Talking about a celebrity in English!

1. Would you like to be a celebrity ?

2. Have you ever seen a celebrity in person ?

3. Do you know anybody who has a celebrity in their family?

4. What are the advantages  of being a celebrity?

5. What are the disadvantages  of being a celebrity?

6. Do you think that celebrities have the right to privacy?

7. What do you think of paparazzi ?

8. Do you read gossip magazines ?

9. Do you watch gossip TV programs ?

10.   Do you belong to any fun club ?

11.   Who was your hero, when you were younger?

12.   Which celebrity do you admire ? Why?

13.   Which celebrity do you not like? Why?

14.   Do you have to be beautiful to become a celebrity?

15.   Do you have to be intelligent or talented to become a celebrity?

16.   Are celebrities happy?

17. Which celebrity would you like to meet? What would you do if you could spend a day with this person?

18. Do you think it's moral to sell your private life to the media?

1. Who is your favourite celebrity in your country?

2. How do celebrities influence their fans in your country?

3. Do you like any foreign celebrities?

4. Would you like to be a celebrity? Why?

5. Do you think we should protect famous people’s privacy?

celebrity 

a famous person

in person 

yourself

I can’t see the match in person, all I can do is to watch it on TV.

advantage 

The biggest advantage of living in the country is the silence.

disadvantage 

The biggest disadvantage of living in a big city is the constant noise.

privacy 

I couldn’t share a bedroom with somebody else. I need some privacy.

paparazzi 

The actress took legal action against the paparazzi who once followed her even in the bathroom.

gossip magazine 

I never buy gossip magazines. Why should I care about the others’ lives?

gossip TV program 

She keeps watching the same gossip TV program every evening and she always knows what’s happening in show business.

fun club 

His teenage sister belongs to the fan club of Harry Potter and her room is all covered with posters of the movies and books.

hero 

Jack Nicholson is my hero. I’ve seen every movie that he acted in.

admire 

I really admire her for her courage and intelligence.

someone’s claim to fame 

someone’s reason for being famous, well-known

Michael Jackson’s claim to fame was his great musical talent and dancing skills.

To be on top of the list (expression) to be the highest priority

To be a (big/huge/avid) fan of (expression) to admire SO

Public figure

So-called (adj)

Claim to fame 
Someone’s reason for being well-known or famous.

Versatile :
A person who is able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities, mostly different roles they perform.

Glamorous:
Someone who is attractive in an exciting and special way.

A one trick pony:
A celebrity can be called ‘ A one trick pony’ when they are skilled only in one kind of genre.

Overrated:
If something or someone is overrated, that person or thing is considered to be better or more important than they really are.

Arrogant:
A celebrity who is unpleasantly proud and behaving as if you are more important than, or know more than, other people.

Highest accolade:
It is a form of praise or an award given to a celebrity for the brilliant work put in by them over the years.

Glowing tributes :
Praising with enthusiasm received from the critics and audiences for the performance.

Big break :
A celebrity who has a significant good fortune or opportunity to showcase their talent.

Victim of their own success:
To have problems because of your success, as success gets into ones head their attitude towards others changes, they become arrogant and start to think as if they are only one on the planet with the skill and talent.

Listening Practice: Survival English

Exercise 10: Talking to a landlady (17:41)

Mrs. Tiger's new lodger is asking what he is allowed to do. Listen to the conversation and make a cross (X) if it is not allowed and fill in the table below.

Exercise 13: Trip to Belfast (25:38)

Listen to the talk and fill in the missing information in the notes below:

Belfast is one of the (1)___ capital cities in the world and it has grown very fast. Today the city has a population of (2)___, nearly a third of the entire population of Northern Ireland, but in the 17th century it was only a (3)___. Then, during the 19th century, the development of industries like linen, rope-making, (4)___, tobacco and sea trade doubled the town size every ten years. The city is well known for (5)___. It was here that the "Titanic" was built and set out on her (6) ___ maiden voyage.

Plan for the trip to Belfast

Exercise 14: TV and radio (28: 23)

Listen to the talk and complete the notes below.

