talking about FAMILY

One of the first subject that you are able to talk about with beginner levels is FAMILY. Partly because you may use relatively easy language to do this, like verbs TO BE and TO HAVE GOT, but also because that's something close to everyone. My take on the subject is fairly simple and involves using pictures and a speaking game. Hope you'll like it.

SPEAKING

Remind the students the rules of using 's in expressing possessions or family relations. You may do it as follows:

• Whose book is it? It's my brother's book. - It is his book.
• Whose pen is it? It's my deskmate's pen. - It's her pen.
• Whose car is it? It's my grandparents' car. - It's their car.

The students are to look at the pictures. Ask them Who is who? to a person marked with a star.

Who is Mona to Marge?
Who is Patty?
Who is Herb?
etc.

Who is Ling to Abraham?
Who is Mona?
Who is Homer?
etc.

Who is Patty to Maggie?
Who is Lisa?
Who is Ling?
etc.

WRITING

You may also use the picture without stars and ask the students to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

Bart is Lisa's _________________________ 

Marge is Homer's_________________________ 

Clancy is Selma's_________________________ 

Abraham is Mona's_________________________ 

Maggie is Ling's_________________________ 

Lisa is Patty's_________________________ 

Homer is Abraham's_________________________ 

Selma is Ling's adoptive_________________________ 

Bart is Herb's_________________________ 

Abraham is Lisa's_________________________ 

Bart and Lisa are Marge's_________________________ 

Maggie is Jackie's_________________________ 

Maggie is Marge's_________________________ 

Herb is Marge's_________________________ 

Patty is Selma's_________________________ 

Abraham is Marge's_________________________ 

Herb is Maggie's_________________________ 

Jackie is Homer's_________________________ 

Marge is Herb's_________________________ 

Homer and Marge are Lisa's_________________________ 

Homer and Herb are Clancy's_________________________ 

Bart and Lisa are Maggie's_________________________ 

Marge is Mona's_________________________ 

Maggie and Bart are Ling's_________________________ 

SPEAKING GAME

Prepare cards with words representing different members of the family. Put them on a table face down. The student take turns to pick a card and using possessive 's explain the word to the class.

You may use the basic words but you may also enrich the game with words such as:

a boyfriend

a widower

a divorcee

twins

a stepmother

a great grandmother

etc.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• How big is your family?
• Which family is bigger: that on your father's side or your mother's?
• Who is the oldest in your family?
• Who is the youngest?
• How many brothers and sisters have you got?
• How many aunts and uncles have you got?
• How many (first) cousins have you go?
• Who are you named after?

talking about STEREOTYPES (again...)

I found the subject of STEREOTYPES not only appealing but also useful for practicing various structures. In the previous lesson concerning this topic I aimed at introducing TEND TO or HAVE A TENDENCY as alternative to unfair and rather harmful straight ahead language in opinion giving, such as "Americans love guns." which I altered with "Americans tend to love guns." This time I decided to focus on STEREOTYPES about my students' nationality (obviously I had my doubts about their reaction but they were more than happy to discuss their own vices and virtues) and a fixed phrase JUST BECAUSE... DOESN'T MEAN THAT... Enjoy.

GRAMMAR

Explain the way we use the expression JUST BECAUSE... DOESN'T MEAN THAT...

Although [A] happened, [B] will not necessarily happen as a result.

• JUST BECAUSE you study hard DOESN’T MEAN THAT you will pass the test.
• JUST BECAUSE we lost this match DOESN’T MEAN THAT we’ll lose the next one.
• JUST BECAUSE I was late yesterday DOESN’T MEAN THAT I'll be late tomorrow.

[A] is true, but [B] is not necessarily true as a result.

• JUST BECAUSE your mother is angry at you DOESN’T MEAN THAT she doesn’t love you.
• JUST BECAUSE I'm a girl DOESN’T MEAN THAT I'm sentimental.
• JUST BECAUSE it’s Saturday DOESN’T MEAN THAT you have to sleep late.

 We may also add NECESSARILY to the sentence.

JUST BECAUSE you think you are a good worker DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT you should be paid more.

GRAMMAR PRACTICE
Change these sentences to JUST BECAUSE... DOESN'T MEAN THAT... (the first one is done for you).

1. Evan had a steak for lunch, but he might not be full.
Just because Evan had a steak for lunch doesn’t mean that he’s full.

