Gossip English Lesson

conversation

Select a quote about gossip and share your thoughts about it:

“Great minds discuss ideas,
average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

“Gossip is what no one claims to like – and everyone enjoys.”
– Joseph Conrad

“Gossip is a very dangerous tool.”
– John Lydon

WARM UP

BEGINNER

Leap frog – A quick Q and A game to review direct question forms

ADAPTABLE TO ALL LEVELS

I challenge you! – Warm up with grammar review.

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED

Media Blackout game

VOCABULARY

rumor – an idea or opinion that people share, when the source and accuracy of the information is unknown (noun).

There is a rumor going around that…
Have you heard the rumor that…
It is rumored that…

(Notice that in the last example, ‘rumor’ is a verb. But the more common verb is ‘gossip’.)

gossip – rumors about a person (noun), a person who often shares personal information about others (adjective), and the act of spreading a rumor (verb).

What is the latest gossip?
Be careful what you say to Sam. He is a terrible gossip.
People are gossiping about Beth’s divorce.

Idioms and expressions related to gossip

READING AND WRITING

ALL LEVELS
WRITING: Imagine that you write a celebrity gossip column. Make up some juicy gossip that will get your readers talking.

INTERMEDIATE
READING: The Science Behind Why People Gossip – And Why It Can Be A Good Thing

LISTENING AND COMPREHENSION

Video Comprehension Activity (C2)