1 predicting a Look at the picture and the heading of the text. What do you think the man is doing? Why? b Read the text quickly and check your ideas. 2 understanding the main points Match the correct summary (a-g) to each paragraph (1-5). There are two summaries you will not need to use. a why Silbo began e a description of Silbo b where the island is f where Silbo came from c the use of Silbo today g how to practise Silbo d walking on the island 3 reading for specific information Complete the table with facts about the island. 4 recognizing reference words a Underline the word Silbo each time it appears in the text. b Now underline all the different words and phrases (including it) that refer to Silbo. How many can you find? 5 responding to the text a Work in two groups, A and B. Think of at least two reasons: Group A: for trying to save Silbo. Group B: against trying to save Silbo. b Discuss your ideas in A / B pairs. location geographical features language history of island the Canaries an island StlbO^Gomeran^n»! 1 If you love islands but haven't visited the tiny island of La Gomera in the Canaries yet, don't wait any longer. Close to Africa in the Atlantic Ocean and 40 minutes by ferry from Tenerife, it is the most beautiful and varied island of them all. 2 The language of La Gomera nowadays is Spanish. But some of the older people on the island can still use the fascinating Gomeran whistling language, 'Silbo'. On a small and mountainous island like La Gomera, distances were measured in the past by the time and effort necessary to walk the paths between mountains, and not by the number of kilometres between two places (which is never very far, because the island only measures 147 square kilometres in total). In this geographical environment, the Gomeran whistle was useful for communicating quite detailed information from mountain-top to mountain-top, such as 'meet you in the café by the square for a drink at 12'. Some whistlers can even be understood up to five miles away. Little is known about Silbo's origins, but many people believe it came over to La Gomera with early African settlers more than 2,500 years ago. Silbo-like whistling has been found in small areas of Greece, Turkey, China and Mexico, but none of these languages are as developed as Silbo in La Gomera. Silbo - the word comes from the Spanish verb silbar, meaning 'to whistle' - has four vowels and four consonants that can be put together in different ways to produce more than 4,000 words. It sounds just like bird conversation and has plenty of uses. However, the language has almost disappeared as other means of communication such as the telephone have been introduced. Nowadays, Silbo is hardly used outside exhibitions or demonstrations, which means that fewer and fewer people now know how to use it. As the language is now threatened, it is taught in all primary schools on the island in an effort to preserve it. origins where it came from and how it developed settlers people who go to a new country or region to live vowels 'vaoslz sounds, which (in English) are made with the letters a, e, i, o, u consonants 'konssnsnts sounds, which (in English) are made with all letters except a, e, i, o, u threatened 'Oretnd in danger of disappearing / being lost preserve (v) pn'z3:v keep it alive / in use goto setf-assessmentp.60 vocabulary diary p.62 20 PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS text theme an unusual language 1 predicting • For exercise la, find out if anyone knows where La Gomera is (see guidance notes). Let them discuss the picture and heading with a partner and then get their ideas on what the man is doing and why. If some students don't understand whistling from the heading, you or other students can demonstrate! If they can't work out why, tell them they will find out when they read the text. • For exercise lb, give them a time limit for reading (two minutes should be enough). After reading, let them compare their ideas with a partner. 2 understanding the main points • Focus students' attention on the summaries. Ask students to read the extract again in order to match the summaries to each paragraph. Explain that two of the summaries do not match any paragraphs. It is a good idea for students to work alone and then compare their answers when they are ready. 3 reading for specific information • Focus students on the headings in the table and point out the two examples. Then ask the class for a few facts from the extract for the other headings. • Tell students to work in pairs and divide the headings between them. They should focus on one heading at a time, scanning the text for relevant information. Give them a time limit (about five minutes) to look through the text on their own before stopping and working together. 4 recognizing reference words • You could do exercise 4a as a race in teams as it is relatively simple. • For exercise 4b, ask students to call out the first word or phrase in the text which refers to Silbo without repeating Silbo (there are none in the first paragraph). Keep students in the same pairs as for exercise 3 and tell them to work on two paragraphs each, i.e. As can do paragraphs 2 and 3 and Bs do 4 and 5. Ask them to work through the extract, underlining all the words that refer to Silbo, including pronouns, e.g. it. An alternative (or a way to check answers) is to read the text out to the class and tell them to shout 'stop' every time they hear a reference to Silbo. 5 responding to the text • For exercise 5a, ask students to refer back to the extract to come up with reasons for and against trying to save Silbo (e.g. for: it's almost unique, culturally important, and useful; against: society has changed, need for Silbo replaced by telephones, better to study more relevant languages at school). Explain that they can use the ideas in the extract but to also come up with their own ideas if they can (e.g. comparisons with other threatened languages). • Get some feedback from the class as a whole after exercise 5b, to find out if they can come to a general consensus on whether the language should be saved or not. time 50-60 mins guidance notes The text is an extract from a travel book and is a factual text about language on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, off the north-west coast of Africa._____________________________ answer key b The man is whistling. He is not doing this for pleasure but to communicate with other people. guidance notes As this is an informational text, it is good practice for students to attempt to grasp the main points. The options offer very brief summaries of the overall content of each paragraph. The two extra options focus only on small points within a paragraph. If anybody chose these, ask confident students to explain why they do not summarize any complete paragraph. answer key 1 b, 2 a, 3 f, 4 e, 5 c (d and g are not needed) answer key location: the Canaries, close to Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean, 40 mins. by ferry from Tenerife geographical features: an island, small, mountainous, 147 sq kms language: Spanish, Silbo = Gomeran whistling language, came with African settlers c.2,500 years ago, silbar = to whistle, 4 vowels, 4 consonants, 4,000 words, sounds like bird conversation history: inhabited by African settlers c. 2,500 years ago, Silbo (the language) has almost disappeared guidance notes This task raises students' awareness of lexical cohesion and referencing in the text, e.g. the repetition of Silbo helps readers follow the main theme through but also the use of a range of words to refer to Silbo adds variety and interest. answer key 4a para 2: line 3; para 3: line 1, line 3 (Silbo-like whistling), line 5; para 4: line 1; para 5: line 3 4b para 2: Gomeran whistling language, the Gomeran whistle; para 3: it (line 2); para 4: It (line 4); para 5: the language (line 1 and line 5); it (x 3 in line 5, 6, 7) There are nine references to Silbo which don't repeat the word Silbo. There are fifteen references to the language in total. ideas plus If you have students from a number of different countries or regions, ask them to prepare a very short presentation on their language, or on a minority, threatened, or extinct language from their country. They should think of (or research) four or five facts about the language to present to their group or class. Encourage the listeners to ask questions and to note down any useful vocabulary. 21 how to ... make a text more interesting a 1 generating ideas Work in pairs or small groups. Describe the teacher you liked best at school, and say why you liked him/her. 2 increasing range a Read texts A and B. Which one is more interesting? Why? b Sentences 1-9 and a-i have the same meaning but sentences a-i use a greater range of words and phrases. Complete a-i by referring to texts A and B. 1 He was my teacher at primary school. a 2 Most of my teachers were older. b 3 He was young. c 4 He was nice. d 5 I think teachers should ... e 6 He liked basketball. f 7 We did some good art activities. g 8 ...which was good. h 9 I'm a musician because of him. i 3 improving a text I___him at primary school. Most of my teachers were___ He was in his___. He___to us. ___teachers should ... He was___basketball. I___some___art activities. ... which was___. I a musician him. You can make a text more interesting to read by: 1 using a range of words and phrases to express ideas. Don't repeat adjectives such as good and nice, or verbs such as was/were or liked. 