Hobbies

Using Hobbies as a Gateway to

Practice English Speaking

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Objective
● Improve your reflex English skill
You cannot prepare scripts for all conversations you will have in the
future. But if you spend too much time interpreting the meaning of your
conversational partner, then thinkinking about how to respond, the
conversations’ flow will be interrupted. The consequence is you cannot
communicate effectively. That’s why we will practice to improve your
reflex skill so that you can respond quickly and naturally as you do in
Vietnamese.

● Why hobbies?
It’s about you, so it’s easy for you to speak without a script.
It’s casual (not formal), so you can speak freely without worrying about
formal vocabulary or grammar structures.

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Table of contents
1. Homework

2. Pronunciation of “ed”

3. Preliminary of Modal Verbs

4. Vocabulary (for section 5 and 7)

5. Listen to a story then retell the story

6. Talk about your hobbies

7. Reading comprehension

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1. Homework
So far, you have written two emails for work. In those two emails, the receivers are
your existing contacts.

However, there will be situations in which you have to reach out to new contacts.
For example, when you apply for a new job without the intermediate platforms, or
when you request access to some virtual property of client/remote company, etc.

Compared with emails to existing contacts, emails to new contacts require

introduction right after the salutation “Dear <receiver>,”.

📝Your homework: imagine a situation in which you have to write an email to a new
contact (phuongntk.mentor@gmail.com). Write an email and send it to that new
contact. Attach one or more relevant files/documents in the email and briefly
explain to the receiver about content of the attachments.

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2. Pronunciation of “ed”
While giving feedback on your reading in the previous lesson, the mentor
briefly summarized ways to pronounce “ed” at the end of a verb. Here is a
more comprehensive table with examples of “ed” pronunciations:

Source of the table:

https://www.grammar.cl
/english/pronunciation-
ed.htm
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3. Preliminary of Modal Verbs
The mentor does not want to overwhelm you with too much of grammar
knowledge. Therefore, we will learn just a little bit of grammar in every lesson.

There are eight word classes in English, sometimes called “parts of speech”.
1. Verb: be, bring, decide, look, must, take, write
2. Noun: car, dog, idea, Vietnam, sadness, time
3. Adjective: big, different, high, natural
4. Adverb: badly, often, probably, soon
5. Determiner: a, every, my, the, this
6. Pronoun: him, myself, something, you
7. Conjunction: and, because, but, if
8. Preposition: at, by, to, with

🤔 Take a guess. Which word class do modal verbs belong to?

📝Note: some verbs are “grammatical verbs”, not “action verbs”. By

“grammatical verbs”, the mentor mean the verbs are classified into verb
category because of its grammatical function, not its meaning.
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4. Vocabulary (1/5)
afraid [əˈfreid] adj.
When someone is afraid , they feel fear.
→ The woman was afraid of what she saw.

agree [əˈɡriː] v.
To agree is to say “yes” or to think the same way.
→ A: The food is very good in that restaurant. B: I agree with you.

angry [ˈæŋɡrɪ] adj.

When someone is angry , they may want to speak loudly or fight.
→ She didn’t do her homework, so her father is angry .

arrive [əˈraɪv] v.
To arrive is to get to or reach some place.
→ The bus always arrives at the corner of my street at 4:00.

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4. Vocabulary (2/5)
attack [əˈtæk] v.
To attack is to try to fight or to hurt.
→ The man with the sword attacked the other man first.

bottom [ˈbɒtəm] n.
The bottom is the lowest part.
→ The bottom of my shoe has a hole in it.

clever [ˈklɛv ər] adj.

When someone is clever , they can solve a hard puzzle or problem.
→ The clever boy thought of a good idea.

cruel [ˈkruːəl] adj.

When someone is cruel , they do bad things to hurt others.
→ The cruel man yelled at his sister.