2. I didn’t answer my cell phone, but this doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to talk to you.
3. You should quit smoking even if you’re healthy.
4. You think you’re smart but some people may think otherwise.
5. He’s not a criminal even though he’s black and wears a hoodie and baggy jeans.
6. My room may be dirty but I am in fact an organized person.

SPEAKING PRACTICE

Each student receives a sentence representing one of stereotypes others may have about his/her country. The students are to decide if they are true or false, and justify their answer.

My students are Turkish so I've searched the Internet for stereotypes about Turkey. Here's a sample list.

• Turkish people have big families.
• Every Turkish woman wears a headscarf.
• Turkish people all have got black hair and dark skin.
• They buy only Mercedes or BMW.
• Turkey is a strict Muslim country with Islamic law.
• Turkish people are uneducated.
• Men are dominant, women have to listen to their husbands and stay at home.
• Turkish men are lazy.
• Turkish men are allowed  to have many wives.
• The country is unsafe.
• Everyone wears a fez and has a moustache.

VIDEO
The students watch a short video on their motherland and discuss what they've learnt from it. they are free to use the freshly learnt expression JUST BECAUSE... DOESN'T MEAN THAT...

Turkey in 2 minutes

talking about STEREOTYPES

It's been a considerably long time since I shared anything with you. But I'm back with new ideas. This time it's a conversation lesson on STEREOTYPES. Well, I've managed to sneak a little grammar in it as well by introducing an alternative to strong statements typical of expressing STEREOTYPES. Hope you'll enjoy it.

WARM-UP

A STEREOTYPE is a generalized view or popular belief on a particular group of people, usually inaccurate and sometimes offensive.

Look at the statements below. How accurate do you think these stereotypes are?

1. Italian people eat pasta on a daily basis.
2. Germans are hard working and never complain.
3. The French are the most romantic people. 
4. Americans are fat because they love fast food and never exercise.

Explain that the language used in the statements above is rather offensive and too general. Instead of putting those opinions like the above we may use a "softer" version.

Italian people TEND TO eat pasta on a daily basis. 

(Many Italians eat pasta on a daily basis but not all of them.)

Germans TEND TO be hard working and never complain. 

(While some Germans are hard working and never complain, many are lazy and grumpy.)

The French HAVE A TENDENCY to be very romantic. 

(Some French are romantic but some are not.)

Americans HAVE A TENDENCY to be fat because they love fast food and never exercise. 

(It's not true that all Americans are fat, love fast food and never exercise. Many are fit and lead a healthy lifestyle.)

GRAMMAR PRACTICE/SPEAKING
Give your opinion on the nationalities below using TEND TO or HAVE A TENDENCY. Remember about the grammar rule about them.

• TEND TO + V1
• HAVE A TENDENCY + V1

Russians * Thais * Arabs * Americans * the Chinese

SPEAKING

Stereotypes are not only about nationality but also about race, gender, age or religion. 

Watch the slideshow and and finish the sentences expression your views. Justify your choice. 

talking about MALE & FEMALE ROLES

The topic of the differences and similarities between women and men always sparks heated discussions in the class, especially if the class is gender diverse. My usually scheme is to use this topic in the conversation stage of a lesson with higher level as a follow-up to introduction of gender appropriate language, e.g. using words such as "a police officer" or "a firefighter" instead of "a policeman" and "a fireman". What I'm sharing today is an activity that aims at both the discussion and contrasting opinions in a single sentence, so the usage of WHEREAS, WHILE and ON THE OTHER HAND. Enjoy.

GRAMMAR PRACTICE
Introduce the concept of using contrast in a sentence with expressions such as WHEREAS, WHILE and ON THE OTHER HAND.

Whereas
Summers in the Mediterranean are hot and humid whereas winters are mild and pleasant.

While
Babies rely heavily on their parents while teenagers tend to be rebellious.

On the other hand 
Extroverts are very open about their feelings, introverts on the other hand keep emotions to themselves.

VIDEO
Students will watch a video contrasting women and men in the following categories:
* coming home
* speaking
* watching a romantic movie
* business trip
* on a diet
* date at 20:00
* discussion
* travelling
* seducing
* to the toilet
* handbag
* shopping
* ideal partner

The teacher stops the video after each sequence and encourages the students to form contrasting sentences,
e.g.
Women cry at romantic movies whereas men sleep.
Men talk in straight while women beat about the bush.
Whenever a man is travelling he's only packing the essentials, a woman on the other hand always travels with excess baggage.

