.’
2. Now answer these questions:
a) Which connects an effect with its cause?
b) Which creates a contrast?
c) Which gives a condition?
3. Complete these sentences with the connectors from 2 above:
a) He was a good politician. _________________ he was unpopular.
b) You can borrow my car ________________ you pay for the petrol.
c) Harry was pleased to go to the tennis tournament _________________ tennis was
his favourite sport.
Task 7 Speaking
… for those with a gambling habit …
We can also talk about ‘a drinking habit’ and ‘a drugs habit’ to say that someone is
addicted to these things.
Which of the things below are addictive?



alcohol
cigarettes
cannabis



chocolate
computer games
tea



TV
coffee
sport
Should any of them be illegal? Should they be illegal for everyone or just for people
under a certain age?
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Gamblers enjoy losing too
Teacher’s notes and key
Level: pre-intermediate to upper-intermediate
Aims:



to practise reading for gist
to work on the language of probability / comparing figures / connectors
to prepare students for IELTS writing task 1.
Timing:
Task 1: 5 minutes
Task 2: 10 minutes
Task 3: 15 minutes
Task 4: 20 minutes
Task 5: 20 minutes (or up to an hour if you do the class survey)
Task 6: 10-15 minutes
Task 7: 20 minutes.
NB You will probably want to do only one of the three language tasks (4-6).
Total timing: approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, excluding the class survey.
Preparation:
For the lead-in you will need a small prize.
Task 1 Lead-in
Note that the dice activity may not be suitable for learners from certain countries, those
from Saudi Arabia, for instance. In this case, you could ask them what the pictures are
of and whether people play those games in their country.
Task 2 Reading
Answers:
1. Everyone enjoys winning.
2. Only regular gamblers enjoy nearly winning.
3. Enjoying nearly winning is not logical for games of chance because you cannot
improve with practice.
Task 4 Language: probability
Answers:
a) Likely is usually an adjective.
It is followed by to and an infinitive
or
that and a verb phrase.
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b) Unlikely is always an adjective.
It is followed by to and an infinitive
or
that and a verb phrase.
c) Probable is always an adjective.
It is followed by that and a verb phrase.
d) Improbable is always an adjective.
It is formal.
It is followed by that and a verb phrase.
e) Likelihood is always a noun.
It is formal.
It is followed by of and a noun phrase
or that and a verb phrase.
f) Probably is always an adverb.
It comes after will, but before won’t.
g) Probability is always a noun.
It is followed by of and a noun phrase
or that and a verb phrase.
3. Answers:
a) You probably won’t need your passport.
b) Which party is likely to win the next election?
c) The situation will probably remain unchanged for some time.
d) The likelihood/probability of the economic situation improving in the near future
is low.
e) The chance of finding humanoid life on Mars is highly unlikely/improbable.
f) It is likely/probable that polar ice will continue to melt.
Task 5 Language: comparing figures
NB You may want to have students conduct their own class survey rather than using the
invented statistics given in the worksheet.
1. Answers:
big difference
vastly
more
small difference
notably
more
slightly
more
marginally
more
3. Suggested answers:
a) Marginally more people own cats than dogs.
Students in the class like cats almost as much as dogs.
Students in the class like cats and dogs to a similar degree.
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Gamblers enjoy losing too
b) Vastly more people watch football than play tennis.
Notably more people watch tennis than play football.
Marginally more people watch football than tennis.
Marginally more people play football than tennis.
Students in the class watch tennis almost as much as football.
Students in the class play tennis almost as much as football.
Students in the class like watching tennis and football to a similar degree.
Students in the class like playing tennis and football to a similar degree.
Task 6 Language: connectors
2. Answers:
a) since / because
b) yet / however
c) as long as / provided that
You may want to point out that in academic English it is not considered correct to
start a sentence with yet – to start a sentence it is better to use however followed by
a comma.
3. Answers:
a) He was a good politician. However, he was unpopular.
He was a good politician, yet he was unpopular.
b) You can borrow my car as long as / provided that you pay for the petrol.
c) Harry was pleased to go to the tennis tournament since / because tennis was his
favourite sport.
Task 7 Speaking
You may want to check that students know the meaning and pronunciation of the
following expressions:

… is (highly) addictive. (adjective to describe the substance/activity)

He/she is addicted to … (adjective to describe the person)

He/she is a(n) … addict. (noun).
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