Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Dirección Académica | Facultad de Ciencias Humanas

Sede Bogotá

Programa de Segunda Lengua

Programa de Segunda Lengua
Inglés I - Semestral
Código SIA: 1000044
Unidades 1 a 6
A1 | Elementary
 UNIT 1
TALKING ABOUT
PEOPLE
WELCOME TO UNIT 1!

In this unit you will talk about

yourselves and people. You will
describe
1. influential people from
around the world
2. professionals from the
University that have
https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00067381.html
enriched our lives and fields
of study.
Syllabus Level
A1 Unit 1
(Check the file)
Objectives: What Will I Learn Today?

I CAN ….
1. Describe my personal and educational
life and the lives of others
2. Express my opinion

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WARM-UP ACTIVITY 1: Circle Game!
1. Form a giant circle with all chairs facing into
the circle.
a. Leave enough space between chairs for students to
get up.
b. The teacher will be in the middle (without a chair)
2. The teacher then says “Hello, my name is ____”
AND something about themselves.
a. Example: “Hello, my name is ___, and I am a girl”
b. This can be anything: “wearing black shoes,” “like to
play tennis”, “have a dog”, etc.
3. Everyone who identifies with what he/she says https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/child
ren-sitting-in-circle?sort=mostpopular&m
must stand up and move to another chair. ediatype=photography&phrase=children
%20sitting%20in%20circle
4. The last person in the middle must repeat Step
#2. Repeat until all students have been in the middle at least once
Prior Knowledge - Content
INSTRUCTIONS:
Your teacher will
say sentences
(from the notes)

WRITE which word

you hear.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Describing-People-4181004
Prior Knowledge - Content
INSTRUCTIONS:
Match the picture
with the correct
description.

THEN discuss
your answers
with a partner

You will not use

one of the pictures.
WARM-UP ACTIVITY 2: Snowball Fight!
1. Take out a piece of paper
2. Write down THREE things about you
in SENTENCES:
1. Your physical appearance (hair
color, height, etc.)
2. Your age
3. Your favorite hobby (sports,
reading, etc.)
3. Crumple the piece of paper. https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/crum
pled-paper-ball?sort=mostpopular&media
type=photography&phrase=crumpled%20
paper%20ball
WARM-UP ACTIVITY: Snowball Fight!
4. Have each side of the class stand up
and throw their papers to the other
side of the class.

5. Pick up one piece of paper (that is

not yours).

6. SILENTLY try to find the person https://www.123rf.com/photo_34276619_stock-vector-thr

ee-happy-kids-in-a-snowball-fight-during-a-winter-snowy-

who owns the paper based on just the snow-day-vector-illustration-cartoon-.html

description. Sit down when you find your

person!
Activity 1:SPEAKING
Look at following pictures. Do you know them?
They are some important people around the world. In pairs, talk to a partner and discuss
what you know about them. Write down your findings, start with their names. (Use your
notebook).

https://www.clarin.com/entremujeres/genero/greta-thunberg- https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/14/dems-video-evidence-impeachment-trial-098727
militante-16-anos-cambio-climatico-conmueve-mundo_0_oly
IDPkZY.html
Look at following pictures. Do you know them?
They are some important people around the world. In pairs, talk to a partner and discuss
what you know about them. Write down your findings, start with their names. (Use your
notebook).
Activity 2: The details are in the wrong order.

Match the detail to its correct person.

Oprah Gail
Greta Stephen William Joanne Rowling
NAME Donald Trump Winfrey (Oprah
Thunberg Hawking (J. K. Rowling)
Winfrey)
media
proprietor, talk English
novelist,
show host, President of the theoretical Student, climate
OCCUPATION screenwriter and
actress, United States physicist, change activist
film producer
producer, and cosmologist
philanthropist

PLACE OF Stockholm,
Oxford, UK New York City, USA Kosciusko, USA Yate, UK
ORIGIN Sweden

NATIONALIT
British / English Swedish British / English American American
Y
OPRAH WINFREY DONALD TRUMP J. K. ROWLING
GRETA THUNBERG STEPHEN
HAWKING
 GRAMMAR: DESCRIBING PEOPLE
To describe people, use the chart below:
VERB CONJUGATION DESCRIPTION

Introducing a person: This is… + name

Profession / He/She is a/an ... + profession

Occupation:
We/They are ...

Place of origin: He/She is from ... + place of origin

We/They are from ...

Nationality: He/She is ... + nationality

We/They are….

Education: He/She/They studied at… + name of school

Achievements: He/She is famous /known for… + achievement

They are famous for….
Activity 3.1: Choose one of the people from Activity 2 and
describe him/her using the chart. Write down sentences and
share with a partner.
VERB CONJUGATION DESCRIPTION

Introducing a person: This is… + name

Profession / He/She is a/an ... + profession

Occupation:
We/They are ...

Place of origin: He/She is from ... + place of origin

We/They are from ...

Nationality: He/She is ... + nationality

We/They are….

Education: He/She/They studied at… + name of

school

Achievements: He/She is famous /known + achievement

for…
They are famous for….
Activity 3.2:
In groups of 4, talk and decide who is the most influential person
from your choices. Give reasons. Your group must be in agreement.

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS:
GIVING OPINIONS

1. Who do you think is the most…?

2. I think the most influential person is …
3. In my opinion…
 WRITING
Activity 4.
Individually, write a paragraph about the person you chose in your group, and
explain why you came to this conclusion.

