Everyday Dialogues

Going to the Barber

In this lesson, you will learn words and
expressions that male customers use when they
go to a barber. You will also learn how to describe
specific hairstyles that men commonly wear.

Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What hairstyle does your closest male friend have?

2. W
 hat is the difference between
a barbershop and a hair salon?

3. What type of facial hair do some men have?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

1. the usual a) to remove all of the hair from the skin in a certain area
2. buzz cut b) an electric razor for cutting hair very short

3. shave c) a very short military-style cut

4. hang tight d) the style or type one usually asks for

5. clippers e) to look good on someone

f) wait right here for a short time
6. slicked back
g) hair that grows along the side of the face below the ears
7. gel
h) a styling product that makes dry hair appear wet
8. beard
i) a bit hairy, not clean-shaven
9. suit
j) hair that grows on the chin
10. scruffy
k) smooth skin that has just been shaved
11. sideburns
l) pulling the hair to the back of the head and holding it back
12. clean-shaven with a styling product that keeps the hair looking wet

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Dialogue Reading
Read the dialogue with your partner a few times. Take turns
being each character. Practice your intonation and pronunciation.
Circle any new words or phrases that you need to practice.

Barber: Hi, Max. Just the usual today?

Customer: Actually, I’d like it a bit shorter than usual.

Barber: Okay. How short are we talking? Do you want a buzz cut?

Customer: Well, I don’t want you to shave it all off, but I’d like it as short as possible.

Barber: Okay. Hang tight while I grab my clippers. So, is there a special occasion?

Customer: Sort of. I got a new job at a restaurant. I’m working in the kitchen.

Congratulations. Let me guess. Your boss wants it short.

Barber:
I thought it might be a new girlfriend.

My girlfriend would rather I wear it long and slicked back with gel.
Customer:
She keeps asking me to grow a beard, too.

I don’t think you’d suit the scruffy look, Max.

Barber:
Now, what about your sideburns? Are they coming off, too?

Yes, please. I need to be clean-shaven.

Customer:
Restaurant guests can see the kitchen from the dining area.

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Practice
Work with your partner. Role-play the dialogue on page 2,
substituting the different expressions below. Then switch roles.

1. Just the usual today? 5. M

 y girlfriend would rather I wear
it long and slicked back with gel.
• Are we doing the same as always?
• Just a trim today? • My girlfriend wishes I’d put mousse in my hair.
• Are we just cleaning things up today? • My girlfriend wants me to part it in the middle.
• If my girlfriend had it her way,
2. How short are we talking? I’d have shoulder-length hair.

• How short do you mean?

6. She keeps asking me to grow a beard, too.
• How much do you want off?
• She thinks I should have a moustache.
3. Don’t shave it all off. • She wants me to grow sideburns.

• Don’t take it all off.

7. I don’t think you’d suit the scruffy look, Max.
• Leave a little bit of length.
• I don’t want to be bald. • You wouldn’t suit a ponytail, Max.
• You look better with short hair.
4. Hang tight while I grab my clippers. • You look better clean-shaven.

• I’m just going to grab my other scissors.

• Just one sec. I need to grab a different razor.
• I’ve just got to get my clippers.

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Listening Practice
Listen to the recording of the dialogue from page 2. Fill in the missing
words as you listen. Listen again. Now look back at page 2 and check your
work. Did you fill in the correct words? Did you spell everything correctly?

Barber: Hi, Max. Just the             today?

Customer: Actually, I’d like it a bit             than usual.

Barber: Okay. How short             ? Do you want a             ?

Customer: Well, I don’t want you to shave it all off, but I’d like it as short as possible.

Barber: Okay. Hang tight while I grab my             . So, is there a special occasion?

Customer: Sort of. I got a new job in a restaurant. I’m working in the kitchen.

Congratulations. Let me guess. Your boss wants it short.

Barber:
I thought it might be a new girlfriend.

My girlfriend would             I wear it long and slicked

Customer:
back with             . She keeps asking me to grow a beard, too.

