ESL Family Members Conversation

This ESL family members conversation page has a couple of examples of conversations for you to read and understand. These will show you how people might talk about their families in a natural way.

These ESL family member conversations will help you see how English is used by native speakers.

Both of the conversations have also been made into short cartoons that you can watch. These usually also have other clues for you to see that will help you understand what the words that the people are saying mean. You can also look at the ESL family members vocabulary page to find the meaning of many of the words that are used.

After that there are three exercises for you to do that will give you a chance to practice using the family members words in conversations. The exercises are as follows:

  • Fill in blanks in a conversation.
  • Writing a conversation of your own.
  • Conversation topics as prompts for you to have conversations.

Conversation 1

Situation: Jane refuses Bob’s invitation to go to the cinema because she has to attend a family gathering.

Bob: Hi, Jane. How are you?
Jane: Just fine, thanks, Bob.
Bob: I was wondering, are you free this Saturday?
Jane: Oh … I have a family gathering in the evening. Why, what did you have in mind?
Bob: I was thinking of going to the cinema with you. There’s a good movie to watch, but if you’re not available …
Jane: Well, it sounds like fun, but actually I’ll be very busy on Saturday. 
Bob: What do you have to do?
Jane: I have to pick up my grandparents at the airport in the morning then help my parents prepare for the gathering in the afternoon. 
Bob: Ok, yes you will be very busy.
Jane: But thanks a lot for asking me. Maybe next time.
Bob: That’s fine. We’ll make it next time. 
Jane: Why not asking Andrew to go with you? You live in the same apartment with him, don’t you?
Bob: I have. But he already made an appointment with Lucy. They plan to play bowling at the leisure center.
Jane: I see. Well, I’d be delighted to have you over and join the gathering.
Bob: What a great idea, thank you. When should I be there?
Jane: You can come about 7 o’clock.
Bob: All right then.
Jane: Great! I’ll be expecting you.



Conversation 2

Situation: Lucy and Patrick talk about same sex marriage.

Lucy: Wait till you hear this! Ted just got engaged to Jack!
Patrick: You’re pulling my leg! They’re just friends, Lucy.
Lucy: They’re a couple, Patrick. You can ask Ted yourself if you don’t trust me.
Patrick: Well, I don’t think it is polite to ask people about their sexual orientation.
Lucy: I don’t think so. Today, the gay community is more open. Have you heard of LGBT? It stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender.
Patrick: Yes I know. I just think it is their private life and they will tell me when they are ready.
Lucy: You’re too busy studying, you never have time to see them.
Patrick: What do you think of gay marriage, Lucy?
Lucy: People should be able to do whatever they want. But I can’t imagine if my parents were both men or both women. 
Patrick: I know, anything that is different from your own experience can be hard to imagine.
Lucy: Yes, but as long as both parents love the child everything will be fine no matter the sex of the parents.
Patrick: I agree, and speaking personally, people like Ted and Jack sure have the right to be happy. 
Lucy: That’s so sweet of you.



ESL Family Members Conversation Exercises

The rest of the page has some ESL family members conversation exercises for you to do to help you get better at using the vocabulary about families.

Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks

In this activity about ESL family members conversations there is another example conversation, only this time some of the words have been missed out. You need to choose the correct option (A-D) to fill in each gap. Once you have finished you can use the get score button at the end of the task to see the correct answers.

Situation: Tui and Andrew talk about their families.

Andrew: Tui! You dropped something!
Tui: Oh! That’s my family picture.
Andrew: Here you are.
Tui: Thanks, Andrew.
Andrew: It looks like you have a big family.
Tui: You’re right. __________(1)__________ My mother, my father, my two older brothers, me, and my two younger sisters.
Andrew: So you are the third child in your family.
Tui: Yes. What about you? __________(2)__________?
Andrew: I am an only child.
Tui: You are? How does it feel to be __________(3)__________? Have you ever felt lonely?
Andrew: No. I never feel lonely because __________(4)_________ that live nearby. They are like my own brother and sister.
Tui: Lucky you. My cousins live in a different city so I rarely meet them.
Andrew: You are luckier than me. You have __________(5)__________.
Tui: Ha..ha… It is not always like that. We sometimes quibble about trivial things and quarrel with each other.
Andrew: Well, at least you still love each other.
Tui: This conversation makes me feel homesick. See you in class, Andrew.

ESL Family Members Conversation


Choose the best option (A-D) in the following five questions to fill in the blanks in the family members conversation given above.

1) Which option is the best to fill in the first blank?
        A) I have two brothers.
        B) I have two sisters.
        C) There are six people in my family.
        D) There are seven people in my family.
2) Which option is the best to fill in the second blank?
        A) Do you have brothers and sisters?
        B) What is your child number?
        C) What about your brothers and sisters?
        D) What’s the number of your family
3) Which option is the best to fill in the third blank?
        A) to live without
        B) you give a discount?
        C) to be an only child?
        D) the airport open the gate
4) Which option is the best to fill in the fourth blank?
        A) I have parents
        B) I have two cousins
        C) I have neighbors
        D) I have siblings
5) Which option is the best to fill in the fifth blank?
        A) siblings to share.
        B) friends to play with.
        C) someone to talk to.
        D) many brothers and sisters.

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 2 – Writing a Conversation

For the next ESL family members conversation task you need to write a conversation of your own. You can use the conversations above as examples. You need to decide who the people are, where they are and what they are talking about. Use as much new vocabulary as you can. Once you have finished you could get a group of friends and perform the ESL family members conversation to get practice of speaking as well.

Exercise 3 – Conversation Topics

The final ESL family members conversation exercise is one where you need to have a conversation with one of your own friends. There are two sets of conversation topics below. You should take one set and your friend the other set. Then take turns to ask each other questions until you have asked all of them. When giving your answer, try to say as much as possible so you can get practice speaking. Then you can swap the questions sets and start again so you can ask and answer all the question.

You can also download the questions on conversation cards by clicking the following picture.

There are lots more conversation questions in my ‘80 ESL Conversation Cards’ ebook for you to download.

Question set A

  • Who is the oldest person alive in your family and what do you know about them?
  • Do you think big or small families are better?
  • What is your favourite family activity and why?
  • Describe what your family is like?
  • Do you have any family members who you have not seen for a long time, and why?

Question set B

  • How many children do you think each family should have, and why?
  • Who do you think is the most important member of a family, and why?
  • How many siblings do you have, and what are they like?
  • Do you think it is important for people to get married?
  • How do family members help each other?


› Family members

Back to top of page



New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.


Back to top of page