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
______
Activity 4.1:SPEAKING

Now, find someone who was not in your group BUT also
chose the same person for their paragraph.
You can DESCRIBE the person you wrote about,
but do NOT say the person’s name!

Once you have found a partner, sit with them to work on the
next activity together!
Activity 5.1. LISTENING
1. What do you know about the Dalai Lama. Discuss with a
partner. Answer the questions:
a. Who is he?
b. Where is he from?
c. Why is he important?

If you do not know him,

use the picture as a
clue!

Video taken from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4oRLFBcTMY
Activity 5.2. Watch the video, and choose the correct answer.

1. “Lama” means…
a. Giver
b. Messiah.
c. Teacher.
d. none of the above.

2. For Tibetans, Dalai Lama is … https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/03/china-and-dalai

-lama-spar-over-reincarnation.html
a. Chosen. https://www.dalai-lama-dharma-dharamsala-miniguide.co
m/DalaiLama.html
b. A spiritual and political leader.
c. A reincarnation of Bodishattva.
d. all of the above.
3. What best describes the current Dalai Lama?
a. He is calm and peaceful.
b. He is strict and judgemental.
c. He is reserved and sensitive.
d. All of the above.

4. What happened to the Dalai Lama?

a. He retired from politics.
b. He was exiled from Tibet.
c. He currently lives in India.
d. All of the above. https://www.dalai-lama-dharma-dharamsala-miniguide.com/D
alaiLama.html
Activity 5.3. SPEAKING
Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 to escape Chinese soldiers.
He also is considering the stop of the reincarnation process.
However, the Chinese government now wants to take control of who is the
next Dalai Lama.
Do you agree with that? Why?
Write your reasons, then discuss with your group.
USEFUL LANGUAGE:
EXPRESSING AGREEMENT AND
DISAGREEMENT

In my opinion…
I think/believe/consider…
I don’t agree…
I agree…
I’m not sure….
Activity 6.: GUESS THE PERSON
1. Each student will pick a famous person whom everyone knows (Elvis
Presley, Shakira, Will Smith, etc.). Write this person on a piece of
paper.
2. In groups of 4, have each person answer a YES/NO question from
other group members about the person they have chosen. Questions
can only have YES/NO answers. Example questions:
a. Is your person a woman?
b. Is your person old?
c. Does your person sing?
3. The person who guesses the correct answer wins the piece of
paper. The person with the most pieces of paper by the end of the
game wins!
Activity 6.1.: READING
Read the information about Manuel Elkin Patarroyo.
Manuel Elkin Patarroyo
PERSONAL DETAILS
Born November 3, 1946 (age 70)
Ataco, Tolima, Colombia

Education National University of

Colombia (MD)
Rockefeller University (Ph.D)
Known for Malaria license
MEDICAL CAREER
Profession Doctor
Institutions Hospital San Juan de Dios,
Bogota, National University of
Colombia
Specialism Pathologist
Taken from:
Research Immunology
http://caracol.com.co/radio/2011/03/27/internacional/
1301259660_445735.html Notable prizes Prince of Asturias
Awards (1994) Robert Koch
Prize (1994)
Activity 6.2. WRITING
According to the information above, write a paragraph about
Manuel Elkin Patarroyo. Use the prompts below.

This is ….
He was born…
He is from…
He is a / an…
He is married to…
He studied at…
He is famous / known for…
Activity 6.3.: Write a biography about the most
important person in your field of studies.
__________________________________
This is …. __________________________________
__ was born… __________________________________
__ was/is from… __________________________________
__ was/is a / an… __________________________________
__ studied at… __________________________________
__ was/is married __________________________________
to... __________________________________
__ was/is the most __________________________________
important person __________________________________
because... __________________________________
GROUP ACTIVITY: About Me Drawing
1. You will have 5 minutes to draw an image that
represents you.
2. This could be anything: abstract, include people,
symbols, etc.
DO NOT show your image to anyone!
3. Students then form pairs and sit back-to-back
(they cannot see one another).
4. One student will describe THEIR image to another
student with as much detail as possible.
5. The other student will draw what he/she hears.
6. Then switch roles (one draws, another describes).

https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/wo
man-and-man-sitting-back-to-back-they-playing-vec
GROUP ACTIVITY: About Me Drawing
7. The pairs then show their drawings to one another. Answer the questions below with a
partner.
1. What was similar about the drawings?
2. What was different?
3. What does this activity show you?
4. How important is it to be specific with language?
8. Students then describe their partner's drawing and what they think that each
component of the drawing says about their partner. The person who drew the picture neither
affirms nor denies that the statements are true. Follow the form:

“My partner drew a I think this means that my partner ..

_______. - likes to _________ .
- is ________ .
- seems ________
- has a lot of ________ ”
GROUP ACTIVITY: About Me Drawing

9. Students will now present their own drawings to the class

(explaining the actual meaning of each component).
- Introduce yourself
- Then follow the form:

“I drew a _______. I drew this because I..

- like to _________ .
- am ________ .
- feel ________
- have a lot of ________ ” https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/mJ
xwwx_presentation-clipart-present
ation-board-cartoon-pointing-carto
on-person/
Créditos
Nohra Vargas B.
PLE Coordinator
Paula Melissa Vera Diettes
ELT Editor/Designer

Kirsten Salonga
EditorEnglish Teaching Assistant
Fulbright Colombia