Manuals > General English > Rosetta Stone Advantage > Beginner - Book 1 > Lesson 4
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By the end of the lesson, the student should be able to describe someone they know.
Communication strategies:
The student should be able to able to describe someone they know by following the 4 steps below:
1) State the relationship.
2) Describe the person’s appearance.
3) Describe the person's features.
4) Describe the person’s personality.
e.g. My boss’s name is Tim. He is really tall. He has brown hair, and he is a really serious guy.
Words and rules:
The student should be able to describe features e.g. He has blue eyes.
The student should be able to name some basic features. e.g, eyes.
The student should be able to state some adjectives that are used to describe people e.g. tall
Appropriateness:
Register: When talking to your friend about people you know, a casual register is usually used.
Social rules: We usually don't describe people's weight unless we want to be mean.
Track #5
Her name is Susan. She is 26 years old. She has long, blonde hair. She is friendly and funny.
Track #6
His name is Luke. He is 12 years old. He’s pretty tall. He has short, brown hair.
Track #7
His name is Ryan. He is 48 years old. He has a goatee. He is
hardworking and very polite.
Because the lesson touches on the topic of appearance, you are welcome to introduce some of the following vocabulary if you like.
1) sideburns (n)
2) be in one's thirties (exp)
3) stubble (n)
4) a goatee (n)
5) pimples (n)
6) wavy hair (n)
7) straight hair (n)
8) spikey hair (n)
9) curly hair (n)
10) dreadlocks (n)
Option 1:
Difficulty ★
Type:
Vocabulary introduction and uncontrolled practice
Purpose:
To introduce people with different relationships
Method:
Brainstorm some different relationships. You can introduce the following words: friend, best friend, teacher, co-worker, colleague, boss, manager, classmate, teammate, etc. Then practice introducing the people using your imagination.
Option 2:
Difficulty ★★
Type:
Phrasal comparison
Purpose:
To compare the differences between “what’s he like” and “what does he look like”
Method:
Teach the student that when we say “What’s he like?” We usually answer with personality related adjectives e.g. He’s kind. But when we ask “What does he look like?” we usually answer with body related adjectives e.g. He’s tall.
Option 3:
Difficulty ★★★
Type:
Vocabulary introduction and uncontrolled practice
Purpose:
To teach the student lexical phrases related to introducing people
Method:
Teach the student some of the following phases, then practice using them together “Have you met…?” / “I’ll introduce you.” / “A meet B” /
Naruhodo Point
English and Japanese use different grammar structures for describing features. In Japanese it’s perfectly OK to say “He is Blue eyes” (彼は青い目です） but in English we use “have” to describe features, not “be” like in Japanese.
Extra questions you might like to ask in the lesson
- Is he tall?
- Is he your co-worker?
- Does he have black hair?
- Who’s who?
- What’s he like?
- What does she look like?
A speaking hint you might like to use
AAA = Answer Add Ask
> Feel free to use this speaking hint in the “Let’s Practice” / “Let’s Speak” sections of the lesson. This is particularly useful when describing someone’s personality.
Question: What is she like?
Answer: She’s really kind.
Add: She always gives me chocolates.
Ask: What are your grandparents like?
Let’s start
Use the words in the box to describe the people below.
Top line (L>R)
blonde hair / black hair / brown hair
Middle line (L>R)
blue eyes / green eyes / brown eyes
Bottom line (L>R)
a beard / bald / a moustache
Let’s try
Listen to the introductions and match them to the pictures. Take some notes. Then use your notes to describe the people.
Track #5
She is Susan. She is 26 years old. She has long, brown hair. She is friendly and funny.
Track #6
His name is Luke. He is 12 years old. He has short, blonde hair. He is young and short.
Track #7
He is Ryan. He is 48 years old. He has a beard. He is hardworking and polite.
Let’s practice
Use the phrases and information to practice describing the different people below.
Name: Emma
Relationship: my sister
Appearance: young/
cute
Features: blonde hair /
freckles
Personality: funny /
friendly
e.g.
Her name is Emma. She is my sister. She is young and cute. She had blonde hair and freckles. She is funny and friendly.
Let’s speak
Make some notes about some of your friends or co-workers, then describe them to your teacher.
Name: Ben
Appearance: Tall and thin
Features: big nose and blue eyes
Personality: funny
e.g. His name is Ben. He is my friend. He is tall and thin. He has a big nose and blue eyes. He is funny. He likes telling jokes.