Actually is a word we use a lot in spoken English. It's one of those words which is difficult to define, because it doesn't seem to really mean anything. If you look at the example dialogue in the previous task, you can see that if we removed the word actually, the meaning of the sentences wouldn't really change.

Look at how actually is used in the dialogue below. How would you translate this word into your own language? Would your translation change depending on the sentence in which it is used?

A: I can't wait for the summer.
B: Yeah... Oh, actually, I wanted to ask you: are you doing anything in the first week of August?
A: Hm, let me think... I don't think I have any plans, actually. Why?
B: I was thinking of going to Greece for a few days and hitting the beach. I know it's high season, but the tickets are actually pretty cheap. Maybe you'd want to come with me?
A: Won't it be too hot, though? I've heard it's hellish.
B: I was last year and it actually wasn't that bad.

Reflect on your answer to these questions. Then, share your views with a partner.

• Some items on this list, like getting married or having children, reflect a traditional view of what a successful life looks like. Is this your idea of a successful life, or do you have a different view?

• Do you think it's possible to do every single thing on this list before you die? Do you think it's a good idea to try? Why / why not?

How to use this page

1. Share your screen with this page open and work through the tasks together with the student.

2. OR share a link to this page with your student. You can each look at the page on your own screen as you work through the tasks. You could also ask your student to share their screen so you know for sure they're looking at the right thing. This way, you can take full advantage of the interactive tasks: the student will be able to complete them on their own.

3. If you have another structure in mind for the lesson, you can copy the link to a particular task and share this with your student so they don't get lost looking for it. Simply click on the little link symbol next to the task title to copy the link to the section.

How to plan this lesson

1. I have laid out the tasks in a way which I have found makes sense. The instructions I have provided should make it easy to run this lesson with a group or a one-to-one student.

2. Feel free to change the order of the tasks or the instructions to suit your class! If you approach any of the tasks differently, or combine this lesson with other interesting resources, I'd love to hear about it. Please do leave your ideas in the feedback form at the bottom of this page.

3. The blue-green sections with the little arrows (A note about the word actually and Questions for reflection) are hidden until you click on the arrow. This is to make it easier to cut them from the lesson if you want to focus on the grammar, or if you don't have time. You can also ask your students to explore these for homework.

4. If you want more tasks to supplement this lesson, revise the material or assign homework, I've added some below, under Extra tasks.

Who this is for

This lesson is aimed at students who already have some awareness of Present Perfect Simple, or have studied it in the past.

If you'd like to use this lesson as an introduction to the tense, you can, but you'll need to allow more time (probably at least two lessons) and possibly supplement with additional material to work on the form of Present Perfect Simple. I also suggest these changes:

1. In the task Have you done it yet? start by interviewing your student.

T: Tell me, have you ever seen snow? Have you ever in your whole life seen snow?
S: Yes.
T: Me too. I have seen snow. I have seen snow many times.

Write down this sentence and use it to explain the structure of Present Perfect Simple. Tell the student we use it to talk about our life experience, and how many times we have done something.

2. Support your student in writing similar sentences with more items from the checklist and the words never, once, twice, many times.

3. Write an example question (Have you ever seen snow?). The student should ask you similar questions based on the checklist.

4. If your student has a good grasp of Past Simple, do the task Present Perfect vs Past Simple: the basics together.

5. Complete the tasks When did you do it? and The life checklist in the standard way, but allow more time for preparation and feedback.

Sources

The interactive life checklist I've used was created by Neal from Neal.fun. He makes really fun things which he shares for free, and I've used many of them in lessons. Check out the rest of his stuff, and please do buy him a coffee if you can.