2 giving as much detail as you can. Answer questions: who? why? what was it like? about your text. 3 giving examples where possible. Compare texts A and B. Find two examples of tips 1-3 in text B. 4 giving details and examples a Use ideas from the box on the left to make the text below more interesting. You will need to add words to connect the ideas. told good stories worked hard for her about 55 became more confident funny did badly in other subjects modern languages teacher wild, black hair The teacher X liKed best was Mys G-ill She was veno sr^aW She taught rr\e X talian at secondary school She rv\ade it interest ma She oave me good r^arks in Xtalian X started doing better at school X studied Xtalian and French at university b Compare your paragraph with a partner's. Is it the same or different? v, Writing task a Write an article about the teacher you described in exercise 1 for your class magazine or for display on the classroom walls. b Read other people's articles. Which teacher sounds the most interesting? Why? The hacker I liked best Ian, Trevellian, was my teacher at primary school. Most of my teachers Were older and boring but he, was young and nice. He Was the first teacher I liked. I think teachers should introduce us to things outside school and he did that. He liked basketball and We played with someone in, the local team,. We did some good art and music. He even, helped us to play in, a band, which Was good. That's when. I started playing instruments, so maybe I'm a musician, now because of him. B The hacker I liked besi I first met Ian, Trevellian, at primary school. Most of my teachers Were middle-aged and quite boring, but he was in. his mid-2-Os and enjoyed talking to us. This Was my first experience of a fun,, interesting teacher. In, my opinion,, teachers should introduce us to new ideas about the World outside school and the arts, and he certainly did this. For instance, he Was really interested in, basketball and arranged for the captain, of the local basketball team to come and train, us. I've still got his autograph1. I remember doing some great art activities (We painted aboriginal pictures, and made pots and sculptures) and his music lessons Were fun,. He even, helped us form our own, pop band, which Was really exciting. That's when, I started playing the guitar and drums, so maybe I became a musician, thanks to him. goto self-assessment p. 61 vocabulary diary p. 63 22 PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS aim to extend the range of expression in descriptive writing time 50-60 mins writing task a short article about the teacher students liked best at school 1 generating ideas • For exercise 1, give students a few minutes alone to think of a previous teacher and to come up with the reasons why they liked him / her. Then put them in pairs or, preferably, small groups, to talk together. If anyone has had difficulty remembering a teacher they liked, they can listen to other people and perhaps this will jog their memory. 2 increasing range • Don't prompt students too much with exercise 2a, but see what they come up with. It is good enough at this stage if they recognize that the longer text is more interesting because it gives more information. • For exercise 2b, students can work alone or in pairs, but make sure they have a chance to compare their answers before you check as a class. In feedback, ask the class what the difference is between the two sets of sentences (i.e. the second set include more detail and use a range of words and phrases). This will highlight the aims of the lesson and will emphasize that there is nothing wrong with the first set of sentences; they are simply 'improving' them. 3 improving a text • Before doing exercise 3, tell students to read through the tip box: it focuses on three ways students can improve their writing and extend their range of expression. There are many more, of course, but this gives students an achievable set of guidelines at this level to use when they are writing. Alternatively, if you feel your class handled exercise 2 easily, you could elicit ways of making a text more interesting before they read the tip to check their ideas. • Give students a time limit for this noticing task in exercise 3, then go through the examples they have found as a class. Point out that many of the examples are focused on in exercise 2b. 4 giving details and examples • For exercise 4a, tell students to discuss improvements with a partner before writing their paragraphs. This task gives controlled practice in adding more information and details to a text. The sentences in the text are short and basic, so students will have to add linking words to join the ideas together (see unit 4). Encourage students to be creative with the ideas. • For exercise 4b, find a pair of students whose finished texts were very different. Ask them to read out each other's texts. guidance notes Students will have more to say if you give them some thinking time before they start speaking in groups. Encourage them to make notes about the teacher if they want to, and let them know that this will be useful later when they plan their writing. guidance notes If students are sceptical about the value of improving something which is 'correct/, or can't see good reasons for extending their range of expression, you can point out that: - a very basic text which uses only a small number of words and phrases repeatedly can be boring for the reader. - 'range' is a standard criteria examiners use when marking written work. answer key b a first met, b middle-aged, c mid-20s, d enjoyed talking, e In my opinion, f really interested in, g remember doing; great, h really exciting, i became; thanks to answer key possible answers: 1 older > middle-aged; young > mid-20s; some good art > great art activities; which was good > which was really exciting. He was my teacher > I first met him at...; He was nice > He enjoyed talking to us; I think > In my opinion; He liked... > He was really interested in ...; We did > I remember doing; I'm a musician because of him > I became a musician thanks to him. 2 middle-aged and quite boring; the captain ... train us; I've still got his autograph; his music lessons were fun; form our own pop band; playing the guitar and drums. 3 For instance, he was really interested in basketball and... train us; we painted aboriginal pictures, and made pots and sculptures; playing the guitar and drums. answer key possible answer: The teacher I liked best was Mrs Gill. She was very small with wild, black hair and she was about fifty-five years old. She taught me Italian at secondary school. She made it interesting because she told good stories and she was very funny. I did badly in other subjects, but I worked hard for her and she gave me good marks in Italian. Thanks to her I became more confident and started doing better at school. I studied Italian and French at university and later I became a modern languages teacher. writing task Tell students to go back to their ideas in exercise 1 and add as much detail as they can. While they are planning their writing, walk round and help them with vocabulary or with reformulating their ideas. Let the students know that they are going to read each other's articles and respond to them, so that they are writing for a real 'audience'. In class feedback, find out whose teacher sounds the most interesting. 1 raising interest Read this fact file about tornadoes from a weather website. Find two facts about tornadoes. A TORNADO is a violent storm with a very strong wind that blows in a circle. The wind forms a column between a cloud and the surface of the earth. Tornadoes can have wind speeds of between 300 and 500 kilometres per hour. The United States has the highest number of tornadoes worldwide, with about 1,000 every year. 2 predicting Work in pairs. Discuss how to complete the sentences but don't write anything. Use the glossary for new words. What do you really know about tornadoes? 1 It is not always possible/always possible to see a tornado coming towards you. 2 Houses can/cannot explode due to changes in air pressure. 3 A tornado will probably do more/less damage to your house if you open the windows. 4 It is possible/impossible for a tornado to cross water. 5 A hill will/will not protect you from a tornado. Safety in the event of a tornado If you are inside 1 You need up-to-date information, so it is important to have a_____. 2 You should go to the_____of your house, if you have one. 3 You should use a_____or blanket to protect your head and eyes from sharp objects. If you are outside 4 If possible, find a safe place inside that doesn't have_____. 