Interviews

High-intermediate

• Discussion Questions: Have students discuss questions in pairs or small groups, such as “What chores did you have growing up?” or “How do you and your family or roommates divide household tasks?” This will activate background knowledge and prepare them for similar content in the interview.

• Chore Chart Brainstorm: Ask students to create a list of common household chores on the board. Then, have them brainstorm different ways families or roommates could divide these chores, such as using a rotation chart, incentives, or assigned roles.

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

divide (verb): to separate or split into parts

– We need to divide the chores among everyone in the house.
– Let’s divide the pizza so everyone gets a slice.

allowance (noun): money given regularly, often by parents to children, for completing chores or responsibilities

– My parents gave me a small allowance each week for doing chores.
– She saved her allowance to buy a new book.

system (noun): a method or set way of doing things

– Our family has a chore system to keep the house clean.
– The library has a system for organizing books.

balance (verb): to keep things equal or fair

– It’s important to balance chores so everyone does their part.
– He tries to balance his schoolwork and his job.

expectation (noun): a belief that something should happen a certain way

– There is the expectation that everyone helps with household duties.
– There was an expectation that he would finish the project on time.

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.

Randall: In this video, Aubrey, let’s talk about when you were growing up, household duties. I think this could be used as a springboard to other conversations for other people and how they were raised, or how they’re raising their own kids or with roommates and so forth. But when you were growing up, how did we divide the household chores and so forth?

Aubrey: Think we tried a few different systems. The I told you so you do it system and then the chart system and then back to the I told you so you do it system.

Randall: Like the mandated system.

Aubrey: Mhm.

Randall: Okay. And what are some of the things you remember doing? Uh, some of the household chores?

Aubrey: Um dishes, vacuuming. I managed to get out of mowing the grass because I’m allergic.

Randall: Okay. Who usually did that?

Aubrey: Uh, you or my brothers?

Randall: Okay. And what about, let’s say, cooking?

Aubrey: Cooking was usually not me. I did not learn how to cook until my adulthood. Turns out I’m good at it. But I had no idea how to do that as a child.

Randall: Right. And so who took care of that?

Aubrey: Mom usually.

Randall: Yeah.

Aubrey: Turns out she did not know you knew how to make spaghetti until the last couple of years. You were making spaghetti for a family function. She was so worried it was going to be awful. And I’m like, but dad makes great spaghetti. What are you talking about?

Randall: But she did most of the cooking. I think she did most of the, you know, laundry and things like that. And what were some of the things? Do you remember it ever receiving incentives for doing housework?

Aubrey: Yeah, I know we had for a little bit like a chore system that was tied to our allowance. Uh, which is kind of like a stipend that children get.

Randall: And I think I gave you, like, $20 a week. Wasn’t that about right?

Aubrey: Uh, sure.

Randall: In our dreams. Right.

Aubrey: If you adjust like the, you know the decimal point a little bit.

Randall: And, you know, one of the things I think about is I, I think as people, whether they have roommates, whether they’re raising a family, is coming up with a system that really works. I think if you look back, was there a particular chore that you just hated? I mean, this is the bottom of the barrel.

Aubrey: Hmm weeding.

Randall: Okay.

Aubrey: Mhm. Awful.

Randall: Weeding. What about cleaning toilets and things like that?

Aubrey: Not as bad as weeding.

Randall: And Aubrey what about roommates? How do you balance that out in terms of household duties and chores?

Aubrey: I think what’s important because we were talking about how we did it in childhood. It’s important to define what you mean by a chore, because I watched a fight between my friend and her roommates because the dishes weren’t being done correctly. For one of my friends, the dishes were defined as just strictly the dishes, not the kitchen.

Randall: Oh, okay.

Aubrey: And the other one, the dishes were always the entire kitchen. So when you move into a situation like that, I think it’s really important to define what you mean by the chore. So you’re not fighting over it like that.

Randall: And that could get really hairy. I mean, when you don’t have an understanding of the expectation of like, as you mentioned, cleaning the kitchen might to one person might mean just clean off the table and to the other person it means from top to bottom.

Aubrey: Exactly.

Randall: Well, thank you Aubrey for sharing your thoughts on household chores.

Intermediate Level:

1. What chore do you think is the hardest to do, and why?

2. Do you think connecting chores to an allowance is a good idea? Why or why not?

3. What system does your family or household use to divide chores, and does it work well?

4. Do you think kids should help with household chores? At what age do you think they should start?

5. If you had to pick one chore to do every day, which would you choose, and why?

Advanced Level:

1. Aubrey shared a story about a conflict between roommates over chore definitions. Why do you think clear communication is so important in shared living situations? Can you think of other examples where unclear expectations might cause problems?

2. Randall and Aubrey discussed the division of household duties in their family. In your opinion, how has the approach to household chores changed over generations, and what impact might this have on family dynamics?

3. Do you believe children benefit from doing household chores? If so, how might these tasks help them develop skills or character?

4. What are some potential challenges when establishing a fair chore system for people of different ages or abilities in the same household?

5. How might different cultural perspectives influence people’s attitudes toward household chores? For example, do some cultures see chores as more communal or individual responsibilities?

The following activities deal with related topics to give you additional language practice.

• Saturday’s Chores