English, baby!

Coffee Shops

Date: Nov 21 2008

Themes: Food, Hobbies

Grammar: Present Progressive Tense

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Intro

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

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

It’s easier to get out of bed in the morning when you know there’s a fresh cup of coffee waiting for you and friendly people to meet at the coffee shop. Big chains like Starbucks offer convenience, but small, independent coffee shops have something else: personality.

For some, local coffee shops are more than just a place to grab a quick caffeine fix. They’re more like a second home, a comfortable place to spend hours studying, working, or talking with friends. Listen to Beren and Mason discuss coffee shops.

Dialog

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

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

Mason

Beren

Mason: You know what I miss the most now that I am a 9 to 5-er?

Beren: What? What’s that?

Mason: Getting to hang out at coffee shops all the time.

Beren: Ooh, yeah. Did you used to do that a lot?

Mason: Yeah, I mean when I was in my crazy swinging freelance days, I had my couple favorite shops and that was just where I’d go get all my work done. And you kind of become part of a scene there, you know. You get to know the baristas and the regulars. It’s awesome.

Beren: Yeah. I get coffee. I need my caffeine fix and everything in the morning. But I don’t know, ever since I worked at a coffee shop I just have not been able to like hang out there. Just because I feel too bad for the people behind the counter.

Mason: What kind of place did you work at? Was it like an independent shop?

Beren: Um, it started out as like a locally owned independent coffee shop. Then it kind of got slowly taken over by a big corporation.

Mason: Really? That doesn’t happen all that often.

Beren: No, not too often. But, yeah, I don’t know. It’s just…Once you work in a coffee shop, you’re drinking so much coffee all the time, you get totally wired. You can’t handle…anything. Simple conversation. That’s why people that work at coffee shops are so jittery and angry. They’re just like, “Ahhh!” It’s all the caffeine.

Mason: Okay. I’m going decaf.

Grammar Point

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Discussion

Mason recently started working a 9 to 5 job so he can’t spend all his time at coffee shops any more. He misses being a regular at his favorite coffee shop and belonging to a local scene.

Beren used to be a barista at an independent coffee shop that got bought out by a large chain. Beren’s experience working at a coffee shop has turned her against them. She says all baristas are wired and angry from drinking too much caffeine and dealing with difficult customers.

Are coffee shops popular in your country? Do you like going to coffee shops to get your caffeine fix or hang out with friends?

Comments

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Raviraju

India

coffee shops and bars in my town is very common and many people drink the coffee. when two frineds meet the most probaple thing is that they go to drink a coffee and bars are a places also choosen by students

alweersbli

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

hi every bady i don’t have time to go to coffee shop .but i enjoyto make alot of friend in the world ..welcome to be friend …my email
alweersbli@yahoo,com
i from libya ..

floating dream

China

hello what kind of coffee do you like

floating dream

China

i do not drink coffee often for i known it litter

i think if one day i life a kind of coffee ,i will drink it every day

floating dream

China

hello! are you busy now?

alonelifeee

Turkey

hı ım hasan and from turkey.ı want to meet you:)do you wat?

miffoo

Slovakia

I love coffee it's cool get out drinking coffee, meeting and chatting with friends. I like late coffee, I just drink 3-5 cups in day it's time on relax for me.

miffoo

Slovakia

good lesson

dh8974

China

I don't like coffee!

It makes me unsleepy!

zhaizhai0

China

I am a student,and there is not a lot of people drink coffee around me .Drinking coffee too much is not heathy for our body,but we can have a little with our friends sometines.

mainstar

South Korea

I like to go to coffee shops with friends, but I rarely study or do my work there. I somtimes go coffe shops in my school in the morning to grab a quick caffein fix and grab a bite when I oversleep and can't have breakfast.

amany7

Saudi Arabia

macloyt is that the effect of caffeine on you ^^

For me I like caffeine & can't live without it … but it is not good :"( I am so addicted

lanqime

China

i don't like drinking coffee,i can't bear it's taste

king of rings

Yemen

i think it is right and in my opinion i think the coffe shop is make people meet each other very often and i like to get once coffe shop in early mrning cuze it make me more activite and its chaveing me more power and the must pupler coffe shop in our cuntry is " test of coffe" and i hope every one came to test it in our nice land and im feeling anoyed when i dont have coffe shop and im inviting every one

have good time

jmlhamd

Lebanon

Helleo every body

How do you do sami

i love ice cream

China

i don't have much time to go to the coffee shop.also there is not many coffee shop in my city.for us coffee is not as important as that for westerns.but sometimes i go to the coffee shop with my friends.we go there just to talk with each other.

glaucia f silva

Brazil

well, in mycountry, I think starbucks and donkin' donuts are the most popular ones. but I don't like coffee. It gives me badbreath. lol. and I don't feel anything different in my body..