The Senses

Think of a taste. Any taste. What taste comes into your mind?

Think of a sound. Any sound. What sound is it?

Think of a sight. Any sight. What is it?

Think of a smell. Any smell. What is it?

Think of a texture or surface you are touching. What is it?

Now discuss with others.

 

 

I’m going to read out a list of things. For each thing decide which sense it most strongly connects to for you. Write the thing after each sense:

Sight:

Sound:

Touch:

Taste:

Smell:

Discuss your responses together. Are you similar or different? Explain your responses and try to understand the differences.

1. flowers

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Think of a taste. Any taste. What taste comes into your mind?

Think of a sound. Any sound. What sound is it?

Think of a sight. Any sight. What is it?

Think of a smell. Any smell. What is it?

Think of a texture or surface you are touching. What is it?

Now discuss with others.

 

1.      1. Associations

I’m going to read out a list of things. For each thing decide which sense it most strongly connects to for you. Write the thing after each sense:

Sight:

Sound:

Touch:

Taste:

Smell:

 

Discuss your responses together.

1. Did you choose the same sense as your partner? Why/why not?

2. Why did you choose that sense?

3. Did it make you remember something specific? What was it?

1. Earthquake

1. Have you ever been in an earthquake? Was it scary? What exactly happened?

2. Does your city or country often have earthquakes? Do you have to practice for emergencies like this a lot?

2. Coins

1. What do coins taste like?

3. Garden

2. Do you have a garden back at home?
3. Does it have walls, a fountain, a pond, birds, tall trees, grapes, flowers, a barbeque, statues, bricks, a vine, bushes, grass, insects, a compost bin, or outdoor chairs?

4. Cheese

4. Is cheese popular in your country?
5. What do you eat cheese with?

5. Snakes

6. Have you ever seen a real snake in the wild (not at the zoo)?
7. Have you ever touched a living snake? What did it feel like?

6. Fire

8. Do you know how to light a campfire?
9. What can you cook in or on a fire?
10. Have you ever been in a fire?

7. Rain

11. How often does it rain in your country?
12. Do you love or hate rain?
13. Have you ever walked home in the rain with no raincoat or umbrella?

8. Keys

14. How often do you lose your keys?
15. How many hours of your life have you wasted looking for keys?

9. Cigarette

16. Do you smoke?
17. Do or did your parents smoke?

10. Xmas Tree

18. Does your family ever have a real Xmas tree for Xmas?
19. Do you give gifts at Xmas ?
20. What did you get last Xmas?

11. Storm

21. Do you enjoy storms?

12. Sand

22. What does sand taste like?
23. Can sand be annoying?
24. What can sand be used for?

13. Bread

25. What is your favourite kind of bread?
26. Could you live without bread?

14. Shower

27. How long are your showers?
28. Is there a nice shower where you're currently living?

15. Dogs

29. What animal is most similar to a dog?
30. What’s a good name for a dog?
31. What kind of dog is your personality like?

16. Coffee

32. How do you like to have your coffee?

Is coffee bad or good for you?

What is the most beautiful flower?

1. Which ones would be good to give your girlfriend?

2. Which ones would be good to give you mother?

3. Do they look more beautiful in a vase or in a garden?

4. Which ones are orchids, which ones are irises, and which ones are peonies?

Do you have a good sense of smell?

What are some of your favourite smells?

Think of three natural smells and three artificial smells.

Outside exercise

Outside exercise

 

 

Go out for a walk outside and find 10 different smells. Write them down.

 

  Smell source       adjectives / description   comparison       mark out of 5

1.

2,

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Alternatively, divide into groups each concentrating on a different sense.

group1 

smells

group2

sights

group3

sounds

group4

touch

How many words are there for "sweet" in your first  language?

Can you think of any synonyms for "sweet" in English?

What is "umami"?

