Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

ME AND MY WORLD
OVERVIEW
In this unit, you will learn how to introduce yourself, give some
personal information and recognize the structure and organization
of a bilingual dictionary.

LANGUAGE FOCUS
Present Simple of the verb to be and other verbs
Adjectives to describe personality
Family members

INCO | Ingls para os alunos da graduao da USP | pag 1

Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LOOK AROUND
1. M
 e in 5 words. Write 5 words that describe you. Do it in English or in
Portuguese. If necessary, look the word up in a bilingual dictionary.

2. E xamine the word cloud below.

Now find words that relate to the following categories:

Activities
(general and free time)

Courses/University life

Relationships

3. C ompare your 5 words to the categories above. Do your words relate to them?

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Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LOOK CLOSER
READING

1. Explore the three texts and answer:

a) What type of text are they?
b) Where can you find them?
c) Who are these people?
d) Do you know them?

(From https://www.facebook.com/groups/476315989114759/?fref=ts February 8, 2016)

2. R ead the texts again and complete the chart.

Cezar

Vanessa

Aline

a. Course at USP
b. Age
c. Origin
d. Qualities
e. Likes
f. Dislikes

3. I n pairs, answer the following questions.

a) Who probably travels on the weekend?
b) Who does field studies?
c) What can they do together on the weekend?

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USEFUL LANGUAGE
Cezar likes travelING.
Vanessa likes goING to the movies.

Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LANGUAGE TIP

LOOK CLOSER

Like can be a verb (I like parties) or a

preposition (He is sociable, like me).

LANGUAGE STUDY

1. R oberto read the

Im a little bit similar to all of them. For example, Cezar

is sociable and likes parties, like me. He doesnt like
movies, but Vanessa does. And I love going to the
movies! Finally, Aline studies a lot and has many extra
activities like me and most USP students

three profiles.
Check what he said.
What does he have
in common with
the other students?

2. A nalyze the

underlined parts
of Robertos text
and choose the
statements that
are true.

3. Check your

answers and
complete the
rules:

4. Do you know

Bruno Mars?

On the right
you have some
curiosities about his
life. Fill in the blanks
with the correct
form of the verbs in
parentheses. What
else do you know
about him?

a. They are all verbs that refer to actions happening at the moment.
b. They are all verbs that refer to routines and habits.
c. AM and IS are conjugations of the verb to be in the present.
d. AM and IS are conjugations of the verb to be in the past.
e. When the subject is she, he or it, verbs other than to be end in s, es or ies.
f. Verbs other than to be do not change, no matter the subject of the sentence.
We use the Present Simple to talk about __________ and __________. There are 3
different conjugations of the verb to be in the present I _____, she, he, it _____,
and we, you, they _____. For other verbs, when the subject is she, he or it, the verb
ends in _____, _____ or _____, depending on the spelling.
Bruno Mars _____ (be) of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent.
He _____ (come) from a musical family. His mother _____ (be) a hula dancer and his
father _____ (be) a percussionist.
Mars said I _____ (be) heavily influenced by Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Amy
Winehouse, Alicia Keys, R. Kelly and James Brown.
He _____ (come) from a large family and _____ (be) one of six children. He _____
(have) a brother Eric, and four sisters: Jamie, Presley, Tahiti, and Tiara.
His sisters _____ (have) their own musical group, The Lylas. He also _____ (play) the
drums, keyboard, bass, and guitar. He _____ (love) his tattoos. He currently _____
(have) 4. And his favorite color _____ (be) maroon.
Mars and singer Adele _____ (be) the only artists to ever _____ (have) a number-one
song that only featured piano and vocals.
Adapted from http://www.boomsbeat.com/articles/133/20140120/32-interesting-facts-about-bruno-mars.htm Accessed on February 16, 2016

5. W
 ho is your favorite singer? What do you

know about her/him? Share with a partner.

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USEFUL LANGUAGE
(Singer) is from / comes from

She/He likes / lives in

She/He is years old.

My favorite song is

Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LOOK CLOSER
WATCHING

1. W
 atch the interviews and answer.

a. What kind of program is that?

b. What do people do there?
c. Is there an equivalent in Brazil?

