ACTIVITY 4

Main aim

To listen for  gist.

Time: 45 minutes

Materials: MP3 from  http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer126/T142-Impression.htm    

Level: high

Technical requirement: internet connection

Pre-listening

 Ask students to answer some questions on the first time they met their best friends such as:

1. Who is your best friend?
2. When did you meet him/her?
3. Where were you?
4. What were you doing?
5. What was your first impression? What did you think about him/her?

Give students some time to answer the questions. Monitor students and make a list of adjectives on the board students may use to describe a person´s first impression such as: kind, honest, rude, polite, intelligent, silly, etc.  Then, ask students the questions orally. Elicit ideas and write down on the board certain words students have used to describe their best friends, especially the vocabulary that is present on the audio file. Ask students to identify the adjectives with a positive connotation.

 While-Listening

 Explain students they will listen to six people talking about their first impressions when they met their best friends. Ask students to listen and mark the correct option on the table.

 Script:

Isma / Indonesia
My first impression of best friend was positive. I mean, she was really nice to me, and she helped me a lot with my studies and also adapting in a university. So, she was really nice, and until now, we're still best friends.

Matt / United States
I actually don't have a first impression of my best friend, because I grew up with him and I knew him as long as I can remember, so I actually don't have an impression of him.

Dani / England
Well, I guess, my first impression sounds quite odd. The fact that she had lots and lots of freckles, and I didn't, and also she had quite short hair and my hair was very long at the time.

Kat / Germany
My first impression of my best friend was I don't like her. I am pretty judgmental when I see people for the first time, and when I saw her, I just instantly didn't like her, and it was the same for her. But once we got talking, I realized she's going to be my best friend. That was five years ago, and we're still the best of friends.

Mike / Singapore
First impression of my best friend was that he was a little bit crazy. He's from Iran, and his name is [Firos]. He's very lazy, but I like him because he's easygoing.

Lindsay / United States
The first impression of my best friend was that she was really outgoing and very original. I was really attracted to her from the beginning. I thought, "Wow, she's got quite cool style!" and someone that I admire.

Ask students to share what they have.

Post listening

Ask students to categorize the adjectives they have on the board into two different groups: with a positive connotation and with a negative connotation.