There are two main broadcasting companies in Britain. 

One is (1)___, the other is (2)___

National radio is controlled by the (3)___. There are four stations.

(8) The BBC has ___ TV channels. ___ has more serious programmes and news features.

(9) The IBA is responsible for looking after ___ independent TV companies.

(10) There is a break for advertisements about every ___ minutes.

(11) Channel 4 is an independent channel. It has more ___ programmes than the main channels.

(12) Many people think the programmes on British TV have a ___ standard, but some people ___ the amount of violence on TV.

Exercise 15: Sports (30:44)

Questions 1 - 10

Listen to the talk and fill in the missing information in the right places

Questions 11 - 16

Indicate whether the following statements are true or false by writing T for true and F for false in the boxes below.

11. All colleges have their own impressive sports facilities   T/F

12. The most popular outdoor sports are football and tennis   T/F

13. Motor racing is one of the most popular sports in Britain   T/F

14. "To play the game" means "That's not fair"   T/F

15. "That's not cricket" means "to be fair"   T/F

16. The most popular sport in Britain is football   T/F

 

Conversations about Food!

Practice talking about your jobs: 

Student A:

What kind of food do you like?

Student B:

I'm really crazy for Korean and Japanese food. 

Student A:

Why do you like Korean food?

Student B:

Because Korean food is spicy, tasty, flavorful and healthy. How about you? What kind of food do you like?

Student A:

I'm keen on American and Italian food?

Student B:

I think American food is unhealthy! Why do you like it?

Student A:

I like American food because It's delicious, sweet, cheesy and buttery. What kind of food do you dislike?

Student B:

Well, I think I'm not a crazy fan of American food because it's too sweet, oily and fried. It makes me fat. How about you, what kind of food don't you like?

Student A:

Ah, I see. I'm not keen on Thai food because it's so spicy and sour, I can't eat spicy food.

Student B:

Do you like cooking?

Student A:

Well, not really. And you?

Student B:

Yes, I love cooking.

Student A:

How often do you cook?

Student B:

I cook 3 times a week.

Student A:

What's your specialty?

Student B:

My specialty is seafood fried rice

Student A:

Wow, I like it very much. What are the ingredients?

Student B:

The main ingredients are seafoods like shrimp and cuttlefish. The veggies are carrot and string beans. The spices are cooking oil, garlic, black pepper, sugar, salt and fish sauce.

Student A:

How do you cook it?

Student B:

First, I pour cooking oil into the frying pan and add garlic, about 30 seconds. After that I add shrimp and cuttlefish and stir them about 5 minutes.

Second, I add carrot and string beans and stir everything about 3 minutes. 

Finally, I add spices and rice, then I stir the mixture 

Crossword about Jobs!

Across

3. A person that works in a food outlet, looking after customers and serving food (male).

5. A person that designs building and houses.

7. A scientist who specializes in the study and treatment of the mind and behavior.

9. A person that defends people in court and gives legal advice.

11. A person that repairs machines, especially car motors.

15. A person that works with meat: cuts the meat and sell it in his shop.

16. A person whose job is to take in or give out money in a store, bank, etc.

19. A person whose main job is to prevent crime.

20. A person who can cut your hair or give it a new style.

23. A person that is at the entrance of a company/hotel.

25. A person that works with the money and accounts of a company.

27. The person with the most important position in a company.

28. A person that delivers mail to your house.

32. This person writes books or novels.

33. A person whose job is to give people advice about what to eat in order to be healthy and stay in a good shape.

34. A person whose job is to cut men's hair, beards and mustaches.

35. A person that makes new reports in writing or through television.

39. A person who has the job of designing things.

42. A person that passes knowledge to students, usually at school.

43. A person who develops solutions to technical problems. They sometimes design, build, or maintain engines, machines, structures or public works.

45. A person that works with flowers.

46. Someone who works in an office, writing letters, making phone calls, and arranging meetings for a person or for an organization.

47. A person that prepared food for others, often in a restaurant or café.

48. A person that can fix problems you have with your teeth.

49. Someone who takes care of your baby or child while you are out, usually by coming to your home, especially someone you pay to do this.

