Simone Vitor Demicheli
Aim:The aim of this lesson is to enable drivers to give proper and clear directions in English when asked by their customers about the way to specific places in the city. By the end of this unit, students will also beable to use the main prepositions of place, movement and wh-questions.
Teacher’s Guide
Exercise 1
.Books open. Ask students to look at Belo Horizontemap. Tell them to pay special attention to the names of each region in English.
.Show them a wind rose pictureand ask studentsto tell the names of each cardinal point (these names are not supposed to be written in the picture).
.As soon as students finish completing the chart, the teacher corrects the exercise.
.An optional activity is to ask students to tell in which region of the map they live.
Key
Place
/Region
Mineirão
/Pampulha
Praça da Liberdade
/Central
OuroMinasHotel
/East
Rodoviária
/Central
Language in use – 1
Within this lesson, prepositions of place and movement will be introduced tostudents as a preparation for the topic of “giving directions”.
. Explain them in which situation prepositions of place are used (‘Language in Use – 1’box).
. Refer them to the pictures to show the meaning of each preposition. In the case of the first set of pictures (abox is used),write on the board one sentence for each preposition/picture (e.g. The box is in front of the woman).Elicit students’participation to create these sentences.
Language tip - 1
Call students’ attention to the use of the prepositions “in”, “on” and “at” before cities, neighborhoods, addresses, etc (refer to the ‘Language tip – 1’box).
Exercise - 2
.Ask students to complete the sentences using the appropriate preposition of place.
.Give them 2 minutes to verify their colleagues’ answers (in pairs).
.Ask them to tell the answers for your correction on the board.
Key
a)I’ll meet youatthe OuroMinasHotel.
b)My brother livesinTiradentes.
c)The OthonPalace isat 1050, Afonso Pena Avenue.
d)Mineiríssimo pub is nearMineirão and PampulhaLake.
e)Mineirão is oppositeto Mineirinho.
f)I’ll be at the AbílioBarretoMuseum.
g)My passenger lives in Caiçara.
h)The taxi driver was waiting for his passenger on the right side of the street.
Language in Use – 2
.Explain students in which situation prepositions of movement are used.
.Refer them to thepicturesand read the sentences given as exampleswith them.
Language tip - 2
Show students the additional explanations for the prepositions “through”, “across” and “along” (refer them to the ‘Language tip – 2’ box).
Exercise - 3
. Ask students to read the sentences before completing them with the appropriate preposition of movement. Emphasize that the preposition must fit to the space given in the crossword.
.Draw the crossword on the board andcorrect the exercise by asking students to give you the answers.
Key
Preposition Crossword
1 t / o / 2d3 o / v / e / r
w
4 a / l / o / n / g
c
5 t / h / r / o / 6 u / g / h
o / o / p
s
s
ACROSS
1 - You passenger wants to see Pampulha’s famous places. You suggest him to go tothe lake.
3 - Your passenger wants to see a play at the Alterosa theater. Explain that you have to drive to Viaduto Santa Tereza which is over Serraria Souza Pinto.
4 - To go to MangabeirasPark you have to go alongAfonso Pena avenue.
5 - You are on the way to Confins. Before taking Cristiano Machado, you have to pass through a tunnel.
DOWN
2 – Your passenger wants to visit Serra da Moeda. Warn him that it’s very cold there and that he/she should go down the Serra before the sun sets.
4 – Your customer is at Mineirão and he wants to drink some beer. Tell him that Mineiríssimo is just across the street.
5 – Your passenger needs to buy some food. You have to take him to the supermarket.
6 – Your passenger wants to see a different landscape. Suggest him to go up Serra da Piedade.
Language Tip – 3
.Books closed. Ask students to give you examples of questions customers normally make (in Portuguese) when they need any information about the city (e.g: how to go to places, their location, etc).
.Callstudents’ attention to the fact that, in English, people normally use a “wh-question” to make this kind of questions.
.Ask students to open their books and refer them to the “Language Tip - 3”box (wh-questions) and work on the proper intonation.
Language in Use – 3
.Raise students’ awarenessto the fact that while answering (as well as being asked) about how to go to places in the city, they will need to use the “Language for asking and giving directions”, which is specially focused on these two purposes. Point out that the instructions mustbe short and straightforward in order to avoid misunderstandings.
