1

IMMIGRATION AND DIFFERENT

CULTURES

CONTENTS
-

UNIT STARTING POINT TEST (p.3)

IMMIGRATION STORIES (SESSION 1) (p. 5)

TRAVELLING AND DOCUMENTS (SESSION 2) (p. 14)

JOURNEYS IN HISTORY (SESSION 3) (p. 21)

NEW CULTURE.DIFFERENT TRADITIONS. WEDDING CUSTOMES.(SESSION4) (p.29)

NEW LIFE. NEW LANGUAGE. WRITING CONVENTIONS (SESSION 5) (p.35)

FINAL TASK (SESSION 6) (p.40)

APPENDIX (p.42)

END OF UNIT TEST

FINAL SELF- EVALUATION SHEET AND SELF- EVALUATION SESSION

ACTIVITY BANK
ACTIVITIES FOR SLOW LEARNERS
ACTIVITIES FOR FAST FINISHERS

Unit Starting Point Test

Name:
1

Class:

Complete the text. Use the present simple or present continuous.

ask

come

go

meet

stay

The shops (1) ___________________ open late on Thursdays, so Chris and I

(2) ___________________ shopping together this evening. Chris needs a new shirt and some shoes, and he often
(3) ___________________ me to help him to choose his clothes. He
(4) ___________________ Dave for dinner, but I (5) ___________________ home early.
2

Complete the dialogue. Use the present simple or present continuous.

A (1 come) __________________ you __________________ to the party, Jess?
B

Yes, but I (2 not know) ___________________ what to wear. I (3 try) ___________________ to decide between my
black dress and my red skirt.

A (4 want) ___________________ you __________________ to come with us?

B

Yes, I do.

A Well, come on! Steve (5 arrive) ________________ in five minutes. He

(6 not like) _________________ being late. We (7 not wait) _______________ all night for you to try on all your
clothes!
B

OK, OK. Im coming.

3. Write these sentences in the negative and interrogative form. (5 minutes)

1.

The train driver saw that there was a cow on the track
____________________________________________________

2.

The branch fell into the river

_____________________________________________________

3. The sound of the eruption woke the population

_____________________________________________________
4. The police caught the thief
_____________________________________________________
5. The noise of the flies annoyed me.

_____________________________________________________

Vocabulary
Clothes
4

Find ten words for clothes and write them in the correct lists.
S

Legs and feet: ___________________

___________________
Body:

___________________
___________________

Neck:

___________________

Hands:

___________________

5. What do you know about weddings? Try to write a paragraph telling what weddings suggest to you. (5 minutes)
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

(TEACHER NOTES)
NAME
NAME
AIM
SKILL
AIM
TIME
SKILL
PROCEDURE
TIME
PROCEDURE

Pictures about multicultural situations.WARM-UP

1. Pictures
about
multicultural
situations
Make
students
think
about different
values (solidarity, freedom)
What do these pictures suggest to you? Then, share your opinion with your partner
Writing,
speaking
Enrich their vocabulary
5 min.
speaking
Ask
the students to writ what some pictures suggest to them. Then each one has to
5 minutes
talk
his/her partner
aboutsome
his/her
opinion
Ask with
the students
to writ what
pictures
suggest to them. Then each one has to
talk with his/her partner about his/her opinion

NAME

2. Adjectives
A brain storming activity. What do these adjectives mean to you?
Successful
hard
exciting
proud
To familiarize with some adjectives that will appear in a text later
Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to look at some adjectives and try to find their meaning.

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME

3. The story of your life

Work in pairs. Tell your partner the story of your life. Then, he/she will tell you
his/her story. Now, you will tell the whole class the story of each other.

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

Make students lose their fear about speaking in English

Listening and speaking
5 minutes
Each student has to tell his/her partner the story of his/her life. Then, he/ she will
ask his/her partner to tell his / her story

NAME

4. The story of an immigrant.

1.Listen and answer the following questions.
How many people are speaking?
What is this story about?
Where are they talking?

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

To understand general and specific comprehension of a reading text

Listening
10 minutes
They have to listen to a story.

NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

5.Listen again and choose the correct sentence from the text.True or false
Check their understatement about the previous text.
Reading and writing
5 minutes.
They have some statements about the text, some are true and others false, so they
have to put a tick in the correct column

NAME

6.Listen again and order the following sentences.

AIM
NAME
SKILLS
TIME
AIM
PROCEDURE
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

To order the previous information about the listening

7.
The story
an immigrant (2). Order the following sentences from the previous
Reading
andof
writing
text.
What happened first?
5 minutes.
To
order
thetoprevious
information
about theabout
listening
They
have
decide about
the information
the text
Reading and writing
5 minutes.
They have to decide about the information about the text

6
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

8. Comprehension Check. Work in pairs. Ask and answer to your partner. Collect
information about the text.
To ask and answer with his/ her classmate to collect information about the text.
Speaking, Reading and writing
5 minutes.
Ask and answer to your partner.
9. Listen and read the dialogue and guess how this interview may end. Answer to
the last question:
To ask and answer with his/ her classmate to collect information about the text.
Speaking, Reading and writing
5 minutes.
Ask and answer to your partner.
10. True or false
For the following questions, put a tick () whether you think the statement is true or
false. Justify your answer.
To ask and answer with his/ her classmate to collect information about the text.
Speaking, Reading and writing
5 minutes.
Ask and answer to your partner.

a) I was studying at a preparatory school and I work/live in a shopping centre as a cashier.

7
My name is Ignacio. I am 25 years old; I was born and grew up in Mexico. I came to the United States 5 years ago. Before coming
to the U.S. I used to live in Mexico City. In the morning I had to work and in the afternoon I went to school. At that time I have/try
to go to the university and be successful like others guys of my age, but destiny had prepared another way for me. I went/lived with
my mother and one of my sisters whom I knew 8 years ago (she was 22 years old and she had been raised by another family). After
that exciting day when my mother and I knew/talked to my sister we lived so happily for the next 3 years but happiness is not
forever and a black day would come. It was during the first days of March of 1991 when my mother got sick and she had to be
hospitalized, after a few days, my mother died and my life moved/changed and took another way. It was so hard for my sister and
me to live in the house because we were always thinking/ crying when my mother lived with us and we were always crying so we
decided to come to the U.S. with one of my brothers that lived in San Diego. After 3 months we moved/ went to come to Santa Ana
to live with one of my aunts. Then here in Santa Ana I got married 3 years ago and now I have a son who is two years old and I plan
to start some business here in the U.S. or go back to Mexico and go to the university with my wife. I can say my mother would be so
proud of my life now.
Ignacio

multiculturality.

1. Pictures about multicultural situations

What do these pictures suggest to you? Then, share your opinion with your partner

For instance: Picture 1: friendship, tolerance, peace, innocence.

2. Adjectives
A brain storming activity. What do these adjectives mean to you?
Successful

hard

exciting

proud

3. The story of your life

Work in pairs. Tell your partner the story of your life. Then, he/she will tell you his/her story. Now, you will tell the whole
class the story of each other.

4. The story of an immigrant.

1.Listen and answer the following questions.
1) How many people are speaking?
2) What is this story about?
3) Where are they talking?
5..Listen again and choose the correct sentence from the text.
right
My name is Ignacio
I came to the United States 8 years ago
It was during the first days of Dezember of 1991 when my mother got sick and
she had to be hospitalized
After 3 months we moved to Santa Ana to live with one of my aunts
Then here in Santa Ana I got married 5 years ago

6..Listen again and order the following sentences.

ORDER
Ana I got married 3 years ago
I can say my mother would be so proud of my life now.
I came to the United States 5 years ago

wrong

10
It was during the first days of March of 1991 when my mother got sick and she
had to be hospitalized
My name is Ignacio
7. The story of an immigrant (2). Order the following sentences from the previous text. What happened first?
came/to/ I/ United/ the/ 5 years/ States/ ago
was/ at a preparatory school/ and /I work/live/ as a cashier/ I/ studying/ in shopping centre/ as
I /a son/ is /two years old / plan/ I/ to start /here in the U.S./ or go back /to Mexico/ and /go to the
university/ with my wife/ now/ have/ who/ and/ some business/
8. Comprehension Check. Work in pairs. Ask and answer to your partner. Collect information about the text.

