Speaking Skills: Getting a haircut

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Speaking Skills - Getting a haircut

Learning goals

Skills: Listening

Vocabulary: Words and phrases to use at the barber's

Language: to have/get + object + past participle

Task: Say how someone else does something for you

Speaking Skills: Getting a haircut

In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast, Jack and Rich talk about all things connected to getting your hair cut. They talk about some Premier League hairstyles and how to describe different types of hair. They introduce lots of different words and phrases connected to getting your hair cut and the language focus is on how we use the verbs 'have' and 'get' to talk about getting someone else to do something for us. The task for listeners is to write some sentences in the comments sections that follow the have/get + object + past participle structure that is introduced in the podcast. As always, we also have a new football phrase for you to guess. Enjoy!

If you find the podcast difficult to understand, you can read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Speaking Skills - Getting your hair cut

Intro:

Rich: I was watching the City Liverpool match last week ...

Jack: Oh dear! Did you watch it from behind the sofa?

Rich: What do you mean?

Jack: 5-0! Liverpool’s hair-raising defending. It was like a horror movie!

Rich: Mmm … very funny. No, I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about that skinhead that City had playing in midfield.

Jack: David Silva?

Rich: Yes, David Silva - he’s got a new haircut. I didn’t know who it was until after about 20 minutes. I was so used to his floppy hairstyle … and now he’s gone and had it all shaved off … not sure about that.

Jack: Mmm ... I think it was a pretty good decision … more streamlined … like me! Anyway, I think the only bad decisions being made last week were by Liverpool defenders!

Welcome - At the barber’s

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich ...

Jack: ... and I’m Jack ...

Rich: ... and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast ...

Jack: ... where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re going to talk about how footballers change their hairstyles and we’re going to look at some important language that you need if you need to go to the barber’s or hairdresser’s in the UK.

Jack: In our practice conversation, we’re going to roleplay a situation at the barber’s and include lots of different phrases for you to practise with a friend or classmate.

Rich: Our language focus is on passive forms that use get and have and our task for you is to tell us the difference between five pairs of sentences that look very similar but actually have very different meanings.

Jack: Don’t forget, there is more information about the language we use on the page below and activities to help you understand.

Rich: Make sure you listen to the end of the podcast because we’ve got another football phrase for you as well.

Topic Focus

Jack: Footballers change their hairstyles a lot. At the beginning of the podcast, we mentioned David Silva. He now has a skinhead. He used to have much longer hair. A kind of floppy hairstyle. His hair was loose - it blew in the breeze.

Rich: You’re a fan?

Jack: David Silva is a great player. Can you think of any other players that have changed their hairstyles?

Rich: What about Romelu Lukaku at Manchester Utd?

Jack: Ahh yes … when he was at Chelsea and Everton he used to have dreadlocks … this type of hairstyle became linked to reggae music in the Caribbean. The hair is twisted and long.

Rich: He has had it cut short now. It must be something at Manchester Utd but there are some other big haircuts in the Old Trafford dressing room.

Jack: Marouane Fellaini’s got to have the biggest haircut in the dressing room. He’s got a big Afro. Last year he had it dyed blonde but it’s back to its original colour now.

Rich: Who’s got the best haircut in the Premier League? It’s got to be Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud for me. I imagine he gets it blow-dried every day to give the hair extra volume. Short at the back and sides and long on top with a bit of wax to hold it all together. If you Google ‘Giroud’ you get more pages about hair than football. Honestly! What about you Jack?

Jack: Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey or Zinedine Zidane for me.

Rich: Or David Silva?

Jack: Yes, David Silva is a good look now.

Rich: We’ve used lots of words connected to hairstyles in this section. How many did you spot?

Jack: You can check your understanding in the vocabulary activity on the page below. In the next section, we’re going to roleplay a situation at a barber’s. I’m the barber and Rich is the customer.

Rich: As you listen, how many words can you hear that are connected to hair?

Roleplay

Rich: Hi there. I was wondering if I need to make an appointment or if I could get my hair done now?

Jack: We can fit you in now, no problem. If you take a seat I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes.

