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«Character and personality»
CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY.
Form: 7
Objectives: -to enrich pupils’ vocabulary on the given topic;
-to develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills;
-to develop pupils’ reading skills;
-to raise pupils’ awareness of their own personality and character.
Equipment: a text for listening, some photos of people, texts for reading, a funny IQ Test.
PROCEDURE.
1. Organizing the class.
2. Brainstorming.
How do you see yourself? Think about your own character and personality. Do you have any particular weakness or strengths. Write down three things which you think are good about your character and three things which you think are not so good. Then compare your list with a partner’s.
3. Read these brief character descriptions. Which of these four people sounds most like you? Which would you most like to meet?
Amrita.
“ I’m an active and energetic person – I can’t bear just sitting around doing nothing. It just makes me impatient and restless. But I know what I want, and I think I’ve got what it takes to achieve my goals. Does that make me sound horribly ambitious and selfish? I hope not!”
Kevin.
“ I’m the kind of person who knows how to have a good time. I suppose you would call me fun-loving, but it’s more than that. I actually believe I a calm, easy-going, cool approach to life and I can’t bear unnecessary anxiety and pressure. I believe in being sociable and taking life as it comes…”
Larry.
“ My problem can be summarized in one word: self-confidence. I just don’t have enough. I’m shy with other people, who must think I’m boring and stupid sometimes.
Lack of the confidence also makes me indecisive: I spend days trying to make up my mind what to do about quite simple things. I’m told I sometimes look moody, but in fact I like being with other people…”
Cathy.
“ How do I see myself? Well, I’m forgetful and disorganized – some would say absent- minded! But I’ve got quite a lot of willpower, really, and I’ve got ideas. I’m a hardworker too when I’m doing something I’m interested in. I’m not very articulate when it comes to public speaking but I quite enjoy being the centre of attention, and I don’t get in the least bit nervous.”
4. Meaning.
The words below are taken from the character descriptions. Which describe positive qualities, which describe negative qualities, and which describe which could be positive or negative (neutral)?
Find nouns to correspond to as many of the adjectives above as possible. Use the endings –sion/-tion, -ness, -ence, etc.
6. Reading.
Read this description of a famous 18th century British writer, who was one of the first to write about women’s rights. As you read, try to answer the following questions:
What kind of a person was she?
Would you have admired her if you had met her? Why? Why not?
A harsh and unhappy childhood, dominated by an unstable and drunken father whom she never respected, gave Mary Wollstonecraft an unusual sense of her own independence and reliance on her own judgement; and a corresponding lack of respect for all kinds of male authority that she did not feel had been genuinely earned, whether in life or in literature. At the same time this passionate, ebullient and frequently opinionated woman was given to terrible swings of mood, from hectic, noisy enthusiasm to almost suicidal depression and a sense of futility and loneliness.
Richard Holmes Footsteps
7.After reading activity.
List the words and phrases in the text that describe Mary Wollstonecraft. Which of these words and phrases imply that the author approves of her character, and which may indicate weakness?
8. Fill in the gaps with one of the words given below and read about the connection between personality and intelligence.
People differ in the speed with they learn things and how well and how long they ----- ideas. They also differ in their ability to understand ideas and to their -------- in solving problems. For example, some people can solve mathematical ---------- rapidly. Others quickly understand how machines work. Still others can easily ------- new words or a foreign language. All these abilities- and many more – are factors in what is called intelligence.
There is no universally accepted ------ of the word intelligence. But a person considered intelligent to the -------- that he or she has the abilities mentioned above. Although such abilities are somewhat related, a person may be high in some and ------ in others. A person who can memorize names and dates may have ---------- with long division. Another who has creative talent in art or music or has inventive ability may------ other abilities associated with intelligence. Although creativity and intelligence are related, some people of above-average intelligence do--------- when faced with problems that are new to them.
Intelligence is sometimes regarded as a ---------- of qualities that lead to success in school. But some abilities, such as mechanical-----------, are not used much in school. As a result, tests designed to -------- intelligence include few questions that deal with mechanical skill. In addition, IQ tests --------- not emphasize originality. Thus, they provide an ------------ picture of the many factors involved in intelligence.
9. Listening.
What does personality mean?
Personality is a term that has many general meanings. Sometimes the word refers to the ability to get along well socially. For example, we speak of glamour courses designed to give a person “more personality”. The term also may refer to the most striking impression that an individual makes on other people. We may say, ”She has a shy personality.”
To a psychologist, personality is an area of study that deals with complex human behavior, including actions, emotions, and cognitive (thought) processes. Personality psychologists study the patterns of behavior that make individuals different from one another. They try to learn how these patterns develop, how they are organized, and how they change.
For hundreds of years, people have tried to group the vast differences among human beings into simple units. Some of the resulting groupings divide people into personality types based on certain characteristics. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates divided individuals into such types as sanguine (cheerful) and melancholic (depressed). He attributed their behavioral differences to a predominance of one of the body fluids. For example, a person was cheerful if blood (sanguis) was the dominant influence on his or her behavior.
The Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung who studied psychological characteristics classified people as introverts or extroverts. Introvert usually means a shy, unsociable person. Introverts are more interested in their own thoughts and feelings than in the world around them, and extroverts are the reverse. Jung defined introversion as a turning of mental interests away from people and events of the outer world to the inner world of one’s own thoughts. He believed that in a normal person, introversion is balanced by extroversion. But in an introvert, the tendency toward introversion is greater than toward extroversion.
Extrovert usually means a sociable person who makes friends easily. As a result, extroverts are more interested in what is going on around them than in their own thoughts and feelings.
10. After listening activity.
Decide if the statements are true or false:
The term “personality” has a straightforward meaning.
To a psychologist the word “personality” means the ability of different people to get along well socially.
Hippocrates thought that predominance of blood in a person’s organism determined his/her personality type.
The Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung divided all people into sanguine and melancholic according to their social attitudes and communication patterns.
Extroverts are more interested in their own thoughts and feelings than in the world around them while introverts are the reverse.
11.Try yourself in a Funny IQ TEST placed on the Internet.
1) You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position do you finish?
2) If you overtake the last person you arrive-------?
3) Do they have a 4th of July in England?
4) How many birthdays does the average person have?
5) The Deadly Party: A man went to a party and drank some iced tea. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the same tea were poisoned and became very sick. Why did the man not get sick?
6) A shop assistant in the butcher shop is 1 m 65 cm tall. What does he weigh?
7) A woman gives a beggar 50 cents; the woman is the beggar’s sister, but the beggar is not the woman’s brother. How come?
8) How far can a dog run into the woods?
9) A man builds a house rectangular in shape. All sides have southern exposure. A big bear walks by, what colour is the bear/ Why?
10) A farmer has 17 sheep, and all but 9 die. How many are left?
12.Summing up.
13.Home assignment.
Write a brief description of the character of your ideal partner. Use words from the lesson. Express the differences between this character and your own.
