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SkimaTalk Official Course

English Basics for Intermediate Learners

Lesson 16 : Talking About Countries and Cultures

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 　Exercise 1: Warming Up

Words & Phrases

~ and everything

island nation n

climate n

remind [someone] of [something] v

in some ways

traditional adj

Singaporean adj

Indian adj

abroad adv

assist v

welcoming adj

speaking of ~

consider v

Practice pronouncing the words below. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, just ask your teacher!

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 　Exercise 2: Answer the Question

Can you describe the picture in 45 seconds? Include as much information as possible. Q

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 　Exercise 2: Answer the Question (continued)

Can you describe the picture in 45 seconds? Include as much information as possible. Q

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 　Exercise 3: Learn Useful Phrases

A Have you ever been to Canada?

B Yeah, I went to Vancouver last summer.

A What did you think of the people and everything?

BEveryone was really friendly and polite. The weather was pretty nice too. Where did you go last summer?

AI went to Singapore. It’s a very rich and very clean country. It reminded me of Japan in some ways.

B How was the food?

AIt was great! We had some traditional Singaporean food as well as some delicious Indian food.

Dialogue practice Practice making NEW sentences

1. A: Have you ever _____?

B: No. But I have _____.

2. A: What do you think of ___?

B: I think ___.

3. The people were ____ , the food

was ____, and the weather was

____.

4. We had some ____ at a/an ____

restaurant.

•  Have you ever been to ~ ? •  What did you think ~ ?

•  It’s a ~ and ~ country. •  It reminded me of ~

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 　Exercise 3: Learn Useful Phrases (continued)

A Hello, Sir. How can I help you today?

BI’d like to plan a trip abroad, but I’m not sure where I want to go yet.

AI would be happy to assist you with that. What type of place would you like to visit?

BI want to go to a place where the people are warm and welcoming. And, speaking of warm, I’d like to go somewhere with a warm climate, too.

AHave you considered traveling to a small island nation? Many islanders are quite welcoming to tourists, and the weather is often warm.

B Hey, that sounds pretty good. Tell me more...

Dialogue practice

1. I’d like to _____ , but _____.

2. What type of ___ would you like to

___?

3. Have you considered _____?

4. Many _____ are quite _____.

•  I’d like to ~ but ~ •  What type of ~ would you like to ~ ?

•  a place where ~ and ~

Practice making NEW sentences

•  Speaking of ~, ~

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 　Exercise 4: Roleplay

Use today’s phrases in the situation described below. Your teacher will start the roleplay with a comment or question.

Two friends are trying to decide which country to visit next year. Discuss at least two countries before deciding.

•  Have you ever been to ~ ?

•  I’d like to ~ but ~ •  What type of ~ would you like to ~ ?

•  a place where ~ and ~ •  How about ~ ? •  What do you think of ~ ?

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 　Exercise 5: Discussion

Ask and answer questions about today’s topic.

•  Have you every traveled to another country? If yes, which one(s)? How was it?

•  Have you ever lived abroad? If yes, what was the reason? If no, would you like to someday?

•  Do you think people in different countries tend to have different personalities? If yes, what do you think are some common personality traits of people in your home country? How about people in other countries?

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End of Lesson We Hope You Enjoyed It!