Everyday English Interviewing people: Skateboarding star

35 1 Let’s listen: Our skateboarding star Daniel is writing an article for the school magazine. He is doing an interview with Anna Smart from year 9 about her favorite sport, skateboarding.

Daniel: Anna, you are the best skateboarder in the school. Do you practise a lot?

Anna: Yes, I practise every day after school, except for Monday. I’ve got hockey practice on Mondays. I often practise on the weekends too.

Daniel: Really? That’s a lot. And where do you practise?

Anna: I usually practise on the steps in the park. At the weekends I sometimes go to Rowntree Park Skatepark.

Daniel: How many skateboards have you got?

Anna: I’ve just got one board with lots of spare parts. My father built it for me and my big brother did the graffiti on it.

Daniel: Wow – that’s cool! How many tricks can you do?

Anna: About twenty five. Most tricks start with the ‘ollie’. It’s difficult but when you can do an ‘ollie’, it’s easy to do other tricks. I try to learn a few tricks every month.

Daniel: What are you practising at the moment?

Anna: There is a competition on Saturday, so I’m learning my ‘win new trick’ for it, the “Anna wall ride’. I’ll teach you if you want – after the competition!

2 Daniel’s mistakes Read the interview and correct the mistakes in Daniel’s article.

Anna Smart is the best skateboarder in Year 10. She has a really cool board. Her brother built it for her. Anna practices every day. She can do thirty-five tricks. Every week she tries to learn a new trick. She is learning a new trick at the moment. It’s called an ‘ollie’.

Daniel Lehman

3 How to: Do an interview Find more about sportsmen. Look at the magazines or the Internet. Take notes. Do an interview with your sports star. (Your partner is the star. He/she must first say the sport. Say ‘hello’ to the star. Ask some questions. Say ‘thanks’ to the star.

4 Stop a fight You and your friend want to stop a fight. What can you say? Write a dialogue.

USEFUL PHRASES It’s great to have you here. I’d like to ask you about…? When did you first…? Tell me about your day/fitness plan…? What helps you to keep fit? What about special food? What are your plans? Thank you very much for the interview.

USEFUL PHRASES Hey, stop it. Hey, that’s not nice. Leave him alone! What’s the problem? Why are you hitting him? I can ask for help. He is smaller than you. Don’t be a bully. Why don’t you just leave? Tell me what the problem is.