Module 1 · Exam Foundations & First Contact · Lesson 03
Speaking Part 1
Move from B1 family-tree vocabulary into B2 relationship language: the difference between a mentor and a role model, what it means to grow apart, why some friendships fade and others deepen. Practise narrative tenses and reflective language to talk about the people who've shaped you.
Warm-up · Section 1
5 minGet talking
Write down three names — people who have shaped who you are today. They don't have to be famous. They don't even have to still be in your life.
Look at the lesson's hero photo. The family is going through an old album. What kind of stories do you think they're telling each other? When did your family last do something like this?
Think of one childhood friendship that has stayed close, and one that has faded. What made the difference?
Grammar focus · Section 2
8–10 minNarrative tenses + present perfect for influence
At B2 you tell relationship stories by mixing past simple (the main events), past continuous (the background) and past perfect (what happened earlier). Then, crucially, you bring the story into the present with the present perfect to show influence: 'My grandfather taught me to fix things. I've never forgotten that.' This mix is what makes a relationship story feel adult and reflective rather than like a list.
→ When I was seven, my aunt took me on my first trip without my parents.
→ I was struggling with school at the time, and I'd never really left my own city before.
→ She showed me you could be quiet AND brave — and that's stayed with me.
→ We were close all through university, but we've grown apart a bit since.
→ I've always taken after my mother in that respect.
Question 1.Choose the most natural sentence.
Question 2.Background detail in a story:
Question 3.Show influence on you now:
Question 4.'By the time I was 18, I ___ already moved house six times.'
Question 5.Most natural at B2: describing slow drift.
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
3.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Vocabulary · Section 3
5–7 minWords & phrases to own
a role model
someone whose behaviour or values you'd like to follow.
a mentor
an older, more experienced person who actively guides you over time.
to take after (sb)
to look or behave like an older relative.
to be inseparable
(of two people) to spend almost all their time together.
to grow apart
to slowly become less close, often without conflict.
to fall out (with sb)
to have an argument and stop being friends.
to lose touch (with sb)
to stop contacting each other gradually, without a fight.
to reconnect (with sb)
to re-establish contact after time apart.
a turning point
a moment that changed the direction of your life or relationship.
to shape (sb)
to have a lasting effect on who someone becomes.
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3–4 minLinking + intonation in reflective storytelling
When you reflect on a person, native speakers slow down and stretch the key emotional word, while linking the small words. 'That-has-STAYED-with-me' is said as a single chunk with the stress on STAYED. The reflective tone usually FALLS at the end ('…ever since.'). A flat or rising tone here can sound dismissive.
- • Link & stress — 'That advice has STAYED with me.'
- • Link & stress — 'She really SHAPED how I think.'
- • Falling reflective tone — 'We've grown a-PART a bit. ↘'
- • Chunked phrasing — 'By-the-time-I-was-eigh-TEEN, / I'd-already-moved-six-TIMES.'
Reading · Section 5
8–10 minThe Friends You Keep Without Trying
There's a particular kind of friendship that survives almost no maintenance. You don't speak for six months. You don't post. You don't even text on each other's birthdays. And then one Tuesday afternoon you find yourself on a 90-minute phone call as if no time had passed. Most adult friendships aren't like that. Most need calendars, regular meals, group chats that occasionally get ignored, small acts of remembering. They drift the moment you stop watering them. There's no shame in this — life gets noisy, and people grow apart for reasons that have nothing to do with how they feel about each other. But a small handful of relationships seem to operate on different rules. They're often friendships that were formed at a turning point — a first job, a hard year, a shared illness in the family, a country you both moved to and couldn't pronounce yet. The friendship gets stamped with that moment, and the stamp doesn't fade. It's worth knowing which friendships you have. Not so you can rank people — that's grim — but so you don't panic when a regular friendship needs attention you haven't given it, and so you don't take the rare 'no-maintenance' friendships for granted. If someone has been with you through a turning point, they've shaped you, whether you talk to them every week or once a year. And it's usually worth picking up the phone.
Question 1.What is the writer's main idea?
Question 2.Why does the writer say most friendships drift?
Question 3.What metaphor does the writer use for the lasting effect of a shared turning point?
Question 4.The writer's tone in the final paragraph is best described as…
Q1.The writer thinks all friendships need the same amount of maintenance.
Q2.The writer suggests you should picking up the phone with old friends from turning points.
Q3.Friends who grow apart usually do so because of a big argument.
Q4.The writer warns against taking 'no-maintenance' friendships for granted.
Listening · Section 6
8–10 minTwo cousins, an old photo album (about 1:55)
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Sofia:Oh — look at this one. That's Nan's kitchen, isn't it?
Diego:Yeah, that's the old house. How old were we there? Seven? Eight?
Sofia:I must have been around eight. You were tiny.
Diego:I used to spend every summer there. I don't think I realised at the time how much she was shaping me.
Sofia:In what way?
Diego:Just… little things. The way she handled people. She never raised her voice, but you always knew where you stood with her.
Sofia:I take after her in that, I think. Or I try to.
Diego:You really do. Mum says it all the time.