Down

1. A person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer.

2. A person who serves drinks at a bar or restaurant.

4. A person that works with electric circuits.

6. A person (such as a director or producer) who makes movies.

7. A person who is trained to prepare and give out medicines in a hospital or shop.

8. A person that tidies an area or place (such as in an office).

10. A person that collects trash/rubbish from bins in the street.

11. A person who writes, sings, or plays music.

12. A person who works in an office, dealing with records or performing general office duties.

13. A person who studies the stars and the universe.

14. A person that puts out fires.

17. A doctor who performs operations that involve cutting into someone's body in order to repair or remove damaged or diseased parts.

18. A person you go to see when you are ill or have some type of health problem.

21. A woman flight attendant.

22. This person usually makes bread and cakes.

24. A person that repairs your water systems or pipes.

26. A person that makes clothes for others, many times producing exclusive items of clothing.

28. A person that takes photos.

29. A person that takes part in a play or a movie (male).

30. A person who flies a plane.

31. A person that makes things from wood including houses and furniture.

35. A qualified person that decides cases in a law court.

36. A person whose job is to arrange and manage funerals.

37. A person trained to help a doctor look after the sick or injured.

38. A person that saves lives where people swim (at a beach or swimming pool).

40. Someone who works on different projects with different companies instead of being a company employee.

41. A person who works for the army.

44. A person who is trained to give medical care and treatment to animals. 

Conversations about jobs!

Practice talking about your jobs:

Student A: 

What do you do for a living?

Student B: 

I'm a teacher of English. I work in Phan Thiet and I work for Co Tu's Homestay. How about you? What do you do?

Student A:

I'm a developer. I work in California, USA. And I work for Microsoft.

Student B: 

Wow! Really amazing. Can you describe your company?

Student A:

Yeah, my company is huge. It's an American corporation. We have over 150,000 employees, the headquarter is located in Washington and we have many branches all over the world.

How about your homestay? Can you describe it?

Student B: 

Well, It's just a small, local and family business homestay. We have only about 10 staff. We have 2 branches: 1 in Phan Thiet and 1 in Mui Ne. Maybe in the future we will open a new homestay in Da Lat or Nha Trang.

What products or services do you sell?

Student A:

Let me see... We have many softwares and apps like Microsoft word, excel, powerpoint, Skype and so on...

Student B:

Yeah, I know Skype and Microsoft office. I really like them all.

Student A:

Wow, I'm happy to know that. And you? What products or services do you sell?

Student B:

As you know, It's a homestay, so we have different kinds of rooms for guests like family rooms, double rooms and dorm rooms. We also cook breakfast, lunch and dinner and sell some drinks like coffee and soft drinks. We offer Jeep tours to the guests and blah blah blah...

At the same time, we teach English for adults, teenagers and little kids too. Here, we teach people how to communicate English for different topics.

Student A:

It sounds a lot of fun! How are your co workers?

Student B:

Because we are a family business homestay, so everyone's very close, friendly, funny and happy. We sometimes have dinner or go to the coffeeshop together. We travel once or twice a year to Da Lat or Phan Rang. We really have a lot of fun.

Student A:

It's really nice. Because my company is so big, we have so many staff in the office, so I even don't know everyone. I just say "hi" to anyone I meet in the office, some of them are quite friendly, but the others are not really.

But I love my team, we have only 15 staff in my team, 14 of us are boys and only 1 is a girl. Everyone's so funny, caring and helpful. We often make jokes and laugh a lot in the office. After work, we often hang out to the movie theater, coffeeshop, bars and bla bla. We sometimes travel together around USA and to other Europe countries too.

Student B:

Awesome! How about your boss?

Student A:

My boss is quite strict, difficult and demanding. But she's very talented, kind and generous. Whenever I have any problems, she's ready to help me a lot. How about your boss?

Student B:

My boss? She's my mom. She's quite hot tempered, difficult and talkative, but she's really understanding and smart. I learn a lot from her too.

Student A:

Cool! Do you like your job?

