In this lesson, we give you common expressions to talk about childhood as well as collocations we use in spoken English. Read the expressions below and complete them to make them true for you. 

Note: You don't have to remember every single expression. Learn the ones that you relate to. 

If you are taking the IELTS exam or any other speaking test where you might be asked to talk about your childhood or family, it will be better for you to extend your answers. 

Example: My parents are originally from Korea, but I was born and raised in the US. They decided to name me Nicole because it's a Western name and, in fact, quite easy to remember. I grew up in Southern California in a very close-knit family. 

​EXPRESSIONS TO TALK ABOUT YOUR FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD 
​

• I'm originally from .................... : that's where I was born. (city, country) 
• I was born and raised in .................... (place: city, country) 
• I was born in ..................... (year) 
• My parents decided to name me .................... (Peter/Kate, etc.) 
• I was named after .................... (my grandmother/grandfather, etc.) 
• I grew up in .................... (place: city, village, country) 
• I spent most of my childhood in .................... (place: city, village, country) 
• I was raised by .................... (my mother/father/grandparents) 
• I was brought up by .................... (my parents/grandparents)  
• They brought me up to be a good person. 
• I was a bright child - always asking lots of different questions. 
• I don't think I was spoilt as a child. | I don't think I was a spoilt child. 
• When I was a child, I was quite stubborn, especially when my parents took me to the shops. 
• I was a difficult child and my parents didn't know what to do with me. 
• I wasn't allowed to have a TV in my bedroom. | I wasn't allowed to eat too many sweets. 
• My parents were very strict with me when I was young. | My parents weren't too strict with me. 
• My parents were comfortable with money, but not really well-off. 
• I wasn't really born with a silver spoon in my mouth or anything like that. 
• I'm from a normal family. (= financially) 
• I come from a large/big/small family. (You can add how many brothers or sisters you have.) 
• In looks I take after my mother.  
• My family used to say that I took after my mum. (= I looked like her.) 
• I take after my mother, being short and fair, but my older sister has dark hair and he's taller than me. 

VOCABULARY 

• a close/close-knit family (collocation) - spending a lot of time together and supporting each other  
• name somebody/something (after somebody) (phrasal verb) - I was named after my great-grandfather. 
• grow up (phrasal verb) - It is used for talking about the things that happened while you were a child. 
• spend your childhood somewhere (collocation) - I spent (most of) my childhood there. 
• bring up (phrasal verb) [OFTEN PASSIVE] - to look after a child until he/she becomes an adult 
• a bright child (collocation) - intelligent 
• a spoilt/spoiled child (collocation) - allowed to do or have whatever he or she wants, and behaving badly 
• a difficult child (collocation) - difficult to deal with 
• as a child (collocation) - when you were a child 
• comfortable with money - having enough money for a good standard of living - My parents were not rich or anything, but they were quite comfortable (with money). [You can use 'with money' if you wish or you can just say 'comfortable'.] 
• a wealthy/rich/well-off family (collocation) 
• a poor/low-income/disadvantaged family (collocation) 
• born with a silver spoon in (one's) mouth (idiom) - born into a wealthy family, rich from birth 
• a large/big/small family (collocation) 
• take after somebody (phrasal verb) - to look or behave like an older member of your family, especially your mother or father 

​TASK: 

1. Where were you brought up? 
2. ​Have you got any brothers or sisters, or are you an only child? 
3. Do you take after your mother or your father? How? 

​
Other lessons: 
English Lesson: Talking about Childhood 
English Lesson: Describing a Friend 
Confusing words in English: Famous vs. Popular 
Confusing words in English: Crowded vs. Congested 

Lessons with English collocations: 
Collocations for Urban Life 
Collocations for Rural Life 
Collocations for Success 
Collocations for Feelings 

Click below to read some of our IELTS related lessons: 
​Discourse Markers for IELTS Speaking and Everyday English 
Causes and Effects of Migration from Rural Areas to Cities 
IELTS: Advantages and Disadvantages of Using the Internet 
Social Media Addiction: Causes, Effects and Possible Solutions 


Please LIKE and SHARE with friends!

