Vocabulary: Holidays

There are lots of exercises about holidays here: http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/holidays-and-travel.html You can practise vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening.

Here is a short reading test: http://www.esolcourses.com/uk-english/elementary-course/travel-and-holidays/travel-and-holidays-reading.html

There are many more exercises on their homepage:
1. Elementary http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/elementary.html
2. Lower Intermediate http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/pre-intermediate.html

Grammar: Possessives

We often want to talk about things people own or possess. We can do this by using a possessive adjective, or by using the person's name or job +'s (apostrophe s) .

Grammar: a/an/the

We often need to use a, an  or the when we talk about nouns.

(image: http://www.kienthucduhoc.com)

We use a with consonant sounds. For example, computer, pen, teacher, banana
We use an with vowel sounds. For example, orange, apple, umbrella.

Reading: People and places

In the class, we read about Isabel from Peru. She lives in Arequipa:

(image: http://www.ucsp.edu.pe)

Vocabulary: Nationalities

Here are some links to practise vocabulary for nationalities:

(image: http://englishinaction1-stlisieux.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/unit-3-countries-nationalities-languages.html)

1. https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/elementary/b_vocabulary/bank02/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
2. https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit03/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en

Vocabulary: Food

Here is a link to some games and activities to practise food and drink vocabulary: https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit06/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en

Can you name all the vegetables in the picture?

Here is another link to more practise: https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/elementary/b_vocabulary/bank14/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en

Song: If You Don't Know Me By Now

Here is a link to this famous song by Simply Red at lyricstraining.com: http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/3357/simply_red/if_you_dont_know_me_by_now

The song is quite slow so you may be able to try the Intermediate level.

Grammar: Modals of Obligation (Must/ Have to)

We often want to talk about choice. Sometimes we can make a choice but many times we cannot. There are rules and laws that mean we cannot choose to do what we always want to do.

The shop is closing down: the shop will not exist anymore. The shop is selling all its clothes in order to make as much money as possible. It has no choice. All the clothes must be sold. Everything must go!

We use must and have to to talk about choices.

Vocabulary: Making suggestions

Ryan: Aziz! How was your holiday?
Aziz: It was great thanks. I had a wonderful time.
Ryan: You've even brought the sun back to Manchester with you! Good work.
Aziz: Yeah, it's glorious outside, isn't it? Bright and sunny. So, what shall we do today?
Ryan: Well, we could go for a walk along the canal to Old Trafford.
Aziz:  Nah, it's too hot to walk.
Ryan: What about going to the John Rylands Library? It'll be cool in there because it's made of stone.
Aziz:  Errmm... No, I'm not in the mood for that either.
Ryan: How about running through the fountain in Piccadilly Gardens?
Aziz:  Now you're just being silly!
Ryan: Why don't we just buy an ice-cream and sit and watch the world go by?
Aziz:  That's a bit boring, don't you think?
Ryan:  Right, that's it! I give up! You don't want to do anything I've suggested. Why don't you think of something?
Aziz: To be honest, I'm not sure I can be bothered to do anything. It's boiling.
Ryan: Ok, then. Brilliant. Let's do nothing and just wait for the rain.

When Ryan says "Ok, then. Brilliant", do you think he is happy or angry and frustrated? What's his intonation like: is he serious or sarcastic?
What different phrases did Ryan and Aziz use to make suggestions? Answers after the jump:

Grammar: giving advice and making recommendations

The John Rylands Library on Deansgate

We can give advice and make recommendations using different phrases in English. Look at the text below. What phrases can you spot and how are they used?
 

      When you're in Manchester, you really should go to Old Trafford. It's home to one of the most famous football teams in the world. Even if you don't like football, the stadium is well worth a visit. You ought to go while they're playing a match, but tickets can be extortionate and very hard to find. You can get there easily by tram or by bus (number 250). The bus is cheaper so you should try that option first. You shouldn't get a taxi unless there are a few of you because it will cost too much.



