Hobbies, Leisure Time and Lifestyle
Hobbies, Leisure Time and Lifestyle
Pictures
- Compare and
contrast the pictures, saying which of the activities you prefer and why.
- Look at these pictures and say which of the hobbies
you would share with a friend or a member of your family if you wanted to improve your relationship. Why? Explain.
- Which
of these free-time activities would be suitable for elderly, teenagers, your parents, your sister? Which activities do you prefer doing in your
free time?
Discussion
- Describe your free-time activities.
- Describe your ideal
leisure centre. Explain and support your answer.
- Do you like to spend time in the outdoors, or do you prefer indoor activities
such as going to the theatre or cinema?
- Give a list of typical free time activities of Slovak men and women /young,
middle-aged, elderly/ and teenagers.
- What influences the way people spend their free time?
- Which do you prefer:
individual interest or organized activities? Explain.
- Which extra-curricular activities are offered at your school? Is there a good
selection? What else would you like to see offered?
- What do you think about collectors? What can we collect? How would you
describe people who are real collectors?
- Which of leisure activities do you consider the most useful? Explain.
- How
much time do you spend on your hobby?
- Would you switch off your TV for a week? Which programmes would you miss? What would
you do instead of watching TV?
- Describe your main hobby. Does your hobby need some special equipment or supplies? If so,
what?
- Have your hobbies changed over the years?
- Did people in the past, in your opinion, have more time for their
hobbies? Were their hobbies different from yours?
- Would you recommend old - age - pensioners devote their free time to hobbies?
Why? Why not?
- Do you share the same hobbies with your parents?
- Where and how can you spend your free time in
Topoľčany / in your hometown? Are you satisfied with these opportunities /facilities?
- What hobbies did you have as
a child?
- How many hobbies have you had so far?
- What do you like doing in your free time? How much time do you spend
on your hobbies?
- How do young people in Slovakia spend their spare time?
- Have you ever collected any
objects?
- Compare leisure time activities of our ancestors with those today. Does the scientific and technological progress
influence the way people spend their free time nowadays?
- Do young people and old generations have different hobbies?
- What kind of leisure time activities do you like?
- How much time do you do you spend on your hobbies per week?
- Do
you like activities with a lot of people or do you prefer to be with just a few friends?
- What sort of social games and team
sports do you like to play?
- Does your hobby need some special equipment or supplies? If so, what?
- What was your
first hobby? Did your parents assist you with it?
- Have your hobbies changed over the years?
- How could you help
someone with choosing and starting a hobby?
- Which of leisure time activities do you consider the most useful? Why? Explain.
- Have you ever collected anything?
- Have you ever thought of taking up a new hobby?
- Do you share your hobby
with a friend or a member of your family? Does it help your relationship?
Role-plays and simulations
-
Your boss asked you to prepare a weekend programme for an English business partner. She is a fifty-year-old lady who likes theatre, going
sightseeing and swimming. Prepare the programme. /Simulation/
- You want to spend a Saturday afternoon having picnic and
walking in the country but your friend would rather go to an art gallery and then spend the evening in a pub. What are your arguments for
your choice? /Role-play/
- Make a short presentation on topic: My weekend free time activities. /Simulation/
- A friend is coming to visit. Give him suggestions about what you could do for the weekend. /Role-play/
- Imagine
you are a leader in a summer camp and you are in charge of a group of teenagers aged 10-13/. Try to prepare a plan of free time
activities for one day in the camp. /Simulation/
- Tell your friend about your weekend free time activities. Give
a detailed description including what, where, why and who with. /Simulation/
- You are going to the cinema with
a friend. You offered to buy the tickets, but the film you wanted to see is sold out. You have decided to buy tickets for another film.
Discuss it with your friend and ask him if he/she agrees. Use the following information: film sold out, title and time of new film, time
and place to meet. /Role-play/
Záľuby, voľný čas a životný štýl
- možnosti
trávenia voľného času
- organizovaný voľný čas /mimoškolské aktivity, krúžky, brigády/
- individuálne záľuby /umenie, kultúra, hudba, knihy, šport, domáce práce, príroda/
- vplyv zmien
spoločnosti na trávenie voľného času /kedysi a dnes/
- trávenie voľného času rôznych
vekových kategórii
A+B+C
Leisure time can be defined as the time in which
people do not have to work, time when they can do what they like, it is the time of entertainment and fun. If you ask people about their hobbies,
some of them will tell you they cannot draw a line between their job and free time at work. Psychologists claim that people whose hobby is different
from their profession are much happier because they switch to a new activity in their leisure time which is beneficial for them. They are more
efficient when they start working again.