Dictionary

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

umami

noun

1. a category of taste in food (besides sweet, sour, salt, and bitter), corresponding to the flavour of glutamates, especially monosodium glutamate.

basic taste/smell vocab

sweet 

sour

fragrant

acidic

fumy

smoky

salty

spicy

musty

earthy

metalic

woody

grassy

off

rancid

soapy

In English we also might describe sweet smells and tastes with these words:

try putting appropriate nouns with these

E.g. Tangy + orange juice

Fruity
Caramel
Nutty
Gingery
Floral
Chocolate-y
syrupy
Buttery
Butterscotch
citrus-y
Banana-ry
Aniseed
Liquorish
Malty
Vanilla
Berry
Rich
Biscuity
Minty
Tangy
Tropical
Zingy
Sugary
Cinnamon-y
Honeyish
Milky

We use these adjectives to describe colours...

cool
warm
hot
bright
pale
florescent
dark
deep
light
fiery
mellow
pure
vivid

How do our adjectives for smell differ from our adjectives for colours in English?


We tend to describe tastes and smells by comparing them to similar tastes and smells, whereas with colour we can focus on their degree of intensity. 

But we also compare colours with other things

ocean

forest

lemon

royal

emerald

sapphire

sky

pitch

dirt

fire-engine

battleship

eggshell

snowy

The McGurk Effect

Which sense do you think is more dominant....

taste or smell?

seeing or hearing?

touch or taste?

Watch:

The McGurk Effect

The McGurk Effect

 

Watch video

 

1.     What do you think this video is mainly about?

2.     What surprised you the most while watching?

3.     What is one key idea you took away from it?

 

 

 

Watch again, fill the gaps:

At any ___ moment we are being ____________ by sensory information.

 

Our brains do a ____________ job of making sense of it ___.

 

It seems easy _________ to separate the sounds we hear from the ______ we see, but there is one illusion that reveals this ____ always the _____.

 

In the illusion, _____ we see ___________ what we hear.

 

If we close our eyes we actually hear the sound ___ it ___.

 

If we open our eyes, we actually see how the mouth movements can influence _____ we’re hearing.

 

What’s remarkable about this illusion ___ even knowing how it’s _______ doesn’t seem to ____ a difference.

 

The speech brain just takes in that information. It doesn't care what _______ knowledge you bring to _____.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Comprehension

1. What does “bombarded by sensory information” suggest about how much we see and hear?
A. We receive a large amount of sensory input all the time
B. We experience very little at once
C. Only one sense works at a time

2. What does it mean that the brain “makes sense of it all”?
A. The brain organises and interprets sensory input
B. The brain ignores most information
C. The brain only focuses on sound

3. In this illusion, what does “overrides” mean?
A. One sense dominates or replaces another
B. All senses work equally
C. One sense stops working

4. Why is the effect described as “bizarre”?
A. It is confusing and unexpected
B. It is normal and easy to understand
C. It only affects some people

5. What do “conflicting information” and “salient information” mean here?
A. Information that disagrees / the most noticeable sense
B. Information that matches / the weakest sense
C. Information that repeats / the quietest sense

 

Reflection

6.     Do you notice times in daily life when your senses compete? Give an example.

7.     Does this illusion make you trust your brain more or less? Why?

8.     How does “what we see overrides what we hear” change how you think about your senses?

9.     Why do you think the illusion still works even when you understand it?

10. Would you rather your brain be ‘truthful’ or ‘efficient’? Why?

_______________

Check

 

At any one moment we are being bombarded by sensory information.

Our brains do a remarkable job of making sense of it all.

It seems easy enough to separate the sounds we hear from the sights we see, but there is one illusion that reveals this isn't always the case.

In the illusion, what we see overrides what we hear.

If we close our eyes we actually hear the sound as it is.

If we open our eyes, we actually see how the mouth movements can influence what we’re hearing.

What’s remarkable about this illusion is even knowing how it’s done doesn’t seem to make a difference.

The speech brain just takes in that information. It doesn't care what outside knowledge you bring to bear.

Kahoot quiz

Seeing is Believing

Banknote under the wheel

 

Banknote under the wheel

This can be a writing or speaking activity.

Stop the video every ten seconds and write down what is happening. Use the present continuous when necessary.

Or watch the video ten seconds at a time, pausing to describe it to a partner who can't see the video but can hear it.

Eg

0:00 - 10:00 seconds – “a man is walking along the road when he notices a banknote under the wheel of a parked car.”

