Everyday English · Read, listen and speak
Talking About Family
Describe family relationships, say who lives nearby and ask a friendly follow-up about keeping in touch.
Your speaking goal
Describe two fictional family relationships and exchange a short follow-up about location or contact.
Before you start: Use an imaginary family or choose details you are comfortable sharing. Families differ; you do not need to have the relationships shown in the model. A cousin can be the child of an aunt or uncle.
Your six-step practice plan
- Understand: Read the goal and check the useful phrases.
- Listen or read: Follow both roles. Audio is optional.
- Repeat: Say one short line at a time, then join the words smoothly.
- Change details: Replace two details with imaginary ones.
- Role-play: Read the other person’s question, cover your reply and answer aloud. Then swap roles.
- Review: Use the “I can” checks below. Repeat any part that still needs help.
Work at your own pace. A clear message matters more than copying a particular accent.
Listen, read and notice
Roles: Noah and Maya
Browser-generated English voice; availability and sound vary by device. Use the written dialogue if audio is unavailable.
Noah: Do you have any family nearby?
Maya: Yes, my older brother lives in the next town.
Noah: Do you see each other often?
Maya: Usually once a month. What about you?
Noah: My parents live farther away, but my cousin lives here.
Maya: Are you close to your cousin?
Noah: Yes. We grew up together.
Maya: Do you mean you lived in the same house?
Noah: Not the same house, but in the same neighbourhood.
Maya: I see. How do you keep in touch with your parents?
Noah: We usually call at weekends.
Maya: That sounds nice.
Useful phrases and what they do
- My older brother lives ___. — Describe a family relationship and where the person lives.
- Do you see each other often? — Ask how frequently two people meet.
- We grew up together. — Say that you spent much of your childhood together.
- How do you keep in touch? — Ask how people maintain contact.
Say it clearly
Stress the first syllable in ‘cousin’. Make the relationship and location clear: ‘My OLDER BROTHER / lives in the NEXT TOWN.’ Pause before adding how often you meet.
Build your own replies
My ___ lives ___. We usually ___. → Do you see each other often?
Ask and check
When you say you’re close, do you mean you live near each other? → I mean we have a good relationship.
Common mistakes and alternatives
In ‘Are you close to your cousin?’, ‘close’ asks about the relationship, not just distance. ‘Nearby’ refers to location. Both ‘I have an older brother’ and ‘I’ve got an older brother’ are natural. ‘At weekends’ and American ‘on weekends’ are both correct. You can say ‘I’d rather talk about something else’ if you prefer.
Check what you understood
Answer aloud before revealing each explanation. Natural replies with the same meaning also count.
Question 1
Who lives in the next town?
Show answer 1 and explanation
Maya’s older brother. Noah’s cousin lives in Noah’s town, and his parents live farther away.
Question 2
Did Noah and his cousin grow up in the same house?
Show answer 2 and explanation
No. They grew up in the same neighbourhood. Maya asks for clarification rather than assuming what ‘grew up together’ means.
Question 3
How does Noah usually keep in touch with his parents?
Show answer 3 and explanation
They call at weekends. ‘They speak on the phone on weekends’ is a natural answer with the same meaning. Keeping in touch does not require living nearby.
Your turn: make it a real exchange
Practise alone: read the other person’s line, cover your reply and answer aloud. Then swap roles. No partner is needed.
Role A
Describe two people in an imaginary family. Say how they are related to you, where they live and one way you keep in touch.
Role B
Ask a friendly follow-up about meeting or keeping in touch. If a relationship or phrase is unclear, ask for clarification rather than guessing.
Make it easier: Keep the model visible and change one detail at a time.
Add a challenge: The other person has no family nearby. Acknowledge their answer and ask whether they would like to talk about friends or another topic instead.
Ready to move on?
Try again with less reading. Use these checks and repeat any part that needs more practice.
- I can name family relationships clearly.
- I can say where people live and how we keep in touch.
- I can ask a follow-up without assuming everyone has the same family situation.