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EFE learning modules / Family & Relationships

scenario 1 sarah and michael are sitting in a cozy

Scenario Context

"Sarah and Michael are sitting in a cozy cafe looking through a photo album on Michael's tablet. Michael is explaining his complex family tree to Sarah."

Speakers
S

Sarah

An intermediate English learner who is curious about cultural and family structures.

M

Michael

A native speaker with a diverse and modern family background.

The Dialogue

Tap highlighted words to view vocabulary cards below.

Sarah
Wow, Michael, is that your whole family in this picture? It looks like a huge gathering.
Michael
Yes, it is! This was taken at my cousin's wedding last year in Chicago.
Sarah
That is a lot of people to keep track of. Who is the tall person standing right next to you?
Michael
That's my older brother, David. He's a software engineer and lives in Seattle.
Sarah
And the woman with the curly hair standing next to David?
Michael
That's my sister-in-law, Elena. David married her three years ago.
Sarah
They look very happy together. Who are the older couple sitting in the front row?
Michael
Those are my grandparents. They've been married for over fifty years now.
Sarah
Fifty years! That is incredible. What about the man on the far left wearing the hat?
Michael
Oh, that's my uncle Robert. He's actually my 's brother.
Sarah
So he's technically your step-uncle? Family trees can get quite complicated these days.
Michael
Exactly. My parents divorced when I was very young, and my mother remarried later.
Sarah
I see. Do you have any half-siblings from your mother's second marriage?
Michael
Yes, I have a younger named Maya. She's twenty years younger than me!
Sarah
Is Maya in this photo as well?
Michael
She is. She's the little girl in the pink dress holding the flower basket.
Sarah
She's absolutely adorable! How is your relationship with your ?
Michael
We have a very close bond. He has been in my life since I was five years old.
Sarah
That's wonderful to hear. Do you still stay in touch with your father?
Michael
We see each other occasionally, but he lives in Europe, so it's mostly video calls.
Sarah
I understand. Do you have any that you only see during holidays?
Michael
I have a few second cousins in Italy. We usually exchange emails during Christmas.
Sarah
It sounds like you have a very diverse and structure.
Michael
I definitely do. It makes our holiday dinners very loud and very busy!
Sarah
Who is the woman sitting on the wooden bench in the background of the garden?
Michael
That's my Great-Aunt Martha. She is ninety-two years old and is the family historian.
Sarah
She must have so many fascinating stories about your .
Michael
She really does! She has traced our family back to the 1700s.
Sarah
I've always wanted to do a DNA test to find out more about my own .
Michael
You should! It’s really interesting to see where your migrated from.
Sarah
Thanks for sharing these photos and stories with me, Michael. It's very inspiring.
Michael
My pleasure, Sarah. Family is complicated, but they are the most important part of life.

Scene Vocabulary

Practice vocabulary words & meanings.

Maternal

/ማተርናል/

የእናት ወገን

Related to or inherited from one's mother.

ከእናት ወገን ጋር የተዛመደ ወይም ከእናት የተወረሰ።

Stepfather

/ስቴፕ ፋዘር/

የእንጀራ አባት

The man who has married one's mother after the death or divorce of one's father.

የወላጅ አባት ከሞተ ወይም ከተፋታ በኋላ እናትን ያገባ ሰው።

Half-sister

/ሃፍ ሲስተር/

ከአንድ ወላጅ የምትገኝ እህት

A sister with whom one has only one parent in common.

ከሁለቱ ወላጆች አንዱ ብቻ የሚገናኝ እህት።

Biological

/ባዮሎጂካል/

የስጋ (የደም) ዘመድ

Related by blood or genetics rather than adoption or marriage.

በጉዲፈቻ ወይም በጋብቻ ሳይሆን በደም ወይም በዘር የተዛመደ።

Distant relatives

/ዲስ ታንት ሪሌቲቭስ/

የራቀ ዘመድ

Relatives who are not closely related by blood, like third or fourth cousins.

እንደ ሶስተኛ ወይም አራተኛ የአጎት ልጆች ያሉ በቅርብ የማይዛመዱ ዘመዶች።

Extended family

/ኤክስቴንድድ ፋሚሊ/

የተዘረጋ ቤተሰብ

A family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

ወላጆችንና ልጆችን ብቻ ሳይሆን አያቶችን፣ አክስቶችን እና አጎቶችን የሚያካትት ሰፊ ቤተሰብ።

Ancestors

/አንሴስተርስ/

ቅድመ አያቶች

People from whom one is descended, usually more remote than a grandparent.

አንድ ሰው የተወለደባቸው ጥንታዊ የቤተሰብ አባላት (ከአያት በላይ ያሉ)።

Lineage

/ሊኒየጅ/

የዘር ግንድ

Direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree.

ከአንድ ቀዳሚ አያት የሚወርድ የቀጥታ የዘር መስመር።

Heritage

/ሄሪቴጅ/

ቅርስ / ውርስ

Property or traditions that are or may be inherited.

ከቤተሰብ ወይም ከትውልድ የሚወረስ ንብረት፣ ባህል ወይም ታሪክ።

Sibling

/ሲብሊንግ/

ወንድም ወይም እህት

A person's brother or sister.

የአንድ ሰው ወንድም ወይም እህት።