10:00 - 20:00 – “he...

20:00 - 30:00 - 

30:00 - 40:00 - 

40:00 - 50:00 - 

50:00 - 1.00 - 

1.00 - 1.10 - 

1.10 - 1.20 - 

1.20 - 1.30 - 

1.30 - 1.40 - 

1.40 - 1.50 -

1.50 - 2.00 -

2.00 - 2.10 - 

2.10 - 2.20 - 

2.20 - 2.30 - 

2.30 - 2.40 - 

2.40 - 2.50 -

Talk about what's happening and what's happened....

Maybe speculate about what might have happened or must have happened...

Practice using present continuous

Controlled practice

Describe a friend

 Describe a friend

Describe a friend

0. Is this friend male or female? 

1. What is  his/her  name?

2. ____ old are they?

3. Where ____ they live?

4. How _____ have you known them?

5. Where and when ____ you meet them?

6. What do they look _____? ____ they attractive?

7. What clothes do they like ____ wear?

8. Do they ____ a special style?

9. What ____ of hair do they have? Do ____ look after their hair?

10. _____ are their interests?

11. What do they love to get up _____ on the weekend?

12. What _____ their personality like?

13. Do you trust this person ____ every situation? Why? Why not?

14. _____ they sociable? Shy?

15. Are they _____-working? lazy?

16. _____ do you like this person?

17. Do they _____ any strong opinions? About anything (food? music? other people?) Do you agree _____ them?

18. Is there anything _____ them you don't like?

19. Have you ever ____ a disagreement or fight with this friend?

20. What do you think your friend _____ be like in 20 years? 

 

Check

What is their name?

How old are they?

Where do they live?

How long have you known them?

Where and when did you meet them?

What do they look like? Are they attractive?

What clothes do they like to wear?

Do they have a special style?

What kind of hair do they have? Do they look after their hair?

What are their interests?

What do they love to get up to?

What is their personality like? 

Do you trust this person in every situation? If you lent them money would they pay you back? If you told them something private would they keep to themselves?

Are they sociable? Shy?

Are they hard-working? lazy?

Why do you like this person?

Do they like animals?

Do they like going out?

Do they like dancing?

Do they have any strong opinions? About anything (food? music? other people?) 

Is there anything about them you don't like?

Have you ever had a disagreement or fight with this friend?

What do you think your friend will be like in 20 years?

---

Talk about your best friend (90 seconds)

1. Basic information

• I want to talk about my best friend. Their name is…

2. How you met

• I met them…

3. Appearance

• They look… such as their height, hairstyle, eyes, and face. They often…

4. Personality

• They’re really… for example,… They sometimes…

5. Interests

• They often like… such as…

6. Your relationship

• I like them because… for example,…

7. Future

• In the future, I think they’ll…

---

💡 Tip: “Add 1–2 more sentences after each starter.”
That should take you to about 90 seconds comfortably.

Task

Log in here to practice describing people. The AI will try to make a drawing from your description. Give as much detail as you can.

 

Describing people

1. Brainstorm different ways of describing people...

What do you usually notice?



















Did you mention...?

eye colour, hair colour, skin colour
hair length
height
general appearance
personality
their smile
the sound of their voice
facial features


Match with the following:

tall / short / average
long / short / mid-length
dyed / dark
green / brown
sweet / kind / quiet
deep / high
dark eyebrows / a beard / a thin nose
a wide happy













2. Stand in a circle.


A) Describe one thing about the person to your right. Only positive things!












B) Guess who? Describe someone in the circle - don't look at the or say their name - use an adjective. The others have to guess who.

He is
She is
They are








Real Johnny Depp or movie character?

1. Describe his clothes.

2. Describe his hair and facial hair.

3. Describe his skin.

4. Describe his expression.

1. Describe his clothes.

2. Describe his hair and facial hair.

3. Describe his skin.

4. Describe his expression.

1. Describe his clothes.

2. Describe his hair and facial hair.

3. Describe his skin.

4. Describe his expression.

1. Describe his clothes.

2. Describe his hair and facial hair.

3. Describe his skin.

4. Describe his expression.

1. Describe his clothes.

2. Describe his hair and facial hair.

3. Describe his skin.

4. Describe his expression.

1. Describe his clothes.

2. Describe his hair and facial hair.

3. Describe his skin.

4. Describe his expression.

Imagine
Imagination
Imaginary

match

adjective
verb
noun

Q; What does imaginary mean?











