Week 14 – Free time & hobbies

Week 14 – Free time & hobbies (A1+ → A2‑)

Theme: Talking about free time, hobbies, likes/dislikes, and frequency.

Main grammar:

• like / love / hate / don’t like + verb-ing
• Adverbs of frequency: always, usually, often, sometimes, hardly ever, never
• Position of adverbs in the sentence (with normal verbs vs. be)

CEFR link:

A1+ / early A2: Can talk about likes/dislikes and simple routine activities; can ask and answer simple questions about free time (CEFR: “Can describe hobbies and free time activities.”)

1. Lesson objectives (for students)

By the end of the week, students can:

1. Say what they like / don’t like doing in their free time.
2. Ask and answer questions about hobbies:
   • “What do you like doing in your free time?”
   • “How often do you … ?”
3. Use adverbs of frequency correctly:
   • “I usually play football on Saturdays.”
   • “I hardly ever watch TV.”
4. Use the structure like + -ing:
   • “I like reading.” / “He doesn’t like cooking.”

2. Grammar focus (with Ukrainian‑speaker notes)

a) Like / love / hate + -ing

Form:

• I like / love / hate / don’t like + verb-ing
  • I like playing computer games.
  • She loves dancing.
  • We don’t like getting up early.

Common Ukrainian issues:

• Direct translation from Ukrainian:
  • Я люблю грати → students may say I love to play or even I love play.
  • Accept like to + verb as a later extension, but teach + -ing as the main pattern.
• Forgetting -ing:
  • Wrong: I like swim.
  • Correct: I like swimming.

Student rule (simple English):

“After like / love / hate / don’t like, use verb + -ing.”

b) Adverbs of frequency

Key set:

always, usually, often, sometimes, hardly ever, never

Position with Present Simple:

• Before main verb:
  • I often watch films.
  • We sometimes play tennis.
• After be:
  • I am usually tired in the evening.
  • He is never late.

Common Ukrainian issues:

• Word order (influenced by Ukrainian):
  • Error: I watch often TV.
  • Target: I often watch TV.
• Special rule with be:
  • am / is / are + adverb → He is never late.
• Overuse of “always” / “never” instead of “often / sometimes”.

3. Vocabulary sets

Free-time activities (in -ing form for practice):

• playing football / basketball / computer games
• going to the cinema
• watching TV / series
• listening to music
• reading books / magazines
• cooking
• swimming
• going for a walk
• doing exercise / working out
• meeting friends
• shopping
• travelling

Question and response chunks:

• What do you like doing in your free time?
• How often do you … ?
• Do you like … ?
• Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
• I really like … / I don’t really like …

4. Lesson skeleton (60–90 minutes)

1) Warm‑up (10–15 min)

• Show / write 6–8 hobby pictures/words.
• Students mark ✓ if they like, ✗ if they don’t like each activity.
  • In pairs: “Do you like … ?” – “Yes, I do / No, I don’t.”
• Board feedback: collect 2–3 sentences and correct like + -ing as needed.

2) Presentation – Like + -ing (15–20 min)

1. On the board, write or say a short text:

I like playing football and watching films.

I don’t like cooking. My sister loves reading.

2. Underline like playing, watching, don’t like cooking, loves reading.
3. Elicit pattern: like / love / don’t like + verb-ing.
4. Quick controlled practice:
   • Gap-fill:
     • I _ (like / play) tennis. → I like playing tennis.
     • She _ (not like / get up) early. → She doesn’t like getting up early.
   • Students transform simple verbs into like + -ing sentences using your vocab set.

3) Presentation – Adverbs of frequency (15–20 min)

1. Put a simple weekly timetable on the board (or show a "typical week").

2. Elicit sentences and introduce adverbs:
   • I often play football.
   • I sometimes go to the cinema.
   • I never play tennis.

3. Draw a frequency line:

always — usually — often — sometimes — hardly ever — never

4. Show word order:
   • I often watch TV.
   • I am usually busy on Monday.

5. Quick drill:
   • Say an adverb → students make a sentence (chorally, then in pairs).

4) Controlled practice (10–15 min)

• Pair survey worksheet idea:
  • Students get 6 activities (e.g. play football, read books, watch TV, listen to music, cook, go shopping).
  • They ask each other:
    • “How often do you … ?”
  • Partner answers using adverbs:
    • “I usually / often / sometimes …”
• They complete a small table and then report:
  • “Oksana usually watches TV and sometimes goes shopping.”

5) Freer practice / speaking task (15–20 min)

• “My free‑time profile” mini‑presentation:
  1. Students write 4–5 sentences about themselves:
     • sentences with like / don’t like / love + -ing
     • 2–3 sentences with adverbs: “I usually…, I sometimes…, I never…”
  2. In small groups, they present to each other.
  3. Encourage follow‑up questions:
     • “Really? Why?” / “What do you usually watch?”

5. Homework / revision ideas

Choose 1–2:

1. Writing task – short paragraph
   • Write 5–7 sentences about your free time. Use:
     • 3 verbs with -ing (like / don’t like / love)
     • 3 adverbs of frequency.
   • Next lesson: pair check, then read a few aloud and correct -ing and adverb position.

2. Frequency diary
   • Students draw a simple table:
     • "Every day / 3–4 times a week / once a week / hardly ever / never"
   • They write activities in the correct column.
   • Next lesson, they use it to speak:
     • “I usually …”, “I hardly ever …”

3. Online / card practice
   • If you have Quizlet / cards:
     • Front: "always" → Back: "завжди" + example.
     • Front: "like playing football" → Back: "подобаться грати у футбол".

Placement checklist (A2 starting point)

Use Week 14 as an early A2 start if a student can already:

• Talk simply about daily routine & family in Present Simple.
• Use to be and basic like / don’t like correctly sometimes.
• Understand/produce very basic free‑time vocabulary (play football, watch TV, read, etc.).