Idioms: asking for and giving opinions

This ESL worksheet helps learners master 12 useful idioms related to expressing opinions, including speak your mind, bite your tongue, pick someone’s brain, and give someone a piece of your mind. Through a variety of communicative activities, students will develop confidence in using these idiomatic expressions in real-life conversations.

The first 8 idioms (pick your brain, have a say, speak your mind, give someone a piece of your mind) are introduced through short dialogues. Students match the idioms to their definitions.

To practice, students complete short texts with the correct idiom.

Students read dialogues and underline expressions that show someone is giving an opinion  (to my mind, as far as I’m concerned, if you want my two pence), reinforcing idiom recognition.

Students answer opinion-based questions using specific idioms to ask for someone’s opinion or give their opinion, encouraging them to apply the expressions in a personal and meaningful way.

Pair-work activities guide students to start conversations using idioms like pick your brain and respond using various opinion phrases, promoting spontaneous use of the target language.

Finally, Common mistakes involving idiom use are presented for students to identify and correct, helping to build accuracy.
For more speaking practice, you can use the printable conversation cards.