3. Create an imaginary person.


Name:
Age:
Height:
Hair colour:
Hair length:
Eyes:
Looks:
Other information:






4. Find someone who...
What questions do you need to ask to get the information?

What
How
How
What
How
What
Are you...
Do you have....


Mingle and use your cards to learn about the other imaginary people.

Erik Johansson

'
'







Look at each picture again. What is your favourite detail?



Script 

I'm here to share my photography. Or ____ it photography? Because, of course, this is a photograph that you can't take with your camera.

____, my interest in photography started as I got my first digital camera at the age of 15. It mixed with my earlier passion for drawing, but it was a bit different, because using the camera, the process was in the planning ________. And when you take a photograph with a camera, the process ends when you press the trigger. So to me it felt like photography was more about being at the right place and the right time. I felt like anyone could do that.

_____ I wanted to create something different, something where the process starts when you press the trigger. Photos like this: construction going on along a busy road. But it has an unexpected ______. And despite that, it retains a level of realism. Or photos like these -- both dark and colorful, but all with a common goal of ________ the level of realism. When I say realism, I mean photo-realism. Because, of course, it's not something you can capture ______, but I always want it to look like it could have been captured _______ as a photograph. Photos where you will need a _______ moment to think to figure out the trick. So it's more about capturing an idea than about capturing a moment _____.

But what's the trick that makes it look realistic? Is it something about the details or the colors? Is it something about the light? What creates the illusion? Sometimes the __________ is the illusion. But in the end, it comes _______ to how we interpret the world and how it can be realized on a two-dimensional surface. It's not _____ what is realistic, it's what we think looks realistic _____.

So I think the basics are quite simple. I just see it as a puzzle of reality where you can take different pieces of reality and put it together to create ___________ reality. And let me show you a simple example. Here we have three ______ imaginable physical objects, something we all can relate to living in a three-dimensional world. But combined in a certain way, they can create something that still looks three-dimensional, like it could exist. ______ at the same time, we know it can't. So we trick our brains, because our brain _____ doesn't accept the fact that it doesn't ______ make sense. And I see the same process with combining photographs. It's just _____ about combining different realities.

So the things that make a photograph look realistic, I think it's the things that we don't even think about, the things all around us in our daily lives. But when combining photographs, this is ______ important to __________, because otherwise it just looks wrong ______. So I would like to say that there are three simple rules to follow to achieve a realistic result. As you can see, these images aren't ______ special. But combined, they can create something like this.

So the first rule is that photos combined ________ have the same perspective. ______, photos combined should have the same type of light. And these two images both fulfill these two requirements -- shot at the same height and in the same type of light. The third one is about making it impossible to __________ where the different images begin and end by making it seamless. Make it impossible to say how the image ______ was composed. So _____ matching color, contrast and brightness in the borders between the different images, adding photographic ________ like depth of field, desaturated colors and noise, we erase the borders between the different images and make it look like one single image, _________ the fact that one image can contain hundreds of layers ______.

So here's another example. One might think that this is just an image of a landscape and the lower part is what's manipulated. But this image is _______ entirely composed of photographs from different locations. I _________ think that it's easier to ______ create a place than to find a place, because then you don't need to compromise with the ideas in your head. But it ______ require a lot of planning. And getting this idea during winter, I knew that I had several months to plan it, to find the different locations for the pieces of the puzzle ______. So for example, the fish was captured on a fishing trip. The shores are from a different location. The underwater part was captured in a stone pit. And yeah, I even turned the house on top of the island red to make it look more __________.

So to achieve a realistic result, I think it _______ down to planning. It always starts with a sketch, an idea. Then it's about combining the different photographs. And here every piece is very well planned. And if you do a good job capturing the photos, the result can be _____ beautiful and also quite realistic. So all the tools are out there, and the only thing that _______ us is our imagination.