UNIT 6

CHANGING YOUR LIFE

1
SNAPSHOT

Which of these events are important changes? Which are small changes?
Have any of these things happened to you recently?
What other things bring about changes in our lives?

2
LISTENING
A. Before Listening
Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Preparation Task
Write the words in the correct groups.

a ballet an artist a concert a show

a band a group a theatre a play
 a musician a cinema an opera house a gallery

Entertainment Events Places for Entertainment People and Entertainment

B. LISTENING ACTIVITY
Listen to two people talking about changing their plans to practise and improve your listening
skills.
Click the link below
https://6a63fca904fd268f15f7-d5770ffdd579eb31eaa89faeffc55fe7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/
LE_listening_A2_Changing_plans.mp3
Task 1
Listen and choose Francesco (the man) or Sachi (the woman) to complete
the sentences.
No Sentences Francesco Sachi
1 .............................. runs across the street.
2 .............................. is going to buy tickets for the play.
3 .............................. can’t go to the play this Friday.
4 .............................. is a musician.
5 .............................. isn’t happy about the situation.
6 Two weeks ago .......................... had tickets to the cinema
7 .............................. likes dance shows.
8 .............................. suggests that they go out to dinner.

Task 2
Complete the sentences with the phrases in the box.

go next Friday next Friday the theatre on Friday 2

out for dinner I forgot free then
1. I can’t go to .................................... .
2. How about .................................... ?
3. Are you .................................... ?
4. I can definitely .................................... .
5. Why don’t we go .................................... ?
6. I’m sorry, ....................................

3 SPEAKING
A. Pre Activity
Ice Skating bowling cinema birthday party shopping centre

1 2

3 4 5

Match the words and pictures above

B. Practice the Conversation

3
Gemma: Hi Makayla. How’s it going?
Makayla: Oh, hi Gemma. Fine, thanks. How are
you?
Gemma: Yeah, I’m good. Listen, it’s Jack’s birthday
next week and we’re going to have a surprise
celebration this weekend. Do you want to come
with us?
Makayla: Yeah, that would be great. What are
you going to do?
Gemma: Well … I’m not sure … have you got any
ideas?
Makayla: Mmm … how about going to the cinema?
Gemma: Yeah, maybe … Are there any good films on at the moment?
Makayla: Mmm … There’s that one comedy, Lucky Break.
Gemma: Oh, no … we saw that last week. It’s really not that funny.
Makayla: Oh, right. Erm … How about going ice skating?
Gemma: Mmm, no … Jack doesn’t like ice skating.
Makayla: Well ... what does he like?
Gemma: Well ... he likes bowling … What about bowling?
Makayla: Yeah! That’s a great idea. Everyone likes bowling.
Gemma: OK.
Makayla: When shall we go?
Gemma: How about Saturday afternoon?
Makayla: All right. Where shall we meet?
Gemma: Let’s meet at the shopping centre in front of the bowling place.
Makayla: OK. When shall we meet?
Gemma: Erm … 3 o’clock?
Makayla: OK, that sounds great! So, Saturday afternoon, in front of the bowling place.
Gemma: Yeah, it’s a plan! I’ll tell the others.
Makayla: Cool!

C. Discussion

Describe a positive change in your life.

You should say:
 what the change was about
 when it happened 
 describe details of the change happened 
and describe how it affected you later in life.
Follow-up Questions:
 What changes do you want to make in your life?
 Do you believe we can control our own fate? How?
4
  What three changes you would want to see in your country?

D. 4
PRONUNCIATION

Minimal Pair /əʊ/ and /aʊ/

as in know and now
Both of these sounds are diphthongs, meaning single vowel sounds during which the
mouth more or less moves between two different shapes, as if the speaker is moving between
two short vowel sounds. The easiest way to pronounce the sounds correctly is to combine the
closest short vowel sounds, which can be seen in the two symbols that make up each
diphthongs phonemic symbol.
The /əʊ/ symbol is made up of the short vowel sounds /ə/ and /ʊ/, meaning your mouth
moves from the totally relaxed or slack mouth position of /ə/ to the rounded position of /ʊ/ while
the /əʊ/ sound is made.
The /aʊ/ symbol finishes with the same /ʊ/ symbol but starts with the /a/ one, meaning
the sound starts with the mouth much tighter and further open than with the /ə/ sound of /əʊ/.

Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the vowel sound /əʊ/ and the other the vowel
sound /aʊ/.
Click https://www.englishclub.com/audio/pronunciation/minimal-pairs/oh-ow-elementary.mp3
hose house (v)
know now
oat out
tone town
Click https://www.englishclub.com/audio/pronunciation/minimal-pairs/oh-ow-
preintermediate.mp3
hoe how road rowed
known noun vole vowel
load loud wrote rout
phoned found

5 READING: Do You have the right mindset?

A. Preparation
Complete the sentences with a word from the box.

boost do love learning

make test get comfort
5
 1. That was a bit scary! I’ve never spoken in public before – it really took me out of my
_______________ zone.

