V4 Unit 1: Getting to know you

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Unit 1: Getting to know you

Lesson 1:

Skills: Listening (to a monologue)

Starting assignment

Before we have a look at a new Unit in Objective Advanced, we will start with an assignment aimed at one of the skills you need to master for your final exams. For this unit, we will focus on listening. 

Today we are going to watch and discuss a TED-talk about how to have a good conversation. Always handy when it comes to getting to know people!

The assignment:

1. We will listen to the talk together. Before even looking at the questions, I want you to just watch and take notes. 
2. Listen for information that you believe is important to take away from the talk. 
3. After watching the talk, look at the questions and try to answer them just from your notes.
4. Work with your classmate and try to fill in the answers you haven't gotten yet.

Questions

1. Pew research discovered that American teenagers text more than______ times a day. They are more likely to text than ___________.
2. What does Ms. Headlee suggest is the single most overlooked skill we fail to teach young people? 
3. What is the standard advice on good conversation?
   
4. What does Ms. Headlee say about the standard “rules” regarding good conversation?
   
5. How many rules does Ms. Headlee share with the audience on how to have a better conversation? a) five b) ten c) fifteen
   
6. What is the Bill Nye quote Ms. Headlee includes in her talk?
   
7. Why is it important to ask open-ended questions?
   
8. How does Stephen Hawking respond when people ask him about his IQ?
   
9. Ms. Headlee considers this rule the most important:
   
10. Why is it so hard to listen? 
11. What does this Steven Covey quote mean? "Most of us don't listen with the intent to understand, we listen with the intent to reply.”
    
12. Ms. Headlee quotes her sister to illustrate rule #10. What is rule #10?
    

Answers

1. 100  /  talk face to face
2. conversational competence
3. a) think of interesting topics to discuss in advance b) nod and smile to show you’re paying attention c) look the person in the eye d) repeat what you heard/summarize 
4. It’s crap
5.  b) ten (Rule #1 is: Don’t multi-task)
6. Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.
7. You’re going to get a much more interesting response.
8. He doesn’t know his IQ. People who brag about their IQ are losers
9. Listen
10. The average person talks at about 225 words per minute. The average person can listen to up to
    500 words a minute. Our Minds are filling in the other 275 words. 
11. Instead of focusing on what the speaker is saying, we are focused on what we are going to say in response. Most people don’t listen and make an effort to understand and appreciate opposing viewpoints. 
12. Be brief.

Reflect:

• Did you manage to take proper notes? If not, how could you improve on that in the future?
• What did you have difficulty with? Think of things
  like: accent, vocabulary used, pace of speaking,
  topic, close listening etc. How could your practice 
  or improve on this?
• How could you become better at listening to a
  native English speaker?

Unit 1 - Lesson 1:

Reading, vocabulary & listening

Unit 1: Reading

Culture shock! Discuss the following with a classmate in English:

1. Have you ever visited or lived in a foreign country? 
2. If so, what cultural differences did you notice?
3. What is culture shock, do you think?
4. Have you ever experienced this?

What might a visitor to our country
perceive to be the biggest
cultural difference?

Unit 1: Reading

• Where you correct in guessing the culture shock for non-Dutchies? 
• In groups, discuss the questions posed in exercise 3. Write down your
  answers/make an overview of what you've discussed.

• Read Joy's blog about living in London as a girl from Singapore. 
• Answer the questions in exercise 2 for yourself.

• Vocabulary: do exercises 1-2  about
  collocations (woorden die gezamelijk een betekenis hebben)

Unit 1: Listening

We will listen to 5 people speak about meeting new people. 

1. Match the speakers to the photos (A-E)

2. Match a speaker with a topic (A-H). You only need 5 of the options, so listen well!

End of class

• Pack your bags and clean your tables
• Bring your reading book to class next time
• Study the vocabulary that's in the reader and make sure you have done + self-checked the exercises for this week.