Student B:

Yes, of course. I love it because I can meet and talk to different people. I can learn about their culture and so on. It's a fun and creative job, sometimes it may be boring and challenging.

How about you? Do you enjoy your job?

Student A:

Yeah, definitely. I love it, even though it's very stressed and challenging sometimes, we often work overtime and don't have so much time for family, but it's quite promising, I can get high salary and bonus too. And if I become good, I can have promotion.

Talking about TV program in English!

Warm up questions:

1. What is your favorite TV show?

Why do you like it?

When is it on?

Does you mother/ father like it, too?

2. Will you watch TV tonight? If so, what will you watch?

3. How often do you watch TV?

4. What kind of TV shows do you dislike? Why? 

5. Do you like Super brain Vietnam/ Amazing Race/ Running Man/ Lightning Fast/ Road to Olympia Peak...?

6. Do you think it is good for children to watch TV?

7. What is your favorite channel? Why?

8. Do you think that TV is a good thing?

9. Do you have cable TV? What's your favorite program?

10. Do you prefer listening to the radio or watching TV?

 

Types of TV shows:

Sports

Sitcom (situation comedy)

Documentary /ˌdɑːkjuˈmentri/

Soap Opera

Cartoon

Travel/ Holiday

Kids/ Children

Drama

Comedy Drama

Teen Drama

Romantic drama

Family Drama

Medical Drama

Legal Drama

Crime Drama

Horror Drama

Historical Drama /hɪˈstɔːrɪkl/

Space Drama

Political drama /pəˈlɪtɪkl/

Musical Drama

Reality TV

Game show

Talk show

Variety shows

Sci-fi and fantasy

Anime /ˈænɪmeɪ/

Stand up comedy

Other vocabularies:

Episode

Rerun (n)

Example:

reruns of old TV shows

Season

Example:

The play opens for a second season in London next week

Program (n)

Example:

My favorite news program is CNN

Network

Broadcast

Cable TV

Channel /ˈtʃænl/ (n)

Example:

a music/sports/movie channel

Streaming (adj)

Example:

Internet video streaming has not replaced television.

Download /ˌdaʊnˈləʊd/ (v)

Example:

You can download the app for free

The show is on

On the air

Example:

The Simpsons has been on the air for over twenty years!

Audience /ˈɔːdiəns/ (n)

Example:

We encourage audience participation during our show.

Spectator /ˈspekteɪtər/ (n)

Example:

The new football stadium will hold 75 000 spectators.

Viewer /ˈvjuːər/ (n)

Example:

The average American TV viewer spends five hours a day watching the small screen

Hilarious /hɪˈleriəs/ (adj) = Super funny

Example:

a hilarious joke/story

Action packed (adj)

Example:

We had an action-packed weekend

Suspenseful (adj)

Example:

a suspenseful thriller

Rating /ˈreɪtɪŋ/ (n)

Example:

‘The Big Bang Theory’ was the network show with the highest rating.

TV commercial

To send someone to sleep

Example:

“Most sports programs send me to sleep, but I quite enjoy watching tennis and volleyball.” 

To have a good laugh

Example:

“I love comedies – I always feel optimistic and happier after having a good laugh.”

 Tear-jerkers /ˈtɪr dʒɜːrkər/

Example:

“I love watching most types of films – even tear-jerkers.” 

Binge-watching /ˈbɪndʒ wɑːtʃɪŋ/ (n)

Example:

Sometimes nothing beats a night of binge watching on Netflix

Violence (n)

    Violent (adj)

Example:

domestic violence

Educational (adj)

    Education (n)

To get into

Example:

She really gets into Korean Drama, she watches it almost everyday.

I got into photography when I was a teenager

In the background

Example:

He prefers to remain in the background and let his assistant talk to the press

Put something on in the background

Example:

When cooking, I often put music on in the background

To feel guilty

Example:

I feel very guilty about watching drama all day at weekends

To get addicted to

Example:

Many young people really get addicted to playing video games

It's fun to

Example:

It's fun to read books and listen to music sometimes

To obsess /əbˈses/

Example:

He's obsessed by computers.

