Unit 2: What’s School Like?

1 Listen and Discuss

Choose an adjective from the box to describe each school subject.
Compare your choices in a group.

I think math is difficult.

I think English is interesting.

I think History is challenging.

I think Arabic is boring.

I think Arts is fun.

I think Geography is easy.

Quick Check

A. Vocabulary. Match the words.

1. b active
2. c interesting
3. d smart
4. a hard

B. Comprehension. Answer yes or no.

1. yes Carl’s favourite subject is history.
2. no Ben plays on the volleyball team.
3. no Saeed runs the computer club.
4. no Matt has curly blond hair.
5. yes Lee wears glasses.

2 Pair Work

A. Ask and answer about school subjects.

Do you like English?

Yes, I do. It's interesting.

I think It is difficult.

Do you like Arabic?

No, I don't. It's boring.

I think It is easy.

B. Ask and answer about the classmates in the picture above.

Does Mona have green eyes?

No, she doesn't.

Does she play tennis?

Yes, she does.

C. Describe two classmates.
What do they look like? What are they like?

Ali is tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He is quiet and friendly. He likes cooking.

Ahmed is short with blond hair and green eyes. He is friendly and lively. He likes football and play it in the school football team.

3 Grammar

A. Answer the questions about Ahmed’s schedule.

1. Does Ahmed take Spanish?

No, he doesn't. He takes French.

2. Does he have French on Sunday?

Yes, he does.

3. Does Mr. Dobbs teach history?

No, he doesn't. He teaches math.

4. Do Mr. Fat’hi and Mr. Al-Jahawi teach science?

Yes, they do.

5. What subject does Ahmed have last on Tuesday?

He has science last on Tuesday.

6. What subject does he have three times a week?

He has French three times a week.

7. What subjects does he have every day?

He has English, math, and science every day.

8. What does Mr. Al-Halawi teach?

He teaches history.

B. Look at the picture. Ahmed is writing about his schedule and his teachers. Complete his description

have classes from Sunday to Thursday, and I have six teachers. Mr. Smith (1) teaches English.
He has (2) short black hair and blue eyes. He gives a lot of homework.
Mr. Al-Halawi is the history teacher. He’s (3) tall, and he has (4) brown hair. Mr. Dobbs teaches math.
He always (5) wears a jacket and tie, and he’s a very good teacher. Mr. Fat’hi and Mr. Al-Jahawi (6) teaches science.
Mr. Fat’hi has short (7) black hair. Mr. Al-Jahawi is short, and he has (8) short brown hair.
They are very strict. French is my favourite subject, and Mr. Morris is our teacher. He has (9) short brown hair and blue eyes, and he’s a lot of fun.
We (10) speak French in class, and I send emails to my friends in Canada in French.

4 Listening

You are meeting two visitors at the airport. You don’t know what they look like.
Listen to the descriptions. Answer yes or no.

Ted
1. no Ted has black hair.
2. no Ted has long hair.
3. yes Ted is tall.
4. yes Ted is carrying a laptop.
Seth
1. no Seth has brown hair.
2. yes Seth wears glasses.
3. no Seth is short.
4. yes Seth always carries a camera.

6 Conversation

About the Conversation

1. What’s Faris’s favourite subject? Why?

Faris's favourite subject is science. Faris loves the experiments.

2. Does Jim like history? Why?

Yes, he does. He thinks it's fascinating.

3. Does Faris like the math teacher? Why not?

Yes, he does. The teacher explains things clearly and also makes math fun.

4. Who is Jim’s favourite teacher?

His favourite teacher is Mr. Huston, the English teacher.

7 About You

1. Do you have lots of homework?

Yes, I do.

2. What’s your school schedule like?

It's full and difficult.

3. Who’s your best friend at school?

Ahmed is my best friend.

4. What does he/she look like?

He is quite tall with black eyes and hair.

Your Turn

Work in a group. Ask your classmates about their favourite subjects.
Compare your answers with other groups.

8 Reading

Before Reading

What clubs does your school have?

Soccer club.

After Reading

Write the club in which students do each of the activities.

1. word processing Computer club.
2. acting Drama club.
3. visit archaeological sites Archaeology club.
4. present poetry Poetry club.
5. play for the school team Football club.
6. use chemicals Science club.

9 Writing

A. Complete the chart with notes about your physical appearance, character, and interests. Describe yourself to a partner.

B. Match the questions with the answers. There are two answers for each question. Write the letters on the lines below the question.

1. What does he look like?
d- e
2. What is he like?
a- f
3. What does he like?
b- c

C. Read the text about Ali. What does he look like? What is he like? What does he like?

My cousin, Ali, is a college student. He has brown eyes and curly black hair. He’s quite tall and has a medium build.
He also has a very nice smile. Ali is a lot of fun and likes to make his friends laugh.
People like him because he is cheerful and friendly.
Ali is interested in languages, so he studies English and French.
He wants to be a writer. He is also an active student and runs the “Young Writers” club at his college.

Appearance:

brown eyes; curly black hair; quite tall; medium build; nice smile.

Character:

a lot of fun; makes his friends laugh; cheerful and friendly; active student.

Interests:

languages: English, French; writing; runs the “Young Writers” club.

D. Choose a person you know well—a friend, a classmate, or a family member. Make a chart like the one in exercise A and complete it with information about the person. Then, write a description of the person.

11 Form, Meaning and Function

A. Circle the correct adjectives.

1. We’re really (excited / exciting) because our team is winning the football game.
2. Sabah feels extremely (tired / tiring), so she wants to stay home and relax.
3. This math problem is quite (confused / confusing). Can you please help me with it?
4. I’m never (bored / boring) in science class. The experiments are very (interested / interesting).
5. You look extremely (worried / worrying). Is anything wrong?
6. The teacher is (annoyed / annoying) because the students aren’t paying attention.
7. I don’t like to watch (frightened / frightening) films on TV. I prefer to watch comedies.
8. History isn’t (bored / boring). In fact, it’s quite a (fascinated / fascinating) subject.

B. Use the words to write sentences.

1. Math / quite / difficult / subject

Math is quiet a difficult subject.

2. Maha / really / talented / artist

Maha is a really talented artist.

3. Fahd / extremely / athletic / student

Fahd is an extremely athletic student.

4. History / pretty / interesting / subject

History is a pretty interesting subject.

5. Mr. Parks / quite / strict / teacher

Mr. Parks is quite a strict teacher.

C. Work with a partner. Talk about school subjects and school friends. Use adjectives from this unit and the adverbs: very, quiet, really, pretty, and extremely.

For example:

Math is an extremely difficult subject.

Ahmed is a really intelligent student.

My brothers are extremely studious students.

My friend is really friendly and cute.

Ali is very tired.

Math class is quiet boring.