Rich: No, problem. I’ll just have a read of this football magazine while I wait …

Jack: Ok, we’re ready now. Do you want to take a chair?

Jack: What would you like doing?

Rich: Just a bit off the sides and top please.

Jack: Just a trim, then?

Rich: Yes, just a trim. Exactly.

Jack: What about a change in colour?

Rich: What do you mean?

Jack: We could bleach it blonde?

Rich: What?

Jack: Bleach it or dye it a different colour? What about red? You’re a Liverpool fan, red would be perfect?

Rich: Er … no thanks

Jack: Or we could put some highlights in. Blonde highlights.

Rich: The only highlights I like are the Premier League highlights on Saturday night!

Jack: OK, what about getting some dreadlocks put in. We could add some hair …

Rich: No, I don’t think so …

Jack: There must be something you could have done that is a bit different …

Rich: OK, what about this … it’s was in the football magazine I was reading

Jack: You want to look like Olivier Giroud?? I don’t think so … but we can give it a go …

Rich: No, forget it. It doesn’t matter. Let’s go back to the trim. Just short back and sides please.

Sting

Jack: Not a totally successful conversation but I think you got the haircut you wanted in the end.

Rich: Yes, just a trim. I’ve had the same haircut forever. I did get it bleached once - for a party. It was a disaster. I dyed it back the next day but it then went a kind of purple colour which I had to keep for weeks while the dye grew out.

Jack: Hair … I think it’s overrated!

Rich: You probably heard lots of words and phrases connected to hair and going to the barber’s or hairdressers. You can test your understanding in the activities below this podcast.

Jack: We’ve also put a link to an episode of The English Game called ‘At the Barber’s’ on the side of this page. This is a video of two English learners getting their hair cut in the UK and will give you more help if you are ever in this situation.

Rich: Now we want to focus on verb forms. In the roleplay, I said ‘I was wondering if I could get my hair cut’ and Jack said to me ‘what about getting some dreadlocks put in’ and ‘there must be something that you could have done’.

Jack: ‘Get my hair cut’, ‘getting something put in’ and ‘something that you could have done’ are examples of structures that have a passive meaning but unlike passive structures, they don’t use the verb ‘to be’. They use the verbs ‘get’ and ‘have’.

Rich: Let’s look at an easy example. I cut my hair.

Jack: No you didn’t. I did.

Rich: Exactly, so I could say ‘you cut my hair’ or ‘the hairdresser cut my hair’. But, you are not important, sorry.

Jack: That’s OK.

Rich: So we use a phrase that’s similar to a passive. But we don’t usually say ‘My hair was cut’ or ‘my hair was cut by the hairdresser’. My hair shouldn’t be the subject of the sentence, I should be the subject because it’s me that the action is happening to. I’m important.

Jack: That’s right. So, we usually use ‘have’ or ‘get’ and the person becomes the subject of the sentence. Have or get + object + the third form of the verb.

Rich: So we say: ‘I got my hair cut’ or ‘I had my hair cut’ or ‘I’m having my hair cut’. There’s not much difference between ‘have’ and ‘get’ apart from that ‘get’ is more informal.

Jack: Your task this week is to look at five different sentences and change and use get or have by following the same structure we’ve just looked at

Rich: Sentence one should be easy: I cut my hair yesterday.

Jack: Sentence two: My house was painted last week.

Rich: Sentence three: I haven’t fixed my car yet.

Jack: Sentence four: The optician checked my eyes at the optician’s.

Rich: Sentence five: Someone stole my wallet while I was at the restaurant.

Jack: Write your answers and tell us how the meaning changes in each sentence in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Can you work out this week’s football phrase?

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week?

Jack: Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was a bullet header. This is a type of goal you score with your head and the ball travels very, very fast into the net.

Rich: Well done to Khaldoun83 from Algeria, Milos from Serbia, Liubomyr from Ukraine, and Ahmed Adam from Sudan. You all got the right answer.

Rich: What’s this week’s football phrase?

Jack: This week’s football phrase is a ******** ****. This is the phrase that is used to describe a match that finishes nil-nil, there aren’t any goals scored and the two teams get one point each because neither side wins. Last week there was a ******** **** between Southampton and Huddersfield Town.