Comprehension Check.
Student A

1) Why did Ignacio decide to immigrate to the U.S.A..?

2) Where did Ignacio grow up?

3) What does Ignacio plan for his future?

11

Student B

1) How old was Ignacio when he met

his sister?

2) Did Ignacio get married? Has he got any children?

3) Did Ignacio get married? Has he got any children?

12

Story,.of.an.immigrant
An interview to Yanira Buwanda

9. Listen and read the dialogue and guess how this interview may end. Answer to the last question:
A: (interviewer): When were you born?
B: (Yanira Buwanda):I am not sure. In Sudan, we do not think birthdays are important, especially in the middle of war.
A: What was it like growing up?
B: I grew up with two aunts, three sisters, four cousins and two brothers.
My parents died when I was little. We lived on a farm in Bor, a town in southern Sudan. Everyone had a daily job that had to be
done. I shared one room with all the boys in the home.
A: What about school?
B: School was very strict. Everyone had to be on time and was expected to do very well. The teachers could beat us for whatever
reason they pleased. We wore uniforms. We learned some English, studied the Koran, spelling, Arabic and arithmetic.
A: How has it been adjusting to America?
It was difficult, but worthwhile. Many people have welcomed me. I cannot complain at all.
B: When did you arrive and what was the most difficult thing to get used to?

13

10. True or false

For the following questions, put a tick () whether you think the statement is true or false. Justify your answer.
True
False
1) In Sudan birthdays are very important

2) She grew up with her parents.

3) She had a room only for herself, so she didnt need

to share it

4) She studied the Koran when she was at school

5) She could arrive late to the school

6) She thinks that adjusting to America was difficult,
but worthwhile

14

(TEACHER NOTES)
NAME

Warm-up1. Match the previous photos with the correct word

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

Complete the rules of past simple and past continuous

Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to complete several sentences about the rules of past simple and past
continuous

NAME

2. Complete some sentences. Complete these sentences with the verb in the past
simple or past continuous form.
Check management of past simple and past continuous in a context and comprehend
the meaning of the text.

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

Reading and writing

10 minutes
They have some sentences will a verb in bracket so they have to fill in the gaps with
this verb in it correct tense (past simple or past continuous)

NAME

3. Complete the text. In the following passage put the verb in brackets into the
most suitable tense (past simple and past continuous)
Learn the different final sounds of the verbs in the past simple

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

Listening and writing

5 minutes
They have some sentences will a verb in bracket so they have to fill in the gaps
with this verb in it correct tense (past simple or past continuous)

NAME

4. COMMUNICATIVE GAME. This girl is Kyo. She is a korean american girl.

Her mother was an immigrant who came to New York ten years ago. To understand
her personal story we need to collect some information.
Talk with a friend.
Speaking
15 minutes
Ask and answer your partner using the verbs and prompt given below in the chart.

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
TIME
PROCEDURE

5. Now, imagine a story. Imagine that you want to be a writer of short stories. How
would you begin one of your stories to attract your readers attention?
To develop writing skill
15 minutes
Students have to write a short story similar to the past stories seen in this session

15

16

Match the previous photos with the correct word

1.Read this. Ignacio talks about his experience.

I came to USA to have a good job. When I

arrived, I couldnt speak any word in English.
But I was learning during five months with a
English teacher, and now I can spak very well
English

2. Complete some sentences. Complete these sentences with the verb in the past simple or past continuous form.
-

While the helicopter (fly) ________ over Brighton the pilot (realise) _________ that they had very little fuel left.

While he (look for) _________ a place to land the engine (stop) ________

When this (happen) _________ the helicopter (fly) ______ at a low altitude.

It (crash) ________ near a field where some children (play) __________ football

A man who (walk) ______

his dog (see) ______the accident and rang the police on his mobile phone.

