3. With your partner write out similarities and differences between traditional and modern families.

4. Share with a partner your opinion on changes in traditional and modern families. Use the following structure.

“I think that modern families have changed greatly.”

“So do I.”

I do not think that modern families have changed greatly.”

“Neither do I.”

If someone says something negative and we agree with them we can use neither.  If someone says something positive and we agree with them we can use so.

We must also remember that the verb in the statement needs to agree with the verb in the response:

"I am excited about the party." "So am I."

The verb you use depends on the tense. Present Simple: I study English. - So do I. Past Simple: I didn't like the film. - Neither did I. Can: I can play the piano. - So can I. Past Simple with be: I wasn't very interested. - Neither was I. Present Perfect: I've been to Japan. - So have I.

5. Choose a response that agrees with the following sentences

I’m a student. – So am I.

I went on vacation last year. -

I didn’t go to the cinema. –

I’ve seen that movie.

I like pizza. –

I’m not watching TV.

I don’t like coffee. –

6. Correct mistakes in the sentences below.

1. She’s tired and so I am.

2. He isn’t sad so neither am I.

3. He doesn’t speak Chinese and so do I.

Listening: Families in France

7. Match the following words with the correct definitions:

1. blended family a) to be three times more

2. precious b) a family made up of a couple and

their children from previous marriages

3. to triple c) of high price or great value

8. Answer the questions:

1. What does the word family mean to you?

2. What is the role of family in Kazakhstan?

3. What types of families are there in Kazakhstan?

9. Now listen to a woman speaking about families in France and answer the questions:

What is the role of family in France?

What types of families are there in France?

Reading: Changes

10. Here is the personal essay of Wan L. Lam, an American student from Hong Kong. Read it quickly and say what two types of family the essay is about.

11. Read the essay again and choose the most suitable heading (A-D) below for each of the numbered paragraphs. There is one extra heading you do not need to use.

A All obey one

B Freedom!

C Bad changes in the family

D Traditional families

1

We do not have the traditional family structure in the modern world. We have modern family structure. My family, for example, changed from traditional to modern in which I can feel freedom.

In traditional families men are dominant. When I was born, my grandfather told my mother to throw me into the sea or give me to my aunt and uncle. Under the pressure of my grandparents, my mother gave me to my aunt. But she brought me back a few hours later because she did not want to give me away.

2

In my childhood, all my family members and relatives lived in a big old house in Hong Kong. In my family, my grandpa had the power of making all decisions. He stopped my father, an outstanding student, from going to high school. So my dad worked as a skilled worker in ivory sculpture.

My mother also obeyed the men. She had to do all the housework by herself without any help or any machines. She had to take care of the children and the elderly parents as well.

Children had to obey what the older people said. They went to bed by nine o’clock exactly, came home right after school, and did not walk alone or with other children in the streets. We, my siblings and I, did everything my father said without question.

3

Things changed when we moved out of the old building. My grandpa died. My mother began to work to support the family. We learnt to share the housework when my mother was out.

But things really started to change when we came to the United States two years ago. My father began to think about his children and tried to communicate with us. We now can make individual choices and have a certain freedom. We have grown up.

For me personally, the modern family is better than the traditional one. There is a great improvement in the relationship between family members, and everybody plays an important role in the family.