There is a wide range of leisure time activities one may choose from. If you work indoor and spend
most of your time sitting and doing paper work, you would probably need some physical activity. If your job involves a lot of physical activity, you
would probably like to spend your free time at home reading books, watching TV or playing board games, such as chess or scrabbles.
Whatever
your hobby is, as long as you like it and devote much time to it, it helps you relax and bring you a lot of pleasure.
Hobbies can be divided
into active and passive, spread and rare, expensive and cheap, male and female, intellectual and artistic.
With the gradual decrease in the
number of working hours and longer holidays than in the past, many people have quite a lot of leisure time, and a wide variety of ways to spend
it.
Some people use their free time to relax, either actively or passively, but more and more people are doing volunteer work, especially for
charities or political parties. A lot of free time is spent sitting passively at home there the most popular activities are watching TV, reading the
newspaper or a magazine, playing computer games, surfing the Internet or just chatting with a neighbour over a cup of coffee while relaxing in
comfortable armchairs. Our consumer way of life has even changed the way we spend our free time, many adults now spend their Saturdays or Sundays
shopping at the nearest supermarket while many city young people meet friends at large shopping centers or malls just to hang out.
Free-time
activities vary from season to season. In summer, gardening is popular among middle-aged and elderly people. Some grow fruit and vegetables while
others simply enjoy watching their green lawns grow so they can mow them. In winter, many men often work on ‘do-it-yourself’ projects around to
house, like building shelves or re-modeling the bathroom. Although not as popular as in the past, many women still enjoy knitting and sewing on cold
winter evenings. Many young men and boys enjoy going to the local rink or pond to play some hockey once the weather is cold enough. And no child
would miss sledging after a fresh snow. One more way some people spend their leisure time during the long winter is by attending the theatre,
concerts, art exhibitions and the cinema. Spring is the time for ‘spring cleaning’, when many families set to washing windows, cleaning out
cupboards and sorting through old clothes. The warm weather also brings out children of all ages on skateboards, rollerblades and bikes. Hiking,
rock climbing and long walks in the woods looking for mushrooms are also favorite pastimes in good weather. Many people also use both spring and
autumn to repair, paint, redecorate and remodel their houses or flats. Some families, especially those that live in large cities, often have ‘a
day out’ at the weekend when the weather is warm. There are many local festivals and fairs or amusement parks and zoos to go to, but many families
prefer the more peaceful atmosphere of a day in the mountains, woods or countryside, or by a river or lake. Many use their free weekends to go to
their cabins, cottages or country-houses no matter what the season is.
Most people work hard and come home so tired that they do not want to
have to think. Watching TV is one way they can turn off. Psychological dramas are often too mentally and emotionally demanding so sitcoms, quiz
shows, variety shows and reality programmes are becoming more and more popular.
Many families now have two or three TV sets so that whoever
wants to watch TV can watch whatever they want. So while Dad is sitting in the living room watching Champions League Football. Mum is in the bedroom
watching her daily Argentine soap opera and the children are in their room watching a video. This living separately can have a negative
effect on family relationships since family members spend less time talking to each other.
Another leisure time activity /which is not as
popular today as in the past/ is reading. Not many people go to the library to check out books, but one reason might be that our city and town
libraries do not have the money to update their collections so when people do not find what they are looking for they end up buying it in a
bookshop. Reading the paper or magazines, though, is still a very popular pastime. Lots of people spend hours reading their horoscope, checking the
latest sports scores, reading about the latest scandal and doing crossword puzzles. Other enjoy cutting out various recipes or beauty tips, while
still others try entering the various contests and competitions offered by most magazines.
Some free-time activities involve animals. The most
popular must be having a dog or a cat. For people who live in a housing estate having a dog can take up a lot of their free time, but they do not
seem to mind. They enjoy being able to get out several times a day to take their four-legged friend on his daily walks. Some people enjoy taking
even their pet rabbits and guinea pigs for walks.
Most people like socializing. They enjoy going out with friends for dinner or a drink after
a hard day at work. Sometimes they invite friends over to their place for a fun of relaxation. Fitness classes can also be a good way to spend your
free time, meet people and have fun with friends. For many young people, having one regular night out a week is a normal part of their free time,
whether it is joining friends for a drink in a pub, dining out in a restaurant or dancing the night away at happening club. While in Britain a visit
to a pub often includes playing a game of darts or pool, in Slovakia, most pubs do not even have games available so people just sit, drink their
beer, smoke and talk for hours.
For those people who are not too tired after a long day at work, there is one more possibility: education.
People who live and work in the early 21st century need to have a variety of educational backgrounds. Many state and private companies require their
staff to be university educated so many of their employees, of all ages, spend their free time studying part-time at different universities. In many
European countries, people extend their education by attending evening classes or working towards a degree at the Open University. And thousands of
people spend hundreds of hours every year learning foreign languages, like English and German.