3. Complete the text. In the following passage put the verb in brackets into the most suitable tense (past simple and past
continuous)
One of the most embarrassing incidents in my early career as a doctor_______ (happen) when I ________ (work)
in the Accident Department of a large city hospital. I usually _________ (cycle) to work when the weather was fine
as I _________ (try) to lose weight. That morning it just ________ (begin) to rain as I _________ (leave) the house
but I ________ (think) I could reach the hospital before the rain ________ (get) too heavy. I _________ (cycle)
down the hill, _________ (turn) into the main road and _______ (head) for the city centre when the bus in front of
me ________ (begin) to slow down.
As I ________ (move) out to overtake it, there was a loud bang and every thing ________ (go) black. When I
_________ (come) round, I ________ (lie) on the pavement and a crowd of people _________ (stand) around me.
Then I __________ (hear) an ambulance in the distance and my heart ________ (sink). Five minutes later I
_________ (arrive) at the hospital and I was carried into the Accident Department on a stretcher.

17
4. COMMUNICATIVE GAME. This girl is Kyo. She is a korean american girl. Her mother was an immigrant who came to
New York ten years ago. To understand her personal story we need to collect some information. Ask and answer your partner using
the verbs and prompt given below in the chart.

Example:
When did Kyos grandma come to America?
Why did she come?

18

STUDENT A

WHEN?

To Come
To bring family

Better job
Summer 1992

To have language
problems
To Buy her own
house
To have her own
korean restaurant

WHY?

No English

In October 1991

To get rid of her

boss

19

STUDENT B

WHEN?

To Come

1989

To bring family

To have language
problems

To live together

First months

To Buy her own

house
To have her own
korean restaurant

WHY?

To leave the shared

flat
Enough savings

20

5. Now, imagine a story. Imagine that you want to be a writer of short stories. How would you begin one of your stories to
attract your readers attention? For instance

:
Once upon a time, there was a
strange ugly man who lived in a
cave and we could only see him
when he left his home to look for
meal at midnight

Then, work in pairs. Each one has to tell his/her partner his/her beginning of the story.

21

(TEACHER NOTES)
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

NAME

Look at the photos. GREAT JOURNEYS IN HISTORY.Match the words with

the pictures.(warm-up)
Check if they have the ability to describe some pictures in the English language.
Reading and writing
10 minutes
Learners have four different pictures and some questions where they are asked to
describe what they see
1. Listen to Mark Hillary. He is Edmund Hillarys grandson and he is history
teacher at the Brooks College, New Castle. He explains our journalist how was the
expedition to reach the Everest.
To listen and understand someone telling a story
listening
5 minutes
Students have to listen.
2. ROLE-PLAY.Did you enjoy your last school journey? was it exciting?. Ask
and answer your classmate and collect some information to complete the interview
to your partner.
To extract information
Listening, speaking, reading and writing
10 minutes
They have to ask and answer to her/his classmate to collect information about the
last trip they did.

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

The sounds of the past

3.Listen to these verbs and put them in the correct column, according to the final
sound. Then, try to pronounce them with your partner:
To understand and learn new sounds
Listening
5 minutes
They have to listen to the teacher and write down the verbs in the right columm.

NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

4. Look at the photos

To learn how to write down descriptions about a photo
Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to write about a particular given photo.

NAME

5. Headlines about these journeys. Now, you have headlines from articles about the
journeys which were made by the people in the pictures.
To learn how to write down descriptions about a photo
Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to work in pairs to match the headlines and lists to the pictures and fill
in the two lines of the table which follows.

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

NAME

6. Now read these short extract from description of the four journeys and work
with a partner to answer these questions.

22
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

To learn vocabulary and new structure about a photo

Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to answer the given questions about the short description given.

23
GREAT JOURNEYS IN HISTORY.Match the words with the pictures.
Mayflower's voyage, Columbus in America, Silk Road, James Cook, Edmund Hillary

SESSION 3
1. Listen to Mark Hillary. He is Edmund Hillarys grandson and he is history teacher at the Brooks College, New Castle. He
explains our journalist how was the expedition to reach the Everest.
Our special guest today is Mark Hillary, the Edmund Hillarys
grandson. The famous explorer who first arrived the Everest
mountain.
Thank you Mark. It is a great pleasure for me to be here to talk
about the great expedition of my grandfather.
Can you tell us how difficult was the journey? And why?

