A lesson chockablock with phrases, slang and expressions on the subject of traffic.
THEME: Traffic
rush hour / ring road / congested / blind spot / flyover / motorway Metro or Subway/ U-Bahn (Germany) / the Tube (London) / roundabout
road rage / one-way street / traffic jam / chockablock / cutting in / cut me off / hit every red light !
Discuss any words you don’t know with your teacher or look online
What are the issues facing you when you travel around your town or city? [what problems do you have ?]
This is an opinion question, so start your answer with:
In my opinion // In my experience // For me // I believe // I think / It seems to me
First, think of the positives:
Is it easy to travel around ?
Is petrol or gas cheap ? Are there many petrol stations ?
Can anyone attain a driver’s licence ?
What about public transport ? Cheap, reliable, clean, safe ?
Conversely, think of the negatives such as the time spent travelling.
Accidents and costs: insurance, petrol, maintenance
Dangers: pollution, other drivers, road etiquette
Condition of roads
Is traffic getting worse in your home city ? Why do you think so ?
What can be done to ease this situation ?
Finally, what is your conclusion ?
What is happening here ?
What do you think will happen to the driver of the bus ?
Taking a Viet driving test
The second clip is from ‘Top Gear’ (UK). The boys came to Vietnam, in 2008. They had a challenge: to buy a car then drive from HCM City to Hanoi.
What could possibly go wrong ?
Note down any new expressions, then practice … and practice … and practice
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
“My favourite thing? Does my cat count as a thing? She’s not really a thing, but anyway. She’s a really beautiful little cat. I’ve had her since she was four months old. You know how some cats are really independent and hardly talk to you? I know cats don’t really talk, but you know what I mean. Well, she’s not like that at all. She’s really affectionate and comes up to me as soon as I get home, purring away like mad. She makes a lot of noise for a tiny thing. She loves being stroked and comes and curls up next to me when I’m on the sofa. She’s great company.”
Questions:
1 What is her favourite thing ? Her cat
2 How old was the cat when the girl got her. Four months old
3 Is the cat friendly ? Yes, ‘she’s really affectionate.’
4 What does the cat like ? Being stroked
5 How is the cat described as being ? Good company
Computer terms
Do you use a computer at work ? Is it essential or just useful ?
How old is St (Saint) Stephan’s Cathedral ? How many stairs does it have ?
When was the Ferris Wheel built ? Which is the tallest structure in the city ?
New York City guide
Listen for short periods (10 – 15 seconds). Answer questions about the dialogue. Can watch again with captions. Make a note of any new phrases or interesting words.
Answer the following questions:
How many people live in NYC ? 8 million
What do New Yorkers think their home is ? Centre of the world
What two adjectives describe NYC ? Loud and fast
What is the collocation with ‘energy’ ? Pulsates
Visitors can find the city … ? overwhelming
Manhattan is the … heart and soul of the Big Apple
What is in Lower Manhattan ? Financial district
Where is Central Park ? Upper East and West sides
Working life in Germany:
(01.26 – 02.07)
How long do they work in Germany ? How many breaks does the man have ?
What do you think about his situation ? How does it compare with VN ?
Listening
1 The Queen
When was their first meeting? During the G20 conference in London 2009.
Who came with President Obama ? Wife and two daughters.
When did they last meet ? Almost two years ago.
IELTS student (0:46 – )
Does she work ? No, she’s a student Where ? Manchester / Studies ? Business
A collection of clips predominantly featuring western people and their views on Vietnam. I have also added some suggested sequences for pronunciation practice … and so, without further ado …
First time in Viet Nam – First impressions of Viet Nam
A vlog by Divert Living, posted just over two years ago and which has already received more than a million hits:
” … and I asked them, ‘How much is aqua (water) ?’ Aqua’s fifteen thousand, beer’s twenty thousand … of course I’m gonna get the beer, now … it’s just as expensive as the water.”
09:00 – 0913
“Fun fact, Vietnamese cuisine is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world … and, to go with the food, the size of the dining tables and chairs are super small.”
This vlog was shot in Ha Noi, so let’s get their take (their opinion, view, experience) on Sai Gon:
What to expect – Saigon or HCMC
Now they travel to my neck of the woods (the area I live in or was brought up in), and they encounter, among many other delights, coconut coffee:
“Wow … that’s so strong, but it’s got a ball of coconut ice-cream in the middle … whoah !”
And the young lady who I believe is Korean adds:
“I wanna try … This is the coffee king … ahhhhhhhh !”
Talking Point:
The young travellers give their views on the environment and cleanliness of District 1 which is the city centre [UK] or downtown area [USA].
To what extent do you agree with them ?
What do Vietnamese students think of the Vlogger’s appraisal of Sai Gon ?
Let’s move on and talk about traffic which is quite a serious issue in Vietnam. Firstly, attending driving school … what can go wrong ? A clip from the world-famous motoring show from the BBC, ‘Top Gear.’
Right from the get go (from the very start) we have some great lines:
“Cheer up … this is gonna be a doodle … [Vietnamese] … it wasn’t !”
01.23 – 01:45
“How the hell … what did you just do ?”
“It was eighteen. Eighteen years old.”