5 If this is not possible, try to find a_____to lie down in. 3 reading for details a Work in pairs. Student A read What do you really know about tornadoes? and Student B read Safety in the event of a tornado. b Talk to your partner about your text and complete both parts of the table together. 4 responding to the text a Find two things in the text which you didn't know before. b Compare with a partner or group. Did you find anything surprising? TORNADOES CAN ALWAYS BE SEEN FROM A GREAT DISTANCE. False! They can be hidden in heavy rainfall. TORNADOES CAUSE HOUSES TO EXPLODE FROM CHANGES IN AIR PRESSURE. False! Homes are damaged by strong winds, not changes in air pressure. BY OPENING THE WINDOWS, YOU CAN BALANCE THE PRESSURE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE YOUR HOME SO A TORNADO WILL NOT DO DAMAGE. False! A tornado can damage your home whether the windows are open or not. You should not open the windows when a tornado is approaching - this could actually make the situation worse. TORNADOES CANNOT CROSS WATER. False! There is a type of tornado that forms on water and tornadoes that form on land can cross rivers and lakes. Tornadoes can also travel up and down hills. Therefore, a belief that your location is protected by a river or hill could prove to be dangerous. ^^Mte 4'tíi* MMil • it You may have very little time to prepare. Listen very carefully to all information and move quickly! IN A HOUSE ■ Make sure you have a radio for information. ■ Go to the lowest level of your home (basement if possible). If there is no basement, go to a small room away from exterior walls. Keep away from all windows. ■ Cover your head and eyes with a blanket or jacket to protect against flying objects or broken glass. h Keep your pet tied up and close to you. ■ Do not go out until you are told it is safe. OUTSIDE ■ Try to get inside and look for a small protected space with no windows. ■ Do not enter buildings with large roof areas such as school gymnasiums or shopping malls. ■ If you cannot get inside, lie flat in a low area and cover your head and neck with your arms or a piece of clothing. P explode ik'sptaud to burst with a loud noise, e.g. a bomb explodes air pressure the force of air damaged 'dajmid3d broken or partly broken hills high areas of land (not as high as mountains) protected made safe (from danger) basement a room in a house below ground level exterior (adj) ik'stiaris connected to the outside go to self-assessment p. 60 vocabulary diary p.62 24 PH0T0C0PIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS text theme the truth about tornadoes time 40-50 mins raising interest • Before students read the fact file about tornadoes, focus them on the picture and ask some questions to see what they know, e.g. Which country has the most tornadoes? or How fast does the wind blow in a tornado? • Then tell the students to read the fact file and feed back as a class. guidance notes The texts are taken from a US website (weather.com) which provides readers with a range of general and topical information and advice about current weather and weather conditions. The picture should help to give students a way in to the topic and help them understand the information in the fact file. This introduction prepares students for the texts that follow. answer key possible answers: any of the facts from the fact file 2 predicting For exercise 2, put students in pairs to talk about the information and advice in the table. Direct their attention to the glossary but tell them not to read the two texts at this stage. Encourage students to guess answers they are unsure about, but tell them not to complete the table yet (they could make notes on a separate piece of paper if they wish). What is important here is that they understand the sentences and generate some ideas for the answers. guidance notes This task combines two functions: it gives students the opportunity to activate their own ideas and knowledge about the topic and to predict the answers. This will help them when they read their text and should also motivate them to read. 3 reading for details • For exercise 3a, keep students in the same pairs, but ask As to read the first text and Bs to read the second text. • Alternatively, if you feel your students need more support with the texts and this task, let pairs read the same text (i.e. two As read What do you really know about tornadoes? and two Bs read Safety in the event of a tornado). They can then look at their part of the table together and discuss the answers, referring back to their text. Then change the grouping to A / B pairs, and let them do exercise 3b. • For exercise 3b, tell them to go back to the table together, and to help each other to complete the part that corresponds to the text they have read. Encourage them to explain anything that is not clear to their partner, and to give more information if they can. guidance notes The two texts share the same topic and style but the first text is largely giving information about tornadoes and the second text is giving advice. This task is organized as a jigsaw reading, where half the class read one text and the other half read another. This allows students to focus on one text in greater detail, and to attempt to process the information in order to explain it, where necessary, to their partner. answer key What do you really know about tornadoes?: 1 not always possible, 2 cannot, 3 more, 4 possible, 5 will not Safety in the event of a tornado: 1 radio, 2 basement, 3 jacket, 4 windows, 5 low area ideas plus Write giving information and giving advice on the board in two columns and ask the class to give an example of each from the texts, e.g. Homes are damaged by strong winds (information). If there is no basement, go to a small room away from exterior walls (advice). Tell learners to continue in pairs, or continue as a class, writing the sentences on the board. responding to the text • Give students a minute or two to focus on two things which were new to them. Then let them compare with a partner or you could talk about this as a class. Find out if there was anything they found surprising in the texts. ideas plus The website weather.com is a useful reading resource which you could exploit further if your students have access to the Internet. For instance, students could find out about another weather phenomenon on the site (it includes flooding, hurricanes, heat waves and droughts, among others). They could do this for personal interest, further reading practice and vocabulary extension, or you could ask them to report back on different topics. how to ... improve punctuation 1 generating ideas a A classmate or English-speaking friend is going to visit you in your country. What can you tell them about your area and the weather? b Read Yoshi's letter to Mark. What does he tell Mark to bring with him to Japan? Dear Hark "Thank ipu £or qour le-t-rer. l\u verq happq -ho Wear khak upure pUnn/na +o con^e -f o Aapan. There arc some nice, places -f-o v/s/-f around nnj honkekoiAn.There's a beauki£ul lake called 'ľoitiada-ko . This »s óapans deepest and pre-r-ries-v lake, and \here are beauki^ul £ores-\r$ all around /+. Perhaps tue can qo cafiKpinq -\roqe-ther. l-f's sonKe\meS cool in khe evenings here because tůe?re in -the northern part o-f Aapan, so don-t Zorqe-t -ho brinq a jacket, tcarm clothes, and Some qood shoes/ lV ver/j much lookinq Zortoard -ho seeinq ipu. tnjoq tpur £UqM. trón*, ttpur qood friend, Yoshi identifying punctuation Work with a partner and find examples of punctuation marks (1-4) in the letter. a shows the end of a sentence. b shows a proper noun, e.g. a name, a place, or a special event, e.g. the World Cup. c shows the beginning of a sentence. d shows possession, i.e. belonging to sb or sth. e separates a list of adjectives or nouns. f shows that letters are missing. g joins two sentences into one. It is often followed by words like and, but, and so. 1 A comma 2 An apostrophe 3 A full stop 4 A capital letter b Match the punctuation marks (1-4) with their uses (a-g). c Find an example of each of the uses (a-g) in the letter. 3 using punctuation a Correct these sentences using capital letters, full stops and commas. 1 i am on holiday from monday june 1st to thursday june 4th 2 samantha is going to work in italy for a month she is very lucky 3 i would love to visit maria in barcelona but I haven't got any holiday left 4 in January the weather in britain is often cold cloudy and wet 5 i went to Sydney for the Olympic games in august 2000 it was the best experience of my life b Add apostrophes to these sentences where necessary. 1 Mount Fujis Japans highest mountain. 2 Its going to be lovely and sunny for the next few days. 3 Janes business trip around Europe starts in one weeks time. 4 Brightons a lively city on Englands south coast. Its original name was Brighthelmstone. 4 checking punctuation Read this extract from a letter about a visit to Poland. Find 14 punctuation mistakes and correct them. I have some advice, fir you, about you,r trip, the Weather ivi polands often vJet bid: from Sunday itsjoing to be kót, and sunny Dont bring a coat, but remember to bring your credit card and jo shopping here, every things cheaper here than it is in england. a Write a letter to a classmate or English-speaking friend who is planning to visit your country. b Exchange letters with a partner and check each other's punctuation. c 'Send' your letter to a classmate. 