love & marriage -...

TALKING ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIVE CLAUSES, EXPRESSING DISAPPROVAL

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Love & Marriage

1. How long did Britney Spears marriage last?_____________________________________________

2. How long does it take to apply for a marriage license in Las Vegas? _____________________________________________

3. Find a word that means the same as the following:

i. small church ! ! ______________ ii. unmarried! ! ______________ iii. not valid!! ! ______________iv. official paper! ! ______________!v. someone watching! ______________

5. Use words from the article to complete the following sentences

• In her beautiful white dress, she looked like the perfect ______________.

• After the wedding _____________ they had a big party.

• Immediately after they got married, they went to Hawaii on their ______________.

• Sadly, their marriage didn’t work out, so they got a ______________.

• The ______________ kissed his new wife.

6. What do you think of Vegas weddings?________________________________________________________________________________

WEDDING in VEGAS

In January 2004 pop superstar Britney Spears got married to Jason Alexander, an old childhood friend, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He proposed, they got engaged, got married and had their honeymoon all in the space of one hour. The marriage lasted only 55-hours and then she was single again.

When Spears was asked why, she blamed it all on Las Vegas. She got married in a brief ceremony in the 24-hour Little White Wedding Chapel in the early hours of the morning. Spears told MTV that it was just because she was in Vegas and it took her over.

Usually to get married in the US you need to apply for a marriage certificate, then wait one to five days. However, in Las Vegas the application for a

marriage license takes only 15 minutes. All you need is a bride, a groom, identification such as a driver’s license to prove your age and 50 dollars to pay for the marriage certificate. You also need a witness, but the witness can be anybody, even a

stranger.

Britney Spears and her husband got their marriage annulled two

days later. An annulment is when the marriage is made void. It is

not the same as a divorce. The groom, Jason Alexander, described

the wedding as a "mistake". He said on the TV program Access

Hollywood, "We were just looking at each other and said, 'Let's do

something wild, crazy. Let's go get married, just for the hell of it.” Spears’

record company said the marriage had simply been a joke between friends.

Preparatory Reading



Would you marry someone who...?

Student #1 Student #2 Student #3

was poor?

was not good-looking?

was from another country?

your parents didn’t like?

was older than you?

was old, but rich?

1. Make a list of words that you associate with love and marriage.2. What would be your ideal date?3. What would your ideal boyfriend / girlfriend or husband / wife be like?

Discussion Questions: Talk with your partner

Mingling Activity: Stand up and ask questions of your classmates

Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning

___ 1. I just got engaged to my boyfriend. ___ 2. I disapprove of living together before marriage ___ 3. In the US almost 50% of married couples get divorced.___ 4. She got pregnant a couple of months ago. The baby’s due in November.___ 5. My boyfriend proposed to me last night. I’m so happy.___ 6.They met and fell in love at first sight ___ 7. If you fancy her you should go talk to her.

a. to disagree strongly b. to end a marriage c. asked someone to get married d. to love someone straight awaye. to find someone attractive f. to create a baby g. promised for marriage



Personalization Questions

1. Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?______________________________________

2. Have you fancied anyone recently?______________________________________

3. How would you propose marriage?______________________________________

4. Is there anything you disapprove of?______________________________________

5. What do you think of international marriage?______________________________________

Reading: Use the words to fill the gaps

proposed love at first sight engaged disapprovedivorced pregnant fancied

I met my girlfriend a year ago when I was traveling around the world. I’m from New Zealand and she’s from Korea. I met her at a party and really ____________ her straight away. It was like __________________. Well, anyway, we went out on a few dates and we really got on well.

Last week I asked her to marry me. It was really romantic. We went to a great restaurant. After dinner I ___________ and she said, ‘Yes’. So now we are ___________ and we are going to move in together.

The trouble is that now I’m really worried. I started to think of all the

problems we might have. International marriages can be quite difficult. What if her parents ____________? What if she gets ____________ and we have a baby? Will the baby speak English or Korean? Where will we live? In Korea? In New Zealand? Somewhere else? There are just so many questions.

Also, I’ve heard that many international couples break up and get __________ because the cultural differences are just too much pressure. What on earth am I going to do? Oh, man. I love my fiancee, but I’m just so confused.!

Comprehension Questions

1. How did he meet his girlfriend?____________________________________

2. What did he do last week?____________________________________

3. What are some of the problems he is worried about?____________________________________

4. Why does he think international couples break up? ____________________________________



Complete the sentences with your own ideas1. My ideal friend is someone who _________________________________.2. My ideal teacher is someone who _________________________________.3. The ideal student ______________________________________________.4. The ideal date ______________________________________________.5. The ideal spouse ______________________________________________.

Match the two halves of the sentences1. The ideal teacher is someone who a. is kind and has a good sense of humor.2. The ideal husband is someone who b. listens carefully to students.3. The ideal date should be in a place that c. is romantic.4. The ideal student is someone who d. is someone who is inspirational.5. The ideal role-model for kids e. is diligent and curious.

Language Practice: Defining Relative Clauses

Defining Relative ClausesMy ideal partner is someone (who is) funny and romantic.A great gift for your partner is something (that is) romantic, but fun.

My ideal date is in a place (where) I can relax and have fun.I’d like to marry someone (who) I can have fun with.

What do you think of the people below?

I’m attracted to / not attracted to women / guys who...She / he looks too...

Language Note:

He looks like a teacher = looks like + noun He looks friendly = looks + adjective

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Fill in the gaps in the sentences. Then explain your opinion to your partner.

1. I think living together before marriage is a good idea. I completely ___________ of it.2. I don’t agree with international marriage. I totally ____________ of it.3. I think it’s OK sometimes. It really ___________ on the situation.4. I’m all _________ arranged marriage. I think its a good idea.5. I’m really __________ arranged marriages. I think people should marry for love.

Circle ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ for each topic. Write a few sentences to show your reasons:

1. International marriage is a good idea. ! ! ! I agree / I disagree• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________

2. I would prefer an arranged marriage.! ! ! I agree / I disagree• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________

3. Divorce should be illegal.! ! ! ! ! I agree / I disagree• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________

4. Couples who have children should be married.! ! I agree / I disagree• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________• ___________________________________________________________________________

Now discuss the topics in a group - Explain whether you approve or disapprove and give further information to back up your ideas. Don’t forget to keep the discussion going with follow-up questions.



Express Yourself

Expressing Approval ! Hedging! ! Expressing DisapprovalI’m all for international marriage. It depends. I don’t agree with it.

I think ... is fine. In some cases it’s OK. I disapprove of it.

I completely approve of it. It really depends I’m really against it.

on the circumstances. It’s a disgrace

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1. What did you think of the topic in this unit?2. What new words have you learned?3. Did you enjoy talking about this topic? Why? / Why not?

Final Discussion

Project Work

Review Puzzle

Prepare a presentation on this topic: Weddings Around the World. Go to http://www.college-englishmag.com to print the presentation preparation worksheet.

Love & Marriage Crossword

Guess the words from this unit.1 2

3 4

5 6

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12

Across

1. The best you can imagine6. A man who is getting married7. Ask someone if they will marry you9. A place where you can get married11. Instant romantic feelings (4 words)12. A holiday after a wedding

Down

2. The end of a marriage3. Feel strongly against something 4. Going to have a baby5. Attracted to8. A woman who is getting married10. The formal part of a wedding

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