Lesson 35.

CouchSurfing the world!

(Making suggestions, invite to join you)

1. Where can people stay when they go on holiday? What about you? Where do you usually stay?

2. Read this definition.

couch/ˈkaʊtʃ/n.

a.A sofa.

b.A sofa on which a patient lies while undergoing psychoanalysis or psychiatric treatment.

What do you think CouchSurfing is?

3. Listen to a part of a radio travel programme.(Track 1) Were you right? How does CouchSurfing work?

When you visit another city you stay in somebody's flat or a house. That person, host, gives you a room and a bed or a couch(a sofa).

Listen to the speaker give more details about CouchSurfing.(Track 2) Mark the sentences true(T) or false(F).

1)CouchSurfing usually pay their host a little money.F

2)You need to create a profile on the website.T

3)When you find a person with a bed, you call them to agree the days you want to stay.F

4)You have to offer other people a bed in your house or flat.F

5)CouchSurfing is safe because you can read what other travellers say about the host.T

6)The host always shows their guests their city.F

7)You can CouchSurf all over the world.T

Would you like to go CouchSurf? Why(not)? Would you like a stranger to stay in your house? Why(not)?

4. A British newspaper asked their travel journalist to try CouchSurfing. Listen to the interview. (Track 3). What are his plans?

Listen again and complete the gaps with a verb.

5. Read the journalist's blog for the trip. Did he have a good time?

Tick the things that were a problem for him.

He didn't arrive at the right time at one of the houses.Yes

He couldn't understand the host's friends very well.Yes

One host didn't have much time to show him the city.

One of the hosts didn't speak very good English.

He did something wrong in one of the flats.Yes

He didn't like the food that one of the hosts cooked.

6. Watch this video. People from which countries can you see?

7. Plan a holiday. You are going to visit 3 cities in the same continent. Your holiday can be a maximum of 10 days.

Answer the questions:

  • What cities are you going to visit?
  • Where are you going to stay?
  • How are you going to get there?
  • How long are you going to stay in each city?
  • What are you going to do in each place?

Tell your friend about your plans. Invite him/her to go with you using the following phrases:

Thank you for the lesson!

Home task.

1. Complete the text using the correct form of going to.

2. Read the text.

Answer the questions with Hannah, Arno, Virginie, Rory.

1)Which person made new friends travelling?Virginie

2)Who spent very little on accommodation?Virginie

3)Who used their InterRail pass on another form of transport?Rory

4)Who was travelling abroad for the first time?Rory

5)Which person found it easy to make new plans while travelling?Hannah