TEACHER’S NOTES

Topics: Travel
by Adrian Tennant

Key b
INTEGRATED SKILLS TEACHER’S NOTES

LEVEL: Intermediate +
AGE: Teenagers / Adults On which of the holidays … 1 2 3 4 5
TIME NEEDED: 90 minutes + project … are you in Europe?
ARTICLES: understanding vocabulary in … can you see wildlife?
context; topic words, i.e. transport; verbs … is the beautiful scenery
of travel; adjectives describing places and mentioned?
types of activities … are you not near a
crowded place?
LEAD-IN … might you sleep in a tent?
Put students in groups and ask them to discuss the … do you travel slowly?
five questions. Ask a few students to report back to … is taking a plane mentioned?
the class about their group discussion. … is food part of the experience?

PICTURES
WORKING WITH THE LANGUAGE
Ask students to look at the five photos and, in their
groups, discuss what they can see. You could write up Focus 1: Understanding meaning
some prompts on the board, e.g. Where was each photo
taken? What kind of holiday does each photo show? What Put students in pairs and ask them to answer the five
can you do in each place? etc. Elicit ideas from students questions. Monitor, and help where necessary before
as a whole class discussion. checking as a class.

Key (accept similar answers, or answers that students

READING: ADVERTISEMENTS
can explain / justify)
1. to link the experience to the place, i.e. icebergs floating
Ask students to read through the five advertisements
2. give the opportunity
and match the photos to the correct one. Tell them to
3. because of the beautiful scenery, including travelling over
look for the clues in each, i.e. advertisement 1: … while
291 bridges and the Oberalp Pass
outside it’s cold and icy. If you want, you could give
4. available
a short time limit, e.g. two minutes. Get students to
5. as world-famous
check their answers in pairs before checking as a class.
Focus 2: Language use
Key a
1. D; 2. B; 3. E; 4. A; 5. C
Ask students to look at the examples of article use in
the box (a-e). Next, ask them to match these examples
Next, ask students to read the texts again and to
to the sentences explaining the different uses of
complete the table. Draw their attention to the first
articles (1-5). Put students in pairs and get them to
question, which has been completed, as an example
check their answers together before checking as a
of what they have to do. Monitor, and help where
class.
necessary. Again, get pairs to check their answers
together before checking as a class.
Key a
1. d; 2. a; 3. e; 4. b; 5. c

Then, ask students to complete the short text with a,

an, the or no article individually. Monitor, and help
where necessary. Get students to check their answers
in pairs before checking as a class.

Key b
1. the; 2. -; 3. the; 4. the; 5. a; 6. the; 7. an

© Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2011

INTEGRATED SKILLS / Topics / Travel / Intermediate +
 TEACHER’S NOTES

Topics: Travel
by Adrian Tennant

WORKING WITH VOCABULARY Transcript:

INTEGRATED SKILLS TEACHER’S NOTES

Focus 1: Meaning Travel is my job, and yet even I was surprised

by this holiday. I’m not one for sitting around and
Ask students to look back at the travel advertisements doing nothing. I prefer the bustle of shopping or the
and find words that match the definitions. The excitement of action-packed breaks. So the idea of
words are in the order in which they appear in the sitting on a boat going nowhere didn’t inspire me,
advertisements. Encourage them to work in pairs but I have to say it was so relaxing and the scenery
and discuss their ideas as they read. so beautiful that I didn’t want it to end. Add to that
the delicious spicy food and it was like a holiday
Key in heaven.
1. snug; 2. get up close; 3. luxurious; 4. drift (along);
5. scenic; 6. tear (yourself) away; 7. cobbled streets; 8.
regional; 9. remote(st); 10. away from it all SPEAKING
Focus 2: Topic-related words Put students in small groups and ask them to discuss
the questions together. Monitor, and help where
Ask students to try to find words in the texts for each necessary. Afterwards, ask a few groups to report back
of the four categories. Encourage students to work on their discussion, explaining which of the holidays
together and discuss their answers. Check the answers they would like to go on and why.
as a class.
PROJECT
Key
1. cruise ship, kayak, houseboat, train, car, raft(ing). Ask students to carry out the project for homework.
Students might also want to add plane as in advertisement The advertisements could be posted around the room,
4 it mentions flying and airport, but the word ‘plane’ possibly with photos showing the destinations.
doesn’t actually appear in the advertisement.
2. cruise, ride, fly, drive
3. stunning, scenic, picturesque
4. hiking, climbing, camping

LISTENING

Ask students to listen to a short radio feature and

answer the two questions. Play the recording. Put
students in pairs and ask them to discuss their
answers together. Play the recording again, if
necessary. Elicit ideas from the class asking students
to explain their answers.

Key
B – Kerala. The clues are the holiday involves a boat and
the person eats spicy food (which indicates India as the
destination rather than the Antarctic).

© Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2011

INTEGRATED SKILLS / Topics / Travel / Intermediate +