Speaking 001 (Someone in your family)

Part 1

Dancing

Do you enjoy dancing? (Why/Why not)

(You need to react to the question, first.)

Yes I do, I really love (like) dancing. No, I don’t love….

Definitely, I am very fond of dancing. Not really, I am not very fond of…

Certainly, I am very interested in dancing. No, I don’t think I am interested in…

Of course, I am very passionate about dancing.

Yes, I enjoy dancing.

I am very excited about dancing.

(Then elaborate on the answer)

It is a time that you can forget about yourself and relax your mind and body. It also gives you a great deal of inner satisfaction. I think it is a great way to release your stress.

I think it’s the best way to enjoy your time with your friends. You can get close to them and strengthen your friendship.

I believe, dancing is a wonderful way to exercise your body. It involves vigorous physical activity and burns a lot of calories. The only way I exercise is by dancing, and that keeps my body fit.

This is a very good way to show your talent before others. I am quiet a good dancer and I get a lot of appreciation from people. That gives me great confidence and enhances my personality.

I don’t think I have the talent to dance. I look very awkward when I dance and it gives me very little satisfaction.

I don’t have an opportunity to dance. In fact, I live in a very orthodox culture and dancing is not very popular here. The only people who dance are the professional dancers and it is not very common among ordinary people. However, I love watching other people dance.

Has anyone every taught you how to dance? (Why/Why not)

Not in the recent past. But when I was a small girl, I went to a dance school in my village, where I learned some classical dance. I also learned folk dance from a teacher in my regular school during that time.

No, no one has ever taught me how to dance. I learned dancing by watching videos and dancing with my friends. It is not very difficult to learn simple dancing and I learned it in a very informal way.

Tell me about any traditional dancing in your country?

We have a number of traditional dances in my country, both classical and folk. A very popular classical dance form in my country is Bharathanatyam. You need many years of training to master this dance. It is usually staged during festivals and cultural programmes. It has a very ancient origin and was patronised  by kings in the olden times. Dancers perform with graceful and rhythmic movements and in rich and colourful costumes.

A very popular dancing in my country is a folk dance called ‘Thiruvathira’. This is very a special dance from my state of Kerala. It is usually performed during the festival season of Onam. Women in groups of eight or ten, dance in a circle, around a lighted traditional lamp. The movements are simple and graceful and the costumes are also very simple.

Do you think that traditional dancing will be popular in the future? (Why/Why not)

I think so. Traditional dancing will be very popular in the future. A lot of parents now send their children to learn traditional dancing and children automatically develop a liking for this type of dancing. Apart from that, there are a lot of competitions in schools and colleges in traditional dancing. Again, foreign tourists show a lot of interest in traditional dancing. So there is great possibility that traditional dancing will be popular in the future.

No I don’t think so. In the future more and more people will be interested in modern dancing, both western and Indian. So traditional dancing will lose its charm for people. Moreover, traditional dancing requires many years of training and dedication and many people don’t have time for that. It is also an expensive affair. Again, traditional dancing has a very small audience. So I think traditional dancing will become less popular in the future.

Part 2

Describe someone in your family who you like.

You should say:

How this person is related to you

What this person looks like

What kind of person he/she is

And explain why you like this person

The person whom I like the most in family is my brother who is just younger to me. We are eight children, I am the second and he is the third.

He doesn’t look like me at all. He rather looks like my mother and is the most handsome person in the family. He is closer to me than any other member of the family, more than even my parents.

He is not very good at his studies or in any arts and music, but is very good at heart. He is very good humoured, and you know, makes everybody laugh with his witty conversation. He has a special way of attracting people towards him.

He is a very just person, and if there is a misunderstanding in the family, he is the first person to find a solution to it. When he does something important, he comes to me and talks about it, and he usually he accepts my advice. He is also quite daring and enterprising. Although he is not very educated he runs a very successful business and lives a happy life.

I like him very much, mainly because he understands me more than any other member of my family. He has also supported me and stood with me whenever I had a serious problem or trouble.

So I would say that he is someone I like in my family.

Part 3

Discussion Topics

Family similarities

In what ways can people in a family be similar to each other?

People in a family can be similar to each other in many ways. They usually resemble each other in their physical appearance. For example, children look like their parents, in their facial feature, colour, type of hair and so on. They can also be alike, in their character and behaviour.

Do you think daughters are always more similar to mothers than to male relatives?

Not always! There are many daughters who look more like their fathers or other male members of the family than mothers. That includes their colour, face, hair and so on. But I do think that most daughters look like their mothers in physical features.

What about sons and fathers?

I think it is the same with them as well. There are many sons who resemble their mothers more than their fathers or other male members of the family.

In terms of personality, are people more influenced by their family or friends? In what ways?

People are usually more influenced by their family than friends, because as children, most people live with their families. And that is when an individual’s personality is developed. Even after that, people spend more time with their family members and interact with them more closely than their friends. This intimacy with the family members has a great influence in their character formation. On the other hand, friends also have a significant influence in one’s personality, but not as much as family members.

Genetic Research

Where can people in your country get information about genetic research?

There are many sources in my country, where people can get information about genetic research. I think the most common source is books. You can find books on genetic research in public libraries or in bookshops. Apart from that, there are a number of universities and institutes that does research in genetic studies. There are a lot a lot scientist and professors, who can give information about this subject. I think, the internet is a wonderful source to get information about genetic research. If you search Google, you will come across many websites that will give you, at least, the primary information about genetic research.

How do people in your country feel about genetic research?

In general, I think people in my country have a positive attitude towards genetic research. They know it has a lot of benefits in terms of better agricultural production and prevention of many genetic diseases. However, some people are worried about genetically modified foods. They fear that it can be dangerous to human health.

Should this research be funded by governments or private companies?

I think both government and private companies should jointly or separately fund genetic research. It should not be the monopoly of either of the parties. If private companies alone fund genetic research the benefits of the research may not reach the common man, because of their profit motive. So government also has the responsibility to fund it, so that every body enjoys the benefits.