Go through phases

Example:

I went through a phase of being obsessed with superhero movies this summer.

At some point

Example:

At some point I decided she was no longer my friend

To get tired of

Example:

Sometimes I really get tired of those negative comments

Take a break

Example:

We should take a break between the classes

Broadcast TV = traditional TV

Streaming services

Old fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃnd/(adj)

Example:

old-fashioned clothes/styles/methods/equipment

Weird /wɪəd/ (adj)

Example:

I had a really weird dream last night

That makes sense

Example:

This sentence doesn't make sense

Make no sense

At a specific time = at a certain time

Skip the ad breaks

Example:

I always skip the ad breaks when watching youtube.

Ads = advert = advertisement

Advertising

Netflix

 

Plot (n) = Storyline

Predictable /prɪˈdɪktəbl/ (adj)

Example:

The ending of the book was entirely predictable

Go downhill

Example:

After my parents opened my report card and saw how bad my grades were, it all went downhill

Cliffhanger (n)

Example:

The first part of the serial ended with a real cliffhanger

To resolve

Example:

Attempts are being made to resolve the problem of security in schools

No spoilers!

Example:

Warning: this review contains spoilers

An ending 

A happy ending

A sad ending

To get distracted

Example:

It's very easy to get distracted when we work or study from home

Naked = nude /nuːd/ (adj)

Explicit scenes /ɪkˈsplɪsɪt/

Example:

I feel shy when watching explicit scenes on TV with my parents

Billboard (n)

Big name actors = in-demand actors

Example:

Nicolas Cage is one of the top 10 big name actors in Hollywood

Prevent someone from doing something

Example:

Nothing would prevent him from speaking out against injustice

To be a big sports/ music/ game show... fan

Example:

I'm a big game show fan!

or something

Example:

Her name is Mary or Margaret or something

It depends

Example:

‘Is he coming?’ ‘That depends. He may not have the time.’

Things like that

Example:

She likes nice clothes and things like that.

You know what?

Example:

You know what? I'm hungry

A (little) bit of everything

Example:

What do you do on the farm all day? 

A bit of everything, I guess. There's always something to do

Check it out

Example:

You wanna check it out?

Take a look

Example:

Let's take a look at this news, it's really shocking!

Some popular TV programs in Vietnam:

Lightning Fast (adults & kids)

Wanna date?

Thank god, you're here

Running man 

Superbrain Vietnam

Hidden Voices

Crack Them Up Vietnam

Amazing Race

The Voice (adults & kids)

The road to Olympia Peak

The face Vietnam

Next Top Model

Vietnam Idol

Phrases for talking about a TV show:

 “My favorite program is…”

“I love watching…” 

“I adore watching…” 

“I hate watching…” 

“I can’t bear/ stand watching…” 

“That program keeps me on the edge of my seat” 

“I can’t bear to miss an episode of…” 

“The special effects are…” 
 

Part 1: Talking about TV habits

Do you watch much TV? And how often do you watch TV?

Example:

I go through phases...

Sometimes I get really into a show...

I binge - watch a show over a few days...

I put something on in the background while i'm doing other things...

How much time do you spend on watching TV?

I spend...

most of my time

3 or 4 hours

only 30 minutes

...on watching TV

Who do you often watch TV with? And where?

I often watch TV alone/ with my husband/ wife/ family...in the bedroom/ living room/ kitchen...

What TV program do you often watch?

I usually/ always/ sometimes watch...

What was the last show you really got into?

The last show I really got into was....

game show

talk show

drama...

Have you ever binge - watched a show? why?/why not?

Yes/ No

I used to, but now i'm too busy, I don't have time

Because...

Do you like to put TV on in the background when you're doing housework or working?

Yes/ No 

Not really

Why? or Why not?

How do you watch TV?/ Do you watch broadcast TV, streaming services or both?

Streaming

Broadcast

Both of them

...

Which one is better? Why is it better?

Streaming services are better because....

Broadcast TV is better because...

Part 2: How to describe a TV show in more details:

Why do you like that program?

