Only Child

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• done
• conscious choice
• the thing to do
• fair share

• kid
• only child
• so to speak
• at some point

• sensitive

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Most people end up having children. Many folks have two or three children. Some have big families, with five or six children. And some people have just one child.

Often, families who live in rural areas and work in agriculture have larger families. As areas become more urbanized, family size tends to decrease.

Religion can also play a role. Birth control can help families plan how many children they will have and when. But not all religions condone birth control.

As the earth’s population continues to grow, many wonder if the planet has enough resources to support so many people. In China, for example, the government strongly encourages parents who live in the country’s densely populated urban areas to have no more than one child. City families who choose to have more than one may be subject to fines.

Amanda has one child. Listen to her discuss her choice with Mason.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

Log in to Listen

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Mason

Amanda

Mason:  So Amanda, you’ve got, like, one kid, right?

Amanda:  I have an only child...

Mason:  An only child.

Amanda:  ... so to speak, yeah.

Mason:  Do you plan on having another child at some point?

Amanda:  I actually don’t.

Mason:  No? OK.

Amanda:  And that’s kind of a sensitive subject.

Mason:  Is it?

Amanda:  It shouldn’t be, but people make it a sensitive subject for me.

Mason:  Well, I hope you didn’t… I mean, I didn’t mean it that way.

Amanda:  I know you didn’t. But do you… do you think that you’d feel differently had I said, “Yes, we want more” versus “No, we’re done”?

Mason:  Um… Honestly…

Amanda:  Do you wonder why we’re done?

Mason:  I don’t… Well, personally, I don’t care one way or the other as long as people having children is a conscious choice. I, I… you know…

Amanda:  Thank you. Thank you.

Mason:  So, like, if you, if you’ve thought about it, if you’ve discussed it with your husband, I don’t care.

Amanda:  I appreciate you saying that. I feel like a lot of people today have multiple children because they feel it’s the thing to do. It’s the societal, acceptable thing to do.

Mason:  We’ve certainly got our fair share of people in the world.

Amanda:  Absolutely.

Mason:  I don’t feel we need more just for farming’s sake.

Amanda:  Good point.

Quizzes

Go Super to take Quiz

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3