Do you have a preference for any particular holiday or holiday season? Is there a holiday that you dislike?

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1 Skill Builder: Speaking The Best Holiday Ever Intermediate General Discussion Are holidays important? What if there were no holidays at all? Do you think you get enough days off each year? Do you take any work/study when you go on holiday? Do you like travelling? Do you try to avoid tourist traps when you are on holiday? Is it important for young people to visit other countries? Holiday Preferences Do you have a preference for any particular holiday or holiday season? Is there a holiday that you dislike? beach golfing skiing sailing cycling safari camping hill-walking language-learning Say what you prefer and why. I prefer A to B because prefer + ing 1. mountain / beach 2. a holiday with friends / a holiday with the family 3. a holiday off the beaten track / a typical holiday resort 4. continental breakfast / English breakfast 5. one long holiday a year / lots of short breaks 6. travelling by car / travelling by train 7. travelling in a big group / travelling alone 8. staying in a hotel / staying in a self-catering apartment 9. going on holiday in winter / going on holiday in summer 10. city touring / sunbathing 11. heading for adventure without any plan / buying a package tour MONOLOGUE Spanish people are choosing to travel abroad on their holidays more and more. Give your opinion on this subject, taking into account the following points: - Favourite foreign destinations for Spanish tourists - Cheap ways of travelling - Advantages and Disadvantages of travelling abroad

2 Holiday Activities Do you normally get some rest on holiday or you do plenty of activities? Think of 5 things you enjoy doing while you are on holidays. Explain why you like doing such things The reason why is that Recommending a Holiday ROLEPLAY ENGLISH FRIEND You want to go over to Spain on a holiday and you call your Spanish friend for ideas on a good holiday destination. SPANISH FRIEND An English friend of yours wants to come over to Spain on a holiday and he/she calls you to ask you for ideas. Discuss the following points: Holiday destination Location (on the coast, near the mountains) Transport (airports, roads ) Weather Local food Accommodation (hotels, campsites, guest houses ) Holiday activities (sunbathing, skiing ) Sightseeing (sights, museums, galleries )

3 Your Last Holiday Talk about your last holiday and ask your partner the following questions. Where / go on your last holiday? Who / go with? How / get there? How long / stay? Where / stay? What / the accommodation like? What / do? What / the weather like? / have a good time? Where / go on holiday next summer? Planning a Holiday INTERACTION You are your partners are planning to go on a holiday but you are not exactly sure what to do yet. Discuss the following points in detail and try to reach an agreement: - Place to go and type of holiday - Month of travel and number of days to stay - How to get there and type of accommodation

4 AT THE TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE TOURIST You are on holiday in Scotland. You have just arrived at a small town and need some information about the things to see and do. You go to the tourist information office. TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE ASSISTANT How long / in Scotland? / booked any accommodation already? / interested in museums? / like to go out at night? How / travel around the region? / give me some information for a survey? Where / come from? / spell it? How / get to the village from the airport? Finish the conversation Your Dream Holiday Imagine you could spend a dream weekend anywhere in the world. Who would your ideal companion be? How would you get around? What would you wear? What would you buy? What would you eat and drink? What essential items would you take with you? Who would you most like to meet there? What sights would you want to see? Who would you send a postcard to? A Holiday from Hell How would you describe your positive travel experiences? Exotic Educational Stimulating Exciting Relaxing Challenging What things could ruin a holiday and make it stressful? Queuing at check-in Delayed flights Crowds Bad weather Lost luggage

5 What is this picture about? What type of holiday do you think the couple was looking for in the first place? How would you feel if you were in their situation? Have you ever been in a similar situation before? What advice would you give to them? WRITING FORMAL STYLE (NARRATIVE) What is it? AN ACCOUNT OF AN EXPERIENCE An account of events is a text where a series of events, either real or imaginary, are narrated in formal style. E.g.: narrating a dream or nightmare, giving an account of your best holidays ever, telling an anecdote or an embarrassing experience What s its format?

6 TITLE OPENING PARAGRAPH INTRODUCTION TIME & PLACE SETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED PARAGRAPHS 2, 3, 4 PLOT LINE o INITIAL EVENTS o CLIMAX (central events to the story) o RESOLUTION (final events, results, consequences ) CLOSING PARAGRAPH CONCLUSION o people s feelings o final comments o reactions or A TWIST (a surprising ending) Time words & phrases To show the sequence of events in a story we can use linking words such as: when, while, as soon as, after, before, at that moment, by the time, first, next, soon, then, eventually, meanwhile, after a while, suddenly, at first, finally, as Past tenses We can use various past tenses in a story: Past simple to describe actions which started and ended in the past, or actions which happened one after the other in the past. Past continuous to set the scene or to describe events in progress at a certain time in the past.

7 Past perfect for actions which happened before other past actions, or to give the background of the story. Adjectives & Adverbs Use a variety of adjectives, adverbs, similes and verbs to make your narrative more interesting to the reader. And use present or past participles to join two simple sentences into one longer, more sophisticated sentence.