Idioms: opportunities
Worksheet overview
This ESL worksheet is dedicated to idioms and expressions used when talking about opportunities – taking advantage of opportunities, or missing out on an opportunity. Students will learn and practice 12 idioms.
The first 10 idioms (e.g. open doors, one-in-a-lifetime, make the most of, strike while the iron is hot, let the opportunity slip through your fingers, miss the boat, too good to miss), are introduced through 2 short dialogues. Students match the idioms to their definitions. To practise, they match the 2 halves of 8 sentences, and then write their own sentences, following a similar structure.
Students read 4 short dialogues where they see the rest of the idioms (silver lining, get a foot in the door, one door closes and another one opens).
To practise all of the idioms, students complete a gap-fill activity.
The last 2 activities are focused on speaking and writing: First, students are asked to find something positive in 5 challenging situations, and to use a suitable idiom to write a response. Then they discuss 5 situations and what they would do in each one.
For more speaking practice, and to review these idioms, you can use the conversation cards.
