TALKING ABOUT TRAVEL, PAST SIMPLE TENSE ADJECTIVES, ASKING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS A Magical Vacation? Last year I went on the most wonderful vacation. I m a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and movies, so I went over to the UK to do some sightseeing at the places where they filmed the movies. I booked a five night package tour of Harry Potter locations through a travel agent. It was actually my first time to go abroad. We started in London. We visited King s Cross Station to see the place where Harry gets on the train to go to school. We even tried to run through the wall, just like Harry and Ron in the movies. We visited Oxford and went to the famous university there. For me it was all so exotic. Universities in my country are not so old and beautiful. There were actually quite a lot of tourists there. The buildings were wonderful and there was a real sense of history. We went into the Bodleian Library, where we saw some real ancient magic books. There are also a lot of owls in the Harry Potter movies. So we went to see some owls at the National Bird of Prey Center in Gloucestershire and tried our hand at training and flying them. They were absolutely amazing, but actually I was a bit scared of them too. Next, we went up to Scotland and took a ride on the Jacobite Steam Train run by West Highland Railway past a magnificent mountain called Ben Nevis. It was incredible just like going back in time. We didn t see any flying cars though Finally, we went to a castle where they filmed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was just like the castle in the movies. I took loads of photos and bought a lot of souvenirs. The vacation was really busy, but it was the trip of a lifetime for me. Next, I want to go to the Harry Potter theme park in the US. But I will have to start saving up some money first. I m an absolute Potter-holic Picture courtesy of www.visitbritain.com Preparatory Reading 1. What country did the writer visit last year? 2. Why did the writer choose that country? 3. Find a word that means the same as the following: a place to book a vacation a night-time bird very old looking at interesting places things you buy on vacation people on vacation 4. Use words from the article to complete the following sentences I don t like going on vacation without a plan. I prefer to book a. We visited a very old where a famous battle was fought. I heard an hoot in the trees. I ate some food on vacation, such as kangaroo steak. Disney Land is a famous. 6. What is your dream vacation?
A - Discussion Questions: Talk with your partner 1. Do you like to travel? 2. Where did you go recently? 3. Where did you go on your last vacation? B - Mingling Activity: Stand up and ask questions of your classmates Ask questions to your classmates. If your classmate answer Yes write his or her name and ask some more questions. Name Find someone who... Details went on vacation this year went abroad on their last vacation went on a skiing trip in the winter went to the beach in the summer ate something delicious on their last vacation did something exciting on vacation went sightseeing this year went on a package tour this year C - Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning 1. I recently went on vacation to France. 2. I didn t go abroad for my vacation. I just stayed here. 3. I ate a lot of exotic food when I visited China. 4. I went on a package tour that included a hotel, flights and a hired car. 5. I went sightseeing in London. I saw Buckingham Palace. 6. I went backpacking around Europe, staying in youth hostels. 7. I bought a T-shirt and some local drinks as souvenirs. 8. There are always a lot of tourists at the castle. a. a trip somewhere b. to another country c. interesting and foreign d. looking at interesting places e. things you buy as gifts or memories of your holiday f. people who are on vacation g. traveling cheaply with not much luggage h. a vacation where everything is arranged by a travel agency
D - Conversation: Use the words to fill the gaps Ask your partner these questions. Don t forget to ask follow up questions to make your conversation interesting. vacation abroad exotic tourists sightseeing package tour backpacking souvenirs SARAH: Hi there. Welcome back. Did you have a good? JUN: Yeah, thanks. It was brilliant. SARAH: Did you go? JUN: Yes. I went on a trip around Thailand. SARAH: Wow That sounds fantastic Did you go on a? JUN: No, I like to arrange things myself. So I just went and stayed in youth hostels. SARAH: That s pretty adventurous. I ve never tried that. Did you travel alone? JUN: No, I went with a couple of friends from college. We had a lot of fun together. Comprehension Questions 1. Where did Jun go on vacation? 2. Who did he go with? 3. What did he do there? 4. What did he eat there? 5. Did he buy any souvenirs? SARAH: Really? What kind of things did you do there? JUN: Well we went to a lot of the popular places for. We went around a lot of amazing temples. We went shopping at an amazing floating market. But we also went off the beaten track and trekked through the jungle. SARAH: Cool I m so jealous Did you eat any of the local food? JUN: Yeah. We tried quite a few dishes. We ate lot of spicy curries. SARAH: Oh, I nearly forgot to ask. Did you bring back anything for me? JUN: Oh sorry. I was having so much fun I forgot to buy any. Personalization Questions 1. Have you ever been abroad? 2. What was your best vacation? 3. Do you like to go on package tours? 4. What food did you eat on vacation? 5. Do you like to visit tourist areas or go off the beaten track?