Journalist

Mark Hillary

Yes, of course. The expedition members met in 1951. to plan the

journey. In 1953, under the leadership of John Hunt, the British
were given permission to climb Mount Everest. They prepared the
necessary equipment and scientific preparations to climb the
Everest.
So, Why did they have to leave the departure for next week?
The problem began when tour of the closed-circuit oxygen
equipment used to climb high mountains failed.
When did they try it again?
The second assault party was when my grandfather and Tenzing
Norgay, one of the three climbers checked their oxygen equipment
before setting off from Camp IV.
Did your grandfather tell you how was his feeling? How did he feel
when he reached the peak?
He said always, he was exhausted but he realizad they were on top
of Mount Everest and that the whole world spread out below them.
It was 11.30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund
Hillary had reached the highest point on the earth.

2. ROLE-PLAY.Did you enjoy your last school journey? Was it exciting?. Ask and answer your classmate and collect
some information to complete the interview to your partner.
Example: How was the last school journey?
Great, it was really exciting. We went to Disneyland Paris

24

STUDENT A

School journey
NAME:__________________________
DATE:________________
DESTINATION:_______________________

HOW WAS THE JOURNEY?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________

HOW LONG ?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIFFICULT?

______________________________________________
______________________________________________

25

STUDENT B

School journey
NAME:__________________________
DATE:________________
DESTINATION:_______________________

HOW ?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

HOW LONG WAS THE JOURNEY?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIFFICULT?

_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

26

4. Look at the photos

1. Describe what you see in each of pictures A, B, and C
2. Describe the appearance of the people in each picture
3. In picture A, why he has a flag?
4. What does the man seem to do in picture A? What may he be saying?
5. In picture C the men have cycle panniers on each side of the front wheels of their bicycles. What they may contain?
6. In picture D what kind of boat do you think this is?

5. Headlines about these journeys. Now, you have headlines from articles about the journeys which were made by the people in the
pictures. Work in pairs to match the headlines and lists to the pictures and fill in the two lines of the table which follows:

27

Picture A

Picture B

Picture C

Picture D

Means of travel
Destination
Headlines:

My long walk to
the North Pole

Hard Track to
Africa

Slow Boats to
China

Australia - by
pedal power

Extracts from the journeys

2)
1)

From Dubai, they travelled to Pakistan and

India. There, while cycling through a small
village on the road from Hyderabad to
Khairpur, they met a young man who
invited them back to his village 10 miles
off the main road.
It was to be a memorable experience.
When they arrived at Talpur, Rick and
David found themselves surrounded by the
entire population of the village more than
300 people.

3)

We cruised gently through France,

Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece,
getting the feel` of the bikes. With clothes,
camping equiptment, spares and enough
tools to do practically a complete rebuild,
we were loaded up fairly heavily, but we
found that with good weight distribution
the bikes still handled excellently. Did they
have enough in reserve, we they have
enough in reserve, we wondered, to cope
with the additional load of five gallons of
petrol and a weeks food and water, and
with the extra strains of off-road riding?

Now I was cold, tired and confused, the visibility on

the frozen sea water was less than 10 yards in freezing
fog. I could not contact my small back-up team in
Resolute by radio, atmospheric conditions near the
magnetic North Pole preventing that.
My compass was swinging steadily back and forth
from north to south. It vas cold, about minus 15C, but
the wind in the fog lowered this to nearer minus 45C.
But why was I there?
Because no one man had walked the place alone
before. It was my Mount Everest and I was almost
there, a miserable windswept icy hell somewhere
where no one had ever stood alone.

4) WHERE SHOULD I START? I went

back to the lists again, but the

decision was soon made. Not
Rotterdam of Southampton; the
Channel and the west Mediterranean
were well-known and well travelled. I
would start in Europe, but as close to
Asia as possible: Athens. Friends had
told me of a steamer that shuttled
passengers from Piraeus to the Greek
island of Patmos, near Izmir in
Turkey. From there I could find my
way slo9wl.y to the Suez Canal, a
first and formidable major hurdle.