In this lesson, we are going to look at grammar and vocabulary you can use to talk about your childhood. The lesson is suitable for English learners in general and those preparing for the IELTS Speaking test. 

Read the text below and spend some time analysing the grammar points used. What did you notice? 

Now, let's look at the language you need to talk about your childhood. 

1. Learn vocabulary to talk about games you used to play as a child. 
2. Learn phrases and collocations connected with remembering. 
3. Use past tenses, used to and would. 

What was your childhood like and is there anything you miss? 

Well, to be honest, I'm not a very nostalgic person and I don't look back on my life that often. I tend to think more about the future than about the past. Having said that, I have some vague memories of my childhood. 

Occasionally, I may think about my childhood, especially when I try to find out what kind of person I used to be or whether I was happier as a child than I am now. 

Looking back at my childhood I do remember spending lots of time outdoors and playing with other children, which were mainly younger than me. I can't remember my childhood in great detail, but I can think of my summer holidays and staying outdoors until late in the evening. My parents didn't worry about me at all because I would always play in the street with the neighbouring kids, not too far from home. 

On hot summer days, we would always play together late in the afternoon when temperatures were not too high. In the evenings, we would play hide-and-seek, and other games, which I can barely remember now. 

Another thing I really enjoyed doing was riding my bike alone or with other children. Unfortunately, my dad sold my bike when I went to high school and I haven't been on a bike ever since. Honestly, I was very keen on cycling back then, but I'm a bit scared to get on a bike now because I have long forgotten how to do it without falling. 

Sometimes I wish I could remember more from my childhood, but as I get older, I realise that my memories have faded with time. 

VOCABULARY 

• nostalgic (adjective) - having a feeling of sadness mixed with pleasure when you think of happy times in the past 
• look back (on something) (phrasal verb) - to think about something in your past 
• a vague memory (collocation) - not clear 
• childhood - 3-12 years old 
• don't remember/can't remember - used when saying that you have forgotten something 
• in great detail (collocation) 
• play in the street/park, etc. (collocation) - When I was young, I would play in the street until late. 
• hide-and-seek - a children’s game in which one player covers his or her eyes while the other players hide, and then tries to find them 
• keen on doing something - If you are keen on doing something, you want to do it very much. 
• get on/off a bike (collocation) 
• remember something from (your) childhood (collocation) - I remember this place from my childhood. 
• get older (also grow older) (collocation) 
• a memory fades (collocation) - becomes less clear and accurate (Don't forget to change the form of the verb.) 

GRAMMAR 
​
Find the sentences with 'used to' and 'would' in the text. 

Used to 
We use used to + infinitive to describe past habits or past states that are now finished. 
The negative form is didn't use to. 

Would 
We can also use would + infinitive to describe past habits. 
The negative form is rarely used in English. 

​
TASK: 

1. What do you remember about your childhood? 
2. Do you think that technology is changing childhood? [How?] 
3. If you were a child these days, what would you do in your free time? 

English conversation lessons: 
English Conversation: Travel opinions 
English Conversation: Travelling in Europe and Asia 
English Conversation: Travel experience 
English Lesson: Describing a Friend 

Lessons with English collocations: 
Collocations for Urban Life 
Collocations for Rural Life 
Collocations for Success 
Collocations for Feelings 

Click below to read some of our IELTS related lessons: 
Discourse Markers for IELTS Speaking and Everyday English 
Causes and Effects of Migration from Rural Areas to Cities 
IELTS: Advantages and Disadvantages of Using the Internet 


Please LIKE and SHARE with friends!

In this lesson, we are going to look at phrases and expressions to talk about friends. The lesson is suitable for English learners in general and those preparing for the IELTS Speaking test. 

