Conversation Practice

Conversation Practice My Family

Outline • Do you know . . .? • Starting Questions • Conversation Practice • Useful Expressions • Discussion Question • Reference

Family • What are they doing? What type of family is this?

Starting Questions • How many are there in your family? What do they do? • Who influences you the most in your family? • Do you live with your parent(s)? What do they do? • Do you live with your parent(s)? What do you feel about (not) living with them? • What type of family do you want to form if you have a choice? (nuclear family, extended family, DINK, etc.)

Sample Conversation: Tell me about your family --brother A: Interviewer; B: Interviewee • A: Please tell me about your family • B: There are 6 people in my family. Besides me, they are Grandpa & Grandma, Mom and Dad, and my kid brother Chris. Grandpa and Grandma are so old that I keep forgetting how old they are. My dad is 38. He seldom talks. My mom is the one who nags all the time. My younger brother Chris is, well, okay, but sometimes he's such a trouble maker. • A: Why? • B: When I'm watching a variety show, he wants to watch a cartoon. When I'm listening to Ricky Martin, he shouts "Quiet!" because he wants to study for a test, he says. Well, who knows what he does in his room, after he swears to Mom he'd study hard.

Sample Conversation: Tell me about your family—parents & grandparents A: Interviewer; B: Interviewee A: How about your parents? Do they keep an eye you when you study? B: No, my mom knows that I will finish my homework before I move on to any other stuff. As for my Dad, he is working now in mainland China, so I don’t often see him. A: Does this bother you? B: Oh, well, yes and no. Of course I’d like to have Dad around to exercise with me or do different stuff together. But then he has to go there; he calls home often so that we are still well connected with one another. • Is it difficult to communicate with your grandparents? • So so. I won’t say that they’re like my classmates, whom I can talk nonsense with. They are forgetful and my grandma is hard of hearing. But they do care about me. So sometimes I will sit down with them; they’ll ask me about school and I’ll answer slowly to the questions which are almost the same. (modified from Daily English)

Useful Expressions • Family Relationships • Birth parents, adoptive parents（養父母）, step-mother • sibling(s) –兄弟姊妹； • in-law(s) e.g. brother-in-law姊（妹）夫； • Spouse 配偶; ex-wife or former wife; separated, divorced • Types of Family: nuclear family, extended family, DINK (double-income-no-kid), bi-cultural family, blended family (or step family).

Family –How many people are in your family? What do they do?

Discussion Questions • Family Resemblance: Do you look more like (resemble) your mother or your father? • Generation Gap: Some say that the elderly always know better. Do you agree? Do you often argue with your mother or father? What about? • Different types of family: what are the advantages and problems of each type? • More questions here.

Expressions: What do you think? • Do you find your family “traditional”? • Useful expressions: "Yes, I agree." "Yes, maybe." "I don't know." "No, maybe not." "No, I disagree." "Me too." "So do I." "That's just what I think." "Me either." "Neither do I."

Reference • Tell me More http://iteslj.org/t/tmm/

Conversation Practice