2. Watch it again and relate the information to the contestants.

Dami Im

Emilia Kelberg

Jaymie De
Boucherville

Sam Bailey

Seann Miley
Moore

a. Who is from

Australia?

b. W
 ho is

married?

c. Who is alone

in London?

3. W
 atch a collage of the videos and fill in the blanks with
the missing words. Use the Language Tip box to help you.

LANGUAGE TIP

Dami Im
Ive brought my _____ with me today, Noah.
Emilia Kelberg
Ive got my _____, my _____, my boyfriend and my best
friend.
Jaymie De Boucherville
Weve got _____ Stepdad , _____, _____, _____, _____,
_____, _____ Everyone is here. Wheres the dog?
Sam Bailey
I live at home with my _____, and Ive got a _____ called
Tommy and a _____ called Brooke.
Seann Miley Moore
My _____s from Britain originally. All my _____ and my
_____ is here.
INCO | Ingls para os alunos da graduao da USP | pag 5

Mother = Mom | Father = Dad

http://pt.slideshare.net/Teachersteam/simpsons-family-tree-50263499

Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LOOK CLOSER
SPEAKING

1. A nswer the following questions about yourself. Then interview a classmate.

YOU

A CLASSMATE

a. Whats your name?

b. How old are you?
c. Where are you from?
d. How are you like?
e. How many brothers and
sisters do you have?
f. What do you like?
g. What do you dislike?

2. Write three sentences comparing you two. Follow the example sentences.
Mary and I like / are | I like but Mary doesnt. | I am but Mary is
I like but Mary likes | I have and/but Mary has

LOOK IT UP
Friendly

Outgoing

Brave

Reliable

Generous

Loyal

Bossy

Bad-tempered

Creative

Supportive

Affectionate

Anxious

In your dictionary, how do you know if these words are adjectives, nouns or verbs?
How does this information help you understand the uses of these words?
Which of them describe your personality?

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Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LOOK CLOSER
WRITING

1. Use what you learned in this unit and write your personal presentation.
Include your age, origin, what you do at USP, personal characteristics, and
free time activities.

2. Get in pairs. Exchange writings. You are going to help your partner with
her/his work. Follow the steps.
a. Is all the asked information present? Write down what is missing.
b. Underline any grammar mistake.
c. Circle any spelling mistake.

3. Return the writing to your partner and get yours back. Thank her/him for
helping you with your work and read her/his comments. Do you agree
with them? Do you have any doubts? Clarify whatever is necessary.

4. Make the necessary changes.

5. Ask your teacher for a final check and when everything is ready, post your
presentation at INCO at FB.

LOOK CRITICALLY
1. In what other situations do people introduce themselves?
( ) at work

( ) with friends

( ) with older people

( ) with your teacher and professors

( ) people youve just met ( ) at school

2. H
 ow formal or informal are you in the these situations? How
different or similar is that in other cultures?
3. W
 hen you meet new people, what things dont you usually say
or ask about? Tick the options. Then compare answers with your
classmates.
( ) origin city or country ( ) his/her salary ( ) persons age
( ) occupation ( ) his/her religion ( ) political party ( ) name
4. What advice would you give a foreign student at USP about
being formal or informal within the university context?

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Level 1 | unit 1 | Cultural Identities

LOOK BACK AND BEYOND
ACT OUT
Have you ever considered
going abroad as an exchange
student? Use what you have
learned in this unit to engage
in the task.

Student A: You are a Cincia

Sem Fronteiras student in Dubai
and need to register at their
medical library. Be ready to
answer the librarian questions.

Student B: You are a librarian at

Al Maktoum University in Dubai. A
student from Brazil wants to register.
Ask her/him the necessary questions
to fill in the registration form.

LANGUAGE TIP
Allied health = other health
professionals different
from nurses, doctors or
pharmacists, for example,
occupational therapists,
psychologists, etc.
DHCC = Dubai Healthcare
City
Faculty = professors
G = graduation
PG = post graduation
Physician = doctor
UG = under graduation

USEFUL LANGUAGE
Country code = 55 (Brazil)
Area code = 11 (So Paulo)
@ = at
. = dot
_ = underscore
- = minus sign, dash
/ = forward slash
\ = backslash

(From http://www.amml.ac.ae/PatronRegistration
February 8, 2016)

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