SPEAKING, LISTENING, READING, WRITING - 1.1 Talk about names - Vocabulary, Reading, and Discussion

Sep 17, 2026

Lesson and practice materials for speaking, listening, reading, and writing centered on personal names. Activities include discussing pronunciation difficulty, nicknames, and interpreting personality test results; vocabulary work on collocations with “name”; and reading comprehension questions about how given names affect impressions and job chances. The text examines research on name associations with “success,” offers examples of unusual celebrity names, and explores views on cultural and ethnic influences in naming children.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Making your name

Speaking

Vocabulary (Phrases with name)

Reading

Discussion questions

1 origins WHAT’SINA NAME? p8 WHAT ARE YOU LIKE? p11 PICTURE PERFECT p14 FRANCESCO’S VENICE p16 SPEAKING LISTENING READING WRITING 1.1 Talk about names 1.2 Discuss the results of a personality test 1.3 Speculate about people based on their portraits 1.4 Describe a treasured possession 1.2 Listen to a radio programme about a personality test 1.3 Listen to a discussion about photographic portraits 1.4 Watch a BBC documentary about Venice 1.1 Read an article about names 1.2 Read a questionnaire about language learning 1.1 Write a personal proﬁle 1.4 Write a description of an object 1.1 WHAT’S INA NAME? G the continuous aspect P unstressed auxiliary verbs V phrases with name SPEAKING 1 Work in groups. Check you know everyone’s name. Discuss the questions. 1 Do you think your name is di􀀝cult to pronounce for foreigners? Why/Why not? Is it an international name or is it mainly used in your country? 2 Do you have any nicknames? How did you get them? VOCABULARY PHRASES WITH NAME 2 A Choose the correct words to complete the expressions in bold. Compare your answers with other students. 1 I was named a er/to my great-grandmother. She was also called Linda. 2 I’m from a famous family and it’s not easy to live on/up to my name. 3 I worked hard for twenty years and did/made a name for myself in ﬁlm. 4 He used to be a household/celebrity name but he’s not famous anymore. 5 I threw/put my name forward for class president. 6 Even though she was innocent, it took her years to clear/clean her name. 7 She addressed all her employees by/for name. 8 He was a king in/through name only. He had no power. 9 My surname is Jones; my middle name is Wheatley; and my given/main name is Stephen. 10 My maiden/born name is Smith but my married name is Edelstein. B Work in pairs and answer the questions. Which of the collocations: a) are on your passport/identity document? b) might change in your lifetime? c) are related to reputation? d) means ‘using their names’? e) means ‘volunteered’? f) means ‘famous’? g) means‘it’s only a title’? h) is in honour of someone else? C Work in pairs. Think of someone who: • is a household name. • had to clear their name. • has made a name for him/herself recently. • has to live up to his/her name. • used to be a big name. • is so famous that they’re known by their given name. READING 3 A Work in pairs and discuss the questions. 1 What do you think are the world’s most common given names? 2 What are the most common family names in your country? 3 Why do you think people change their names? B Read the article and complete the sentence. The main idea of the text is that… C Answer the questions. 1 According to the article, is it only celebrities who choose strange names for their children? 2 What do the results of Mehrabian’s research show? 3 According to the study in paragraph 6, how might your name a ect your chances of getting a job? 4 In Satran’s opinion, what inﬂuences the way people name their children? 4 A Work in pairs and discuss the questions. 1 Do you agree with Mehrabian that ‘Names generate impressions’? 2 Do you agree with Satran that ‘Celebrity culture and ethnic diversity have made people much more eager to look for a wide range of names of their own’? 3 Why do you think certain names are associated with success? 4 The research for this article was done in the USA. Do you think the results would be the same if the research was done in your country? B The article contains several colloquial expressions. What do you think words/phrases 1–7 mean? Use a dictionary to help you if necessary. 1 going in for (paragraph 1) 2 increasingly outlandish (paragraph 2) 3 reach the top of the tree (paragraph 5) 4 career-wise (paragraph 5) 5 cut and dried (paragraph 6) 6 call-backs (paragraph 6) 7 for the likes of (paragraph 7) 1.1 Making your name Approximately 130 million babies are born eac

FAQs

What topics does the lesson cover regarding names?

The lesson focuses on talking about names, discussing personality test results, speculating from portraits, and describing possessions, with a major emphasis on given names and family names.

What does the vocabulary section “Phrases with name” ask students to do?

Students choose correct words to complete expressions, then identify which collocations relate to identity documents, reputation, volunteering, fame, and honor.

According to the reading, how can names influence people’s opportunities?

The reading explains that names can create positive or negative impressions and may affect outcomes like job chances when names are considered on documents such as CVs.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Ava Thompson