Rich: I don’t like ******** *****. They are so boring. Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.

Jack: And don’t forget to listen to our new round-up show called ‘This Week’. All the action from Matchweek 5 will be on the Premier Skills homepage on Monday.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. Do you know the words in bold?

Marouane Fellaini has got to have the biggest haircut in the dressing room.

Do you want to take a chair?

There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Do you know what they all mean? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words.

Activity 1: In this activity, try to match the words and phrases to their definitions. All of the words were in this week's podcast.

Rich thinks Arsenal's Olivier Giroud has the best haircut in the Premier League. Do you agree?

Getting your hair cut

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about getting your hair cut. The first important thing is the difference between 'getting your hair cut' and 'getting a hair cut'. Look at these two sentences from the podcast and see if you can spot the difference:

Yes, David Silva - he's got a new haircut.

Could I get my hair cut now?

Haircut is one word and is a noun that means hairstyle or the action of getting your hair cut e.g. Your hair is getting very long. I think you need to get a haircut.

Manchester City's David Silva with his floppy hair in 2016/17.

One other important thing to remember is the place where you get a haircut and the person who cuts your hair.

Barber - A barber is a person whose job it is to (traditionally) cut men's hair and to shave beards.
Hairdresser - A hairdresser is a person whose job is to cut, wash and style women's hair.
Barber's - The barber's is the place where men often go to get their hair cut. It tends to have a more traditional environment and prices are usually cheaper than at a hairdresser's.
Hairdresser's - The hairdresser's is where women and increasingly more men go to get their hair cut and styled.

In the podcast, Jack and Rich used lots of words and phrases connected to getting your hair cut or getting a haircut and different hairstyles. Take a look at these examples:

When Romelu Lukaku was at Chelsea and Everton he used to have dreadlocks.

Olivier Giroud gets his hair blow dried to give it extra volume.

Manchester City's David Silva with a shaved head in 2017/18.

There are other key words and phrases that we use to talk about hair, many of them were used in the podcast. Take a look at the following activity and see if you can choose an appropriate phrase. We also have an episode of The English Game for you to watch. The two contestants are at the barber's.

Activity 2: In this activity, learn words and phrases connected to going to have your hair cut.

Then, in this activity take a look at some descriptions of different hairstyles. Can you match the description to the hairstyle?

Activity 3: In this activity, learn words and phrases that describe different hairstyles.

Do you recognise this player with dreadlocks?

To have or get something done

In the podcast, Rich had his hair cut. He paid someone to cut his hair. When someone else does something for us we can use a specific grammatical structure:

to have/get + object + past participle (the third form of the verb)

You can see some more examples in the podcast here:

I was wondering if I could get my hair done now.

David Silva used to have long hair but he's had it all shaved off.

Marouane Fellaini has a big Afro and last year he had it dyed blonde.

I imagine Olivier Giroud gets his hair blow dried every day.

Take a look at the following activity and check your understanding of this area of grammar.

Activity 4: In this activity, check your understanding of the have/get + object + past participle pattern that was introduced in the podcast.

Now without the dreadlocks.

Change the sentences

In the podcast, Rich and Jack read out five sentences. Your task is to think about each sentence and then change the sentence. Each sentence you write needs to include have/get + object + past participle. Also, tell us if the meaning changes from the original sentence or not. Write your answers in the comments section. Here are the five sentences:

I cut my hair yesterday.
My house was painted last week.
I haven't fixed my car yet.
The optician checked my eyes at the optician's.
Someone stole my wallet while I was at the restaurant.

Write your answers in the comments section below.

Is this going too far?

What do you think?

In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about getting a haircut.

Which footballer has the best haircut? Is it important to look good on the pitch?

How often do you get your hair cut? Do you go to a barber's or a hairdresser's? What do you ask for?

Look at the task above and change the sentences so you use have/get + object + past participle in your answers.

Remember to write your guess at this week's football phrase, too!

If you want us to correct your English, just write 'correct me' at the beginning of your comment.