Speaking Unit 5 Relationships
Focus on Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking Test
WARM-UP
1. Listen to the audio recording and repeat the words in the box.
mother father grandmother grandfather uncle aunt cousin brother sister
2. Listen again and mark the stressed syllable in each word.
3. Finish labeling the family tree diagram below with words from the box.
4. Now, make the family tree diagram a picture of your family by adding or deleting information.
5. Look at your partner’s diagram and ask for information.
Example: A. Tell me about your grandmother.
B. Well, she’s very kind and generous. She’s a great cook, too.
In your answer, give at least two pieces of information about each member of the family.
VOCABULARY
6. Study the words in the Vocabulary Bank.
7. Tick √ the words you know.
Highlight or underline the unfamiliar words and then look them up in a dictionary.
8. Fill in the gaps with words or phrases from the ‘Family / relatives’ section of the Vocabulary Bank.
a. My mother’s sister is my __________.
b. My father’s sister is my __________.
c. My cousin’s father is my __________.
d. My mother’s father is my __________.
e. My mother’s sister has two children, a boy and a girl. They are my mother’s __________ and __________.
f. I don’t have any brothers or sisters. I am __________________________.
g. My uncle and his wife don’t live together any more. They are __________.1
h. __________ can be a difficult stage in life. You are no longer a child but not yet an adult.
i. My youngest cousin is just learning to walk. She is a __________.
j. My aunt is divorced but she is dating again. She has a new __________.2
PRONUNCIATION
Word stress
9. Listen to the audio recording and repeat the words in the box. These are useful words for describing people.
cheerful considerate adventurous stubborn pessimistic outgoing amusing sociable pleasant shy
10. How many syllables are there in each word?
For example:
cheer-ful = 2 syllables
11. Listen to the words again. Mark the stressed syllable, then match each word with a stress pattern:
12. Practise saying the words after the model. Be sure to say the stressed syllable slightly louder and longer.
GRAMMAR
Contractions
13. Listen to a student talking about the topic Family.
“I’d like to tell you about my family. I have two brothers. They’re both at university. The older one is studying computer science and the younger one is studying economics. My parents are divorced. My father has remarried and lives with my stepmother and her three children, two sons and a daughter. My stepbrothers also like computers but my stepsister prefers reading books. I have a good relationship with my stepsister because we’ve got a lot in common. I read lots of books too and we like to discuss the ideas that we’ve read in them. Unfortunately, I don’t get on well with my stepmother. She doesn’t like me very much and we often argue. The relationship between my older brother and me is very close. We’ve shared many adventures together at weekends and on holidays. We play the same sports as well. The person in my family that I have the best relationship with is my mother. She’s a very cheerful and considerate person and I love her very much.”
Note: When speaking, contractions sound more natural.
For example:
I am > I’m
I would > I’d
14. Look at the tape script and underline all the contractions.
Position of also and both.
When we use the adverb also in the middle of a sentence:
• If the verb is one word, also goes before the verb.
• My stepbrothers also like computers.
• She reads books and also discusses them.
• Also goes after the verb to be (am/is/are/was/were).
• They are clever but they are also naughty.
• If the verb is two or more words, also goes after the first verb.
• My younger brother can also dance hip-hop.
• My grandparents have also been to Japan.
• Do you also like reading?
We use both in the same way:
• My parents both work.
• Jin and Su are both at university.
• They are both studying economics.
15. Look at the prompt card below and then close your book and see if you can remember the key points.
Describe your best friend.
You should say:
who he/she is
when you first met
why you became friends
and explain how you spend your time together.
16. Now write some key words for each point.
17. With your partner listening, try to talk for at least half a minute.
18. Listen to the audio recording of a student talking on this topic.
Who: .………………………………………
……………………………………………..
When:………………………………………
……………………………………………..
Why: because………………………………
……………………………………………
………..
Spend time: doing…………………………
……………………………………………
……………..
playing……………………………………
……………………………………………
going………………………………………
…………………………………
Script of “Best friend” topic
“I’m going to tell you about my best friend, Lou An. We first met a few years ago at the local athletics club. She’s not really good-looking or anything, but she is very helpful and thoughtful and she has a really cheerful and outgoing personality. We are about the same age and we have a lot in common so I guess that’s the main reason we became friends. Of course we both love sport, especially running and cycling. She’s very competitive, much more competitive than I am. She exercises for an hour or two every day. We also have similar tastes in movies and television programmes. She loves romantic comedies and so do I. She probably watches more sport on television than I do, though. When we are together we mostly spend our time playing sport, obviously, or shopping for clothes. When we go to the shopping mall, we often don’t buy anything but it’s fun just looking at the different styles of the new clothes and trying them on. It’s good to have a reliable friend with you who will give you her honest opinion. Sometimes we go to the beach or the swimming pool together although neither of us can swim very well. Nowadays, we both seem to be very busy but we still meet at least once a week for a chat, usually on Friday afternoons. We generally go to a cafe and have something to drink. It’s funny, though, our tastes are quite different in this case. Whereas I prefer coffee, she never drinks coffee. She only drinks tea.”
19. Look at the tape script, identify and underline all the adjectives from the ‘Qualities’ list in the Vocabulary Bank.
20. Fill in the gaps with suitable adjectives taken from the box.
Note: there are more words in the box than you need and there may be more than one correct answer for each gap.
trustworthy thoughtful supportive sociable
shy reliable patient outgoing
generous considerate cheerful caring
brave adventurous kind honest
a. He enjoys unusual and rather dangerous activities like white-water rafting. He’s so __________.
b. He’s also very __________. If he hurts himself, he never complains about the pain.
c. They gave a lot of money to the earthquake victims. They’re __________.
d. IELTS examiners are very __________. They are quite calm even if they have to repeat the same question three times.
e. My father is very __________. When he says he’ll do something, he always does it.
f. My aunt has lots of fun at parties because she is so __________ and __________.
g. A good friend should be __________ and always tell the truth.
h. My youngest cousin isn’t very good at talking to new people. She’s quite __________.
i. Their mother is __________ and __________. She’s a helpful person who understands other people’s needs and problems.
21. Give another talk about Your best friend including some words and phrases from the ‘Qualities’ list in the Vocabulary Bank.