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.
People have used emoticons long before there were cell phones, or even the internet. A writer first created one in the magazine Reader’s Digest way back in 1967! But once email became common, emoticons became similarly common. While there used to be just smiley and sad faces, over the years many more “faces” were created, along with countless other emoticons to show all kinds of emotions.
Cell phones allow people to take emoticons even further. It’s easy to quickly send emails or text messages that have hearts, animals, and other objects to show meaning. Some people are so used to communicating this way that they use more emoticons than words. If you’re young, that’s probably OK. But is it OK if your grandmother only writes to you with emoticons? Is it OK to write to your boss using emoticons? At some point, it has to stop!
Gary and Jessica are talking about emoticons, and one of them has a strong opinion against using them. Who do you think it is? Find out in today’s English lesson about communication.
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.
Gary: My phone won’t stop beeping with all of these text messages from my cousins, Jessica.
Jessica: Oh, I’m sorry.
Gary: Smiley face. Sad face. Thumbs up! Heart. So many emoticons!
Jessica: That sounds like me. I use a lot of emoticons when I am sending ridiculous or charming messages.
Gary: I would actually offer that I think that there are too many, so it’s a bit ridiculous for me to see all of these emoticons. It’s so impersonal to me when all I get is, thumbs up, thumbs up, thumbs up!
Jessica: Really? You think it’s meaningless?
Gary: No, I don’t think it’s meaningless. But it feels like they’re not communicating with me. It’s more of just a passing high five, or a passing “Cool, man.”
Jessica: Sometimes you can use emoticons to leave someone wondering what you’re implying.
Gary: That could be really cool.
Jessica: Yeah.
Gary: I’d like to get that kind of text message.
Jessica: Secret messaging through the use of emoticons.
Gary: Oooh. Game on.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
Gary is truly tired of emoticons. His text messages from his cousins are full of emoticons, and Gary feels like they’re impersonal and not true communication.
Jessica uses emoticons all the time, however. She thinks they’re fun, and she enjoys using them in a way that makes the person getting her message wonder what she’s trying to say. Gary agrees that using emoticons that way is far more interesting, and he even sounds like he’d be open to the challenge.
How do you feel about emoticons? Are they fun, or are they meaningless? When is it not OK to use an emoticon?
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