Get some feedback from the video section asking the students whether they believe the animation tells the truth or exaggerates. Let them give their own contrasting ideas on the subject of male and female.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• What are some typical jobs for men and women in your country?
• Is it typical for women to join the military in your country?
• Is it typical for men to be teachers in your country?
• Generally speaking, what do women tend to be better at than men? Why?
• Generally speaking, what do men tend to be better at than women? Why?
• What are the roles of men and women in your society?
• In what ways, do you think, the world would be different if more world leaders were women?
• What does a woman need to do to be considered attractive in your country? What do men have to do?
• Do you see yourself as a typical man or woman?
• What are the responsibilities of a father?
• What are the responsibilities of a mother?
• Are fathers capable of carrying out the duties of a mother and vice versa?
• If all of the men in the world disappeared, what would it be like?
• If all of the women of the world disappeared, what would it be like?
• Can a man and a woman be only friends?  
• Do men/men friendships differ from women/men or women/women friendships? How? 

PAIN vs. ACHE

There's  a slight difference between the words PAIN and ACHE. Both are most commonly used as nouns which describe an unpleasant sensation or feeling of discomfort usually associated with illness. But are they actually same?

There are some slight differences between those two words.

• ACHE is a feeling of a rather long term discomfort; not sharp enough to call it PAIN. Since it's persistent you may try to ignore it or get used to it. Also, ACHE usually forms compound nouns with body parts, i.e. a headache, a toothache, a backache

e.g.
Weather changes always give me a headache.

• PAIN is often short-lived, sharp and difficult to ignore. It's also more localised. It does not form compound nouns with body parts but rather goes like this: a pain in the leg, a pain in the neck or a leg pain, a neck pain.

e.g.
After falling off the stairs I felt a massive pain in my ankle.

Now look at the difference:
When you cut your finger you feel pain.
In next few days you may have ache in the wounded finger.

Both words are also verbs. However TO PAIN is most commonly replaced with TO HURT.

e.g.
Whenever I spend few hours in front of a PC, my eyes ache terribly.
Your unjust remark pained me. (Your unjust remark hurt me.)

EAT BREAKFAST VS. HAVE BREAKFAST

Do we EAT BREAKFAST or do we HAVE BREAKFAST? I admit I've never given a second thought to the difference between those to expression and never pondered too much as to which one is correct. As the difficulty was drown to my attention let's have a look.

Both EAT BREAKFAST and HAVE BREAKFAST are correct and are practically interchangeable which basically means that you may use them in the same way and they will mean the same thing. 

I usually eat breakfast on my balcony. * I usually have breakfast on my balcony.

To go a step further, verbs EAT or DRINK and HAVE refer to the act of eating or drinking something.

We had a chocolate cake at the party last night. *We ate a chocolate cake at the party last night.

People with high blood pressure shouldn't drink any coffee. * People with high blood pressure shouldn't have any coffee. 

If you like to be more precise, it's worth noting that if your breakfast consists of a glass of orange juice or a mare cup of coffee and a cigarette, then you'd  opt for HAVE BREAKFAST since you're actually not eating anything.

I was in hurry so  I just drank a cup of coffee for breakfast. * I was in hurry so I just had a cup of coffee for breakfast. 

NOTE: Of course same rules apply to lunch and dinner or other meals.

talking about past with USED TO

USED TO is not the easiest English structure for the students to understand since is may be absent in their native language. I usually practice this structure talking about childhood memories or habits that changed over the years, and finish off with a discussion about civilisations development. Here is a simple activity the latter.

SPEAKING

Prepare some sentences comparing past and present, cut them into two parts and hand out whichever part you wish to the students. their task is to either start the sentence using USED TO or finish it with PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE (depending which part of the sentence you decide to hand out).

- People used to write letters to each other...

...but now they communicate by social media.  

- People used to count with abacuses...
...but now we have calculators and computers.
- Children used to go to work to earn money for the family...
...but now they go to school.
- We used to grow gardens for food...
...but now we buy fruit and vegetables in supermarkets. 
- People used to travel in horse carriages...
....but now we have cars and motorbikes.
- People used to keep food fresh under ground or in caves...
....but now we have fridges.
- People used to tell each other stories for fun...
...but now they watch TV and movies.
- Women used to wear long dresses...
...but now many women wear jeans.
- People used to tell the time with the sun...
...but now we use watches and clocks.

Next show the students a slidshow with pictures BEFORE and AFTER concerning different aspects of everyday life and ask them to form sentences with USED TO for the past and PRESENT SIMPLE for the present. Here is an example that you may find useful.