“How did you know ?”
“Did you not bother learning Vietnamese before we came here ?”
“Well, no.”
“You’re screwed, then.”
Time for some food and the ubiqitous Phở My favourite TV chef, Mr Keith Floyd, who sadly passed away in 2009. He came to Asia, and visited Vietnam and now he’s going to tell you about Phở:
Top Gear is a famous British show about cars, motoring, driving and crashing !
Here is an opportunity to hear British English being spoken at a natural pace, and to learn new expressions and colloquialisms (everyday spoken words, not usually found in student text books).
Top Gear Vietnam
The chaps arrive in Vietnam are are given a challenge … to buy a car for 15 million Dong. That sounds a lot of money, but it is nowhere near enough to buy a car, not even an old, second-hand one. Instead they decide they can only afford motorbikes.
Why is it hard to start these early cars ? Where was this car made ?
New vocabulary:
particular / original / hill-start / rapidly / brutality / you what ?
Firstly, a look at some vintage cars:
According to the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, United Kingdom, the definition for each category is the following:
Veteran– officially a car made up to and including December 1918.
Vintage– officially a car made between 1919 and 1930. Although, the term is often used to describe any car made before World War II.
Classic– generally any car that is no longer in production that is still popular. For classic car events organised by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) eligibility is set at 20 years. Generally this term is applied to cars from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. However, no definition is universal.
There is some great new vocabulary in this article, as well as expressions and collocations (‘potentially dangerous’ / ‘do their best’).
What are the causes ? Can turbulence be predicted ? How do air-traffic controllers gather information ?
Reading exercise
Selecting important information
We want to condensethis article so we only need the main facts:
This is about the British engineer Isabard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom BrunelFRS(/ˈɪzəmbɑːrd bruːˈnɛl/; 9 April 1806– 15 September 1859), was an English mechanical and civil engineerwho is considered “one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history”,”one of the 19th-century engineering giants”,and “one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions”.Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlanticsteamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.
Though Brunel’s projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering firsts, including assisting in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river and development of SS Great Britain, the first propeller-driven, ocean-going, iron ship, which, when built in 1843, was the largest ship ever built.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), was an English engineer who is regarded as a major figure in engineering history. His designs, which were considered ground-breaking and ingenious, included bridges and tunnels, railways and ships.
Despite some engineering fails, he was an innovator and achieved many firsts in enginnering. His ship, the SS Great Britain (1843), was the largest ship of its time.
Now, your turn:
Landmark 81
How to look for important information. Read this Wikipedia entry and re-write in just 3 or 4 sentences, inclusing only the most important information.
The 461.5 metres (1,514 ft) tall, 81-storey building is built on the western banks of the Saigon River in the city’s Binh Thanh District, located just north of Ho Chi Minh City’s historic center and to the immediate south of Saigon Bridge. The tower is at the heart of the $1.5 billion high-end mixed-use urban area called Vinhomes Central Park, and was scheduled to be inaugurated in July 2018. The development comprises hotel and conference facilities, luxury apartments, high-end retail spaces, restaurants, bars, and a multi-story observation deck at the tower’s crown.
CEO Elon Musk said that he envisions Tesla as a technology company and independent automaker, aimed at eventually offering electric cars at prices affordable to the average consumer.
Christmas is not such a big holiday in Vietnam. I wasn’t expecting many students, but 13 out of 17 showed up, proving they had nothing better to do, while I was 6000 miles away from the nearest mince pie. And so … to work.
Today’s theme was traffic, road safety and Top Gear ! However, the text book we use is American, and the lesson focused on the American version. I was having none of that ! It was Clarkson, May and Hamster or nothing !
For those who don’t know, Top Gear is a motoring program from the UK that has been broadcasting for decades, and sold all over the world. Many countries make their own version, but you can’t beat the British humour and irreverence of the original. The most famous hosts were Jeremy Clarkson, James May & Richard ‘hamster’ Hammond.
The lesson began with a vocabulary overload – lots of words and phrases associated with driving:
THEME: Traffic
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 ? Are there 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.
What the heck is happening here ?
What do you think will happen to the driver ? In your opinion …
Taking a Viet driving test
The second clip is from When Top Gear (UK) came to Vietnam, in 2008. They had a challenge – to buy a car then drive from HCM City to Hanoi.
What could possibly go wrong ?
This was followed by some dialogue practice:
THEME: Traffic Dialogue
Ian and Tom are driving to a business meeting.
Examples of how to use the new vocabulary in everyday situations
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 !
There were many new words / phrases so I suggested they apply logic.
For example, driving through busy area at rush hour is not a good idea. Therefore asking someone if they are nuts means ‘are they crazy ?’
Likewise, Einstein is a famous genius, but we use the name ironically in English – if someone does something very silly or stupid, we call them Einstein.
Other new phrases were a no-wake zones (times when people are not allowed to make noise such as boat or car engines) and the difference between attain and obtain – the former meaning to work and achieve, the latter, simply to get. People can study for years and attain a qualification OR go to a store in Bangkok and obtain a fake degree.
And on that bombshell … the blog reaches it’s destination. Safe driving everyone … and Merry Christmas.
Thay Paul's Notes 