I like/ enjoy/ love it because:

• It's so awesome
• It's really great
• It's amazing
• That show is hilarious
• It's super funny
• It's fascinating
• It's a really interesting show
• It's interesting/ exciting/  fascinating
• It's great fun 
• It's uplifting

• It's realistic
• It's amazing 
• It's addictive 
• It's stimulating
• It's thought-provoking

More details:

What kind of thing do you watch?

I mostly watch crime series

I watch a mix of documentaries and medical drama

I watch a bit of everything

What's it about?

It's about Sports/ Music/ Traveling/ Cooking...

Who's in it?

Many big name actors like...

My favorite actress...

Is it funny/original/ exciting/ boring/ tear-jerker...?

Yeah, it's kinda/ kind of/ really/ very/ quite...

Where's it on?

It's on HTV7/ VTV3...

Example:

I'm watching a game show called Lightning Fast . 

It's about solving tricky quizzes between 2 teams. 

They invite many celebrities like actors, actresses, models, singers and so on to attract the viewers.

This show is quite relaxing/entertaining and lots of fun. The team members have to be quite smart and very quick to give the correct answers to the MC's.

It's on HTV7 channel. But I never watch it on TV because I don't really know the schedule of this show, then I often watch it on Youtube or on Facebook or something when I have free time, it's more comfortable and convenient.

Part 3: Talk about a TV show you dislike:

Describing bad TV Shows

Why don't you like it?

I dislike it because it's:

• Terrible
• Lame
• Awful
• Boring
• Frustrating
• Mindless
• Not funny 
• Cheesy = Too emotional/ too fake 
• Scary
• Depressing 
• Sad 
• Unrealistic
• Soppy /ˈsɑːpi/

Examples:

“I think soaps are boring.”

“In my opinion, news and weather programs are usually depressing.” 

“I find wildlife documentaries totally thought-provoking. “ 

Other examples:

It went downhill in later seasons. 

Some storylines made no sense.  

Every episode finished with a cliffhanger. 

They had a lot of plot threads to resolve. 

No spoilers!

Example:

In my opinion, there're some bad TV shows and one of them is The Face Vietnam or some Beauty Contests because I think there're some arranged results, the candidates are not really outstanding or talented and they don't have unique, gorgeous and naturally beautiful faces and bodies.They try to create as many dramas or scandals as they can to attract the viewers and audiences. Then the results are always disappointing/ frustrating, boring and argumentative.

More questions to practice:

1. Do you think TV is educational?

2. Do you think there is too much violence on TV?

3. What are the advantages of watching TV?

4. What are the disadvantages of watching TV?

5. What TV commercials do you like? Why do you like it? Which ones do you hate?

6. What is the purpose of advertising a product?

7. When you drive or walk, do you get distracted by advertisements on buses or billboards?

8. When you go food shopping, do you buy foods you've seen in TV commercials?

9. Do you think it's right to see naked women in TV commercials selling beauty products?

10. What types of TV program are there?

Which type do you like best?

11. When do you usually watch TV?

12. Do you think that TV makes people lazy?

13. Do you think too much time is spent watching TV?

14. Does TV make a person passive? 

15. Does TV take away a person's ability to think for himself or herself?

16. Do you think that TV prevents people from communicating?

17. What do you think of TV shows that are designed to "discover new talent?"

18. What do you think about reality shows? Would you participate in one if you were invited?

19. Which channel does your family like the best?

20. Do you like watching TV alone or with your family?

21. Who decides what to watch: the parent or the child?

22. Is television one of the best inventions of all times?

23. What do you think of the "rubbish" programs on TV which are only dedicate to gossip about famous people?

24. There is a famous English saying that goes "you are what you eat." Does this apply to television? Can the programs you watch affect your behavior?

25. What kind of entertainment do children like?

26. Do you think children watch too much TV these days?

27. Do you think there are any possible dangers to society from the material broadcast on TV channels?

28. How do you feel when watching explicit scenes on TV with your parents? How do your parents usually react?

29. Does violence on TV influence some young people to engage in violent behavior?