In conjunction with Developing Teachers.com

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

Travelling around the World

We use the definite article to talk or write about places that are unique – The Empire States Building in New York for example or The Alhambra in Granada . We also use the definite article to write or talk about famous works of art – the painting of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt or The Scream by Edward Munch. What can you find in the following places? Match the numbers on the left with the letters to complete the sentences:

  1. If you go to India, you can visit______.
  2. If you go to the Louvre in Paris, you can see ______.
  3. If you go to Cairo, you can see ______.
  4. If you go to Rome, you can visit ______.
  5. If you go to Istanbul, you can see ______.
  6. If you go to Madrid, you can visit ______.
  7. If you go to New York, you can see ______.
  8. If you go to Amsterdam, you can visit ______.
  9. If you go to Paris, you can climb up ______.
  10. If you go to Milan, you can see a performance at ______.
  11. If you go to Moscow, you can visit ______.
  12. If you go to China, you can walk along ______.
  1. the Coliseum.
  2. the Eiffel Tower.
  3. the Great Wall.
  4. the Kremlin.
  5. the Mona Lisa.
  6. the Prado.
  7. the Pyramids.
  8. the Rijksmuseum.
  9. the Scala.
  10. the Statue of Liberty
  11. the Taj Mahal.
  12. the Topkapi Museum.

Now make three sentences of your own about what you can find in different places, perhaps places you have visited or places you’d like to go to. Then get together in small groups to make an exercise of your own like the example above, which you can then give to another group to do.

Working on your own, complete the skeleton below about the place you come from or a place you know well. Then tell the rest of the class about it:

If you want a really fantastic holiday, why don’t you go to _____? The best way to get there form here is by _____ and when you’re there I recommend you stay at ______because it’s _____. There are so many wonderful things to see and do there that it’s difficult to know where to start. First of all, you can visit ______, where you can _____. Then, if you feel like doing something different, you can _____. If you’d like to try the local food, then I recommend you ask for _____, It’s made* _____ and it’s absolutely delicious. You might also like to visit _____ where you can _____. In the evening, after dinner, you can _____. And while you’re in this wonderful place, you should also use the opportunity to _____ because it’s a site not to be missed.

*A table is made of wood (because you can still recognize the original product) but an omelette is made from eggs (because the eggs can no longer be recognized from looking at the dish).

We use the definite article to refer to rivers, deserts, seas and oceans, named trains and ships, mountain ranges, and for places and sights that are unique. Complete the sentences with items from the list below. Use each item once only:

the Atlantic / the Carnival / the Channel Tunnel / the Equator / the Great Pyramid of Giza / the Himalayas / the Loch Ness Monster / the Mississippi-Missouri / the North Pole / the Orient Express / the Sahara / The Titanic
  1. _____ is the largest desert in the world and _____ is thelongest river.
  2. _____ is the only one of the seven ancient wonders of the world that is still standing.
  3. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is in _____.
  4. If you travel by Eurostar from London to Paris, you go through _____.
  5. The best time of the year to go to Rio is in February because then you can see _____.
  6. The Arctic Circle is where _____ can be found.
  7. If you want to see _____, then you need to go to Scotland.
  8. In Agatha Christie’s time rich people used to travel to Istanbul on _____.
  9. The Tropic of Cancer is north of _____ and the tropic of Capricorn is to thesouth.
  10. _____ sank in _____ on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York when it hit an iceberg.
How would you like to live on a desert island? Working in small groups, make a list of the advantages and a list of the disadvantages:
Advantages / Disadvantages
Imagine your group can take three items only from the following list with you. Which three items would you choose, and why?
a small boat / a Swiss army knife / a first-aid kit / an axe / a fishing rod / a tent / sleeping bags / a ladder / a collection of books / a computer / a guitar / a carton of cigarettes / rope / a hammer / a packet of seeds (for food)
***
Match the numbers on the left with the letters to complete the sentences:1-k / 2-e / 3-g / 4-a / 5-l / 6-f / 7-j / 8-h / 9b / 10-i / 11-d / 12-c
Complete the sentences with items from the list below. Use each item once only:1 The Sahara / the Mississippi-Missouri 2 The Great Pyramid of Giza 3 the Himalayas 4 the Channel Tunnel / 5 the Carnival 6 the North Pole 7 the Loch Ness Monster 8 the Orient Express 9 the Equator 10 The Titanic