Adult Speaking Class. Theme: Travel, traffic

9th January 2020

Contents

Dialogues

Listening practice: Vietnamese driving school (Top Gear).

London Underground (the Tube)

Sentence building: describe pictures.

Vocabulary and speaking practice.

Listening Practice

Vietnamese driving school from ‘Top Gear’ BBC TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1xNTBLgq4c&t=11s

Dialogues

Traffic Dialogue 

Examples of how to use the new vocabulary in everyday situations

Ian and Tom are driving to a business meeting.

Ian Look at all this congestion ! It’s chockablock. What’s that idiot doing ?

Tom He’s trying to cut in. The other car’s blocked him. Oh … he’s getting out.

Ian He’s punching the car !Ha, over there, a traffic cop. Now he’s screwed !

Tom Yeah, road rage. Oh, at last, we’re on the move … and stop. What can we do ?

Ian Make the second turning at the roundabout. Take the ring road. 

Tom Cool ! Avoid the rush hour in the city. Wish we were on the motorway.

Ian Yeah, put your foot down get there in next to no time. Why’s it so busy ?

Tom I get it, roadworks. They’re building a new flyover. That should ease traffic.

Sara & Vic are arguing in the car. Sara is driving.

Vic Why did you come this way ? District 7 at the rush hour, are you nuts ?

Sara I thought we could beat the traffic. There’s too many containers in D. 2

Vic Too many cars here and we’ve hit every red light ! Women drivers !

Sara That was sexist ! Anyway, you drive like a madman. Foot down and go !

Vic Cars are for driving, not stopping ! Take that turning, it’s quicker.

Sara That’s a one-way street, Einstein ! I hate back-seat drivers. 

Vic Next time I’m driving. Women are terrible … what are you doing ?

Sara Pulling over. You can get out and walk ! Hope it doesn’t rain. See ya !

London Underground (the Tube)

This is how I get to work (go to work) when I am in London. This video describes how to use the London Tube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StFAuGQf2mM

But this is what the Tube is like at peak times (rush hour – 6.30 – 9. 30 / 4.30 – 7.30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxfX2Y9og8E

What do you need / need to do to travel around London ?

Sentence building

What is happening here:

Try to build long complex sentences. The first one is the Tokyo subway.

What phrasal verbs could you use here ? What are the ladies doing wrong ? What do you think will happen to the ladies ?

What do you think will happen to the driver ? In your opinion …

Vocabulary

rush hour // ring road // metro/subway/ U-Bahn/ the Tube // congested

blind spot / flyover / motorway / roundabout / road rage / one-way street

traffic jam / chockablock / cutting in / cut me off / hit every red light !

What are the issues facing you when you travel around Sai Gon ?

[what problems do you have]

This is an opinion question, so start your answer with:

In my opinion // In my experience // For me // I think // I believe // It seems to me

First – think of the positives – Is it easy to travel around ?

Is petrol / gas cheap ? Many stations ?

Can anyone attain a driver’s licence ?

What about public transport ? Cheap, reliable ?

Conversely, think of the negatives – time spent travelling.

Accidents 

Costs – insurance, petrol, maintenance

Dangers – pollution

Condition of roads

Is traffic getting worse in HCM ? Why do you think so ? 

What can be done to ease this situation ?

Finally – what is your conclusion. There will probably be both good and bad points.