I don’t think you’d suit the scruffy look, Max.

Barber:
Now, what about your             ? Are they coming off, too?

Yes, please. I need to be             .

Customer:
Restaurant guests can see the kitchen from the dining area.

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Vocabulary Review
Work with your partner. Classify the words below under the correct
headings. Check off each word as you use it. Try to form a sentence
or question with each word. Can you think of any other words?

——scissors ——clippers ——spray bottle

OOgel ——shears ——towel
OOrazor ——straight ——bald
——thin out OOspiky ——shave
——comb ——slicked back ——mousse
——brush ——mirror ——chop
——shampoo ——shoulder-length ——hairspray
OOtrim ——blow-dry ——wavy

Products Tools Verbs Styles

gel razor trim spiky

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Write Your Own Dialogue

Write a dialogue with a partner using phrases from page 3.
One of you will be a customer and one of you will be a barber.
Practice and present the dialogue to your class.

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Review
Task 1

LISTEN & ANSWER

Listen to the conversation and answer the questions.

Your teacher will tell you if you have to write or say the answers.

1. What is Max’s main reason for going to the barbershop today?

2. What main tool will the barber use to cut Max’s hair?

3. How does today’s cut differ from Max’s usual style?

4. What does Max’s girlfriend want Max to do?

5. Why does Max need to remove his sideburns?

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Review cont.
Task 2

QUESTION FORMATION

A. Questions

Write five questions a barber might ask you.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

B. Answers

Write five possible answers to the questions above.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Task 3

ROLE-PLAY

Find a partner. Imagine that one of you is the barber and one of you
is the customer. Use your questions to do a role-play for your teacher.

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int

In this lesson, a customer goes to the barber TIME: 1.5 hours

to get his hair cut. Students learn vocabulary
TAGS:  dialogues, barber, haircut, male, barbershop, appearance
and expressions to use when going to the barber.

Pre-Reading Vocabulary Review

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS Products:

gel, shampoo, hairspray, mousse
Discuss as a class or in small groups. Answers will vary.
Tools:
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW razor, scissors, comb, brush, clippers,
shears, mirror, spray bottle, towel
1. d 3. a 5. b 7. h 9. e 11. g
2. c 4. f 6. l 8. j 10. i 12. k Verbs:
trim, thin out, comb, brush, shampoo, blow-dry, shave, chop

Dialogue Reading Styles:

spiky, straight, slicked back, shoulder-length, bald, wavy
Give your students time to read the dialogue in pairs.

Write Your Own Dialogue

Practice
Encourage your students to use vocabulary from the model.
Have your students read the dialogue again and
practice subbing in some of the different expressions.
(continued on the next page...)

Listening Practice

Have students complete the dialogue by listening

to the recording or by having two students read
the completed dialogue from page 2.

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 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key cont.

Review (Assessment Tasks)

The following tasks can be used for assessment purposes

and/or review practice. You can save all of the tasks until
the end or assess your students throughout the lesson.

TASK 1

Play the audio from this lesson. Then assign the questions. You
can decide if you want your students to say or write the answers.

1. Max needs a short haircut for his new job in a kitchen.

2. The barber will use clippers to cut Max’s hair.
3. Max’s haircut today is shorter than usual.
4. Max’s girlfriend wants him to wear his hair long
and slicked back. She also wants him to grow a beard.
5. He has to be clean-shaven because guests can see
the kitchen from the dining area in the restaurant.

TASK 2

Answers will vary. Assess your students’ understanding

of how to talk to a barber by having them write common
questions and answers that they learned in this lesson.
Check for proper question formation.

TASK 3

Assess two students at a time as they role-play the scenario.

SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Practice.

Most other English-speaking countries spell it this way: Practise
(when used as a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it
a challenge for your students to find this word in the lesson
and see if they know the alternate spelling.

Copyright 2017, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( LO W I N T / V E R S I O N 4 .1) 10
 Going to the Barber
Everyday Dialogues

Copyright 2017, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( LO W I N T / V E R S I O N 4 .1) 11