26 goto self-assessment p. 61 vocabulary diary p.63 PH0T0C0PIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS SIX writing ^■E^talCT 10 tes to develop use of capital -60 aim commas full stops, letters, and apostrophes time 50- mins writing task an informal letter to a friend who is planning to visit the student's country i 1 generating ideas • For exercise la, if students are studying in their own country, tell them to imagine an English-speaking friend is going to visit them. You could then brainstorm ideas as a class. If you have students from different areas and / or countries, tell them someone from the class will visit them in their home country. Tell students to think of some ideas alone before discussing in pairs or small groups. • For exercise lb, ask students to read Yoshi's letter alone before checking in pairs. guidance notes These exercises should raise interest in the topic as well as generating ideas for students' own letters in the writing task later. The model text is adapted from a letter written by a Japanese student for a First Certificate question. answer key b a jacket, warm clothes, and some good shoes 2 identifying punctuation For exercise 2a, tell students to circle or underline the punctuation marks in the letter, or follow the alternative procedure in ideas plus. Some of this will be revision, but this stage will serve to clarify and reinforce students' ideas about the correct uses of these punctuation marks. Put students into pairs for exercise 2b, and check their answers before they look for examples of each of the uses in the letter in exercise 2c. ideas plus If you have an overhead projector, display the letter on an OHT. Run your finger along the lines and tell the class to call stop every time you come to a comma. Do the same with the apostrophes, full stops and capital letters. answer key b 1 e and g, 2 d and f, 3 a, 4 b and c c possible answers a ... letter.; b Mark, Japan, lowada-ko, Yoshi; dhankyou ...; d Japany; e a jacket^ warm clothes; f I'm, you're, There's, It's, we're, don't; g ... laker and there are ...; ... Japan^ so don't forget... using punctuation • For exercise 3a, tell students to circle the capital letters and add the commas and full stops in another colour. They should do this alone before comparing their answers with a partner. You can raise the level of challenge using the idea below. • An alternative procedure for exercise 3a is to dictate the sentences to the class and to tell students to punctuate their sentences. This gives students more to think about (e.g. spelling) but students should be able to pick up clues about the position of punctuation marks from your intonation and pausing. This activity demonstrates the connection between pronunciation and punctuation. • For exercise 3b, students can work alone then compare, or work with a partner. answer key a 11 am on holiday from Monday June 1st to Thursday June 4th,. 2 Samantha is going to work in Italy for a monthjihe is very lucky.. 3 I would love to visit Maria in Barcelona^ ) but I haven't got any holiday left 4 In January the weather in Britain is often cold^cloudyj^) and wet. 5 I went to Sydney for the Olympic Games in August 2000. It was the best experience of my life;. b 1 Mount Fujfs Japans highest mountain. 2 Iťs going to be lovely and sunny for the next few days. 3 Janets business trip around Europe starts in one week^s time. 4 Brighton[s a lively city on England^ south coast. Its original name was Brighthelmstone. 4 checking punctuation • This task should raise students' awareness of some common punctuation mistakes and gives controlled practice of punctuating a text at paragraph level. It also provides a second model for the writing task. You could do this as a race with students working in pairs to find the fourteen mistakes first. You could either check it by showing it on an OHT and asking students to call out corrections as you run a finger along the lines, or you could stick an enlarged photocopy on the board and ask one or more students to come to the board and correct one sentence at a time. The rest of the class should check their punctuation. answer key I have some advice for you about your trip. The weather in Poland's often wet(^) but from Sunday iťs going to be hot_and sunny. Don't bring a coatjaut remember to bring your credit card and go shopping here. Everything's cheaper here than it is in England. writing task Give students time to decide who they are going to write to and to plan their letters. Remind them to include their ideas from exercise la and to be aware of their punctuation. For exercise b, tell them to use a pencil to make any changes to their partner's letter. They can then discuss the changes together and ask you for help if there are any disagreements. For exercise c, if students are studying in their own country, tell them to read another student's letter and compare the information and advice they have given about their area or country. 27 1 activating topic vocabulary a Look at these cartoons for three newspaper stories. What is the connection between the stories? • making a mistake • breaking the law • saving something b Work in A / B pairs. Check the meaning of your words. Explain your words to your partner. A to arrest sb to handcuff sb a burglar B a complaint to charge sb (with a crime) to break into (a house) 2 reading for gist Read the stories A-C quickly and match them to the cartoons. 3 reading for details Complete the reports about the three stories. Choose no more than two words from the stories for each space. POLICE STATION Action: Officers (1)___ three men for (2). and kept them at the police station for (3). Result: The men were not charged, but a (4) the officers. for questioning. was made about rue service BVBNT: AQ.2-\Aear-6ld ncai/vof (5") trapped iv^ a pu.b (&)_____________ was He was discovered by a local (7-) _ ACTION: He was rescued by (s) early this. w.orvu.i/vg. ____________fire ev^iv^es. ANIMAL HOME Event: One tiger and one alligator were rescued from the New York (9)______________of Antoine Yates, after (10)______________ contacted the (11)______________. Action: There are plans to transport the animals to (12). when there is space in the local (13)______________. M ;?ii r< *>i a =tn 1 *■ Three men were arrested, handcuffed and held for several hours in the police station - for stealing seaweed from a public beach. Two police cars and a police motorcyclist followed the men, who have not been named, for three miles from the beach at Eastbourne, in England. The three men, who were not charged, have made a complaint about the officers. Eastbourne Council defended the police, saying the seaweed was 'sea kale', a rare species that needs protection. B Bungling burglar seaweed a plant that grows in or by the sea rare not seen very often species a type of plant or animal A burglar became trapped in a chimney for seven hours while trying to break into a pub, a court heard yesterday. David Gardner, 28, 1.8 metres tall and of average build, had managed to climb down the chimney when he got stuck. Thomas Wrightson, a delivery man, arrived to deliver vegetables to the pub at 6.10 a.m. and heard Gardners calls. Gardner shouted that he had become stuck while trying to rescue a cat shortly after midnight. Four fire engines were sent to free him. bungling not very good or successful trapped / stuck not able to move rescue (v) save from a difficult situation D Wild flatmates New York has been described as a concrete jungle, but one resident really believed he was in the jungle, as police were called in to remove a tiger and an alligator from his apartment in the 20-storey building. After a phone call from neighbours, police yesterday found the wild animals in the apartment of 31-year-old Antoine Yates. Yates was not in when police abseiled down the side of the building in order to enter the apartment. The animals, who were moved to a New York animal home, will eventually be sent to a zoo in Ohio. concrete jungle an area of many large modern buildings with no green spaces resident (n) a person who lives in a place abseiled climbed down attached to a rope go to self-assessment p.60 vocabulary diary p.62 28 PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS text theme unusual crimes time 30-40 mins 1 activating topic vocabulary • For exercise la, ask students to look at the three cartoons and to choose the correct option (breaking the law). This will give students the topic for the vocabulary and the texts. • For exercise lb, make sure students have good monolingual dictionaries. Choose a new crime word, e.g. verdict and ask students to look it up. Ask them for the pronunciation, the part of speech, a definition and an example sentence and write it up on the board. • Encourage students to look up their three words, even if they are familiar with some of them. Tell them to check pronunciation, check that they are looking at the correct part of speech, e.g. verb or noun, and to read the definitions and example sentences for the words. They will then be better prepared to explain the words to their partner. guidance notes The newspaper stories, taken from popular daily newspapers, contain a number of crime words, some of which may well be familiar to students. By activating this target vocabulary at the beginning of the lesson, you will be introducing the topic and making the texts and exercises much more accessible to students. This exercise gives students practice in using dictionaries in order to help them read a challenging text. If this is not something they are used to doing, give them as much support as possible in interpreting the dictionary information (e.g. by doing the example suggested with the class first). Remind students to keep a record of new words and phrases by topic (in this case, crime) in the vocabulary diary on p.62 and / or in their notebooks. 