E - Language Focus: Past Simple Tense 1 Past Simple Tense Did you visit any famous places in Spain? Yes, I did. I visited a famous cathedral. No, I didn t. I just relaxed on the beach. Where did you stay on your vacation? We stayed in a nice hotel. Use the correct verb form in each sentence. Irregular Verbs be - was go - went do - did say - said get - got see - saw hit - hit catch - caught There are many more irregular verbs. 1. A: Where did you (go) on vacation this year? B: I (go) to Australia. I (have) a great time 2. A: What did you (eat) while you were there? B: Well, we (eat) a lot of beef. We also (try) kangaroo meat 3. A: Did you (stay) in a hotel? B: No, we (do not). We (stay) with an old friend of mine. 4. A: Did you (visit) Ayer s Rock? B: No, we didn t (have) time. It s too far. But we (visit) a lot of other beautiful places. 5. A: What was the most amazing thing that you (see) while you were there? B: Well, we (see) some crocodile wrestling. But we (not try) it 2 Rearrange 3 the words to make questions in past simple tense. 1. did / go / vacation / where / you / on?? 2. what eat did there you?? 3. have did you nice a time?? 4. buy / souvenirs / any / did / you? 5. stay / where / did / on / vacation / you?? Write some questions in the past tense for your partner. Then ask your partner and make a write the answers. 1.?. 2.?. 3.?. 4.?.
F - Express Yourself 1 2 3 Keeping a Conversation Going 1. Reactions 2. Follow-Up Questions 3. Answer Plus That sounds great / terrible How about you? I went to Australia. It was That s too bad. Oh, what s that? great. We spent a lot of What bad luck. Did you do anything else? time on the beach. Lucky you I m so jealous What did you do there? Where did you go? Are the comments reactions to something positive (P), negative (N), or either (E)? N That s too bad. Aw. That sucks. Oh. Really? That s great news I m so jealous. It that right? I m sorry to hear that. What bad luck. Congratulations Wow Lucky you Oh, is it? Oh, did it / was it? Oh, that s dreadful That sounds great Hmm. That s interesting. My sympathies. Read through the conversation aloud with a partner. Then add some reactions and questions and extra information to make the conversation flow more naturally (you could use some of the examples above). Finally, practice the conversation again. Rob: Hi there. How s it going? Dan: Not bad.? Rob: I m fine too. I just got back from my vacation. Dan: Oh.. _? Rob: Yeah, I went to Japan. It was just amazing. Dan: Hmm. Rob: We visited Tokyo and Kyoto. Kyoto was absolutely beautiful. We visited Kinkakuji. Dan: Ah..? Rob: It s an amazing golden temple set in some lovely zen gardens. Dan: Right..? Rob: We had some wonderful food too. We had sushi and some delicious noodles. The only bad thing was that I lost my bag at the airport on the way home. Dan: Oh.. Rob: How about you? Did you go anywhere nice? Dan: I went to Australia.. Make conversation with a partner. Use Reactions, Questions and Answer Plus. Your Last Vacation Hobbies Someone You Met Recently Last Weekend
TALKING ABOUT TRAVEL, PAST SIMPLE TENSE ADJECTIVES, ASKING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS Final Discussion 1. What did you think of the topics in this unit? 2. What new words have you learned? 3. What would you still like to study a bit more? Project Work Prepare a presentation on this topic: A Travel Plan. Go to http://college-englishmag.com/ to print the presentation preparation worksheet. Review Travel Puzzle Read the clues to solve the puzzle. 1 2 3 4 IN THIS UNIT YOU: 5 6 8 7 9 1. talked about travel and tourism 2. reviewed past simple tense 3. practiced keeping a conversation going 10 11 12 13 14 15 At http://www.collegeenglishmag.com, you can find plenty more exercises 16 17 18 Across Down 4. In a foreign country. 5. You lost your suitcase Aw, that 8. A place where you can go on rides and have fun. 10. A cheap place for young backpackers to stay. 12. You went to France. Wow I envy you. I'm so 13. A relaxing trip with no work. 15. You won the lottery? Wow you 16. A person trvaeling on vacation. 17. Very old. 18. Looking at interesting places on a trip. 1. A trip with everything arranged by a travel agent. 2. Past tense of visit. 3. I don't like the tourist areas. I like to get off the beaten. 6. Traveling with just a bag and no plan. 7. An item bought while on vacation. 9. Unusual and foreign. 11. Very tasty. 14. Past tense of go.