Dreams in English
In this English conversation class, you’ll learn how to talk about dreams.
Remember, for lots of great English class materials and a FREE gift, visit our homepage: www.learnhotenglish.com
Objectives
This English conversation class will help you…
- …learn lots of useful vocabulary.
- …improve your listening skills.
- …increase your speaking fluency.
- …prepare you for the Listening and Speaking sections in exams.
Lesson order
- First, you’re going to learn some useful language for the video.
- Then, you’re going to watch a video with two people talking about this topic. This will help you remember the language.
- Finally, you’re going to answer some questions on the subject so you can practise speaking about it. Ready? OK, let’s go!
Get to sleep
If you “get to sleep”, you start sleeping.
“I couldn’t get to sleep last night until really late.”
Get enough sleep
If you don’t “get enough sleep”, you sleep less than you need, and you feel very tired in the morning.
“I didn’t get enough sleep last night because of all the noise.”
A dream
If you “have a dream”, you see pictures or images in your mind while you’re sleeping.
A “recurring dream” is one that you have over and over again.
“I had a dream that I was being chased by a monster through a forest.”
Wake up in the middle of the night
If you “wake up in the middle of the night”, something wakes you up while you’re sleeping.
“I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of someone trying to open the door.”
Nightmare
If you have a “nightmare”, you have a very frightening dream.
“I had this terrible nightmare last night.”
Shout / scream
If someone “shouts” or “screams” in their sleep, they make a loud noise, often because they’re frightened.
“He screamed out in the middle of the night.”
Now, you’re going to watch a video with two people talking about dreams. Watch it once and answer the questions.
- What kind of dream did Katie have?
- How did she feel when she woke up in the middle of the night?
- What does she say about the dreams she had when she was little?
- What did she say she would do while she was sleeping?
- What is Paula’s recurring dream?
Here are the answers:
- What kind of dream did Katie have?
She had a dream where she felt she was falling.
- How did she feel when she woke up in the middle of the night?
She said she woke up in a panic.
- What does she say about the dreams she had when she was little?
She said that she would get so scared that she would think they were real.
- What did she say she would do while she was sleeping?
She said she would shout or scream while she was sleeping.
- What is Paula’s recurring dream?
Her recurring dream was one in which her teeth fell out.
Now, watch the video and read the script at the same time to develop your listening skills.
Speaking
Now it’s your turn! See if you can answer these questions about dreams. Good luck!
- What do you do when you can’t get to sleep?
- What was the last dream you had? What was it about?
- Have you ever had a recurring dream? What was it?
- What nightmares have you had?
- Have you ever had a dream in which you were falling? What happened?
Audio script
P: You okay? Did you get enough sleep last night?
K: Yeah, I had a really weird dream last night.
P: Yeah you look a little off, what happened?
K: Well thanks for noticing, erm..
P: You’re welcome.
K: No, I just kind of had an interesting dream that was one of those dreams where you feel like you’re falling.
P: Oh no.
K: So I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic, thinking that I was falling just to realize that I obviously wasn’t falling, I was just in my bed, erm, but I have had some weird dreams throughout my life. When I was little, I would sometimes get so scared in dreams I would think that something was happening in real life, even though it was just a dream.
P: Oh gosh.
K: So I’d shout or scream while I was sleeping and wake myself up so that was always very strange. Have you ever had any weird experiences dreaming?
P: Yeah! I have one of those recurring dreams that your teeth fall out which I’ve heard is a common stress dream, which explains a lot about me. Additionally, I have very vivid dreams, like very vivid, to the point that I scare myself awake ‘cause it’s so real. There’s a point where it dawns on me that I’m sleeping. Like, I’m fine, this isn’t real. But, I have to get to a really horrible point to get there. It’s kind of funny how scary it is.
K: Yeah, they can really seem really real a lot of the time.
