Actual English 5 - Family

Reference: http://home.ebse.co.kr/actualenglish/

Actual English

https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZXy4x7Za0XBQ7gX1Fm1lSt7iHKeyhLQhSek

 

M: Rachel, how was your trip to the States?

W: It was amazing. I got to see and spend time with my family. I’m really close to my immediate family and my extended family.

M: Both of them?

W: Yeah, they all live over in the States so it was just great to have a family reunion and to get together.

M: You must miss them, living so far away from them.

W: I do. And after this recent trip I realized the value of family even more. It was bittersweet saying farewell to them when I was coming back here to Korea.

W: I’m really close to my sister. She’s like my best friend so it was really great to see her and at the same time it was so sad to know that I was going to leave her again.

M: That is bittersweet. It’s the same for me, because my immediate family, my mother and father, they live in London, which is miles away. We’re really close-knit as well like a typical Korean mum. London, it’s really difficult for her, so I do miss them.

W: Now that you have a son and your wife, do things on family change for you? Like perspective on family?

M: Yeah, it’s really strange, because now I have my own little family. And then above me is my mum and dad so I’m a bit confused, because I only had my baby recently, but I think it turns into a bigger network and there’s just more family to love.

W: And it’s important for your grandchildren to have good relationships with their grandparents. It’s connecting those generations. You know what they say, blood is thicker than water.

M: Literally. So never forget about your family. Don’t take them for granted.

 

 

• immediate [ih-mee-dee-it] family: one’s parents, siblings, spouse, children extended family: grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews
• the value of family: the importance of family *bittersweet: both pleasant and painful or regretful
• M: That sounds sad.
• *close-knit: very tight, very close (as in a relationship)
• network: a group of related things or people
• *blood is thicker than water: people who are related have stronger obligations and feelings towards each other. 
• blood runs thicker than water My mom always says, “If you ever need help, turn to your family. Blood runs thicker than water.”
• literally [adv. lit-er-uh-lee]: word for word; actually
• bittersweet He and I have been friends since elementary school. We have lots of bittersweet memories. Trips to the cemetery can be bittersweet at times. 
• close-knit My neighbors are a large and extremely close-knit family. My sister and I are really closely-knit.

 

Actual Interview

https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZFy4x7Z7gtaNEUJVrVT7tUnvWmrAp1ToD7V

(Interview: Talk about your family and how close you are)

 

I love to talk about my family! I have a great extended family with aunts and uncles and cousins spread out all over the world. My mom is the oldest of eight so she had lots of brothers and sisters… we try to get together once in a while and

keep in touch over Skype or some other internet means.

But the real joy of my life is my immediate family with my twin boys and my beautiful wife. So I do everything I can to get out of work quick and go spend time with them… and just enjoy family life.

 

I have a big / small extended family with + noun(s). I have a huge extended family with 7 aunts and uncles and over twenty cousins. I have a small extended family with 2 aunts and 3 cousins on my mom’s side. ~ is the oldest / youngest of + number of siblings. I’m the youngest of three. My father is the oldest of six. We keep in touch over / through + application. My cousins and I keep in touch through video chats. We keep in touch over internet calls. My sister and I keep in tough through SNS.