Learn English with this Valentine's Day English lesson

Date: Feb 13 2013

Themes: Holidays, Romance

Grammar: Modal Verbs

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Intro

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On Valentine’s Day, many people send romantic cards and letters out to the people they like or love. But a love letter is sweet to send or receive at any time of the year. There’s something almost old-fashioned about taking the time to sit down and express to the person you love just how and why you love them.

In our modern age, many love letters are probably written on email. The sentiment might still be there, but is an emailed love letter quite as romantic as one that arrives in an envelope? Has technology taken a toll on romance? Find out what Marni and Lily think in this love English lesson.

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.

Marni

Lily

Marni: Lily, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.

Lily: Yeah it is.

Marni: And this year, I am determined to write a love letter to my sweetheart.

Lily: Really?

Marni: Yes.

Lily: That’s so exciting.

Marni: You know, the sentiment, it’s there, I love him, and I just want him to know, regardless of all the fancy gifts or whatever I could give him, I want him to know how much he means to me, and I was just thinking, there’s nothing like getting a love letter in the mail.

Lily: Uh huh. Expressing your undying devotion and longing for your significant other.

Marni: Exactly. Now, I’m not gonna do like a scented paper or anything, but, those are nice, right?

Lily: Yeah. I mean, for a guy, it might not be the best thing to get a frilly little sealed-with-a-kiss love letter.

Marni: Right, right.

Lily: But still, you could draw him a pretty picture. I got a picture once, and it was really nice.

Marni: Hmm. Good idea. Now, I was gonna do this via mail. I was actually gonna send it to his work. But do you think there’s people these days who are just doing it by email? Do you think that’s as romantic as sending a letter?

Lily: No. I think it’s nice to get something tangible like that. Email can be a little bit cold and impersonal, I think.

Marni: OK. See, that was my thought, but now you’ve confirmed that I’m just gonna do the old-fashioned love letter.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Marni mentions to Lily that Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. And Marni has a special plan. She wants to send her sweetheart a love letter. She could get him a fancy gift, but she thinks an old-fashioned love letter will really express her feelings for him.

Lily thinks this is a good idea. She doesn’t recommend Marni do anything too frilly, which a guy might not like, but she does think something like a picture could be nice.

So Marni’s pretty sure of her plan, but she still wonders, would it be just as romantic if she sent an email? Lily thinks she should definitely go with the letter. It’s really nice to get something tangible, that your loved one can hold in his or her hands. Email just doesn’t feel the same.

When was the last time you sent or received a love letter? Do you think email is as romantic as a letter? What do you think is the most romantic gift to give someone you love?