Explorations in English

- Book One -
LESSON 10. DESCRIBING PLACES

GOAL: To describe the locations of unknown buildings and cities.

A. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS LESSONS
Answer the questions below -
  1. What's your major?
  2. How well do you know this city?
  3. Have you ever flown? (If so, where to?)
  4. How high are taxi fares around here?
  5. How often do you eat shrimp?
  6. Do you like drinking?
  7. What kind of movies are you into?
  8. How's the selection at Marui?
  9. How are the prices at Matsuzakaya?
B. VOCABULARY FOCUS

Match the words on the left with the drawings on the right -

  1. rural
  2. urban
  3. industrial
  4. commercial
  5. residential
  6. agricultural
  7. polluted
  8. greenery

___ A. an area for farming and agriculture
___ B. an area in the city which usually had lots of buildings
___ C. an area in the country
___ D. an area with many houses and apartments
___ E. having too many waste products, a bad environment
___ F. trees, plants, and green shrubs
___ G. an area with many shops and businesses
___ H. an area with many factories

C. PRE-LISTENING
Discuss these questions in small groups-
  1. Do most Japanese live in rural or urban areas?
  2. Explain the location of these buildings: (i) the nearest post office, (ii) the nearest cafeteria, and (iii) the nearest park.
  3. What's north of this building?
  4. Is there much greenery around here?
  5. How polluted is the area around here?
D. PRONUNCIATION

Circle the word you hear, then practise both words


   1. Is it [far / fur / four] . . .?         2. Please [stir / store] it slowly.
   3. Let's remove this [bar / burr / bore].  4. I like this [card / curd / cord].
   5. Where did you [leave / live]?           6. It is very [auburn / urban / urbane].

E. LISTENING/SPEAKING FOCUS

Part A - Read this dialog and try to guess the missing words,
then listen to the dialog and check your guesses -
Jan and Jun are classmates chatting shortly before summer break -

**Jan: How far do you live from here?
**Jun: Roughly _________1 kilometers. How about you?
**Jan: Under five miles. I can bicycle home in ___________2 minutes.
**Jun: I envy you. It takes me an hour to get home.
*******What's your neighborhood like?
**Jan: It is a ____________3, residential area. How about yours?
**Jun: Me? Ah, I live in a mid-size city.
**Jan: During my elementary school days I lived in a ___________4 area.
**Jun: My neighborhood is still mostly commerical and industrial.
**Jan: What's the nearest train station to your house?
**Jun: Kakegawa. I live ___________5 kilometers south of the station.
*******Have you been to Kakegawa?
**Jan: Briefly. It is a ______________6 town.
**Jun: Yes. The castle attracts many tourists.
**Jan: I haven't been there yet. Is it worth seeing?
**Jun: Once, I _____________7. Let's go there some day.
**Jan: I'd love to.
**Jun: Perhaps this summer vacation?
**Jan: That should be ____________8.

Part B - Now practice the dialog with a partner.
Look at your partner's face when you speak.
Part C - This time change the dialog to fit your own experience.
Feel free to depart from the text and adapt the dialog.

F. CONTENT QUESTIONS:
Write the answers to these questions-
  1. How quiet is Jan's neighborhood?
  2. Is the castle in Kakegawa worth visiting?
  3. How rural is Jun's neighborhood?
  4. Does Jun live near here?
    G. STRUCTURED CONVERSATION

    Without looking at the sample conversation above.
    Follow the basic structure of this conversation with a partner:

           How far? -->  Neighborhood like? -->  Train Station? --> Worth seeing?

    H. GRAMMAR FOCUS: Degrees of Worth
    
        Examples:    ++ ____________  is certainly worth _____________ -ing.
                      + ____________  is probably worth _____________ -ing.
                      - ____________  is hardly worth _____________ -ing.
                    - - ____________  is a total waste of (time, money, etc.).
    Answer these quiestions with your partner -

  5. Is Kyoto worth seeing?
  6. Is enka music worth listening to?
  7. What places in Japan are worth visiting?
  8. What movies do you consider worth seeing?
  9. Do you think this class is worth attending?
  10. Do you think Mt. Fuji is worth climbing?
  11. Is your watch worth over 10,000 yen?
  12. Is bungee jumping worth the risk?

    13. I. ROLE PLAY

    PERSON A - Describe any neighborhood or famous place;
    PERSONS B & C - Ask questions and try to guess what place being described.
    J. COMMON MISTAKES

    Correct these mistakes, then check together-

    1. * My neighborhood is country.
    2. * My neighbor is industrial.
    3. * My home country is Gifu.
    4. * There is much green around my house.

    K. DISCUSSION

    Talk with your partner(s) about travel, using these patterns: 

    
* How far do you live from here?                    * How long it take you to get home by car?
* Is your neighborhood industrialized?              * Where did you live ten years ago?
* Briefly tell me about your neighborhood.          * How far do you live from a JR station?
* Is there anything worth seeing in your home town? * Where would you like to live in fiv years?
                           * Ask more questions . . .
    L. FEEDBACK

    Please write your comments about today's lesson in the space below.
    Either Japanese or English is OK.

    What was most useful about this lesson?
    What was least useful about this lesson?
    Other comments?


    M. HOMEWORK 

    
Option A - Describe your neighborhood.

Option B - (1) Make sentences using the words Exercise #B.
              (2) Answer the questions in Exercises #C and #J.

    ________________________________
    copyright (c) 1997 by Tim Newfields

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