2. She’s setting up a study with two groups of children to _______________ her theory.
3. You can do better than this. You’ve really got to _______________ more effort.
4. It was quite difficult but enjoyable too – I _______________ a challenge!
5. He needs to _______________ good grades if he wants to be accepted in medical
school.
6. When my story was accepted for publication, it was just what I needed to
_______________ my self-esteem.
7. My aunt wants to _______________ research into attitudes to learning in small
children.
8. If you’re having problems remembering anything, maybe you need some
_______________strategies.

B. Reading Comprehension
Read the text below and answer the questions

6
 1. Check your understanding: matching
Match the headings with the correct paragraph and write a–f next to the numbers 1–6.
1........ Paragraph 1 a. Two ways of responding to a problem
2........ Paragraph 2 b. How do you respond to a challenge?
3........ Paragraph 3 c. You can change the way you think
4........ Paragraph 4 d. The right and wrong kind of praise
5........ Paragraph 5 e. Staying in your comfort zone
6........ Not used f. Proof that brain training works

2. Check your understanding: true, false or not given

Read the sentences and write
True if the information can be found in the text,
False if the information says the opposite to the text or
Not given if the information cannot be found in the text.

1. Carol Dweck wanted to find out how children respond to a challenge. ............
2. Having a fixed mindset results in students dropping out of school. ............
3. Praising children for their intelligence has a positive impact on learning. ............
4. Those who persist in trying to improve their abilities over time are successful. ............
5. Knowing how the brain works has little effect on learning. ............
6. As students, children from richer or poorer backgrounds have the same
potential. ............

6 GRAMMAR FOCUS

Talking about the future

Learn about the different verb forms you can use to talk about the future, and do the exercises to
practise using them.
When we know about the future, we normally use the present tense.
1. We use the present simple for something scheduled:
We have a lesson next Monday.
The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It's my birthday tomorrow.
2. We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:
I'm playing football tomorrow.
They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We're having a party at Christmas.
3. We use will:
 when we express beliefs about the future:

7
It will be a nice day tomorrow.
I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I'm sure you will enjoy the film.
 to mean want to or be willing to:
I hope you will come to my party.
George says he will help us.
 to make offers and promises :
I'll see you tomorrow.
We'll send you an email.
 to talk about offers and promises:
Tim will be at the meeting.
Mary will help with the cooking.
4. We use be going to:
 to talk about plans or intentions:
I'm going to drive to work today.
They are going to move to Manchester.
 to make predictions based on evidence we can see:
Be careful! You are going to fall. (= I can see that you might fall.)
Look at those black clouds. I think it's going to rain. (= I can see that it will rain.)
5. We use will be with an -ing form for something happening before and after a specific time in the
future:
I'll be working at eight o'clock. Can you come later?
They'll be waiting for you when you arrive.
6. We can use will be with an -ing form instead of the present continuous or be going to when we
are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:
They'll be coming to see us next week.
I'll be driving to work tomorrow.
7. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:
What are you going to do next year? I'd like to go to university.
We plan to go to France for our holidays.
George wants to buy a new car.
8. We use modals may, might and could when we are not sure about the future:
I might stay at home tonight or I might go to the cinema.
We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.
9. We can use should if we think there's a good chance of something happening:
We should be home in time for tea.
The game should be over by eight o'clock.

Task
Look at the FUTURE FORMS in the sentences. Match the correct descriptions with the
sentences.

Plan or arrangement not sure scheduled event good chance offer or promise
Belief about the future before and after a specific future time plan or intention
Prediction based on evidence

1. I'm sure you'LL HAVE a good time in Los Angeles.

2. We MIGHT SEE Catrina at the funeral tomorrow.
3. I'M GOING TO PHONE my bank manager tomorrow.
4. The next course STARTS on 1 July. That's what the website says.
5. The meeting SHOULD BE over by six. They don't usually take more than an hour.

8
6. I'LL HELP you do the washing up if you like.
7. Bella and I ARE GETTING married in the summer. We've already agreed on the date.
8. This time tomorrow we'LL BE FLYING to New Zealand. We'll be about halfway through the flight.
9. We'RE GOING TO RUN OUT of coffee soon. The tin's almost empty.

A. Group Work: Write a proposal for the class party

- In this part, each students in the group chooses different section (e.g. date and time,
place) to present to the class
- Groups take turns presenting their ideas to the class. While a group presents its
proposal, the other groups take notes so that they can vote afterward.