This lesson is about life outside work: rest, hobbies, and making plans when everyone is busy. Same structure as lessons 6–8—three readings, vocabulary, practice—but with a stronger push towards speaking on your own. Use the topic flashcards to practise spontaneous English without a partner script.
Marta (29) works in an SSC finance team in Lisbon. She likes her job, but for months she opened Teams every Saturday “just for five minutes.” Those five minutes often became thirty. She answered one message, then another, and returned to the laptop after lunch feeling she had not really rested.
One Sunday her friend Rita asked, “Did you actually unwind this weekend?” Marta laughed, but the question stayed with her. On Monday she told her lead she would stay reachable for real emergencies, but she would not check routine inbox items on Saturdays. She created a short routine: phone on silent until 11:00, walk by the river, then brunch without the laptop.
The first weekend felt strange. By the third week Marta said she could recharge properly and return on Monday with more patience for complex cases. She still works hard—but she stopped pretending that a busy screen equals a useful weekend.
Javier (26) moved to Dublin for an SSC role. After work he often ate dinner in front of series episodes and went to bed late. He was not unhappy, but he told his sister he felt “flat”—same flat, same tram, same screen.
In March a colleague invited him to a free beginners’ running group in the park on Thursday evenings. Javier almost said no; he was tired. Instead he said, “I’ll try once.” The first session was hard, but people were friendly and nobody cared about speed.
Javier also signed up for a Saturday cooking class—a birthday gift he had never used. He learned to make soup and bread. Cooking became a small hobby that did not feel like another task because it used his hands, not a keyboard. He still watches series sometimes, but now he says, “I need both: quiet screen time and something active.”
Sofia and three friends want Sunday brunch. In the group chat everyone is enthusiastic—until they compare calendars. Pia works a retail shift until 14:00. Jon promised to help his brother move boxes at noon. Amira can come early but must leave by 13:30 for a family visit.
Sofia does not cancel the idea. She suggests a spontaneous compromise: meet at 14:30 at a café near Pia’s work, stay only ninety minutes, and order something simple so the bill is easy to split. Jon says he can arrive a little late after moving. Amira offers to catch up with Pia first while they wait.
They use one clear message instead of twenty confusing ones:
“Plan B: 14:30 at Corner Table. Jon ~15:00. No pressure to stay long. Let’s just catch up.”
Everyone agrees. Sofia later says good plans fail when people want perfection; a shorter meet-up is better than postponing forever.
To relax after stress or work.
Spanish: relajarse; desconectar
To get your energy back after being tired.
Spanish: recargar energías; recuperarse
An activity you do for pleasure, not for your job.
Spanish: afición; pasatiempo
A regular way of doing things at a similar time.
Spanish: rutina
Done naturally without lots of planning.
Spanish: espontáneo
To move something to a later time.
Spanish: posponer; aplazar
To talk and learn news after not seeing someone for a while.
Spanish: ponerse al día; quedar para hablar
Feeling you have too much to deal with at once.
Spanish: agobiado; abrumado
A healthy mix between work, rest, and personal life.
Spanish: equilibrio
To do something nice for yourself as a small reward.
Spanish: darse un capricho; mimarse
Answers: unwind, recharge, hobby, routine, spontaneous, postpone, balance, overwhelmed
Answers: catch up, treat myself, postpone, hobby, unwind
Tap New topic, read the card, and speak for 60–90 seconds without writing first. Use the guiding words and expressions if you get stuck—they are prompts, not a script to read aloud.
Tap “New topic” to begin.
Guiding words
Useful expressions
Solo speaking tips: Look at the card, then look away from the screen while you talk. If you stop after ten seconds, pick one expression and build the next sentence around it. Fluency practice means continuing—not finding the perfect word immediately.
Summarise Reading A for a friend. Mention Marta, Teams, and her new Saturday routine.
Advise Javier’s colleague: why try one new hobby even when you are tired after work?
You are Sofia. Explain Plan B brunch to someone who missed the chat. Sound positive, not stressed.
Do three random flashcard topics in a row. No preparation between cards.
Use these to talk about weekend choices naturally.
I’d rather stay in tonight. (= I prefer staying in)I prefer running in the evening to running in the morning.I feel like catching up with friends, not cooking.Would you rather meet on Saturday or Sunday?I prefer rather stay home. / I’d rather stay home.Do you feel like to postpone? / Do you feel like postponing?I prefer coffee than tea. / I prefer coffee to tea.Nadia never saw herself as a “yoga person.” She worked long hours and said her only routine was coffee at 07:15. A neighbour invited her to a free trial class on Tuesday evening. Nadia went because she felt overwhelmed and wanted to unwind without a screen.
The class was quiet and slower than she expected. She was not flexible, but the teacher said that was normal. After four weeks Nadia still did not practise every day, but she slept better and stopped checking her phone in bed. She told her sister, “It’s a small hobby, but it changed my evenings.”
Open the topic flashcards at home. Record yourself answering three different topics (60–90 seconds each). Listen once and note one thing to improve (speed, vocabulary, or pronunciation)—not everything at once.
Write six to eight sentences inviting a friend to a low-pressure weekend plan (walk, coffee, short brunch). Use catch up, spontaneous or postpone, and I'd rather at least once.
Write Spanish glosses for: unwind, recharge, hobby, routine, spontaneous, postpone, catch up, overwhelmed, balance, treat yourself.
See vocabulary section; accept close equivalents.