2 reading for gist • For exercise 2, give students a time limit to read and match the pictures and stories. Two minutes should be sufficient. Students may want to take more time over reading each story and understanding all the vocabulary, but encourage them to read for gist at this stage, while letting them know they will have more time to read again later. If necessary, explain that reading quickly for the main point or points of a text is a very useful reading skill. 3 reading for details • This exercise focuses students on some of the details of the stories and further activates some of the new vocabulary from exercise 1. The reports also act as a summary of each story, which will be very helpful if students do the retelling activity in ideas plus. • Students could do this alone before checking their ideas with a partner. Point out that they should not use more than two words in any gap and that the words must be in the stories. answer key b A to arrest sb /a'rest/ verb when the police arrest sb, they take him or her prisoner in order to question him or her about a crime to handcuff sb used as a verb here, although it is more common as a noun to put a prisoner's wrists in a pair of metal rings, which are joined together by a chain a burglar /'bs'.ghi noun a person who enters a building without permission in order to steal: The burglars broke in by smashing a window. B a complaint /kam'pleint/not/n (make) a complaint (about sth); a statement that you are not happy / satisfied with sth: You should make a complaint to the company that made the machine. to charge sb (with a crime) /tjardy verb to accuse sb officially of doing sth which is against the law: Six men have been charged with robbery. to break into (a house) verb to enter a place that is closed: Thieves broke into his car and stole his radio. answer key 1 C, 2 B, 3 A answer key 1 arrested, 2 stealing seaweed, 3 several hours, 4 complaint, 5 average build, 6 chimney, 7 delivery man, 8 four, 9 apartment, 10 neighbours, 11 police, 12 Ohio, 13 zoo ideas plus Put students into A / B pairs and tell them to role play a police officer and one of the criminals. Give them time to prepare questions, e.g. Why did you steal seaweed? or for the burglar, Why didn't you break in through a window? Encourage the 'criminals' to give imaginative answers. Alternatively, you could ask students to prepare retelling these stories as brief items on the TV or radio news. Put students into pairs or small groups and ask each group to choose one of the stories. Tell them to imagine they are news presenters, and to practise telling their story as the final, amusing item on the news. They can prepare cue cards or brief notes but encourage them to look up when they are talking. Help them as they work on their stories, and particularly monitor for pronunciation. It would be motivating to record their news items on tape or video if possible. msm mM®% how to ... correct and edit your work 1 generating ideas Look at this exam task: • Your English teacher has asked you to write a story. • Your story must have the following title: The most important ä of my life. a Decide which day to write about. Discuss your ideas with a partner. b Read one student's answer to the exam task. Did you choose a similar day? The most important day of my life The. most important day of my life, Were the day I Went first tó university, which was a btatifid modern technology School in my hörnt town, the reason Why Was important is that in my country not everyone who a student can joes to university. In the. year when I jo to university, about four in ten student jot in. You can imagine haw happy I am. Of course needed L to pass my exams which every student must took and I do my best to jet marks high. Now I am still remembering that day, when I weared my best cloth and felt excited about my future. 2 checking for mistakes Always remember to check your writing when you have finished. Make sure you have answered the question. Then use this checklist to correct your work. 5-point checklist 1 check your verb tenses (simple or continuous? present or past?) I 2 check your verb forms (singular or plural? regular or irregular?) 3 check word order (subject, verb, and object? position of adjectives? position of adverbs?) 4 check punctuation (the beginning and end of sentences? commas and apostrophes?) 5 check your spelling (Are there words you often spell wrong? If you are not sure, use a dictionary.) a Use the 5-point checklist to find and correct 20 mistakes in the above story. There are two mistakes in each line. b Compare your corrected text with your partner's. Discuss any differences and change your corrections if necessary. i 3 correcting frequent mistakes a Put the words in the correct order. 1 brother/last/married/month/my/ got/. 2 sister-in-law / dress / my / pretty / a / wore/ . 3 always / am / late / everything /1 / for /. 4 weekend / usually /1 / late / at / get / the / up /. 5 seven / morning / up /1 / the / got / in / at / o'clock /. 6 sunny / was / beautiful / it / day / a / really /. b Read the text below. Find 15 mistakes with verb forms, spelling and punctuation, and correct them. The luoS-f- /»upor-f-oa^c daq o-f tu-y I/-C&, fe tch.cn I lueeJr m^ boífíri&nJ. 1+ «ws tu^ bes-f friends birJrWdaq parJrq He, lOas Jrafced +o »u^ friend, ftwr tike*. We zees me We sloped. liu never sh/< bu-t l -fell sk^ -rke-n. !Wa-\r is £iv& qears aap. Hoti, lúere carried «i/'-fk -ttijo cWHdrenS. a Write your answer to the exam question in exercise 1. Write about 100 words. b Remember to check your writing. c Walk round and read other people's stories. Has anyone written about a similar experience to you? 30 go to self-assessment p.61 vocabulary diary p. 63 PH0T0C0PIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS ______riting_____________________ aims to give guideLines and practice in correcting and editing written work writing task a story about an important day afefg \Mfám I time 50-60 mins generating ideas • For exercise la, give students a few minutes to think of an important day before they discuss their ideas with a partner or small group. In feedback for exercise lb, ask individual students what day they chose and find out if anyone chose a similar day to the student who wrote the story. guidance notes This task appeared in a PET past exam paper, and the text is one student's answer (slightly adapted), which received a pass grade. This is an ambitious answer but flawed by a number of mistakes. The mistakes do not affect understanding of the text as a whole, but they do require the reader to make some effort at times. checking for mistakes • See how much of the information in the tip box you can elicit from the class by asking them what they do when they finish a piece of writing, particularly in an exam situation. If they say they check their work or read it through, ask them what kind of mistakes they look for and build up a list on the board. • Tell students to read the tip and compare their ideas with the 5-point checklist. They can then do exercise 2a either alone or in pairs. For exercise 2b, they should compare their corrected texts with a new partner. • In feedback, ask students how many mistakes out of twenty they found. Either display the text on an OHT and ask students to call out mistakes, or put an enlarged photocopy on the board and ask students to come to the board and correct the text with the help of the class. guidance notes The guidelines on correcting and editing written work are given here in an exam context but it is important to emphasize to students that all written work should be read through and checked for mistakes before being read by someone else. Encourage students to copy this checklist into their notebooks and to use it every time they do a writing task in class. answer key The most important day of my life was the day I first went to university, which was a beautiful modern technology school in my home town. Ihe reason why it was important is that in my country not everyone who is a student can go to university. In the year when I went to university about four in ten students got in. You can imagine how happy I was. Of course I needed to pass my exams which every student must take (or had to take) and I did my best to get high marks. Now I still remember that day, when I wore my best clothes and felt excited about my future. correcting frequent mistakes • Put students in pairs and do exercise 3a as a race if you want to increase the challenge. In feedback, find out if students have put the time markers in different places. If so, point out that these phrases can go at the beginning or end of sentences, depending on the context (see answer key). • It is a good idea for students to do exercise 3b alone (especially if they corrected the story in exercise 2 in pairs). Get feedback on how many mistakes students found when working alone, then let them compare with a partner. You could check this orally or in the same way as exercise 2a. answer key a 1 My brother got married last month, or Last month, my ... 