In conjunction with Developing Teachers.com

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT:
12 “CONVERSATION” LESSONS
FOR AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL CLASS
MICHAEL BERMAN

Travelling around the UK

Work in pairs. Ask each other the questions below, and then report back with the information you find out about your partner to the rest of the class:

  1. How long does it take you to get to work, and how do you get there?
  2. What do you do to pass the time on your journey to and from work?
  3. What do you think of public transport in London?
  4. How do you prefer travelling round London – by bus, by tube, by bicycle, by car or on foot?
  5. Would you like to be a taxi driver in London? Why or why not?
  6. What should the government do to improve the situation?
  7. What is public transport like where you come from – better or worse than here?
  8. If you want to visit other places in England, which form of transport do you prefer, and why – coach or train?

Complete the sentences with items from the list below. Use each item once only:the Avon / the Channel Islands / the English Channel / the Heathrow Express / the Hebrides / the Mersey / the M1 / the M4 / the North / the Orkneys / the Pennines / the Thames / the United Kingdom / the West /

  1. Cornwall is in _____ of England and Yorkshire is in _____
  2. The river that runs through London is _____, the river that runs through Liverpool is _____, and the river that runs through Stratford is _____
  3. _____ and _____ are two groups of islands off the coast of Scotland.
  4. If you sail from Dover to Calais, you cross _____
  5. Northern Ireland is part of _____ but the Republic of Ireland is independent.
  6. If you sail from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, you cross _____
  7. The quickest way from London to Birmingham by road is probably to drive up _____. But if you’re heading for Wales, then you need to take _____
  8. You can take _____ from Paddington station direct to the airport and be there in fifteen minutes.
  9. _____, Guernsey and Jersey, are situated between England and France.
  10. _____ are a range of hills that form a backbone between the North West and the North East of England.

We use the definite article to refer to the four directions, rivers, groups of islands, seas and oceans, certain countries such as the UK or the USA, motorways, named trains such as The Orient Express, and ranges of mountains and hills. Now write a few sentences about travelling to, from, and around your country, using as many fixed expressions that take the definite article as you can. Then read your sentences out to the rest of the class.

Find someone who:

  1. rides a bicycle to work
  2. has a car (find out if it is a new or a second-hand one)
  3. has ridden on a camel
  4. knows where Land’s End is.
  5. goes to work on foot
  6. has been to Scotland (find out what they did there)
  7. is learning how to drive
  8. has been caught travelling on a bus or tube without a ticket (find out what happened to them)
  9. would like to live somewhere else in England (find out where, and why)
  10. knows where Hadrian’s Wall is.

Complete the sentences with items from the list below. Use each item once only: the Bakerloo line / the Barbican / The Globe / the Metropolitan line / The Ritz / the Royal Academy / the Royal Festival Hall / The Savoy / the Sun / The Tate Modern / The Times / The Tower of London /

  1. _____ and _____ are both five-star hotels in London and you would need to be a millionaire to stay in either of them.
  2. You can hear concerts of classical music in London at _____ and _____.
  3. Two famous art galleries are _____ and _____. There is also the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
  4. _____ is a quality newspaper and _____ is one of the tabloids. Metro, however, is a free newspaper and you can pick it up outside most tube stations on your way to work in the morning
  5. The most popular tourist attraction in the capital is probably _____, which is over nine hundred years old and is home to the Crown Jewels.
  6. You can see Shakespeare’s plays at _____ theatre, which is on the south bank of the River opposite to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
  7. If you’re travelling to Wembley Stadium by tube, it’s on both _____ and _____.

Work in small groups. Plan a day out in London for two teenagers visiting London for the first time. You can use the following skeleton to help you:

First of all, we’d take them to ______because ______. We could go there by ______and that way it wouldn’t cost too much. Then we could have lunch at ______because ______. In the afternoon we’d take them to ______because there they could ______, and then in the evening we could go to _____ - the perfect end to the perfect day!

One of the most famous figures from English history is probably Henry VIII. We can say Henry VIII got married to six wives or Henry VIII married six wives. Notice how the adjective marriedis used with the verb get and takes the preposition to, and how the verb to marry, has no preposition. Think of some other famous English men and women and make sentences about the people they got married to or married:

Now imagine you have the opportunity to interview the Queen. In your groups, make a list of questions that you would like to ask her. The teacher will then ask of you to be the Queen and your job will be to attempt to answer the questions. (Instead of the Queen, if you like, you can choose the Prime Minister).

Complete the sentences with items from the list below. Use each item once only: 1 the West /the North 2 the Thames / the Mersey / the Avon 3 The Hebrides / The Orkneys / 4 the English Channel / 5 the United Kingdom / 6 the North Sea / 7 the M1 / the M4 8 the Heathrow Express / 9 The Channel Islands 10 The Penines

Complete the sentences with items from the list below. Use each item once only: 1 The Ritz / the Savoy 2 the Barbican / the Royal Festival Hall 3 the Royal Academy / the Tate Modern / 4 The Times / the Sun / 5 the Tower of London / 6 the Globe / 7 the Jubilee Line / the Metropolitan Line