MODULE I: FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE

I. Who are you? Introduce yourself.

Are you in a formal or informal situation?

WHO?
I am …………………………………………………………… .
I’m …………………………………………………………… .
My name is …………………………………………………………… .
My name’s …………………………………………………………… .
My name is ……………………………….. but my friends all call me ……………………………………. .

WHERE? – origins
I am from ……………………………………… (country / city).
I’m from ………………………………………… (country / city).
I am…………………………………………………(nationality).
I’m…………………………………………………(nationality).

WHERE? – birth and childhood

I was born in………………………………………………….. (place).
I grew up in……………………………………………………. (place).
I was raised in ………………………………..……………… (place).
I spent my childhood in……………………………………(place).

EXEMPLE
I was born in Mbouda and spent my childhood in Douala and Yaoundé.
I’m originally from the West region but now I’m based in the Centre region.
I grew up in Mbouda, but I now live in Yaoundé.

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WHERE? – for how long?
I’ve been leaving in ………………… (place) since …………… (year).
I’ve lived in …………………… (place) for …………………. (duration).
I moved to …………………….. (place) a few days/ weeks/ months / years ago.

Option: legal marital status

I’m married / single.
I’ve been married since……………………………… (time/period).
We’ve been together for ………………………….. (time / period).
I’m engaged to ……………………………………………………… (name).

FAMILY
We are a family of……………………………………… (number).
I live here with my family. We are a family of ………. (number).
I grew up in a family of …………………..… (number).
I have a ………… (age) -year-old son / girl or twins.
I’m a mother / father of a ………… (age) -year-old son / girl.
I have ……………… (number) siblings.
I’m one of ………………… (number) siblings.
I’m an only child.

EXTENDED FAMILY
Aunts
Uncles
Grandparents
Cousins
Nieces and nephews
No need to go into details about who or how many.
Exemple: I live in Yaoundé but most of my extended family lives in Mbouda.

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INTERESTS
I enjoy …………………………………………. (noun – gerund form).
I love …………………………………………. (noun – gerund form).
I like …………………………………………. (noun – gerund form).
I enjoy playing football.
I’m really into ………………………….. (noun)
I’m really into Mbolé music.

JOB
I’m a/an…………………………………………. (job position).
I’m the ……….………… (job position) of a …..……….. (name) company.
I’m the owner of a ………………….. (type of company).
I work in ………….……(field of industry: marketing – construction…).
I work at / for ……………………… (company name).
I work at Congelcam. / I work for the government.
I work for myself. / I am self-employed. / I run my own business.

EDUCATION
I have a degree in …………………………. (industry).
I have a degree in engineering - design.
I’m a qualified …………………………………………. (job title).
I’m a qualified engineer – designer - architect.
I’m studying ………………………….. (industry).
I’m completing a PHD in …………………………… (area of research).
I’m in my final year of a/an ……………………… (area of study) degree.
I’m currently taking an online course to upskill.

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About me!
I’m a Cameroonian.
I live in Yaoundé.
I’m originally from Mbouda.
I love watching television.
I’m an English teacher.
I teach in some secondary schools and training centres.
I’m interested in novels and movies production.

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II. How can you describe yourself?
Describe the personality
Examples of adjectives to describe the personality: honest – talkative – outgoing – shy – funny –
nice – patient – confident
Use the question “what’s he / she like?” to ask about the personality.

Use the question “what does he/she look like” to ask about the appearance (attractiveness,
height, weight…)
The following adjectives can be used:
Attractiveness: cute, pretty, beautiful, handsome…
Height: short – average height – tall
Weight: thin – slim – average weight – muscular – a little heavy – heavy
Hair length: short hair – medium length hair – long hair
Hair style: straight - wavy – curly – frizzy – nappy – braided – plaited
Men: bald – moustache – beard
Age: early – mid – late (he’s in his early twenties – he is in his mid-twenties – he is in his late
twenties)
She’s kind of young – she’s kind of old
She’s around thirty years old

Use the present continuous tense to describe what someone is wearing.

What is he wearing?
He’s wearing a ………………. - colour, type of clothes –

EXEMPLE
What is she like? She’s outgoing.
What does she look like? She’s pretty.
She’s average height and slim.
She has long braided hair.
How old is she? She’s in her late thirties.
What is she wearing She’s wearing a yellow shirt and black skirt.

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III. How is your family live?

Eating Habits
The term eating habits (or food habits) refers to why and how people eat, which foods they eat,
and with whom they eat, as well as the ways people obtain, store, use, and discard food.
Individual, social, cultural, religious, economic, environmental, and political factors all influence
people's eating habits.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

What do you generally eat at breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?

When do you eat breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?

How many times do you eat per day? Once a day – twice a day, three times a day…

Activities
1. play a card game
2. go on a picnic
3. Play charades
4. Cook together
5. Throw a dance party
6. watch a sporting game
7. Sing karaoke
8. have a family movie night
9. Tell stories together …

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 Relationships
friendly: She is generally confident, well-spoken and professional, and easily establishes friendly
relationships with co-workers.

happy: I’m in a happy relationship, with a growing family.

healthy: Healthy relationships are ones that bring out the best in you. (= They help you use/show
your best qualities.)

strong: Building a strong relationship requires a lot of hard work and never-ending effort from
both ends.

broken: I don’t know how to mend our broken relationship.

difficult: If you are in a difficult relationship and you want to solve it, you will have to work as a
team with your partner.

failed: It takes great effort to let go of failed relationships.

fragile: Rebuilding fragile or shattered relationships takes time.

brief: He had brief relationships with several women.

stormy: After having a very stormy relationship for 5 years, they decided to separate.

strained: Having a strained relationship with parents, siblings or child may be very harmful to
people’s health.

troubled: It was a troubled relationship full of sunlight and shadow.

problematic: He has a very problematic relationship with his father.

uneasy: There has always been an uneasy relationship between workers and management.

close: They have a close working relationship.

intense: An intense relationship full of passion can wreak havoc in our lives. (= It can cause great
damage.)

