Birthday Wish | ESL Conversation Past Tense

The Birthday WIsh ESL Conversation Past Tense is a fun lesson for ESL students to learn vocabulary, and expressions to have a conversation using Past Continuous, Past Simple, Past Perfect & Past Perfect Continuous.

Watch the ESL video and use the ESL Printable and Digital storytelling flashcards to retell the story and practice using new vocabulary and expressions. Get the printable ESL worksheets and ESL lesson plan, ESL printable and digital flashcards, ESL listening and reading exercises, and gamify lessons with badges and stamps.

Warm Up Questions Using the Past Tense

1. What did you do for your last birthday?
2. Have you ever called in sick for work when you weren’t really sick?
3. Do you sometimes ask people for directions to where you are going?
4. Have you ever given someone directions?
5. Have you ever missed your train?

ESL Video Birthday Wish ESL Conversation Past Tense

Watch the following YouTube video:

ESL Listening Questions Part 1

1. Where did Bob’s adventure start?
2. What did he see when he was waiting for the train?
3. Why did he miss his train?
4. What was the woman asking him?
5. What was his first impression of the woman?
6. What did she ask him when she was checking for his next train?
7. What choice did Bob have to make?
8. Who did she have to visit at the hospital?
9. What was she planning to do after she visited her grandma at the hospital?
10. Why did Bob decide to go out for coffee with her?
11. Where did he decide to take her?
12. What happened when they first started walking?
13. Who walked by when she was replying to her friend?
14. What did he quickly do when she wasn’t looking?
15. How did she react when she got the rose?

ESL Discussion Questions

1. How do you commute to work? 
2. Do you like taking public transportation? Explain.
3. Have you ever received/bought flowers? How did you/they react?
4. Do you sometimes bump into people whom you haven’t seen in a long time?
5. Have you ever met a stranger and gone for coffee or lunch?

Matching Part 1 Birthday Wish

Match the words and expressions on the left with the meanings on the right.

ESL Conversation: Birthday Wish | ESL Conversation

A

Sam: Hey Bob! So, why weren’t you at work yesterday?

Bob: Hi Sam!Oh, I had a really crazy day. If I tell you, you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone.

Sam: Oh no, it sounds serious. I promise I won’t say a word. My mouth is sealed¹. What happened?

Bob: Well, it all started at the train station. I was waiting for the train when I saw a beautiful woman walk by. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was stunning. Honestly, she was like something from the movies. She suddenly stopped and started talking to me.

I was talking to her when the train that I was supposed to get on stopped. I missed my train because she was asking me questions and I couldn’t stop talking to her.

She was asking me what train she should take when my train arrived. Of course, I had to help her. It would have been rude to just jump on my train. So, I helped her find her way.

Anyways, I was checking the train schedule for the next train I could take when she invited me for coffee. I checked my watch, and I was already late for work, so …

B

I didn’t know what to do. Should I go for a coffee and call in sick? Or should I politely explain that I was running late for work and miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

That’s when she told me that she was only visiting. She was planning to go back to her hometown after she visited her Grandma at the hospital. There was a chance that I’d never see her again if I didn’t go for coffee. It was then that I decided to call in sick.

We hopped on the train and went to Central Station. There’s a really quiet and fancy coffee shop very close to the station that I decided to take her to. We started walking when she received a message from her friend.

She was replying to her friend when a man selling flowers walked by. I quickly bought a rose for her when she wasn’t looking. I gave her the rose and she screamed with joy. She was really thrilled.

*I won’t say a word – Can also say, ‘I won’t breathe a word’

**my mouth is sealed – more commonly known as ‘my lips are sealed’

Birthday Wish | ESL Conversation Past Tense
Part 2

ESL Listening Questions Part 2

1. Who did she tell Bob that she needed to call?
2. Why did she need to call her?
3. Who did Bob notice out of the corner of his eye?
4. What did he do so that she wouldn’t see him?
5. What happened when they arrived at the coffee shop?
6. Who came in when they were waiting for a seat?
7. What did the old man say to her?
8. How did she react to the old man?
9. What did she do that Bob wasn’t expecting?
10. How long did they have to wait before they got a table?
11. What happened when they were looking at their menus trying to decide what to order?
12. Who walked in out of the blue?
13. What did her grandma suddenly start to do?
14. What did the old man suddenly start to do?
15. What were they doing when the waitress came over?
16. What did the waitress come over to their table with? 
17. What did everyone in the coffee shop start doing?
18. Why couldn’t he understand why everyone started to sing happy birthday?
19. Why did he start to sweat?
20. What happened when he blew out the candles?

ESL Discussion Questions

1. Do you remember your dreams?
2. Do you sometimes feel like your dreams are real?
3. Do you make a wish before you blow out your birthday candles?
4. Are you a superstitious person?
5. Do you have any lucky superstitions in your country? (rabbit’s foot, 4-leaf clover)

Matching Part 2 – Birthday Wish ESL Conversation

Match the words and expressions on the left with the meanings on the right.

ESL Printable and Digital Flashcards to Talk about a Party

Use the flashcards and your imagination to talk about a party.

ESL Conversation – Birthday Wish

C

We were walking to the coffee shop when she suddenly stopped and told me that she needed to call her Grandma and tell her she would be a little bit late. When I was standing on the street waiting for her to finish talking to her Grandma, I noticed our boss Cindy out of the corner of my eye. I quickly covered my face with my bag as she was walking by. I don’t think she saw me, but I was a little bit worried.

Anyways, she finished talking to her Grandma and we continued walking to the coffee shop. We got there and it was completely full. There were no seats in the place. Just my luck! That is when she suggested that we wait. We were sitting in the waiting area when an old, loud man came in. He looked at her and said, “wow, are you from heaven? – I think I’m in love with you.” She smiled and thanked the old man. Then she did something that I wasn’t expecting at all. She invited the old man to join us for coffee. He happily accepted her invitation.

After waiting for nearly an hour, we got a table. We were looking at the menu and trying to decide what to order when the old man suddenly passed out on the table. We looked at each other and started laughing hysterically.

We were laughing when suddenly out of the blue an older looking woman walked in the door. It was her grandma. That confused me since she had told me several times that visiting her grandma in the hospital was the whole purpose of her trip.

I was thinking to myself, “was she lying or did her grandma really make a sudden recovery?”

D

Her grandma was walking towards us with a huge smile on her face. Then she looked down and noticed the old man passed out at our table. She stopped in her tracks and screamed loudly, “What is he doing here?”

Well that really confused me.

“How did all of these strangers happen to know each other?” I was thinking to myself.

Well, then her grandma started dancing to a song that came on the radio. The old man woke up and he suddenly started singing. We were clapping and laughing when the waitress came over with a birthday cake. Everyone in the coffee shop started to sing “Happy Birthday” to me. I couldn’t understand why since my birthday was last month. It was really hot, and I was sweating because I didn’t know what was happening. I closed my eyes, made a wish and blew out the candles.

That’s when I woke up and realized it was all just a dream. I’d forgotten to set my alarm clock and slept in. Well, I was running late and decided to use a personal day to catch up on some errands.

Sam: Well, that was a pretty entertaining dream and story. I’m relieved to hear that everything is okay with you Bob. Next time, you can just give me the short answer!

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Reference: NewInt5