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The Splendid Speaking CourseVolume 1 Unit 2 ’Active Listening’Splendid Expressions‘Travel’

Topic vocabularyTo develop an interest inTo take up a hobbyTo be mad aboutTo be fascinated byTo be a fan ofTo be intoTo be a keen(collector/gardener)To be hooked onTo do something in yourspare timeTo be time consumingTo do something purely forpleasureTo make money out of aninterestTo be rewardingTo dabble in lots of things

Typical reply questionsDo/Have/Are you?Don’t/Haven’t/Aren’t you?Really?Seriously?Never?You’re joking?Do you think so?

Unit 19: Hobbies and InterestsTask: Discussion Skills: Active Listening (3-4 minutes)

1. Introduction: Your teacher has given you the following instruction:

TaskWhat’s your partner into? Sport? Music?International cuisine? Or are they acomplete couch potato? Find out more abouta hobby or interest your partner has.

2. Planning: You should both spend a minute or two making notes on thekind of questions to ask. Think about the following subjects:What their interest is.Why/How they first became interested in it.What it is about the hobby or interest they enjoy.

3. Task Focus: Focus on listening carefully to your partner and showinginterest by responding to things he or she says. Use reply questions andexpressions, perhaps followed by a comment on what your partner hassaid. For example:A) “I always look around second-hand shops for any old records.”B) “Do you? I’ve got a friend like that. You can find some real bargains if you’relucky, can’t you?”

4. Language: Tick any of the language on the left you want to use.

Task: Presentation (2 minutes)

Prepare a short presentation describing a hobby or interest you have. Giveyour audience a taste of what it is you like so much about it.

The natural tendency when giving presentations is to rush. Try to paceyourself so that the audience is able to follow your talk more easily. Focus onthe following:

Try to speak more slowly than you would normally speak. Take regular, deep breaths. Pause for a second or two between sentences and especially after a point

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March arch ives( Interview 19) at :

emphasize.