Friends and Free Time
This unit, Friends and Free Time, is all about talking about what you like to do when you’re not in school. You’ll learn how to describe your hobbies, sports, and weekend activities. You’ll also explore how teenagers from other countries spend their free time, and discover similarities and differences.
What You’ll Do
- Talk about your favourite hobbies, sports, and weekend activities.
- Ask and answer questions about free-time preferences.
- Write a short paragraph about how you spend your free time.
- Understand short texts and videos about teenagers and their hobbies.
- Learn vocabulary for sports, games, and leisure activities.
Activities
🎯 What you’ll practise
Listen carefully as a teenager talks about her free time, and notice the new words she uses.
📌 What to do
Watch the video of Mia talking about her free time. Questions pop up as you watch — answer them as you go. You can pause or replay any time.
🧑🏫 For teachers
- Use the video to check listening comprehension and familiarity with a teenager’s free time.
- Encourage students to replay if they find it tricky.
- Discuss the answers together afterwards to reinforce the language.
✍️ What to do
This week we’re learning to talk about our free time. Write a short paragraph to tell your classmates what you like doing. You should include:
- 5–6 sentences using like, love, enjoy, don’t like, or hate with -ing verbs
- at least two activities you like
- one activity you don’t like or hate
- a question for your classmates — then reply to at least two students in a friendly way
💡 Useful verbs
playing games, watching TV, listening to music, swimming, drawing, shopping, reading, chatting, cooking, riding a bike
💬 Example
Hi everyone! I really enjoy playing football with my friends on Saturdays. I also like listening to music when I’m at home. I don’t like doing homework in the evening because I’m tired. On Sundays, I love watching movies with my family. What do you like doing at the weekend?
💡 Sentence starters
- I like __________ in my free time.
- I love __________ with my friends.
- I don’t like __________ after school.
- My favourite activity is __________.
- What do you like doing at the weekend?
🤝 Reply to a friend
Reply to a classmate’s post — say something nice or ask a question. For example: “I also like playing football!” · “What kind of music do you listen to?” · “That sounds fun! I don’t like doing homework either.”
Find the daily-life words in the word search.
More practice with this week's language.
Read about Mai's weekend, then answer the questions.
📖 Read
Hi! My name is Mai, and I live in New York, America. I really enjoy weekends because I have time to relax and have fun with my friends.
On Saturday morning, I ride my bike to the park. I usually meet my friend Emma there. We love playing badminton and listening to music. If the weather is nice, we sometimes have a picnic.
On Sundays, I stay home and help my family. In the afternoon, I chat with my friends online or watch funny videos. I don’t like cooking, but I help my mum clean the house.
🔊 Listen and read along
Play the audio and read along to practise your pronunciation and intonation.
🎯 What you’ll practise
Speaking — talking about your free time clearly and confidently.
🎙️ What to do
Record a short speech (45–60 seconds) about what you do in your free time. Try to include at least 5–6 sentences.
- ✔ Include at least three activities.
- ✔ Use I like / I don’t like / I usually / At the weekend…
- ✔ Speak slowly and clearly.
💡 Sentence starters
- In my free time, I like…
- I usually… at the weekend.
- My friends and I enjoy…
- I don’t like…
- On Saturday afternoons, I…
🗣️ Example
Hi! My name is Anna. In my free time, I like listening to music and drawing pictures. On Saturdays, I usually go shopping with my friends. Sometimes we watch movies at my house. I don’t like playing computer games, but my brother loves them!
📥 How to submit
- Use the built-in audio recorder to record your voice.
- Re-record as many times as you like before you download it.
- Try to speak clearly and slowly.
- Send the file to your teacher or a friend for feedback.
🧑🏫 For teachers
Use this as a quick diagnostic of pronunciation, fluency, and speaking confidence.
🎯 What you’ll practise
Writing — a short paragraph about how you spend your free time, using like / love / enjoy / don’t like + verb-ing and a time expression.
✏️ What to do
Write a short paragraph (50–70 words) about what you do in your free time.
- mention 2–3 activities you enjoy
- include at least 1 activity you don’t like
- use like / love / enjoy / don’t like + verb-ing
- use at least 1 time expression (e.g. at the weekend, in the afternoon)
💡 Helpful vocabulary
Activities: play football, go shopping, chat with friends, watch TV, listen to music, read books, ride a bike, cook, swim.
Time expressions: at the weekend, in the evening, after school, every Sunday.
📝 Example paragraph
I love listening to music in the evening. At the weekend, I usually go shopping with my best friend. We sometimes watch movies at my house. I don’t like playing video games because they are boring. My favourite day is Sunday because I have a lot of free time.
💡 Tips for success
- ✅ Write full sentences.
- ✅ Use vocabulary from this week’s lessons.
- ✅ Check your work before you submit.
- ✅ Have fun sharing about yourself!
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Links
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