Unit 6 (Sports day)

Activities 1: what sports and equipment should you know?

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A racket has strings and is used in sports such as tennis or badminton. A baseball bat is solid. In British English, the small implement for table tennis is also called a bat. Badminton uses a shuttlecock, not a tennis ball. Equipment is normally uncountable: say some equipment or two pieces of equipment, rather than two equipments. Trainers is a common British English word for sports shoes.

Where do you do the activity?

A player takes part in a game; a runner runs and an athlete takes part in sport. A team is a group playing together. A race is a competition to finish a course quickly. A match is a sporting contest between opponents. Use play for many games with a ball, go with many activity names ending in ing, and learn run a race as a useful phrase.

Practice 1: how do you talk about sporting ability?

Do you play tennis? asks about a habit or participation. Can you play tennis? asks about ability. Someone may know how to play but rarely do it, so the answers need not be identical. Answer the question actually asked: Do you play? Yes, I do. Can you play? Yes, I can. A longer answer can add helpful detail: I can play, but I do not play every week.

Activities 2: how do you describe ball actions?

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Throw and catch describe opposite directions in the illustrated action: a thrown ball moves away from the hand, while a caught ball arrives in the hands. Kicking uses a foot. Hitting may use a hand, a racket or a bat, depending on the sport. Passing describes the purpose of sending the ball to another player; a pass may be made by kicking or throwing.

What is the difference between present simple and present continuous?

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A repeated activity takes the present simple. With I, you, we and they, use play; with he or she, use plays in a positive statement. After does or doesn’t, return to play. An action in progress takes am, is or are plus the ing form. I am playing; he is playing; they are playing. Put not after be for a continuous negative and move be before the subject for a question.

How do you spell the ing forms?

How do you ask about preferences, routines and performance?

Use on with a day and at with a clock time: on Friday, at nine o’clock. A useful personal answer adds a reason: I like volleyball because I enjoy team games. To describe someone’s profile, keep age and height separate: He is thirteen years old. He is 1.60 metres tall. Write the numbers given on the profile card instead of guessing from a drawing.

Reading: Ilyas gets ready for sports day

Ilyas is thirteen and lives in Meknes. His favourite sport is basketball. He trains at the sports club every Wednesday at five o’clock. He can throw and catch a ball, but he cannot play baseball yet. His school’s sports day is on Friday. The running race starts at nine, and the basketball match starts at ten. It is Thursday afternoon now. Ilyas is practising on the school court with his brother. They are passing the ball. Their friend Hamza is writing the team names. He is not playing at the moment. Ilyas is excited because he enjoys helping his team.

Listen and compare a habit with an action now

Partner-read script: My name is Rayan. I play badminton on Saturdays at eleven. I have got a racket and a shuttlecock. I can play tennis too, but I cannot play baseball. Today I am running on the school track. My brother is watching. Ask a partner to read slowly. First identify Rayan’s regular sport; listen again for the day, time, equipment and current activity. Check together against the script. This listening task uses a partner’s voice.

Practice 2: interview a partner

Work in pairs. Ask what sport your partner likes, where and when he practises, and what he can do. Then describe a sports picture together using What is he doing? or What are they doing? Ask Can you repeat, please? if necessary. You can discuss an imaginary athlete if you prefer. Focus on clear answers and matching auxiliaries instead of speaking quickly.

Review: how do you write an athlete profile?

Make notes on name, age, town, favourite sport, routine and ability. Add one sentence about a picture showing the athlete now. Write a connected 50–75-word paragraph and link related ideas with and, but or because. If the person is invented, say so in your planning notes; avoid attaching fictional claims to a real sports star.

Self-check: underline every can and check the next verb. Circle does or doesn’t and remove any extra s from the main verb. In every current-action sentence, check both be and ing. Match your time expressions to the story. Exit task: name an equipment pair, ask one ability question and describe one routine plus one action now.