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20 Mins • B1 Level

Handwashing & Everyday Hygiene

🧼

Learn essential words to talk about cleanliness, health, and handwashing steps.

💡 How to use this lesson

For the Teacher:

Guide students through the word table in 5 minutes and assign the 16 practice questions. Check practice answers automatically and listen to student audio recordings for shadowing practice.

For the Learner:

First, study the 10 words, their collocations, and memory tips in the table below. Next, complete the 16 practice exercises and record your voice in the shadowing section.

📚 Word table

Study these 10 target words grouped by theme. Click the speaker icon to listen to each word.

1. The steps

Word	Meaning	Common Collocations	Example Sentence	Memory Tip
lather	to rub soap until it makes bubbles	lather soap, lather well	Lather the soap between your hands for 20 seconds.	Sounds like "leather": picture washing a leather boot with soapy bubbles.
fingernail	the hard part at the end of your finger	clean fingernails, under fingernails	Always clean under each fingernail to remove hidden dirt.	Two short words together: finger + nail (the hard nail on your finger).
thumb	the short thick finger on the side of your hand	rub your thumbs, both thumbs	Do not forget to wash your thumbs when cleaning hands.	Picture a "thumbs up" sign 👍 when washing your hands.
foam	a mass of small soap bubbles	rich foam, soap foam	Warm water helps create a rich foam quickly.	Rhymes with "home": think of soft white foam at home.

2. Illness

Word	Meaning	Common Collocations	Example Sentence	Memory Tip
virus	a tiny living thing that causes disease	spread a virus, dangerous virus	Washing hands prevents a harmful virus from spreading.	A contrast: a virus is tiny, but it can make a big person ill.
illness	a state of being sick or unhealthy	prevent illness, sudden illness	Clean habits reduce the risk of common illness.	Ill (sick) + ness (state of being) = being sick.
contact	the state of touching or meeting someone/something	direct contact, avoid contact	Avoid direct contact with unwashed surfaces before eating.	Con (together) + tact (touch) = touching together. A "contact lens" touches your eye.

3. Staying clean

Word	Meaning	Common Collocations	Example Sentence	Memory Tip
disinfect	to clean something with chemicals to kill germs	disinfect surfaces, disinfect counter	Disinfect the kitchen table after preparing raw food.	Dis (remove) + infect (make sick) = remove infection!
dirt	substance like mud or dust that makes things unclean	remove dirt, visible dirt	Rinse off all visible dirt with clean running water.	"Dirt" is inside "dirty": dirt is what makes things dirty.
thorough	done completely and with great care	thorough wash, thorough cleaning	A thorough hand cleaning takes at least twenty seconds.	Tho-rough = Think of doing a job all the way THROUGH.

✏️ Practice

Complete these 16 interactive items from easy to hard.

Part 1: Collocation Matrix (Match verbs to nouns)

1. Match the verb "Rub your" with the correct noun:

Verb

surfaces

thumbs

foam

dirt

Rub your

____surfaces ____thumbs ____foam ____dirt

2. Match the verb "Remove all hidden" with the correct noun:

Verb

surfaces

thumbs

foam

dirt

Remove all hidden

____surfaces ____thumbs ____foam ____dirt

3. Match the verb "Disinfect the" with the correct noun:

Verb

surfaces

thumbs

foam

dirt

Disinfect the

____surfaces ____thumbs ____foam ____dirt

4. Match the verb "Create rich" with the correct noun:

Verb

surfaces

thumbs

foam

dirt

Create rich

____surfaces ____thumbs ____foam ____dirt

Part 2: Gap-fill (Complete the hygiene sentences)

Word bank: fingernail / foam / virus / lather / disinfect

5. Fill in the missing word:

"Make sure to ____ your hands thoroughly with soap, and don't forget your thumb."

6. Fill in the missing word:

"Scrub under each ____ to remove hidden dirt."

7. Fill in the missing word:

"A dangerous ____ can stay on surfaces for hours."

8. Fill in the missing word:

"We should ____ shared items after direct contact with sick people."

Part 3: Choose the Word (Select the option that fits the meaning)

9. Warm water and soap create a rich _____ in your hands.

____ a. foam ____ b. virus ____ c. thumb

10. Dirt easily collects under every _____ if you do not scrub.

____ a. contact ____ b. fingernail ____ c. illness

11. Try to avoid direct _____ with dirty door handles.

____ a. lather ____ b. thorough ____ c. contact

12. Use hot water to wash away the _____ on your hands.

____ a. thumb ____ b. dirt ____ c. contact

Part 4: Sentence-building (Put the given words in order)

13. Put these words in order: [lather / hands / your / Wash / and]

____

14. Put these words in order: [stop / illness / Clean / hands]

____

15. Put these words in order: [washing / hands / Be / when / thorough]

____

16. Put these words in order: [spreads / Direct / virus / contact / this]

____

🎙️ Shadowing & Pronunciation

Listen to the native pronunciation first, then record yourself repeating each phrase.

Collocations (4 items)

Item 17 • Collocation

wash your thumbs

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 18 • Collocation

disinfect the counter

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 19 • Collocation

remove all dirt

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 20 • Collocation

thorough hand cleaning

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Short Sentences (4 items)

Item 21 • Short Sentence

Lather soap well on hands.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 22 • Short Sentence

Clean under every fingernail.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 23 • Short Sentence

Direct contact spreads this virus.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 24 • Short Sentence

Stop illness with clean hands.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Medium Sentences (2 items)

Item 25 • Medium Sentence

Warm water creates rich foam.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 26 • Medium Sentence

Be thorough when you wash.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Key Single Words (2 items)

Item 27 • Key Word Focus

thorough

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 28 • Key Word Focus

disinfect

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Vocabulary: Handwashing and Everyday Hygiene

Handwashing & Everyday Hygiene

💡 How to use this lesson

📚 Word table

1. The steps

2. Illness

3. Staying clean

✏️ Practice

Part 1: Collocation Matrix (Match verbs to nouns)

Part 2: Gap-fill (Complete the hygiene sentences)

Part 3: Choose the Word (Select the option that fits the meaning)

Part 4: Sentence-building (Put the given words in order)

🎙️ Shadowing & Pronunciation

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