UNIT 4 MY LIFE AND MY FAMILY

1 Work alone. Azadeh is the woman in the picture above. Read about her life.
Azadeh: I live in a small house with my husband and two children. We live in Bristol. I speak Farsi, Kurdish and a
little English. I work in a nursery school, but I’m not studying at the moment because I am too busy. In my free time,
I go cycling.

2 Work alone. Complete the table below with information about Azadeh. Some information has already been added.

Azadeh Farouk Agnes

Where do you live? a small house
Who do you live with?
Which city do you live in? London
What languages do you speak?
What are you studying? nothing at the moment
Where do you work? an Eritrean restaurant
What do you like doing? cycling

3 Work alone. Read the passages below about Farouk and Agnes. Add the information to the table in the correct place.
Farouk: I live alone in a hotel in south London. I speak Arabic and English. I’m doing a catering course at the local
college. I work as a taxi driver at nights and at the weekend. I like watching football, but I don’t play.

Agnes: I live in a flat with my sister. I speak Tigrinya and Arabic. My English is very bad, so I am studying ESOL at
Glasgow College. I work in an Eritrean restaurant four nights a week. I am in a singing group.

Empower Starter ESOL Worksheets © Cambridge University Press 2022 1

UNIT 4 MY LIFE AND MY FAMILY
4 Work in pairs. Compare your table with your partner. Change your answers if needed.

5 Work in pairs. Say whether the statements below are true or false. Correct the false sentences.
a Agnes lives alone.
b Farouk can drive.
c Azadeh likes cycling.
d Farouk likes playing football.
e Two people speak Arabic.

6 Work alone. Write three sentences below about Azadeh, Farouk and Agnes. Use the information in the table. Two
sentences should be true, and one should be false.

7 Work in pairs. Read the three sentences to your partner. Ask them to guess which one is false.

8 Work alone. Write a paragraph about your own life. Try and write at least five sentences.

My Life

9 Work in pairs. Read your sentences to your partner. They should add the information into the last column in the
table on p. 1 above. After you have finished reading, check they have done this correctly.

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UNIT 6 WORK AND ROUTINES
1 Work alone. Getting good sleep is very important. Read the sentences below. Which do you think are good for sleep,
and which are bad? Put ticks () in the columns.

Good for sleep Bad for sleep

a  Checking your phone in bed
b  Going to bed at the same time every night
c  Having a tidy bedroom
d  Sleeping in a dark bedroom
e  Going to bed as soon as you finish eating
f   Listening to loud music
g  Writing a list of things you need to do tomorrow
h  Making sure the room is the right temperature

2 Work in pairs. Compare your answers. Which are the same? Which are different?

3 Work in pairs. Talk about what you can do to sleep better. Share your best idea with the rest of the class.

4 Role play. Work in pairs. Read the conversation below. Two people are discussing sleep problems.
Student A: I usually go to bed about 10 o’clock.

Student B: I go about 11 o’clock.

Student A: I am usually on my phone until 11, watching videos and checking messages.

Student B: That’s not good for you.

Student A: Why?

Student B: The light from the phone wakes the brain. It means you can’t feel calm.

5 Work in groups of 3. Create your own role play. Take it in turns to read out the sleep problem from the list below.
The other two students should suggest how you can improve your sleep.

• ‘I usually go to bed at 9 o’clock, but sometimes not until 2 or 3 am.’

• ‘Lots of light enters my bedroom through my window.’ HINT
Look at the answers to question 1
• ‘I go to bed as soon as I have finished my dinner.’ for more information about this.

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UNIT 6 WORK AND ROUTINES
6 Work alone. Many doctors say that breathing exercises can help you relax. One suggestion is given below. Write the
correct letter (a–e) next to the correct stage (1–5).

Stage 1: Stage 2: Stage 3: Stage 4: Stage 5:

a Hold your breath for 7 seconds.

b Breathe out for 8 seconds – as slowly as you can.
c Sit or lie in a relaxing place. Then breathe out so there is no air in your body.
d Repeat 4 times.
e Close your mouth. Breathe in slowly for 4 seconds.

7 Work in pairs. Student A reads the instructions in the correct order. Student B does the breathing exercise. Then
repeat, with Student B reading the instructions.

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UNIT 7 SHOPPING AND FASHION

I magine you are

having a party,
going for a job
interview, or visiting
the beach. It can
be very expensive to
buy the things you
need. The Glasgow
Share Shop lets you
borrow things for a
maximum of 7 days,
usually for very little
cost. We are open
every day from 10 am
to 4 pm. If you can’t
carry the items, we
can deliver them to
your house.

1 Work alone. Read about the Glasgow Share Shop, a type of shop where you can borrow, rather than buy, useful items.

2 Work alone. Are the sentences below about the Glasgow Share Shop true (T) or false (F)? Circle T or F. After you
have done this, check your answers with a partner.

a You can borrow things for a week. T / F

b It’s expensive to borrow things. T / F
c The shop is open on Sundays. T / F
d The shop doesn’t deliver. T / F

3 Work alone. Draw a line to match the situation with the items you might want to borrow. The first one is done
for you.

1 For a party a suit / dress / tie

2 For a job interview b bucket / towel / net
3 For the beach c tent / sleeping bags / outdoor stove
4 For a camping holiday d glasses / plates / cups
5 For a picnic e chairs / cool box / blanket

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UNIT 7 SHOPPING AND FASHION
4 Work in pairs. Think about the situations below. What things might you want to borrow? Write on the lines.
a A family of four are going to stay in your house for a few days.

b You need to do some repairs in your house.

c You have got a job to work in someone’s garden.

5 Work alone. The Glasgow Share Shop is run by volunteers. They do the work but are not paid. This helps the cost
stay low. Some of these volunteer jobs are listed below. Complete their description with a verb from the box.

welcomes creates keeps makes delivers adds fixes collects manages

a New item recorder: information about new items to the computer database

b Item carer: items safe

c Driver:  items from people, and items to

people who cannot get to the shop

d Website builder:  and a website so that people can

see what items are in the shop

e Tea and coffee volunteer: hot drinks for all the other volunteers

f Item repairer: any items which arrive broken

g Receptionist: people when they enter the shop

Now compare your answers with a partner.

6 Discuss with your partner which of these jobs you would like to do.

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