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A2Conversation lesson · People & relationships

Talking About Family

Talk about your own family for about one minute.

Name:

Date:

Part 1

Warm-up

Talk with your teacher.

How many people are in your family?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Who in your family do you see most often?
What do you like doing with your family?

Part 2

Before you watch

Match the words to their meanings.

  1. 1only child
  2. 2siblings
  3. 3cousin
  4. 4close
  5. 5get on well with
  6. 6get together
  7. 7catch up
  8. 8grown-up
  • ahave a good relationship with someone
  • ba person with no brothers or sisters
  • ctalk about what happened since you last met
  • dthe child of your aunt or uncle
  • ean adult
  • fyour brothers and sisters
  • ghaving a strong, friendly relationship
  • hmeet as a group
Which words can you use about your family? Tell your teacher.

Part 3

Watch

Scan to watch

Real Easy English: Talking about family

BBC Learning English · Beth and Neil · about 6 minutes

First watch: who is it?

NeilBethWrite N or B.
  1. has one sister
  2. is an only child
  3. has two children
  4. has a family that can be quite loud
  5. doesn't live near their sibling
  6. was the youngest in the family for a long time

Second watch: true or false? Circle T or F.

  1. 1Neil thinks his family is a normal size.
  2. 2Beth's family is bigger than Neil's.
  3. 3Beth's family is quiet and serious.
  4. 4Neil sees his sister every week.
  5. 5Neil's sister has three sons.
  6. 6The oldest boy has just done his driving test.
  7. 7Beth's cousin's children are five and two.
  8. 8Beth is still the youngest in her family.

Correct the false sentences.

Part 4

Comparing people

Beth and Neil compare their families. Listen again and answer.

  1. Beth says her family is ______ than Neil's.
  2. Who is the ______ of all the children? Neil's nephew.
  3. Beth's cousin's children are the ______ in the family.
TypeAdjectiveComparing twoComparing a group
short wordsoldolder thanthe oldest
short wordsyoungyounger thanthe youngest
one vowel + one consonantbigbigger thanthe biggest
ends in -ytinytinier thanthe tiniest
long wordsinterestingmore interesting thanthe most interesting
irregulargoodbetter thanthe best

Use the comparative to compare two people or things. Use the superlative to compare one with all the others in a group.

Watch out

  • My brother is more old than me.My brother is older than me.
  • She is taller that me.She is taller than me.
  • He is the most youngest.He is the youngest.

Rosa's family

Rosa

78

Maria

41 · two children

Tom

38 · no children

Ana

35 · one child

Leo

14 · Maria's son

Mia

9 · Maria's daughter

Sam

3 · Ana's son

Look at Rosa's family. Complete the sentences with the word in brackets.

  1. Tom is ______ Ana. (old)
  2. Rosa is ______ person in the family. (old)
  3. Mia is ______ Leo. (young)
  4. Sam is ______ grandchild. (young)
  5. Maria's family is ______ Ana's family. (big)
  6. Ana is ______ of Rosa's three children. (young)

Now write three sentences about people in your family.

Part 5

Say it naturally

  1. 1Listen to your teacher.
  2. 2Say it together, slowly.
  3. 3Whisper it at normal speed.
  4. 4Say it at full voice.
  5. 5Try it without looking.

Highlighted = stressed words · ‿ = words that join together

  1. My family's smaller than yours.
  2. I'm an‿only child.
  3. I get‿on‿well with my sister.
  4. He's the oldest in the family.
  5. We don't see each‿other very often.

In fast speech, than is short and quiet. It sounds like "thn". The -er and -est endings are never stressed.

Shadow the video: play the part where Beth describes her family. Pause after each sentence and say it with her. Then do the same with Neil talking about his sister's children.

Part 6

Your turn to talk

Ask and answer. Give one extra detail with each answer.

Who is the oldest person in your family? How old are they?
Who is the youngest?
Is your family bigger or smaller than your best friend's family?
Who do you get on well with? Why?
How often does your family get together? What do you do?
Who are you most like in your family?

Give a short talk: My family · about 1 minute

Write keywords only, not full sentences. Look at your listener when you speak.

Opening

Today I'd like to talk about…

Who is in my family

There are … people in my family.

Comparing

My … is older than… / The youngest is…

Getting on

I get on well with… / We get together…

Closing

So, to sum up…

Starting

  • Today I'd like to talk about…
  • I'm going to tell you about…

Adding

  • Also…
  • Another thing is…

Finishing

  • So, to sum up…
  • Thank you for listening.
  • Any questions?

Homework

  • Say the five pronunciation lines once a day.
  • Record your talk on your phone and listen back.
  • Write five sentences comparing people you know.

For the teacher

Answer key

Part 2

1b · 2f · 3d · 4g · 5a · 6h · 7c · 8e

Part 3: first watch

1 N · 2 B · 3 N · 4 B · 5 N · 6 B

Part 3: second watch

  1. T
  2. F (it's smaller, she says it's tiny)
  3. F (they're silly and quite loud)
  4. F (not very often, they live in different places)
  5. T
  6. T
  7. T
  8. F (her cousin's children are younger)

Part 4

Noticing: 1 smaller · 2 oldest · 3 youngest

  1. older than
  2. the oldest
  3. younger than
  4. the youngest
  5. bigger than
  6. the youngest

ribbitpond.com/esl-lessons · Video by BBC Learning English. Worksheet by Ribbit Pond.