FAMILY
What's your daughter's name?

Objective

To identify family members.

Goal

To ask and respond to questions about families.

Suggestions

• Be cautious when doing any activity in this chapter. Be sensitive to learners' family situations. Almost all learners will be separated from family members in one way or another. Begin with identifying members of your family and allow those who want to talk about family to participate and respect those who don't want to talk about it.
• This chapter focuses on the immediate family members. As learners are ready, introduce the extended members of the family.
• If someone's family member is no longer with them, it is important to be able to know the English words that describe their situation. Words such as 'divorced', 'separated', 'dead', 'missing', 'widowed', etc. are important. Introduce these words where and when appropriate and always taking the lead from the learner.
• In some cultures people are encouraged to marry cousins. Be careful of your reaction to this information as it may be interpreted as negative and disapproving, thus creating an atmosphere of non-supportiveness.
• Newcomers with large families often dread the question, "How many children do you have?" When they respond with, "I have nine children", they are met with mixed reactions which may set up immediate barriers. It is important to react positively.

Activities

• Bring photos of your family members and talk about them in class. Be cautious about asking learners to bring photos as many don't have photos with them.
• Go to a card store and find cards for various family members' birthdays.
• Give each learner a card with their spouse's/ children's names on it for easy reference.