Talking About Life Experiences

Talking About Life Experiences

Introduction: One of the uses for the present perfect is to discuss and ask questions about life experiences. Read the instructions for the different tasks below.

Part 1: Preparation

Task 1: You will interview partners from a different group to learn about their life experiences. Create a list of 7-10 questions. Use the verbs and phrases in the picture below for inspiration. 

Click the image to see the full version.

After you complete your list of questions, check to see if your past participles are correct. CLICK HERE to see the list of the most common irregular verbs and repair any mistakes you find. DON'T LOOK AT THIS until you complete your questions!  :)

Task 2: We can have rich conversations in English by asking "follow up" questions. We use follow up questions to express interest and ask for more information. Consider the dialogue below.

• John: "Do you like sports, Michael?"

• Michael: "Yeah, of course I like sports!"

What follow up questions can John ask now? Many!

• What sports do you like?
• What is your favorite team?
• Do you practice any sports?
• Etc.

Now look at your list of questions and think of some follow up questions you can ask for each question? What will you ask if they answer positively to your question? What if their answer is negative?

Part 2 - The Interview

Task 3: Your teacher put you in new groups to ask your questions. Take turns asking your questions to your partners. Be sure to ask at least one follow up question so that your conversations sounds natural and polite!