This final module brings us to the heart of personal expression: what we do for joy. Discussing our hobbies and leisure activities allows us to share our passions, discover common ground, and see a more complete picture of who people are outside of their professional or academic roles. As an educator building a community, understanding how to facilitate these conversations is a powerful tool for fostering connection and motivation in your classroom.
Who are we when we are not working or studying? The answer often lies in our hobbies. These activities, freely chosen and pursued for pleasure, are fundamental to our well-being and a core part of our identity. Talking about them is therefore a primary way we build social bonds. This is not just "small talk"; it is the process of discovering shared passions that can form the basis of deep and lasting friendships. In linguistics, this relates to the concept of "communities of practice," where groups of people come together around a shared interest or goal, developing their own ways of talking and interacting (Lave & Wenger, 1991). When we find someone who shares our hobby, we find a potential member of our community.
The primary grammatical structure for expressing our feelings about these activities is the use of verbs of preference followed by a gerund (the -ing form of a verb that functions as a noun). Verbs like like, love, enjoy, don't mind, dislike, and hate are the emotional signposts we use to map our interests. Saying "I like to read" (using an infinitive) is grammatically correct, but using the gerund, "I like reading," is often more common and natural when talking about a hobby as a general activity.
Dialogue 1: Discovering a Shared Interest
In this dialogue, both Chloe and Liam use the verb + -ing structure to express their feelings (love hiking, enjoy being, like exploring, can't stand staying). This shared passion, expressed through parallel grammatical forms, instantly creates a connection and leads to a social invitation. This process of finding common ground is essential for building rapport in any conversation (Clark & Brennan, 1991).