Sofia:Whatever happened to your friend Marco, by the way? You two were inseparable at Nan's.
Diego:We lost touch after I moved. Not in a bad way — we just stopped writing. Then last year, completely randomly, he messaged me out of nowhere.
Sofia:And?
Diego:Honestly, it was like no time had passed. We were on the phone for over an hour. I'd forgotten how funny he was.
Sofia:That's the best kind of friendship, isn't it? The kind that doesn't really need maintenance.
Diego:Yeah. Although I'm trying to do more maintenance these days, generally. I think I lost too many people just by not picking up the phone.
Sofia:That's a very grown-up thing to say.
Diego:I'm working on it.
Question 1.What does Diego mainly remember about their grandmother?
Question 2.What happened with Diego and his old friend Marco?
Question 3.What lesson has Diego taken from losing touch with people?
Question 4.What is the overall mood of the conversation?
Exam skills · Section 7
5 minB2 First Speaking Part 2 / IELTS Speaking Part 2 — Describe a person who has influenced you
Task
You're given a topic card such as 'Describe a person who has had a big influence on you'. You speak for 1–2 minutes. The examiner is listening for clear narrative tense control, B2 relationship vocabulary and reflective language showing impact.
Strategy
Use a 4-step shape: (1) who & relationship; (2) the turning point or key moment (past tenses); (3) what they did or showed you; (4) the lasting impact on you NOW (present perfect). The 4th step is what separates a B2 answer from a B1 one — don't skip it.
Example
I'd like to talk about my old manager, Aisha. I met her at my first proper job, when I was 23 and completely out of my depth (1). I was struggling with confidence, and I'd been thinking about quitting (2). Instead of pushing me, she gave me one small project of my own and told me she trusted me to figure it out (3). It sounds tiny, but it was a turning point. I've carried that with me into every job since — the idea that giving someone a small, real piece of trust can completely change them. I'd say she shaped how I lead people today (4).
Practice · Section 8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.We were ___ all through secondary school, but we've grown apart since.
Question 2.I take ___ my mother, especially when I'm stressed.
Question 3.We didn't fight — we just slowly ___ touch.
Question 4.It was a real turning ___ for me — I came back from that trip a different person.
Question 5.That advice has really ___ with me ever since.
Question 6.I'd say she's the person who ___ me the most.
Q1.Soft drift, no fight: 'We slowly ___ apart.'
Q2.Restart contact: 'We recently ___ after years of silence.'
Q3.Big argument that ended a friendship: 'We ___ out over something stupid.'
Writing · Section 9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 100–140 word personal post for a journaling app titled 'A person who shaped me'. Use at least one past simple, one past continuous, one past perfect AND one present perfect. End with a sentence about the lasting impact on who you are now.
Show model answer
When I was 19, I worked one summer in a small bookshop owned by a woman called Hana. I'd been struggling with what to do after school, and to be honest, I was a bit lost. Hana was 60-something, calm, and never gave straight advice. She used to ask me one careful question every shift — about what I'd read, about a customer I'd helped — and slowly, without me noticing, she got me asking better questions of myself. We've lost touch over the years, and she might not even remember me, but I've carried that little habit into every job since. I'd say she shaped how I think more than almost any teacher I ever had.
Speaking · Section 10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
ROLEPLAY — 'Who shaped you?' In pairs, take turns. Each speaker gets 2 minutes to talk about one person who shaped them, using narrative tenses + present perfect for lasting impact. The listener's job is NOT to interrupt — only to ask ONE genuine follow-up question at the end ('What's one thing they did that you still do today?'). Then swap.
Useful phrases
- • I'd like to tell you about…
- • I was around X at the time, and I was…
- • She / he showed me that…
- • It was a real turning point for me.
- • We've grown apart / lost touch since, but…
- • That's stayed with me ever since.
- • I take after them in that way.
- • What's one thing they did that you still do today?
- JinTell me about someone who really shaped who you are.
- You_______________
- JinOh nice. Are you still close?
- You_______________
- JinHas what he taught you stayed with you, though?
- You_______________
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Two optional teacher-led activities for live classes. ~27 min total
Homework · Section 11
Take-homeTake it home
Write a 120-word text-message draft to someone you've lost touch with — not necessarily to send. Use 'reconnect', 'turning point' and one present perfect of impact.
Record a 90-second voice memo: 'The person who shaped me most was…' Use the 4-step exam structure. Listen back for past-tense errors and missing present perfect of impact.
Write one true sentence using each of: take after, grow apart, lose touch, reconnect, turning point.
Re-read the article 'The Friends You Keep Without Trying' and underline every metaphor (e.g. 'watering them', 'stamp'). What's the effect?
Recap · Section 12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- You can tell a relationship story by mixing past simple, past continuous and past perfect.
- You can show the lasting impact of someone using the present perfect.
- You can use B2 relationship vocabulary: mentor, role model, turning point, take after.
- You can describe relationships that drift (grow apart, lose touch) and ones that restart (reconnect).
- You can structure a 1–2 minute spoken answer about a person who shaped you, in B2 exam shape.