Unit 1 - Lesson 2:

Speaking, vocabulary & grammar

Unit 1: Speaking (p10)

Exercise 1: team up a classmate and discuss the question: Do you find it easy to get to know other people?

Exercise 2-3: Have a look at the exercises. They are centered around speaking, so make sure you debate the questions in English. For exercise 2, note down your answers to the questions first then
move on to exercise 3.

Do the same for exercise 4: first mark down what
you think, then discuss it with your classmate.

Let's talk!

Getting to know someone with the usual questions can be a bit boring. Turn to the person sitting behind you and ask each other at least 5 of the following question. Note down their answers!

1. What's your favorite ice cream topping?
2. What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
3. What's one thing that can instantly make your day better?
4. What's the best joke you've ever heard?
5. If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, which would it be?
6. What's your favorite board game?
7. What was the last TV show you binge-watched?

Unit 1: Vocabulary (p10)

• Exercise 1: First, translate any of the words in
   the box that you do not know. It will help you
   to have a good understanding of the context
   the sentences were created for.
• Skip exercise 2
• For exercise 3, use the words from exercise 1 to
  talk about the poeple in the photos. Mark down
  what your classmate is saying. 

Grammar: conditionals

Unit 1: Conditionals (if-zinnen)

Conditional sentences are statements discussing known factors or hypothetical situations and their consequences. Complete conditional sentences contain a conditional clause (often referred to as the if-clause) and the consequence. Consider the following sentences:

If a certain condition is true, then a particular result happens.

I would travel around the world if I won the lottery.

When water reaches 100 degrees, it boils.

Unit 1: Conditionals 

In short, keep in mind the following about conditionals:

• There are four types of conditional sentences.
• It’s important to use the correct structure for each of these different conditional sentences because they express varying meanings.
  
• Pay attention to verb tense when using different conditional modes.
  
• Use a comma after the if-clause when the if-clause precedes the main clause.

Unit 1: Conditionals 

What Are the Different Types of Conditional Sentences? There are four different types of conditional sentences in English. Each expresses a different degree of probability that a situation will occur or would have occurred under certain circumstances.

1. Zero Conditional Sentences
2. First Conditional Sentences
3. Second Conditional Sentences
4. Third Conditional Sentences

Let’s look at each of these different types of conditional sentences in more detail.

Zero conditional:

If/when + present simple  |  present simple

If/when + present continuous  |  present continuous

Zero conditional sentences express general truths—situations in which one thing always causes another. When you use a zero conditional, you’re talking about a general truth rather than a specific instance of something. Consider the following examples:

If you don’t brush your teeth, you get cavities.

When people smoke cigarettes, their health suffers.

The words if and when can both be used in these sentences. This is because the outcome will always be the same, so it doesn’t matter “if” or “when” it happens.

First conditional:

If/when + present simple  |  will + infinitive

First conditional sentences are used to express situations in which the outcome is likely (but not guaranteed) to happen in the future. Look at the examples below:

If Real Madrid’s captain doesn’t play, they won’t win the match.

If I get an I-phone 5 for Christmas, I will be very happy

Note that we use the simple present tense in the if-clause and simple future tense in the main clause —that is, the clause that expresses the likely outcome. This is how we indicate that under a certain condition, a specific result will likely happen in the future. Use the zero conditional only when a certain result is guaranteed. 

Second conditional

If + past simple  |  would/could/should/might + infinitive

Second conditional sentences are useful for expressing outcomes that are completely unrealistic or will not likely happen in the future. 

If I had a daughter, I would teach her Russian. (unreal present)

If I started my own business, I wouldn’t work on Friday afternoons (hypothetical future)

Notice the correct way to structure second conditional sentences is to use the simple past tense in the if-clause and an auxiliary modal verb (e.g., could, should, would, might) in the main clause 

Mind: the second conditional with "to be" uses "were" instead of "was" in formal contexts

Third conditional

If + past perfect  |  would have/could have/should have/might have + past participle 

Third conditional sentences are used to explain that present circumstances would be different if something different had happened in the past. Look at the following examples:

If you had told me you needed a ride, I would have left earlier.