2 My sister-in-law wore a pretty dress. 3 I am always late for everything. 4 I usually get up late at the weekend, or At the weekend, I... 5 I got up at seven o'clock in the morning. 6 It was a really beautiful sunny day. or It really was a beautiful sunny day. b The most important day of my life_was when I met my boyfriend. It was my best friend's birthday party^. He was talking to my friends but when he saw me he stopped, ľm never shy but I felt shy then. That was five years ago. Now, we're married with two children. writing task Remind students to plan their story before they begin writing. After writing, make sure students spend a few minutes reading through their texts and checking their work using the 5-point checklist. When they are ready, put the stories up around the classroom walls and tell students to walk round and read and respond to each other's stories. ideas plus Give students as much practice as possible in finding and correcting errors in their own work. When students produce a piece of writing, select the most common errors from their texts and use them as the basis for a class activity, e.g. a sentence auction if you have time, or put the class into two teams and see which team can correct the most mistakes within a given time limit. 31 1 using background knowledge a Look at the picture. What do you think a skydiver needs to have? • a special parachute • a lot of money • a fear of heights • a lot of faith • a love of risk • an instructor • a death wish • a person to pack equipment b Read the title of the article. Can you think of some reasons why people skydive? 2 understanding the main points a Read the article quickly. Were you right in exercise la? b Underline the reasons the writer gives for skydiving. Are they the same or different from your reasons in exercise lb? 3 reading for specific information Read the statements about the text. Write TRUE (T), FALSE (F) or NOT STATED (NS) if there is no information. 1 1 | It is important that skydivers only trust themselves. 2 1 1 Skydivers travel fastest about 10 seconds after jumping. 3 | | Experienced skydivers get to know their packers well. 4 | | Non-skydivers usually understand why people love the sport. 5 | | The writer believes that driving is more dangerous than skydiving. 6 [ ] The writer doesn't understand why people want to skydive. 4 understanding the writer's purpose Why did the writer write this text? Choose the best option and give reasons for your answer. a to give the reader information about skydiving b to explain the risks of doing the sport c to discuss the reasons why people do the sport d to persuade the reader to do the sport 5 responding to the text Discuss these questions in groups. Use the ideas in exercises 1 and 2 to help you. 1 Have you ever been skydiving or done any other 'extreme' sport? If so, what? 2 If not, would you like to try skydiving? Why? / Why not? you do People learn to jump for many reasons: because they are attracted to extreme sports, because they want to test themselves and, in many cases, because they want to conquer a fear of heights. Why people continue skydiving is a different question, but if they do continue, it often becomes an obsession. Skydiving is a sport where trust is very important. Skydivers need to have faith in their instructors, faith in the equipment, and faith in those packing the parachutes. On their first jump, students are told that they will reach a top speed of 190 kilometres per hour about 10 seconds after leaving the plane. The only thing between you and the ground is a parachute of 18 to 28 square metres which was probably packed by someone you've never met. But the parachute will open, you immediately trust the packers, and the fear decreases a little. And then you realize, too, that you have a lot in common with other skydivers. All skydivers are asked the same questions by non-skydivers, 'What do you do that for?' You are often asked if you have a death wish. Butthe statistics show that skydiving is one of the safest sports in the world. In fact, driving to the jump is generally more dangerous than jumping out of a plane. Accidents are rare, but risk is something that skydivers accept, even welcome. The question of why people skydive is, in the end, impossible to answer. The excitement, the close contact with other skydivers, the physical sensation of flying through the air are all important. But there is something else, too, something that separates the jumper from the spectator: non-skydivers can't believe anyone would jump out of an airplane. Skydivers can't believe people don't. conquer to succeed in dealing with sth obsession sth that sb thinks about too much faith fei0 trust, a belief in sth or sb sensation sen'seijn feeling spectator a person who watches an event go to self-assessment p. 60 vocabulary diary p. 62 32 PH0T0C0PIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS SÍJpJĚ reading t63Cľl6ľ S nOlQS text theme the attractions of skydiving time 40-50 mins using background knowledge • Focus students' attention on the picture of the skydiver and ask the class what they know about this 'extreme' sport. Write any relevant vocabulary that comes up on the board, e.g. parachute, jump out of an aeroplane, etc. • For exercise la, focus students on the question and list of 'needs'. Ask pairs to work together on the vocabulary, thinking about what each point means, and using monolingual dictionaries to check words they are unsure about. Tell them to tick the things they think skydivers need. • For exercise lb, focus students on the question in the title, What do you do that for? Brainstorm reasons why people might skydive with the class, or if you prefer, students can discuss it in small groups first. It would be a good idea to make a list of the reasons they come up with on the board. guidance notes The article was part of a feature on skydiving in The Observer Magazine, a Sunday newspaper supplement. The article focuses, not so much on the facts of skydiving, but on the psychology of a skydiver (see exercise 4). In trying to come up with reasons why people skydive, students will be predicting the content of the article. This should make the text easier to read and understand. understanding the main points • For exercise 2a, give students a time limit of about three minutes to read. Let them scan the text quickly to check their ideas in exercise la. • For exercise 2b, tell students there are six reasons given in the article (there are three reasons given for learning skydiving in the first paragraph, and three for continuing to skydive in the final paragraph). Let students compare their answers with a partner when they are ready. • In feedback, it would be useful to divide the reasons into the two categories above, and / or to tick off the reasons which students came up with before reading (if you wrote these on the board). guidance notes In this section, you are asking students to scan the text quickly to look for the main points. By giving them a time limit, and explaining the focus before reading, you will be encouraging them to look for the most important information, but let them know they will get a chance to go back to the text for more details later. answer key a They do not need a 'special' parachute, a fear of heights, or a death wish (depending on your point of view). There is nothing about money in the text but students will probably agree that skydivers need a lot of money. b People learn because they are naturally attracted to extreme sports, they wish to test themselves, they wish to conquer a fear of heights. People continue because of the excitement, the close contact with other skydivers, and the physical sensation of flying through the air (it often becomes an obsession). reading for specific information • Explain that students should read through the statements first with a partner, check for any problems with understanding, and discuss their ideas before going back to the text. Then ask students to check their ideas in the text. Make sure they understand what 'not stated' means. answer key 3 1 false (they have to trust their instructors, packers, and equipment); 2 true; 3 not stated (there is nothing in the text about experienced skydivers' relationships with packers); 4 false (You are often asked if you