I. Read the following statements and say if you agree or disagree with them.

Family Life

I. Read the following statements and say if you agree or disagree with them.

· Family is often the source of our problems and anxieties.

· There are two general types of family: the nuclear family and the extended family.

· The family unit is in crisis now and traditional family life is a thing of the past.

· Other types of family (e.g. single parent household, homosexual families, etc.) are as good as traditional (nuclear family).

 

 

II. Skim the text and check and make sure that you have guessed right.

There are many different views on family life. Some people could not do without the support and love of their families. Others say it is the source of most of our problems and anxieties. Whatever the truth is, the family is definitely a powerful symbol. Turn to the television or open a magazine and you will see advertisements featuring happy, balanced families. Politicians often try to win votes by standing for “ family values ”: respect for parental authority, stability in marriage, chastity and care for the elderly.

Sociologists divide families into two general types: the nuclear family and the extended family, which may include three or more generations living together. In industrialized countries, and increasingly in the large cities of developing countries, the nuclear family is regarded as normal. Most people think of it as consisting of two parents and two children. In fact, the number of households containing a nuclear family is shrinking year by year.

There are people who say that the family unit in most countries is in the crisis and that traditional family life is a thing of the past. This is of great concern to those who think a healthy society is dependent upon a stable family life. They see many indications that the family is in decline, in such things as the acceptance of sex before marriage, the increased number of one-parent families, the current high divorce rate and what they see as a lack of discipline within the family.

There is a definition of a “normal family ”. Broadly speaking, the family is a group of people related by blood or law, living together or associating with one another for a common purpose. That purpose is usually to provide shelter and food, and to bring up children. The nature of the family keeps changing; there are a number of types of family that exists in a society at any one time.

 

III. Read the text again and answer the following questions:

1. What is the most general view on family life?

2. How do politicians use family values in their campaigns?

3. What is the extended family?

4. What are the indications that family life is in decline?

5. What is a ‘normal’ family?

 

Vocabulary practice

I.. Give the English equivalents to the following words and phrases:

Поддержка и любовь, гармоничная семья, семейные ценности, родительская власть, стабильный брак, целомудрие, забота о престарелых, нуклеарная семья, расширенная семья, поколение, члены семьи/домочадцы, здоровое общество, стабильная семейная жизнь, упадок, неполная семья, высокий уровень разводов, два основных типа семьи, реклама, недостаток дисциплины, воспитывать детей, кровь.

 

II. Make up word combinations and use them in sentences or situations of your own.

single	marriage
working	children
the only	child
to spoil	parents
to bring up	a child
to run	gap
to get	values
generation	family life
family	family
nuclear	rate
stable	a divorce
divorce	mother

IV. Write out all words and word combinations related to family. Add them to your topical vocabulary. Study the examples.

Expressions with family

family gathering = a meeting / celebration of family members: "There's a small family gathering next week."

family resemblance = where members of the family look / act similar: "You can see a distinct family resemblance between the father and the son."

to start a family = to start having children: "They want to wait a couple of years before starting a family."

to run in the family = a characteristic that is common among family members: "Baldness runs in his family."

to bring up / raise a family = to have and look after children: "It's difficult to raise a family on one income."

a family car = a car big enough to transport a family: "The Volvo Estate is a popular family car."

family-size = large quantity item: "We need to buy family-size packets of biscuits!"

family-friendly = a policy that favours families: "This hotel is family-friendly."

family doctor = a doctor who looks after general medical needs: "There are a number of good family doctors in this area."

family man = a man who prefers to spend his time with his family: "John is a family man."

family values = traditional ideas about what a family should be: "Some political parties often emphasise family values and the importance of marriage."

family name = surname: "What's your family name?"

 

 

Reading

Ø The number of nuclear families in the world is decreasing year by year. What are the consequences of this process? Is situation similar in all countries?

Ø You are going to read two short texts about family life in Britain and the USA. What is common? What are the differences? Make the list of problems/tendencies and share it with your groupmate.

 

The british Family

“There is no such thing as society,” Mrs. Thatcher once said. “Only individual men and women, and families.” many people disagree with her, but there remains a strong feeling that the immediate or ‘nuclear’ family is the basic unit of society, and that traditional family values remain the mainstay of national life.

The nuclear family is usually pictured as a married couple, with two children, ideally a girl and a boy, and perhaps their grandmother, or ‘granny’, in the background. As a picture of the way most British live, this becomes increasingly unrealistic each year. If the picture includes the traditional idea of the man going out to work while his wife stays at home, it is probably true of less than 10 per cent of the country. Even without such a limited definition, only 42 per cent of the populationlive in nuclear family households, an even within this group a considerable of parents are in their second marriage with children from a previous marriage.