Read the answers below and spend some time analysing the language used. Try to sound natural when describing a friend and their personality. Follow the steps at the beginning of the lesson, which will give you an idea what to include in your description. 

Let's look at the language you need to describe a friend. 

1. Learn collocations to talk about your friendship. 
2. Learn idioms to talk about friends. 
3. Learn adjectives to talk about their personality. 
4. Develop your ideas with reasons and examples. 

When and how did you meet your best friend? 
​
Our friendship goes back many years - we first met at high school about 10 years ago. Back then, I found it difficult to make friends with other classmates because we didn't have much in common apart from our studies. I'm that kind of person who doesn't open up easily and have a hard time starting a conversation. I slowly started to get to know my friend better and I felt that I could trust her. 

VOCABULARY 

• go back (phrasal verb) - to have existed since or for a particular time 
• find something difficult - to experience something in a certain way 
• be/make friends (with someone) (idiom) - to be/become a friend of somebody  
  (e.g. We've been friends for over 10 years now.) 
• have something in common (with someone) (phrase) - to have the same interests or opinions as someone else 
• open up (to someone) (phrasal verb) - to become less shy and more willing to communicate 
• have a hard time doing something (idiom) - If you have a hard time doing something or with something, it is difficult for you. 
• get to know someone (phrase) - If you get to know someone, you find out what they are like by spending time with them. 

How often do you see each other? 

Nowadays, we are both quite busy with work and household chores. When we were at school, we had a lot more free time and we could easily hang out together whenever we felt like it. But as we get older, we have more responsibilities each day, so we can't meet each other as often as before. In general, we get to see each other once or twice a month.  

VOCABULARY 

• busy with something 
• feel like something/doing something (phrase) - to want something or to want to do something 
• get older (also grow older) (collocation) 
• as often as before (comparison) 
• get to see someone (= have an opportunity to see/meet someone) 

What kind of personality does your friend have? 

I always enjoy her company, because of her warm personality. What I really like about my friend is how cheerful and optimistic she is - she always tries to look on the bright side. Apart from that, she's quite generous, too. She doesn't care how much she spends on gifts for her friends. Having her as my friend is just priceless, because she's such a caring and considerate person. 

VOCABULARY 

• enjoy somebody's company (collocation) - We enjoy each other's company. 
• a warm personality (collocation) (= friendly and kind to people) 
• look on the bright side (phrase) - If you look on the bright side, you try to be cheerful about a bad situation by thinking that it is not as bad as it could have been. 
• spend money on something - We spend a lot more on food than we used to. 
• considerate (adjective) - always thinking of other people's wishes and feelings; careful not to hurt or upset others 

​
Why do you enjoy spending time with your friend? 

Even though we have different personality types, we enjoy trying new things together and we always celebrate special occasions together. 

VOCABULARY 

• spend time with someone (collocation) 

TASK: 

• Write a description of yourself and what kind of person you are. (Look up some words in a dictionary.) 
• Describe a close friend. (Think about how long you have known this person, how you met and what kind of person he/she is.) 
• Do you think it is difficult to keep friends nowadays? Why? / Why not? 

English conversation lessons: 
English Conversation: Travel opinions 
English Conversation: Travelling in Europe and Asia 
English Conversation: Travel experience 

Lessons with English collocations: 
Collocations for Urban Life 
Collocations for Rural Life 
Collocations for Success 
Collocations for Feelings 

Click below to read some of our IELTS related lessons: 
Discourse Markers for IELTS Speaking and Everyday English 
Causes and Effects of Migration from Rural Areas to Cities 
IELTS Speaking Test: Means of Transport 
IELTS Speaking Test: Arriving Early and Being Patient 
IELTS Speaking Test: Places That Tourists Visit and Being a Tourist 
IELTS: Advantages and Disadvantages of Using the Internet 


​Please LIKE and SHARE with friends!