For some people hobby means collecting objects
of interests – stamps, postcards, badges, model cars or ships, coins, beetles, bottles, antiques. Collecting has been popular, and there are a lot
of collectors who attend special shows and take a chance to swap and exchange their treasures, but it is becoming less popular at present,
especially with young generation who is taking up computer games instead.
- What kind of leisure time activities do you
like? – I collect /stamps/postcards/coins....., I enjoy making things, so I do clay modelling/wood carving/ embroidery. I
like to write letters draw pictures, play music. I need exercise, so I go to fitness club/do gymnastics.
- Do you like to
spend time in the outdoors, or do you prefer indoor activities such as going to the theatre or cinema? – Walking in the
open air is relaxing for me. I like to go to the park/woods. I like to take hikes in the mountains/through forests/along a river. I enjoy going
to movies, plays and concerts. I like to visit museums, art galleries, and exhibitions.
- Do you like activities with
a lot of people, or do you prefer to be with just a few friends? – I like to go to large parties with lots of
action/music and dancing/much food and drink. I like smaller get-togethers where my friends and I can talk/play games/listen to music. I prefer
to go to someone’s house and be with a few close friends/a restaurant with two or three other. I like to stay at home because parties
and public places have much noise, lots of smoke.
Vocabulary - Types of hobbies
- arts – dancing,
drawing, literature, orchestra, painting, poetry, reading, sculpture, singing, theatre, writing
- collections – autographs,
beetles, butterflies, buttons, coins, dolls, insects, leaves, rocks, shells, stamps, toy cars
- handicrafts – basket weaving,
bookbinding, carving, ceramics, cooking, crocheting, gardening, jewellery, knitting, lace, leather craft, model airplanes, model railroad,
model ships, photography, pottery, puppets, sewing, toys, woodworking
- other activities – go to the cinema/ the theatre/ the
pub/ the club/ a café, go for a meal/ a walk/ a run/ a swim, go shopping/ sailing/ camping, have a party/ a barbecue, meet up with
somebody, go out with your boy/girlfriend , keep pets, gathering mushrooms
B.
Our school offers
a variety of extracurricular activities. In our school there are some hobby groups – the volleyball team, the basketball team, the computer club
and the theatre group. There is also a school magazine called Reflexia which is published regularly. Students can also help with the editing the
magazine.
I collect stamps/ coins/ postcards....
I enjoy making things, so I do clay modelling/ wood carving/ embroidery....
I need exercise, so I go to a fitness club/ do gymnastics/ play tennis.....
Walking in the air is relaxing for me. I like to go to the park/
woods/ river bank....
I like to take hikes along the river/ in the mountains...
I am into clubbing. I like going to large parties with
lots of action/ music and dancing/ much food and drink
I like smaller get-togethers where my friends and I can talk/ have a chat...
I like to stay at home because parties and public places have a lot of noise/ lots of smoke....
I enjoy social games like chess/ draughts/
cards...
I prefer watching team sports such as soccer/ baseball...
Instead of playing sports, I would rather paint/ play computer games/
chat on the Net...
C.
A lot of people enjoy arts and, in their free time go in for amateur painting, drawing,
singing and dramatics. For many people the most popular art form is music. It is quite common to see teenagers walking down the street with headsets
on. Many youngsters take music lessons as they want to learn to play a musical instrument. Those who love modern music often start to play the
guitar or the drums and decide to found a band. They spend a lot of time practicing to be able to give concerts to large audiences.
I like
reading fiction such as ...... because it keeps me in suspense/ develops my imagination/ entertains me...
I prefer non-fiction reading, for
example, books about history/ nature..... I find this kind of reading inspiring/ educational/ motivational...
I have the same tastes in books
and music as my friends/ parents....
My choice of music depends on the mood I am in.
I like different music from different composers
because....
At present I don´t play an instrument, though I used to/ would like to....
It takes me a while to get used to new pop
songs....
E.
There are many types of hobbies one can choose from. On average the most common hobby of adult
people in country is gardening. Many families have cottages in the countryside where people grow fresh fruits and vegetables.
Older people
who are married and have families, may choose useful leisure activities like gardening, doing repairs, decorating the house, car maintenance or
plumbing. Manual work brings them relaxation. When they paint the window frames or repair the roof they have a sense of achievement.
Young
people are keen on sport activities. Boys are into playing football, basketball, tennis or ice hockey. Girls choose gymnastics, athletics or
swimming. At present many young people go to fitness centres to be slim and to keep fit.
Zones.sk – Zóny pre každého študenta