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4. Vocabulary (3/5)
finally [ˈfaɪnəlɪ] adv.
If something happens finally , it happens after a long time or at the end.
→ He finally crossed the finish line after five hours of running.

hide [haɪd] v.
To hide is to try not to let others see you.
→ The other children will hide while you count to 100.

hunt [hʌnt] v.
To hunt is to look for or search for an animal to kill.
→ Long ago, people hunted with bows and arrows.

lot [lɒt] n.
A lot means a large number or amount of people, animals, things, etc.
→ There are a lot of apples in the basket.

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4. Vocabulary (4/5)
middle [mɪdl] n.
The middle of something is the center or halfway point.
→ The Canadian flag has a maple leaf in the middle of it.

moment [ˈmoʊmənt] n.
A moment is a second or a very short time.
→ I was only a few moments late for the meeting.

pleased [pli:zd] adj.

When someone is pleased , they are happy.
→ She was pleased with the phone call she received.

promise [ˈprɒmɪs] v.
To promise is to say you will do something for sure.
→ He promised to return my key by tomorrow.

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4. Vocabulary (5/5)

reply [rɪˈplaɪ] v.
To reply is to give an answer or say back to someone.
→ She asked him what time his meeting was. He replied , “at three.”

safe [seɪf] adj.

When a person is safe , they are not in danger.
→ Put on your seat belt in the car to be safe .

trick [trɪk] n.
A trick is something you do to fool another person.
→ His card trick really surprised us.

well [wɛl] adv.

You use well to say that something was done in a good way.
→ The couple can dance quite well .

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5. Listen to a story: The Lion and the Rabbit
🔗Link to the audio file of the story: https://shorturl.at/ohypB

📝 Assignment: Listen to the story then retell it in your own words. If you encounter
new words or phrases, you can look it up or take a note to ask your mentor.

Note: you can listen to the story as many times as you want. The more you listen, the
more familiar you will become with the sound of English..

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6. Talk about your hobbies
📝 6.1. Assignment: Talk about your hobbies in detail; the more detail, the
better.
Suggestion: You can talk about what the hobby is, when did you start having
that hobby, is there anyone or any event or memory related to that hobby?
You can also talk about hobbies that you used to have in the past or hobbies of
your family members, your fiends, etc. The objective is to let you have more
content to practice speaking.

You can also take vocabulary and phrases in the next slides as a reference
when you prepare for this speaking section.

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6. Talk about your hobbies
6.2. Vocabulary
Hobbies and Leisure Activities:

● Reading, writing, painting, drawing, gardening, cooking, hiking, biking,

swimming, playing musical instruments, photography, dancing, etc.

Expressions and Phrases:

● "I enjoy..."
● "My hobbies include..."
● "In my free time, I like to..."
● "I'm passionate about..."
● "One of my favorite pastimes is..."

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6. Talk about your hobbies
6.3. Grammar Structures
Present Simple Tense:

● Used to talk about routines or habits related to hobbies. For example:

○ "I read books every evening."
○ "She plays the guitar on weekends."

Gerunds (Verb + -ing):

● Commonly used to talk about hobbies. For example:

○ "I enjoy cooking Italian food."
○ "He likes swimming in the lake."

Adverbs of Frequency:

● Used to talk about how often hobbies are done. For example:
○ "I often go hiking on Sundays."
○ "She rarely paints in her free time."
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6. Talk about your hobbies
6.3. Grammar Structures
Modal Verbs (Can, Could, Would like to):

● Used to express ability, possibility, or desire related to hobbies. For example:

○ "I can play the piano."
○ "I would like to learn photography."
○ "She could try gardening this weekend."

Comparatives and Superlatives:

● Used to compare hobbies or express preferences. For example:

○ "Swimming is more relaxing than jogging."
○ "Reading is the most peaceful hobby for me."

Phrasal Verbs Related to Hobbies:

● "Take up" (start a new hobby), "Give up" (stop a hobby), "Work on" (practice a
hobby), "Look forward to" (anticipate a hobby).
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7. Reading comprehension
The story in text format will be provided later (might be in the next lesson) after you
have finished your listening.

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 Thanks!
Do you have any questions?
phuongntk.mentor@gmail.com

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