.Start the explanation by showing them all the possible ways for asking directions (refer to the item “I” of the chart). Put the sentences on the board andwork on the proper intonation.
.Then, introduce the direction “left”. Put the key sentences (for the direction left only) from the Language in Use (3) box, on the board. Choose places or things located on the leftside or direction to be used as examples, so that you ensure they are familiar with the direction presented.
.Use the same procedureto introduce the directions ‘right’ and ‘ahead’, as well as the ways to inform ‘distance’ and ‘positions’.
.After that, try to use examples based on more complex directions, such as asking studentsthe direction to the nearest toilet, the stairs, the lift, the main entrance, nearby buildings, etc. Make sure that the questions and the answers put on the board at the beginning of the class are being used by them.
Exercise - 4
.Read the instructions for the speaking exercise with students and make sure they understand it properly.
.Give them 20 minutes to do this activity (for the pair/10 minutes each), then ask a few representatives to repeat his/hers instructions to the whole class(put them on the board).
.Theymay mention different ways to get the same places. For this reason, ensure that their directions make sense.
Key (possible answers)
Student A
1)Parque Municipal
Student B: Can you tell me the way to the Parque Municipal? My hotel is at Caetés street, between Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo streets.
Student A:Go straight on Caetés street until you get to Bahia Street and turn right. Go straight on Bahia Street for 4 blocks, and turn left at Afonso Pena Avenue. The entrance of the Parque Municipal is right there on your left.
2)Praça Raul Soares
Student B: Do you know how to get the Praça Raul Soares?My hotel is at Caetés street, between Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo streets.
Student A:Go straight on Caetés street until you get Rio de Janeiro street, and turn left. Keep goingalong Rio de Janeiro street and take the second turn on your right - Amazonas avenue. Go right to a big round square: Praça Raul Soares.
Student B(possible answers)
1)Praça da Liberdade
Student A: Do you know the way to the Praça da Liberdade?My hotel is at Levindo Lopes street, between Contorno avenue and Fernandes Tourinho street.
Student B:Go straight on Levindo Lopes street until you get to Antonio de Albuquerque street and turn right. Go straight on Antonio de Albuquerque street and take the second turn on your left - Alagoas street. Keep going along there, across one junction, and take the first turn on the left - Cristovão Colombo avenue. Go straight ahead Cristovão Colombo avenue for 2 blocks approximately. Praça da Liberdade is right in front of you.
2)Mercure Hotel
Student A: Do you know how to get the Mercure Hotel?My hotel is at Levindo Lopes street, between Contorno avenue and Fernandes Tourinho street.
Student B:Go straight on Levindo Lopes street until you get to Fernandes Tourinho street and turn left. Go straight ahead Fernandes Tourinho and turn left at Bahia Street. Keep going along Bahia street, across one junction, then turn right at Contorno Avenue. Go straight Contorno avenue for almost 3 blocks and the Mercure hotel is right at the opposite side of the avenue.
Exercise – 5
.Read the instructions with students and make sure they understand the exercise.
.Play the recording three times and correct the exercise with them.
Key:
Answer: There are two Post Offices. One is building F but the nearest is building N.
Transcript
A: Hello, excuse me, can you tell me where’s the nearest Post Office?
B: Erm, yea, sure – you go straight up this street. Take the second turn on the right. Keep going along there, across one junction, and it’s right there on your left.
A: Thanks
B: Oh, no, hang on, wait a minute, there’s a closer one. Walk up this street, take the first left and there’s a Post Office on your right at the next junction, sorry, I forgot about that one.
A: Thanks again.
Click on the link below to listen to the recording:
Sources:
I)Pictures
.Cover:
.Belo Horizonte map:
.Prepositions of place:
and
.Prepositions of movement:
.Language in Use boxes
.Language Tip boxes
.Speaking exercise
Maps: Google Earth (software)
.Listening exercise
Exercise (map):
II)Explanations
.Language Tip 1 (in, on, at)
.Language Tip 2 (across, through, along)
.Language in Use 3 – Asking and giving directions
III)Crossword