Social attitudes and behaviour are undoubtedly changing. The number of people living alone has risen significantly. The British are clearly becoming a more solitary nation in their living habits. This will have social implications, for example housing needs in the future.

There is an increasing proportion of men and women living together before marriage. For example, in 1961 only 1 per cent of first-time married couples had previously been living together. By the year 2012 it was estimated that most couples lived together before marrying. Others living together, or ‘ cohabiting ’, never get married.

 

 

The American Family

When Americans consider families, many of them think of a "traditional family. " A traditional family is one in which both parents are living together with their children. The father goes out and works and the mother stays home and rears the children. The biggest change in families in the United States is that most families today do not fit this image. Today, one out of three American families is a "traditional family" in this sense.

The most common type of family now is one in which both parents work outside the home. In 1950, only 20 percent of all American families had both parents working outside the home. Today, it is 60 percent. Even women with young children are going back to work. New census figures show that as of 2011, only 23% of married couple families with children younger than age 15 have a stay-at-home mother (SAHM). These days, there are more kids being raise d by single moms than by married couples where the man earns all the income and the wife stays home. - See more at: http://www.themotherco.com/2011/11/what-is-the-traditional-family/#sthash.MUPkCFGM.dpuf
In many states, single people may also adopt children. Some people take in foster children --children whose parents cannot take care of them. Another change is that families in the United States are getting smaller. In the mid-1700s, there were six people in the average household. Today the average household contains between two and three people. A household is defined as any place where at least one person is living.
One recent change is that the number of marriages is rising. The number of babies born also has been climbing steadily for the past 10 years. Many experts see these trends as a sign that Americans are returning to the values of marriage and family.

Vocabulary practice

Lead in

Ø The number of nuclear families is reducing both in Britain and in the USA. Is the situation different in Russia? What kind of difficulties are young families likely to have? Think of your and your friends’ families; share the information with your group mates.

Reading

Vocabulary practice

Grammar Spot

Your family tree

Your closest relatives are your parents: your mother and father; and your siblings (brothers or sisters). If your mother or father is not an only child, you also have aunts and / or uncles. An aunt is the sister of your mother or father, while an uncle is the brother of your mother or father. Your female child is called your daughter, and your male child is your son.

If your aunts or uncles have children, they are your first cousins. (In English, the word cousin is used, whether the cousin is female or male.) Your female cousin is your mother (or father's) niece, while a male cousin is the nephew of your mother and father.

In-laws

When you marry, your husband (or wife's) family become your in-laws. The mother of your spouse (husband or wife) is your mother-in-law and his or her father becomes your father-in-law. The term in-law is also used to describe your relationship with the spouses of your siblings. So the husband of your sister becomes your brother-in-law, while the sister of your husband becomes your sister-in-law. If you are a woman, you become the daughter-in-lawof your husband's parents, and if you are a man, you become the son-in-law of your wife's parents. The same term in-law is used for all generations. The husband of your aunt is still your mother's brother-in-law, for example.

Second families

If your mother or father remarries, you can acquire a new family and set of relatives. For example, if your father marries a second wife, she becomes your step-mother. Any children she already has become your step-sisters or step-brothers.

If your mother or father remarries and has children, they become your half-brothers or half-sisters.

You might also hear people talking about their biological brother / sister etc, to mean a brother who is related by blood, rather than by marriage.(From http://www.english-at-home.com/vocabulary/talking-about-your-family/)

2. Study your family history. Create your family tree. Make up presentation. Choose the best one.

 

 

Family values

Lead in.

Ø What do you think basic human values are?

Ø Do basic values differ in different cultures?Give examples.

Ø What is valuable to you?

 

 

1. Read paragraphs 1-4 text for general understanding.

Answer the questions

1) What does belonging to a family mean?

2) What does flexibility imply?

3) How to gain respect?

4) Why is honesty so important?

5) Is it necessary to forgive people?

6) What is generosity?

7) How to achieve communication?

8) Shall we learn how to be responsible?

 

Vocabulary

Speaking and writing

Family Life

I. Read the following statements and say if you agree or disagree with them.

· Family is often the source of our problems and anxieties.

· There are two general types of family: the nuclear family and the extended family.

· The family unit is in crisis now and traditional family life is a thing of the past.

· Other types of family (e.g. single parent household, homosexual families, etc.) are as good as traditional (nuclear family).