      While you're here, you ought to visit some other local sights. You should definitely visit the John Rylands Library on Deansgate because it's very beautiful inside. People study in the library, so you'd better be quiet when you're there. You ought not to go as a large group, because you could make too much noise. 

Inside the Library

We use should and ought to to make recommendations and give advice:
                                                                                                         
should + base form. We use should in positive sentences, negative sentences and questions:

Should we go to Old Trafford?
Yes, you should go to Old Trafford but 
you shouldn't get a taxi unless there are a few of you

We can make should stronger by using really or definitely
You really should go to Old Trafford and you should definitely visit the John Rylands Library.
                                                                                                                                                                   
We can use ought to + base form instead of should. Ought to is a little bit more formal than should. We use  ought to in positive and negative sentences. We don't really use ought to in questions: we use should

You ought to go to Old Trafford while they're playing a match. If you do go to the John Rylands Library, you ought not go as a large group.
                                                                                                                                                                  
What about must ?
We can use must to make our advice stronger:
   It's late and I think you've drunk enough. You should go home now.
   Look at you, you can hardly walk!! You really must go home now. I'll get you a cab.



Vocabulary: Describing a city

Here are some words to describe Barcelona:

lovely    busy    noisy      quiet      beautiful       impressive       delicious       ancient

Which adjectives do you think are positive, and which are negative, or are there some adjectives which are neutral?

The opposite of beautiful is ugly. What is the opposite of busy? noisy? quiet? impressive? Use a dictionary to help you.

Pretty is a synonym of beautiful: they are two different words that mean the same thing. Can you think of synonyms for each of the adjectives? Use a thesaurus to help you.

What does each word describe: the buildings, the sounds, the sights, the people, the tastes? Can you think of any other adjectives to add to the list?

Here are some adjectives that you could use to describe Manchester. Are they positive or negative? What do they describe? Can you think of any synonyms for these words? What are the opposites of these words?

lively     dirty     polluted     buzzing    tasty    clean    chaotic     exciting     amazing    awesome    messy    filthy    horrible    loud    friendly   helpful   attractive    pleasant    fabulous   cool    vibrant    traditional    modern    dangerous    old     spectacular    safe    empty    


Which of these adjectives would you use to describe your home town?
How could you compare your home town with Manchester? (My home town is .......more exciting/ cleaner than Manchester)

Here are some more adjectives with a practice exercise:

http://www.englishlanguageworld.com/Intermediate_English_Lesson13/Intermediate_English_Lesson13_Vocabulary.html

There are some more adjectives and games here:

http://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/preint3/vocabulary/describing_towns/vocabulary07_02?cc=gb&selLanguage=en

Grammar: Gerunds or Infinitives

Some people get very frightened by grammar. Let's look at gerunds and infinitives.

All verbs have a base form. For example: write, read, swim

We add to if we want to make infinitives

to write, to read, to swim

We add ing if we want to make gerunds. Remember the spelling rules for verb + ing

writing, reading, swimming

Sometimes we want to use two verbs together. The second verb is often a gerund or an infinitive. Which do you use?

Travel Agency conversation

Here are some youtube videos of conversations in a travel agency between a customer and a travel agent.

The first uses some American vocabulary and pronunciation.

How polite do you think the travel agent is?
Notice how they talk about dates and times: on Saturday the third of August; at 7 o'clock
Notice how the agent talks about flight times: "it departs at 6 pm, and it arrives in Bangkok at 11.15". She uses a present simple tense to talk about timetables, even though the flight is in the future.

(Teacher says: "62,000 Bahts is £1300!! That's extortionate!!")

Here are two students acting out a travel agent dialogue:

Do you think they are easy to understand? Why (not)?

Do you think you could make a better video? Why not try, and I could put it on the blog!!

Holiday songs

There a couple of songs about holidays on http://www.lyricstraining.com/ 

Choose your Game Mode (Beginner/ Intermediate) and type in the missing words when you hear them in the song.