have a death wish); 5 true; 6 true (impossible to answer) understanding the writer's purpose • Ask students why the writer wrote this article. Tell them to read the four options and think about their answer before comparing ideas with a partner. • If students choose the first option (a), point out in feedback that the second paragraph is the only one which offers the reader any real facts about the sport. guidance notes This task encourages students to stand back from the detail of the article and think, more globally, about the purpose of the text. In principle, the writer is exploring the question of why people do it (which ultimately, he / she cannot answer). answer key c (to discuss the reasons why people do the sport) responding to the text • Encourage students to focus their discussions on the list of needs in exercise 1 and to give their response to the reasons they have underlined in the text, e.g. I wouldn 't try skydiving because I have a fear of heights. • To finish off, you could take a show of hands to see how many would skydive (and why) and how many wouldn't (and why not). ideas plus You could relate the 'structure' of this article to students' own experience, i.e. students think of something they like doing, whether ifs a hobby or a sport, or even an interest like learning a language, and try to answer the question What do you do that for? Give them a framework to help them prepare, e.g. 1 describe the activity, 2 why they started, 3 why they continued or didn't continue. Then tell them to interview each other or walk round asking different people about their reasons for doing something. (If they used to do something but gave it up, they could talk about that.) 33 how to ... write a Letter of enquiry 1 generating ideas a Read about Westmore College. Choose one course for yourself and one for your partner and compare. b Work in pairs. What do you need to know before booking a course? Write five questions. example How much does a short course in sculpture cost? c Read Ann's letter to Westmore College. Does she ask any of your questions? 2 organizing ideas a Put the following sections of Ann's letter in the correct order. I | reason for writing I | finishing a letter I | request for information ] greeting I I request for a response I | request for something to be sent b Underline the phrases in Ann's letter for the above functions. 3 asking for information politely a How do these questions change when they begin with the polite phrases (underlined)? Find the differences between a and b. aim to deveLop use of appropriate Language for a formal Letter of enquiry writing task a formal Letter asking for information about a course time 50-60 mins 1 a How much does a short course in sculpture cost? b Please could vou tell me how much a short course in sculpture costs? 2 a Are there courses every week in the summer? b Please could vou tell me if there are courses every week in the summer? 3 a What does the course cover? b 1 would like to know what the course covers. 4 a Do all the rooms include a private bathroom? b 1 would also like to know if all the rooms include a private bathroom. I Don't begin every question in a formal Letter with a polite phrase, because I it will sound unnatural. Look at the different questions in Ann's letter. Make these questions more polite. 1 When is your next film-making course? 2 What does the music course cover? 3 Is the gym open all the time? 4 Is it possible to hire equipment for the rock-climbing course? 5 Will I get a certificate for doing the computer-programming course? I? Write a letter to Westmore College asking for more information about a course. Ask your five questions in exercise lb. is set in beautiful gardens and offers 52 comfortably furnished bedrooms in the main house. There is a licensed bar, a gym, two all-weather tennis courts, an ice rink and in the summer a heated outdoor swimming pool. If you are looking for the perfect present, consider purchasing Westmore College Gift Vouchers. SHORT COURSES O art O metalworking O computer programming O music & design O photography O creative writing O rock climbing O filmmaking o sculpture O ice skating & ice hockey o tennis Dear Ms Bradford, I am writing to enquire about one of your short courses. Please could you tell me how much a short course in sculpture costs and if there are courses every week in the summer? I have not done any sculpture before. Is the course suitable for beginners? I would like to know what it covers. I would also like to know if all the rooms include a private bathroom. Are meals included in the cost of a course? I would be grateful if you could send me more information. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Ann Maore-ad* V generating ideas • For exercise la focus students' attention on the short paragraph about Westmore College and go through the list of courses to check understanding of the vocabulary. • Brainstorm the kind of information you would need to know before booking a course, e.g. cost, dates and length of course, content, necessary equipment, etc. Then put students into pairs to write the five questions. They will need to refer back to these questions for the writing task at the end of the lesson. • Exercise lc familiarizes students with the model text and introduces them to the question forms. guidance notes Find out if anyone has done a short or part-time course (i.e. an extra-curricular course which was not part of their main studies) and if possible, tell them about any courses you have taken. Your class may not be familiar with the kind of extra-curricular short (residential) courses offered by Westmore College, so give as much support as you need to at this stage by talking about the topic. organizing ideas • Exercise 2a gives students a framework for organizing their own letters of enquiry in the writing task. They can use this as the basis for making their plan. Put students in pairs to order the different sections of Ann's letter. • In exercise 2b, students can work in pairs to find examples of the functions, e.g. reason for writing: lam writing to enquire about... answer key 2a + b 1 greeting (Dear...); 2 reason for writing (Í am writing to ...); 3 request for information (Please could you tell me/ I would (also) like to know); 4 request for something to be sent (I would be grateful if you could send me ...); 5 request for a response (I look forward to hearing from you.); 6 finishing a letter (Yours sincerely) 3 asking for information politely • The 'noticing' task in exercise 3a raises awareness of the use of indirect questions in a fonnal letter of enquiry. Ask students to circle the differences in the set of questions on the right, and then to compare with a partner. In feedback, ask students why if is used in questions 2 and 4 (because they are yes I no questions) and not in questions I and 3 (because they have questions words). • Tell students to read the tip box and then to tell you how many direct and how many indirect questions (i.e. questions which begin with a polite phrase) there are in Ami's letter. Make sure students understand that it is not impolite to ask direct questions, but that to ask a list of direct questions in a formal letter would have a negative effect on the reader. • For exercise 3b, let students work through the questions in pairs, then check as a class. answer key 3a 1 ... how much dees a short course in sculpture cost + s? 2 ... + if are there there are courses every week in the summer? 3 ... what dees the course cover + s. ? 4 ... + if do all the rooms include a private bathroom. ? 3b Please could you tell me ... ? /I'd also like to know .... 1 ... when your next film-making course is 2 ... what the music course covers 3 ... if the gym is open all the time 4 ... if it is possible to hire equipment for the rock-climbing course 5 ... if I will get a certificate for doing the computer-programming course writing task Refer students back to their chosen courses in exercise la and their five questions in exercise lb. Encourage them to use the framework in exercise 2a to plan and organize their letter. Also remind them to include a balance of direct and indirect questions so that their letters do not sound unnatural. ideas plus If possible, encourage students to write real letters of enquiry and send them. If you are teaching in an English-speaking country, take in some magazines or newspapers and tell students to choose an advertisement and to write a letter of enquiry asking for more information or for a brochure. Tell students to bring in any responses to their letters to share with the class. If you are teaching in a non-native speaker environment, you can access similar advertisements through websites (e.g. see the websites for products listed on p.56). Students can write letters or e-mails asking for information. Ann Macready goto self-assessment p. 61 vocabulary diary p. 63 34 PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 35 nine reading 1 using background knowledge How have people's houses and lifestyles changed in the last 100 years? Think about: buildings moving house comfort money sharing houses eating