3 Talking about Travel and Experiences
In this chapter, you will learn about:
- Wh and Yes/ No question formation
- Intonation in English
- Opening, closing and extending basic conversations
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”
– Saint Augustine
Discussion Questions
- Read the quotation above. What does it mean?
- Do you like to travel? Why or why not?
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
view (n./v.) produce (v.) develop (v.) remember(v.) decide (v.)
argue (v.) achieve (v.) challenge (n./v.) introduce (v.) ability (n.)
Part 1:
Use your dictionary to find the meaning for the vocabulary words in the box above. Then write the words from the box next to their definitions below.
An opinion or way of thinking about something: .
To get or reach something by working hard: .
To make someone or something known by name: .
The power or skill to do something: .
To cause something to grow or become bigger: .
To make a choice about something: .
To keep an idea or image in your mind: .
A difficult problem: .
To give reasons for or against something: .
To make or create something: .
Part 2: Syllables
Listen to the pronunciation of the vocabulary words. Write the number of syllables that you hear in each word. The first word has been done for you.
- view = 1
- produce =
- develop =
- remember =
- decide =
- argue =
- introduce =
- ability =
- achieve=
- challenge =
Activity 2 Part 1
Read the conversation and complete the missing words with the chapter 3 vocabulary words below. You will not use three of the words.
Sam: Hey Tina! I haven’t seen you all year! How was your trip to Brazil last year?
Tina: Hey Sam! I know! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. My trip was great. I had a few that were kind of difficult, but it was a good trip overall.
Sam: How did you to visit Brazil? Had you traveled there before?
Tina: No, I hadn’t, but my friend me to some Brazilian people and they were very nice, so I bought a ticket and went.
Sam: Cool! Do you any interesting things that you did while you were there?
Tina: Well, my friend that I went with actually short travel films, so he made a movie about our trip. It shows all the places we went. I’ll give you the website, so you can watch it.
Sam: Wow! That sounds great! It’s not easy to travel with a friend. Did you or fight with each other?
Tina: No, not really. We got along great, and we had so much fun.
Sam: That’s great to hear. Would you return in the future?
Tina: Yes, definitely! If I have the , I will return in the future.
Sam: Cool. Well, it’s great to see you!
Tina: You too! See you around!
Sam: You too! Bye!
Activity 2 Part 2
Listen and check your answers then practice reading the conversation with a partner.
Grammar Point: Questions in English
There are two types of questions in English: Yes/ No questions and WH questions.
Yes/No questions
Begin with these verbs: Do/ Does — Is / Are
They are answered with a “Yes” or a “No”.
The be verb (is/are) is used to start questions when a noun or adjective follows the subject.
Question: Is Ms. Brown a teacher? (noun)
Answer: Yes, she is.
Question: Are the students happy? (adjective)
Answer: No, they aren’t.
The verbs ‘do’ or ‘does’ are used to start questions when a verb follows the subject.
Question: Does she work here? (verb)
Answer: No, she doesn’t.
Question: Do they speak English? (verb)
Answer: Yes, they do.
WH questions
Follow the same grammar rules, but they begin with the question words:
Who, What, When, Where, How, Why
WH questions have longer answers, not just “yes” or “no”
Where does she live?
She lives downtown.
When is your class?
I have class on Monday and Wednesday.
Practice:
Look at the answers below. Write a question that matches the answer. Think carefully about the grammar in the answer.
Question =?
Answer: No, they are from Canada.
Question =?
Answer: She works at a bank.
Question =?
Answer: My birthday is June 22nd.
Question =?
Answer: Yes, I’m a student here.
Discussion Activity
You and your best friend are taking a vacation for spring break. You are deciding between two kinds of vacations. First, ask your partner the WH questions below, so you understand what kind of vacation they like.
- What kind of weather do you like?
- Do you want to exercise or relax on vacation?
- Do long flights annoy you?
- What is your budget (how much money can you spend)?
- How long do you want to go for?
Now, study the information below about the two vacations. Together, with your partner, choose one vacation. You must agree with your partner on the same vacation.
Which vacation will you choose? Why?
