Objectives & Sequence: This lesson is intended to be used as a preview of Grammar - Verb Patterns #2.
Part One: Warm Up
Discuss the following questions with a partner or group:
- Do you know any big sports fans?
- Did you play any sports when you were a child?
- What is the most exciting sport to watch on TV? What about the most boring?
- What do you know about the UFC?
Part Two: Listening
Exercise
Open Exercise One to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document. Then, go on to Exercise Two.
Transcript
Transcript: Conversation about Sports
Leanne: Hey, Shaun.
Shaun: Hi, Leanne. What’s up?
Leanne: You’re a sports guy, right?
Shaun: I guess you could say that. I do love sports. What about you?
Leanne: Not so much - I mean - I like to exercise and do things like running and yoga, but I’ve never really enjoyed sports where you compete against others. I guess I’m just not a very competitive person.
Shaun: Yeah, I’m exactly the opposite. I love to win and I hate to lose.
Leanne: So what kinds of sports are you into?
Shaun: Well, do you mean what kinds of sports I’m into playing or watching on TV? Cause they’re different.
Leanne: Well, let’s start with playing. What sports do you play?
Shaun: Um, okay, well when I was a kid, I did a lot of team sports like soccer, football, baseball, hockey...
Leanne: Wow. That’s a lot. All that equipment must have been expensive for your parents.
Shaun: Oh, I’m sure.
Leanne: Which one did you like the most?
Shaun: That’s a good question. I remember liking hockey the most.
Leanne: Hockey? Really? Which position did you play?
Shaun: I was a goaltender. My job was to stop the puck from going into the net.
Leanne: Cool. Do you still play?
Shaun: No. I had to quit playing because of a bad knee.
Leanne: Oh, that’s too bad. Do you play any other sports these days?
Shaun: Yep. I play soccer in the winters and softball in the summers.
Leanne: Cool. Tell me about that. Do you just play with your friends, or do you play in actual leagues?
Shaun: Oh, leagues for sure. Yeah, they’re are lots of teams and players. It’s all really organized. For soccer, I play in a men’s league. It’s pretty competitive. Everybody wants to win.
Leanne: And what about softball?
Shaun: Oh, my softball league’s totally different. It’s co-ed, and everyone’s really friendly.
Leanne: Co-ed? What’s that?
Shaun: Oh, sorry. Co-ed means it’s for both men and women. In fact, in my league, every team needs to have a minimum of six women.
Leanne: Cool.
Shaun: Yeah, it’s fun. We play two games every Saturday in Stanley Park. Between the games, we have a barbecue, and we eat lunch together. It’s awesome.
Leanne: Wow.
Shaun: Yeah. It’s also a good mix of players. Some people are real athletes and are super good. Then, there are others who never played as a child, so they’re not as good. In the end, nobody really cares how good you are. Everyone’s just there to have fun and meet others.
Leanne: That sounds really cool...So let’s talk about the kinds of sports you like to watch on TV.
Shaun: Sure. I love watching soccer, hockey, and baseball. I also really like to watch UFC.
Leanne: UFC? I’ve heard of that. That’s like karate or something, right?
Shaun: Um, kind of I guess. It’s just like boxing, but they allow kicking and wrestling too.
Leanne: I see. So do they have fights every week or something?
Shaun: No, the UFC holds fights every couple of months or so. You have to pay to watch it on TV, so people usually choose to go to a pub or restaurant to watch it there.
Leanne: I see. So, you haven’t talked about golf at all. What do you think about golf?
Shaun: Um, well, playing golf is okay I guess. It’s fun to play with a bunch of friends or something. I can’t stand watching it on TV, though. The pace is just too slow for me. I refuse to watch it.
Leanne: Yeah, it’s pretty boring to me too.
Shaun: Yeah.
Leanne: Cool, well, thanks for answering all my questions about sports.
Shaun: No problem.