Speak English With Vanessa

Free PDF Worksheet

Repeat with Me: Speaking Practice
Dear English Learner,

Get ready to speak confidently! I recommend reading the worksheet out loud and using the
blank space on the last page to answer my challenge question. Click here to watch the original
video. Thanks so much for learning English with me!

Your teacher,
Vanessa

My Family’s Story

1. The turn of the century: when one century ends and another begins; in this
story, it would be around 1900
● At the turn of the century, my great-grandfather immigrated to the US
from Naples, Italy. In the US, he married a woman, and they had three
children together.
● Since the turn of the century, technology has been advancing and
impacting our everyday lives.

2. Unfortunately un-FOUR-choo-NUT-lee
● Unfortunately, his wife died, so he wrote a letter to his mother in Italy. He
asked her to help him find a new wife who could raise his children.
● Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it to your party this weekend.

3. Dimensions: someone’s physical measurements for making something

● She found him a wife from their village, and, in her letter, included his
future wife’s dimensions so that he could buy a wedding dress that would
fit her.

www.SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com 1
 ● The tailor took my measurements and wrote down my dimensions to
make a suit that fit me perfectly.

4. To be shipped: to send something by air, train, boat, or truck

● Typically, in these situations, the woman would be shipped to the man
who had requested a wife.
● I shipped a box of my friend’s favorite treats to her for her birthday.

5. A twist of fate: an unexpected but fortunate event

● In a twist of fate, he fell in love, not with the woman his mother had
chosen for him, but with her sister, Antoinette Minolfi.
● In a cruel twist of fate, she scored the winning goal of the game, but was
injured and couldn’t play anymore.

6. To be meant for: to be intended for someone

● In their wedding pictures, Antoinette is wearing the wedding dress that
was meant for someone else– her sister.
● The award was meant for her, but they gave it to someone else by
mistake.

7. Symbolic: to represent something

● The dress is symbolic of their love story: even though the dress was
meant for someone else, they were always meant for each other.
● The white dove is symbolic of hope and peace.

8. Of their own: something directly related to or belonging to someone

● Together, they immigrated back to the US and had three children of their
own.
● They lived in a small apartment until they saved enough money to buy a
home of their own.

www.SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com 2
 9. On her own: to do something alone, without the help of others
● Unfortunately, her husband died, so she raised all six children on her
own.
● She ran the business on her own for years.

10. Beloved matriarch be-LUH-ved MAY-tree-ark

● She is the beloved matriarch of our family.
● Dolley Madison is one of the most beloved matriarchs in US history.

11. To look up to someone: to respect and admire someone

● Everyone looks up to her, and I even have a picture with her when I was
a baby.
● I have always looked up to her for her kindness and how she helps
others.

www.SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com 3
 Vanessa’s Challenge Question
Use the space below to write a few sentences answering this question.

Tell me a story about your family, and try to use at least two of the words that you
learned in this lesson.

Sample: My husband’s grandmother was the beloved matriarch of their family. She grew
up tough, taking care of herself and her younger sister. When she was in high school,
she married my husband’s grandfather, who was in the navy. He was deployed for the
birth of both of their children, so she had to give birth all on her own. They had a long,
adventurous marriage together and were married for almost 60 years! I am so happy I
got to know them, and even though they’re both gone now, I look up to them and the life
they had together.

Enjoying my English lessons??

>>Click here to start speaking fluent English with me!<<

www.SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com 4