habits 2 inferring a You are going to read an article about an old woman called Olive. Read what she says below. What do you learn about her character, family and lifestyle? a 'I went to London for a few weeks in my 20s but that's about all. I would have been quite happy not to go away at all.' b She says, 'I have never been in a house I'd prefer. I've always lived in this house and I intend to die in it.' c 'They were extraordinary people who gave me so much love and I was never interested in having children of my own.' d 'I've known women of 80 who looked so old and weak. I hope I don't look like that.' e She says, 'I've never drunk or smoked and I'm not one for television or reading.' f 'I had an open fire until a few years ago but, for safety, I changed to an electric one.' g 'It suited them and it suits me,' she says. b Read the article and check your ideas in exercise 2a. 3 understanding text structure Put Olive's comments (a-g) above into the gaps (1-6) in the article. There is one extra comment which you do not need to use. 4 responding to the text What do you feel about the choices Olive has made in her life? Do you know anyone like Olive? century 'sentJari one hundred years surroundings everything around it fit(adj) strong and healthy cosy 'ksuzi comfortable, warm and inviting installed put in houseproud 'haos.praod sb who spends time making a house clean and attractive 100 years on... Olive wouldn't dream of moving! Nowadays the typical family moves every six years, but Olive Marchant still lives in the same house in which she was bom a century ago. Olive's home is a cottage in perfect surroundings in England's New Forest. At 100 years old, she may be the oldest person in Britain to have lived in just one house all her life. (1)'...' The house, which was destroyed in a fire before the First World War, was rebuilt by her parents, Ellen and Frank. (2)'...'She loves her home so much that she has rarely even gone on holiday. (3)"...' Olive never married because she did not want to leave her parents and her home. (4)'...' She did, however, bring up a child, her great nephew Barry Tucker, now 58. Olive is fit for her age. She walks with a stick but looks like she doesn't really need it. She has never been in hospital and hates seeing doctors. Until 18 years ago she grew her own vegetables, giving many away to friends and family. Her three-bedroom home is cosy but mainly unmodernized and there is no central heating. (5)'...' Her home was lit with candles and oil lamps until electricity was installed in the 1960s. An inside toilet and bathroom were built at the same time. The youngest of five children, Olive never missed a day's school. When she left school, she helped her mother look after the house until, at the age of 30, she became a cleaner. That job lasted 40 years. Olive, who cycled until she was 83, has always taken good care of herself. (6)'...' Before her sight became bad, she loved gardening, sewing and cooking, and she said she's always been houseproud. 36 go to self-assessment p. 60 vocabulary diary p. 62 PH0T0C0PIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS text theme a home for life time 40-50 mins using background knowledge • This activity sets the scene for the text and should help students find a way in to the article. You could pre-teach some useful vocabulary that comes up in the text, e.g. century, central heating, etc. • Write 100 YEARS AGO and NOW on the board and ask students about changes in houses and lifestyles in that period. Direct their attention to the six prompts in exercise 1 and ask them to discuss their ideas in pairs or small groups, e.g. 100 years ago there weren 't many flats. People lived at home longer, etc. inferring • Give students time to read the comments and either deal with vocabulary as it comes up, or let students work in pairs to discuss any new words, and / or look them up in a dictionary. Check understanding of extraordinary and suits. • After reading the comments in exercise 2a, encourage students, in pairs, to build a picture of Olive from what she says, but also to use their imagination to go beyond her actual words, e.g. 'It suited them and it suits me', suggests that she is not very adventurous (reinforced by what she says about travelling in comment a). They can also guess what it and them refer to, based on other things she has said. • For exercise 2b give the students time to read the article. Then get feedback on how accurate students' ideas about Olive were in exercise 2a. If any students have built a picture of Olive which is clearly wrong, ask in what way it was wrong, and what they based their ideas on, i.e. was it something she said, or did they let their imagination run away with them? guidance notes This article appeared in a tabloid newspaper, The Sunday Express, and the comments and quotations are a typical feature of this type of text. The article gives a kind of profile of Olive and much of the content is illustrated through her words. Therefore, by reading her comments first and building a picture of her, students will be well prepared when they read the text. understanding text structure • Focus students' attention on the six numbered gaps in the article and explain that each gap relates to one of the comments they have been looking at. • Ask students to read the whole text again, but to focus particularly on the sentences before and after the gaps. When they come to a gap, they should scan through the comments until they come to one which fits. It would be a good idea to do the first one together, and ask students to explain their choice. Encourage students to underline words in the comments and text which match, so that they can explain the reasons for their answers in feedback. guidance notes The article does make sense without the comments, i.e. it is coherent at text level. However, in order to put the missing sections back into the article, students do have to focus on coherence both at whole text and sentence level. They will also have to look at cohesion, for instance, in the repetition of certain words or ideas, e.g. lived in just one house all her life / I've always lived in this house in comment b, and grammatical reference words, such as It and them in comment g, which refer back to the house and her parents, mentioned in the previous sentence. If possible, raise awareness of style by asking students what Olive's direct speech adds to the article (e.g. interest, detail, and 'colour'). This will help if they do the ideas plus activity. answer key 1 b, 2 g, 3 a, 4 c, 5 f, 6 e; (d is not needed) responding to the text • Encourage students to express their opinions about Olive. Find out if students agree or disagree with each other, and if anyone knows a similar person. ideas plus Ask students to find out how long people in the class have lived in their homes and how they feel about where they live. Write Olive's comment on the board: 'I have never been in a house I'd prefer. I've always lived in this house and I intend to die in if. After preparing alone, tell them to walk around and 'interview' each other, taking a note of interesting information and recording comments describing how people feel. Stop them after five minutes or so and put students into groups to share information. They could make posters displaying the comments, e.g. Maria has lived in her home for ten years. She says, 'I love my home, especially my room. I don't want to move away from my family.' 37 how to ... write a detailed note 1 generating ideas a A classmate is going to stay in your home while you are away. Decide: • what information and instructions to give them about your home. • what they can (and can't) use while they are in your home. • what to tell them about your area. Think of five things and make notes. b Compare ideas with a partner. Suggest other points for your partner to include. c Read Tamsin's note to her friends. Compare her note with your ideas. Wdcovne,! Hope, your flight Was OK. and you're not too tired to enjoy Brighton,. Just a few things you should know ... ' Help yourself to any food in-the, fridge,. It needs eating. Please- could you throw the, cheese, away if you dovCt Weint it? • I'm, sorry I didn-'t have time, to make the beds. Clean, sheets and towels are in, the cupboard in, the bathroom. • Feel free to use the washing machine,, Which is upstairs. • I'm. sorry about the hole in, the, floor (next to the piano). Make, sure you don-'t step in. it! • The video channel is G and the DVD is 0. Theres a good place to rent films on, Elm- Qrove ('The Video Box.'). It's about five minutes walk, up the hill. (Theres a map in- the bookcase.) • Theres a playground fir the kids at the bottom of the hill with a skateboard park, next to it. Tell them to be careful though - some of the ramps are very high. • Therés a good pub called The, Qreys round the corner (turn left Out of the door, then, left up the hill). you could go there for Sunday lunch - the food's great, • Would you mind giving the keys back, to my neighbour, Beth, in- number 7-4 when you go? Shes very nice! Hope you have a brilliant time, (jive us a ring OH-OKofS 411 5