If I had cleaned the house, I could have gone to the movies. 

These sentences express a condition that was likely enough, but did not actually happen in the past. The speaker in the first sentence was capable of leaving early, but did not. Along these same lines, the speaker in the second sentence was capable of cleaning the house, but did not. These are all conditions that were likely, but regrettably did not happen

Mind: 

Unless means “if not” and cannot be followed by a negative verb form: 

Unless I tell you otherwise, you don’t have to come to class next week.

Exceptions:

Use of the Simple Future in the If-Clause

Generally speaking, the simple future should be used only in the main clause. One exception is when the action in the if-clause will take place after the action in the main clause. For example, consider the following sentence:

If aspirin will ease my headache, I will take a couple tonight.

The action in the if-clause is the aspirin easing the headache, which will take place only after the speaker takes them later that night.

“Were to” in the If-Clause

The verb phrase were to is sometimes used in conditional sentences when the likely or unlikely result is particularly awful or unthinkable. In this case, were to is used to place emphasis on this potential outcome. Consider these sentences:

If I were to be sick, I would miss another day of work.

If she were to be late again, she would have to have a conference with the manager.

If the rent were to have been a penny more, they would not have been able to pay it.

Note that the emphatic “were to” can be used to describe hypothetical scenarios in the present, future, and past.

Mixed conditionals:

It is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different times, and the resulting sentence is a "mixed conditional" sentence. There are two types of mixed conditional sentence.

Present result of a past condition

In this type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect (third conditional), and the tense in the main clause is the second conditional (would/could etc. + inf.):  

If I had studied I would have my driving license. (but I didn't study and now I don't have my license)

I would be a millionaire now if I had taken that job. (but I didn't take the job and I'm not a millionaire)

This type of mixed conditional refers to an unreal past condition and its probable result in the present. These sentences express a situation which is contrary to reality both in the past and in the present. In these mixed conditional sentences, the time is the past in the "if" clause and in the present in the main clause.

Mixed conditionals:

Past result of present or continuing condition

In this second type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past (second conditional), and the tense in the main clause is the third conditional (would/could etc. + past participle).

If she wasn't afraid of flying she wouldn't have travelled by boat.

I would have been able to translate the letter if my Italian was better.

These mixed conditional sentences refer to an unreal present situation and its probable (but unreal) past result. In these mixed conditional sentences, the time in the if clause is now or always and the time in the main clause is before now. For example, "If she wasn't afraid of flying"  is contrary to present reality: She is afraid of flying. "She wouldn't have travelled by boat" is contrary to past reality: She would have travelled by plane.

Now get ready to answer some questions

If I ..... stronger, I would help you carry the piano.

1. was
2. were
3. am
4. will be

If we had seen you, we ............

1. stopped
2. will have stopped
3. would have stopped
4. would had stopped

If she ....... him every day, she would be lovesick.

1. wouldn't see
2. didn't see
3. hasn't seen
4. hadn't seen

He would have repaired the car himself if he ............. the tools.

1. had
2. had had
3. would have
4. has

If you drop the vase, it .....

1. will break
2. breaks
3. would break
4. won't break

We ...... stupid if we told him about our secret.

1. will be
2. are
3. would be
4. were

Extra practice:

Still a bit confused or perhaps want to practise some more? Here are a couple of links to good exercises on Conditional sentences:

• https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/if-clauses/if013-all-types.htm
• https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/if-clauses/if014-all-types.htm
• https://www.grammarbank.com/if-clauses-worksheet.html
• https://www.grammarbank.com/mixed-conditional-exercise.html
• https://www.grammarbank.com/if-clauses-quiz.html

Here you can find some videos explaining the topic once more:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH3ThwR99LM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiBLQfNb8RQ