Who Are Your Oldest Friends?

	Zach Who are your oldest friends?
	Kyoko Adachi I'm still friends with a couple people from high school. We're not seeing each other as often as we'd like, but we try to stay in touch and catch up when we can.
	Zach It can be hard to stay connected to old friends, can't it?
	Kyoko Adachi Yeah, definitely. Do you have any friendships that have ended?
	Zach Of course. I have friends who I have just grown apart from over time since they have different priorities. Have you experienced that?
	Kyoko Adachi I have, yeah. Some friendships ended naturally as we moved into different stages of life. Some friends moved away and we didn't really make an effort to stay connected.
	Zach Have you made any new friends recently?
	Kyoko Adachi Not really — it's so hard meeting people with similar interests. You?
	Zach Nope — between all my responsibilities and commitments I just don't have time to socialize!
	Kyoko Adachi How do you maintain friendships as an adult?
	Zach You've gotta try to find time for your friends, and plan ahead around people's busy schedules.
	Kyoko Adachi Yeah, planning ahead is a good idea.
	Zach Why do you think it's so hard to make friends as an adult?
	Kyoko Adachi Well, meeting new people is just a lot harder as an adult. And I guess everyone already has their established friend circles.

Check Your Understanding

How did some of Zach's friendships end?

Why hasn't Kyoko made any new friends recently?

What tips does Zach give for maintaining friendships as an adult?

Find and correct the mistake in each sentence. Be careful — not all sentences have a mistake!

What are your oldest friends?

We stay connecting mostly on social media.

I wish we could meet up more often.

Why do you think it's so hard to make friends as an adult?

He was becoming a bit of a bad influencing on me.

I'm less socially awkward than I used to have.

I just hangs out with people in my established friend circles.

Have you make any new friends recently?

Read the dialogue aloud with your tutor and fill in the blanks. You will be Hannah. Use the Answer Pool below to help you.

	Yan-ting Who are your oldest friends?
	Hannah My oldest friends are from elementary school! They live in different cities but we (1) each other updated on our lives, and meet up when we can.
	Yan-ting Do you have any friendships that have ended?
	Hannah Yeah, I had a few friends that were a bit of a bad (2) on me. We used to have a lot of fun together, but I realized they were having a negative impact on my life.
	Yan-ting Oh, I've definitely experienced that! Have you made any new friends recently?
	Hannah I've met some new people (3) work and hobbies, but I'm quite socially (4) so I don't find it easy!
	Yan-ting Yeah, I totally get that. How do you maintain friendships as an adult?
	Hannah I have a group of friends who are really good at (5) catch-ups. We're always messaging and (6) each other, too.
	Yan-ting It's great to have friends like that! Why do you think it's so hard to make friends as an adult?
	Hannah I think it's because we're all busy with our (7) and commitments. Building friendships (8) time, and time is something we all seem to be short on!

Choose answers from the options below that fit in blanks 1 to 8

Answer Pool (Questions 1-8)

Have a conversation based on these questions. Don't forget to ask your tutor some questions too!