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

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. What does hair smell like when it catches fire?

7. Rain

11. How often does it rain in your country?
12. Do you like rain?
13. Have you ever had to walk home in the rain with no raincoat or umbrella? Where? When?

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 in your family?
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?
33. Is coffee bad for you?

 

What is the most beautiful flower?

2. coins

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

What do coins taste like?












3. garden

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Do you have a garden back at home?

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       outdoor chairs

 











4. cheese

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

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












5. snakes

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Have you ever see a real snake in the wild? (not at the zoo)

Have you ever touched a living snake? What did it feel like?










6. fire

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Do you know how to light a campfire?

What can you cook in / on a fire?

What does hair smell like when it catches fire?













7. rain

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

How often does it rain in your country?

Do you like rain?

Have you ever had to walk home in the rain with no raincoat or umbrella? Where? When?









8. keys

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

How often do you lose your keys? 

How many hours of your life have you wasted looking for keys?








9. cigarette

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Do you smoke?

Do / did your parents smoke?








10. Xmas tree

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Does you family ever have a real Xmas tree for Xmas?
Do you give gifts at Xmas in your family?

What did you get last Xmas?










11. storm

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Do you enjoy storms?










12. sand

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

What does sand taste like?

Can sand can be annoying?

What can sand be used for?

13. bread

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

What is your favourite kind of bread?

Could you live without bread?

bagels, baguette, naan, roti, hamburger buns, dark bread, other?

14. shower

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

How long are your showers?

Is there a nice shower where you're currently living?

15. dogs

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

What animal is most similar to a dog?

What's a good name for a dog?

What kind of dog is your personality like?

16. coffee

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

How do you like to have your coffee?

Is coffee bad for you?

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