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 IV. How is your daily live? / What is your daily routine?
Here are three routines.

1. Routine for an entry-level employee

If you're beginning your career, establishing a successful routine can help you develop strong
work habits and balance your professional and personal goals. Here's an example of a daily
routine for an entry-level employee:

1. Wake up at the same time every morning

2. Journal for 15 minutes about personal or professional goals
3. Eat breakfast and get ready for work
4. Commute to work, if applicable
5. Read and respond to emails
6. Create a list of tasks for the day
7. Work on tasks
8. Take lunch
9. Go for a short walk after eating
10. Return to your desk and keep working on tasks
11. Check in with your manager about daily progress
12. Leave work and go home, if applicable
13. Work on hobbies for an hour
14. Eat dinner
15. Take a walk for 15 minutes
16. Read for 30 minutes
17. Go to sleep

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2. Routine for a mid-level professional

As you advance in your career, you might spend more time doing professional development and
earning certifications. By developing a routine, you can accomplish those tasks while meeting
your basic work requirements and having a fulfilling personal life. Here's an example of a daily
routine for a mid-level professional:

1. Wake up at the same time every morning

2. Go for a walk before breakfast
3. Eat breakfast and prepare for work
4. Commute, if applicable
5. Read emails and respond to correspondence
6. Review project plans and daily calendar
7. Work on projects
8. Take lunch
9. Review strategic goals with your manager
10. Complete project tasks for the day
11. Commute home, if applicable
12. Work on certification class for one hour
13. Eat dinner
14. Spend an hour on hobbies
15. Go to sleep

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3. Routine for a senior professional

As a senior professional, you might have more varied responsibilities than entry- or mid-level
professionals, who might learn the skills of their trade through repetition. While your duties
might vary, you can still create a routine that balances your professional and personal priorities.
Here's an example of a daily routine for a senior professional, like a manager or director:

1. Wake up at a regular time

2. Meditate or stretch for 10 minutes
3. Eat breakfast and get ready for work
4. Commute, if applicable
5. Read email and respond to messages
6. Meet with junior team members to discuss daily or weekly assignments
7. Read project reports from team managers
8. Meet with other directors to review key performance indicators (KPIs)
9. Attend lunch meetings with stakeholders
10. Read proposals for new projects
11. Meet with individual team members for training sessions or performance
reviews
12. Commute home, if applicable
13. Spend time with family or friends
14. Exercise for 30 minutes
15. Eat dinner
16. Read for an hour
17. Go to sleep

Create your daily routine!!!

V. What celebrations you usually have in the family /

The feasts you celebrate with your family?
1. The birthday
2. The Christian feasts
- Christmas Day - 25 December
- Easter Day
3. The Saint Sylvester day
4. The new year

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VI. How can you describe your neighbourhood / The
community live?
How to talk about your neighbourhood in english

In the following guide, I want to show you how to talk about your neighbourhood in English.
You might have to do this in the IELTS speaking test. It could be a topic that comes up in parts
one, two or three. It could certainly come up in part one, as it is a topic where you are talking
about your own life and life experience.
You could also be asked to talk about your neighbourhood in an interview or in an English
conversation.
No matter where the subject may appear, talking about your neighbourhood in English should
come very easy to you. You are talking about the place where you live and your surroundings, so
this should come naturally to you.
But let’s go through all the steps so that you can talk about your neighbourhood fluently and
with ease. Are you ready? Let’s dive in…

What is the Neighbourhood?

Your neighbourhood is the local area where you live. It is the place that is within walking distance
of your home.
Your neighbourhood includes the local stores and shops that you might use regularly, the people
who live near you (your neighbours) and other places that you see or visit. You might have lived
in your neighbourhood all your life or just for a short time. Wherever you live right now, the
surrounding area is your neighbourhood.

Things in your Neighbourhood

Depending on where you live, there could be different things in your neighbourhood to anyone
else’s neighbourhood.
A local neighbourhood in a small town in England will be very different from a neighbourhood in
India or Japan, for example.
But some things are the same.

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Let’s take a look at the most common things you can find in many neighbourhoods around the
world.

convenience store supermarket post office

park local shops houses
apartments police station bus stop
subway station cafe/coffee shop restaurant
clinic hospital community centre
church bakery gym
shopping centre/mall fire station school
bank grocery store library
You should know most of these words. But if you don’t know any of the words, look them up in a
dictionary and find out the correct meaning.

There are many ways to describe your neighbourhood.

Let’s look at some words we can use.

residential beautiful polluted

spacious densely populated dangerous

crowded tree-lined streets clean

dirty business district ugly

safe at night noisy quiet

suburban working-class middle-class

bright convenient friendly

Describe your neighbourhood!!!

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