Emergency situations: asking for help

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for A1 learners explores Emergency situations: asking for help through a real article. Across 10 interactive exercises, you'll develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• Grammar focus: imperatives with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for asking a stranger for help
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings

Lesson activities (10 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
3. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the article, with definitions and usage notes.
4. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
5. Grammar — Study imperatives — explanation, examples, and key rules.
6. Fill the gaps — Complete sentences with the correct vocabulary. Drag and drop or type your answers.
7. Practical English — Learn phrases for asking a stranger for help — ready to use in real conversations.
8. Multiple choice — Choose the correct answer from four options — testing comprehension and language use.
9. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the article:

• call an ambulance — to phone for a special car that takes sick or hurt people to the hospital.
• I need help — a simple way to say you have a problem and you want someone to assist you.
• Where is the nearest...? — a question to ask for the location of a place that is close to you.
• stay calm — to not be scared or worried in a difficult situation.
• What's wrong? — a question you ask when you see someone looks sad, hurt, or worried.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on imperatives.

We use imperatives to give instructions or tell someone to do something. They are very important in an emergency. To make an imperative, we use the base form of the verb.

Examples from the lesson:

• Call the police! — Use the base verb 'call'. This is a direct command.
• Help me, please. — You can add 'please' to make the command more polite.
• Don't move. — For a negative command, use 'Don't' + the base verb.

Key rules:

• Use the base form of the verb (e.g., go, stop, help).
• For a negative imperative, use 'Don't' before the verb.
• You don't need a subject (like 'I', 'you', 'he'). Say 'Come here!', not 'You come here!'.

Practical English

asking a stranger for help

When you are in a new city and have a problem, you may need to ask someone you don't know for help. Here are some simple phrases to use.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "'Excuse me...'" — to politely get someone's attention.
• "'Can you help me, please?'" — to ask directly for assistance.
• "'I'm lost.'" — to explain your problem simply.
• "'I need to find a hospital.'" — to say what kind of place you are looking for.
• "'Can I use your phone?'" — to ask to borrow something in an emergency.