Use the BACKSPACE <------- key to listen to the words again. Good luck!

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/13445/boney_m/hooray_hooray_its_a_holiholiday

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/16731/madonna/holiday

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/5095/green_day/holiday (I think this is really tricky, even at Beginner level!!)

Holiday listening

Do you get confused when you listen to people? This website has many short listening activities:


http://www.listenaminute.com/index.html

Listen to this short talk about holidays:

http://www.listenaminute.com/h/holidays.mp3

Online activities, the mp3 and printable handouts are available for this lesson at http://www.listenaminute.com

Print and complete the gap-fill exercise on page 3:

http://www.listenaminute.com/h/holidays.pdf

This is good practice, because you are listening for more than one word at a time. It's important to practise listening to groups of words, not just single words.

Holiday conversation

Can you complete this conversation using phrases common in spoken English:

Ryan: Hi, Aziz. How's it going?
Aziz:  Good, thanks. Guess what/ To be honest ! I've just booked a holiday.
Ryan: Good for you. Where are you going?
Aziz:  I'm going on a backpacking holiday in Australia.
Ryan: Wow/ Tell me about it. That sounds amazing!
Aziz:  Well, I usually end up/ decide  going to the beach, so this year I fancied doing something different.
Ryan: Good for you. Are you going by yourself or in a group?
Aziz:   It's a package. Going by yourself is really difficult to organise.
Ryan:  I know what you mean/ I mean. I travelled across Europe on the train and that was a nightmare!
Aziz:   To be honest/ Tell me about it, I didn't really want to think about the organisation. I just wanted to enjoy the trip.
Ryan:  I don't blame you. Well, I'm sure you'll love it.
Aziz:   I'm sure I will too. In fact/ I mean, I've already started packing. I've just bought some insect repellent.
Ryan:  And how much did that cost, if you don't mind me asking?
Aziz:   Only a fiver.
Ryan:  Five pounds!!! You must be joking!! That's extortionate!!

Answers after the jump:

Holiday vocabulary

Look at the picture below:

In English we go on holiday. What kind of holiday is this man on?
What's he wearing on his head? He's wearing a bandana and a pair of sunglasses.
He's holding a stick in his left. He's using the stick to help him walk. He's carrying a rucksack or backpack with red straps, and you can see his walking boots dangling from his backpack. Where do you think he is?

An anagram is a word puzzle. You change the order of the letters and ask someone to find the word. For example, hldiaoy is an anagram of ..... holiday Here are some anagrams of words we associate with backpacking holidays:

stneci plrelente
gleepins abg
dogkubedio
nett

Remember, try and use the words in a sentence. Every time you learn a new noun, what verbs do you use with it?

to wear sunglasses      to use/ to spray insect repellent    to wear suncream   to carry a backpack
to ski      to read/ to use a guidebook       to wear gloves     to pack/ to unpack/ to carry a suitcase
to put up/ to sleep in a tent     to wear a swimming costume    to put on/ to wear make-up

Practise the new vocabulary by writing a short paragraph:

I went on a backpacking holiday last year. I went to Australia. I had to spray a lot of insect repellent because there were many mosquitoes. I read a guidebook before I went. I can't put up tents, but my friend can. So he put up the tent every night and we slept in sleeping bags under the stars.


Think about these questions:
What kind of people usually go on backpacking holidays?
Where do they go?
Why do people choose backpacking holidays?
How long do they go for?
Have you ever been on a backpacking holiday? would you like to? do you know anybody who has?
What do you need to pack for a backpacking holiday?

You can find some answers and more information and vocabulary here:

http://www.purpletravel.co.uk/community/Holidaytypes/backpacking-holidays.html

Practise your speaking:
Use the questions above to interview a partner.
Prepare a short talk using the questions above.
Read the information on the purpletravel website aloud: think about your pronunciation.
Where do people go backpacking in the UK? Visit the Tourist Information Centre in Piccadilly Gardens and talk to the staff there.