Vacation #1: Ski Vacation in Canada
- 2-hour flight from Portland
- Cold, snowy weather
- Hotel includes hot tub and swimming pool
- English language is spoken
- Breakfast and dinner included
- Opportunities to ski and snowboard
- $3,000.00 for 6 days
Vacation #2: Beach vacation in the Maldives
- 18-hour flight from Portland
- Hot, sunny weather
- Hotel is right on the beach
- Some English is spoken
- No meals included
- Opportunities to swim and dive
- $3,500.00 for 5 days
Speaking Tip: Intonation
In the English language, the sound of a person’s voice goes up or down when they say the last word of a question or sentence. This difference in sound is called “intonation”.
Listen to the different sounds of the speaker’s voice here
- WH questions = falling intonation (voice goes down)
- Yes/No questions = rising intonation (up)
- Statements = falling intonation (down)
- Exclamations (excited speech!) = rising then falling intonation (up then down)
Practicing Intonation
Practice Activity 1
Directions: Listen to the questions and circle the type of intonation you hear.
- Up Down
- Up Down
- Up Down
- Up Down
- Up Down
- Up Down
Practice Activity 2
Directions: Using the intonation examples on the previous page, decide if the questions and statements below have rising or falling intonation. Draw an up or down arrow next to each number. The first one has been done for you.
- Do you like to travel?
- I travel as often as I can.
- What is your favorite country?
- Are you from Japan?
- I love to travel!
Practice Activity 3
Directions: Ask your partner the questions below. Practice using correct intonation.
Partner A
- Where are you from?
- When was your last vacation?
- Do you like to travel on trains?
Partner B-
- What is your name?
- Have you been to New York City?
- Where is your favorite place to travel in the world?
Speaking Tip: Conversation Continuers
These words are used to show interest or understanding in a conversation and to make conversations last longer. Study them and include them in your English conversation.
To show interest
- Really?
- Tell me more.
- Why?
- Hmmmm
- That’s interesting.
To show concern
- Oh, that’s too bad.
- I’m sorry to hear that.
- Really?
- What happened?
To show excitement
- Cool!
- Awesome!
- That’s great!
- Wow!
To follow up
- What about you?
- Tell me about you.
- Enough about me.
- Let’s talk about you.
Directions: Using the words and phrases from above, work with a partner to complete the conversation below. Then practice reading the conversation using correct intonation.
A: Hey! How are you?
B: I’m not that good.
A: ?
B: Well, I missed my flight. Now I have to pay extra to fly tomorrow.
A:
B: Yeah. ?
A: Well, I’m actually great! I feel so happy today!
B: ?
A: I just got married this weekend.
B: !
A: I know! I’m so happy. But, I’m also feeling worried because of my busy schedule.
B: .
A: I’m going on a vacation next week, but I have so much work to do before then.
B: .
A: Well, good luck with your flight tomorrow!
B: Thanks! It was nice to see you!
A: You too! See you later!
Speaking Fluency Practice
Ask the questions below to your classmates. Use the conversation phrases on the page before to keep the conversation going back and forth.
- Do you like to travel?
- What is your favorite place you have traveled to?
- Do you like to travel alone or with people?
- When was your last trip?
- Do you like to fly on airplanes?
- Is it expensive to travel around your country?
- Do you like to achieve something when you travel or just relax?
- How do you decide where to go when you travel? Do you plan in advance?
- What do you remember about your best travel experience?
- When will you go on your next trip?
Homework survey
Directions: Ask five Americans or good speakers of English about their travel experiences. Listen and write their answers below.
Person 1
- Do you like to travel?
- Where is your favorite place to travel?
- How often do you travel?
- How many countries have you travelled to?
- Where should I travel in the U.S.?
Person 2
- Do you like to travel?
- Where is your favorite place to travel?
- How often do you travel?
- How many countries have you travelled to?
- Where should I travel in the U.S.?
Person 3
- Do you like to travel?
- Where is your favorite place to travel?
- How often do you travel?
- How many countries have you travelled to?
- Where should I travel in the U.S.?
Person 4
- Do you like to travel?
- Where is your favorite place to travel?
- How often do you travel?
- How many countries have you travelled to?
- Where should I travel in the U.S.?
Person 5
- Do you like to travel?
- Where is your favorite place to travel?
- How often do you travel?
- How many countries have you travelled to?
- Where should I travel in the U.S.
Chapter 3 Review
- In this chapter, you learned about:
- How to make WH and Yes/No questions in English
- How intonation sounds in questions and statements in English
- Useful phrases for continuing conversations
Extra Listening Practice
