Hugging

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• touchy-feely
• personal space
• bubble
• girlfriends

• throw your arms around
• go in for
• across the board
• ex

• bros
• hard to tell

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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If you ever visit the U.S., get ready to do some serious hugging. Americans love to hug, and it’s customary for friends and acquaintances to throw their arms around each other when saying hello or goodbye. Of course, you wouldn’t hug a total stranger or someone you just met at a business meeting. But you might be surprised by how often you find yourself locked in a close embrace.

All this hugging can sometimes lead to awkward moments, like when one person goes in for a hug and the other person isn’t expecting it. Plus, not everyone has the same attitude toward hugging, even within the U.S. Some people hug across the board, while others reserve the hug for their closest friends and family members. Find out whether Devan and Ella would hug you if they met you.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Ella

Devan:  So I know you’re planning on going to Paris soon. I was wondering, over there, do they hug when you meet someone?

Ella:  I think they do the kiss on each cheek thing.

Devan:  Have you ever had an awkward situation where you went to hug someone and they weren’t accustomed to doing that?

Ella:  Yeah, like in Asian culture hugging’s not very normal unless you’re friends or family, so it’s more like bowing or just being respectful. But it’s kind of hard to remember that when I’m here in the States, ‘cause I hug everyone. But the only awkward moment I had was like hugging an ex.

Devan:  It’s hard to tell sometimes if it’s appropriate to hug or not. Some people are very touchy-feely, other people just need their personal space and it’s like, “Woah, you’re getting in my bubble,” you know?

Ella:  Yeah. Have you ever noticed there’s a whole bunch of different types of hugs?

Devan:  Oh yeah, totally. Like the way girlfriends hug is different from the way guy friends hug, like guy friends will do the bro hug where they lock arms and do the pat on the back.

Ella:  Or like couples, they’ll hold the waist, and then someone will hold the neck. There’s so many styles!

Devan:  Yeah, like the awkward mom hug where she pats you on the back and you’re like “Why are you patting me?”

Ella:  Exactly.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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