28

6. Now read these short extract from description of the four journeys and work with a partner
to answer these questions:
1.

In extract 1), why did the two cyclists receive such a welcome from the villagers?

2.

What does the writer mean by getting the feel of the bikes in the extract 2)?

3.

What spares could the two motorcyclists have been carrying in extract 2)?

4.

How did they manage to handle their bikes with such heavy loads on them?

5.

Explain in your own words why the writer in extract 3) began his journey in Athens.

6.

What kind of boat did he plan to take first?

7.

Did he think it would be difficult or easy to pass through the Suez Canal? Which words give you the answer?

8.

In extract 4), what problems was the writer facing?

9.

What reasons does he give for making his journey Is his reason understandable?

10. If you had to choose, which of these journeys would you go on?
7. True or False. Now say whether the following statements are true or false without looking back to the text:
a)
b)
c)
d)

In extract 1), they met a young man that invited them back to his village.
In extract 2), the protagonists of the journey were two cyclists.
In extract 3), the traveller decides to go to Southampton.
In extract 4), the traveller was in a hot place.

29

(TEACHER NOTES)
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

Match the words with the right picturehe lexical field of get married (warm-up)
Check knowledge of the field of weddings
Reading and writing
5 minute
They have to match some words of the field of weddings with their meaning

NAME

1. The lexical field of get married

Work in pairs: answer the following questions, first you tell your partner what you
know about these questions, then he/she will answer you them.
Think about weddings
Wake up their knowledge about the semantic field of weddings
Writing, speaking and listening
5 minutes
They have to work in pairs and answer two question about related to what they
know about weddings

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

2. Think about weddings

Match the following words with their meanings
Check if they know new vocabulary
Reading and writing
5 minutes
Students have to match the word to the definition
3. True or false. Which of the following statements are true? Look for the evidence
in the text.
To check if they have understood the text
Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to read the text again to check if their answers of the previous text are
true or false

4. Check your answers. Now read and find out.

Check their answers in the previous exercise
Reading and writing
10 minutes
They have to check their answer from the previous exercise.

30

NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

5. Questions on the text. Answer these questions

Check their communicative abilities on English language
Writing
5 minutes
Students have to answer the given questions about the text.

NAME

6. Wedding letter. Look at this letter. This is an informal letter. Peter now lives in
Spain, he will get married Ana, and he writes an invitation letter to his friend
giving him some details about the wedding celebration.
Check their communicative abilities on English language
reading
5 minutes
Students have to read about the different weddings that appear in the text, about
an informal letter .

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

7. Tell your old friend about the ceremony.Order your letter, where you give
some details to your friend about your wedding ceremony
Check their communicative abilities on English language
Writing
5 minutes
Students have to order the wedding letter.

31

32

.
Click here to play online .Match the words with the right picturehe lexical field of get
married
engagement ring, church, bride dress, wedding celebration, wedding cake

SESSION 4
1. The lexical field of get married
Work in pairs: answer the following questions, first you tell your partner what you know about these questions, then he/she will
answer you them
a) Have you ever been to a wedding?
b) How are weddings in your country?

There are different kinds of wedding which

usually reflect the customs of the society in
which people live. The most widely accepted
form is what is called a traditional wedding: the
couple getting married in church and the bride
wearing a long white dress and a veil and the
bridegroom in morning suit. But sometimes
people want to have a special wedding. Here are
some examples.
John Kerivan and Grace Prolack chose the
waters of the Sea World swimming pool in
Florida to get married. While they were
exchanging rings lots of tropical colourful fish
were swimming around them. The bridegroom
looks after these fishes daily

and he wanted them to be the witnesses of his

marriage.
David and his fiance got married while they
were flying 500 metres high. They went on
three different planes: the bride in the middle
one and the bridegroom and the priest on the
other two. Dave is very fond of flying and he
wanted a high level wedding. When they
landed Dave took his wife in his arms and said
Now our marriage is ready to take off.
On 25 August 1992 another special wedding
was performed at Seouls Olympic Stadium
with 29,825 couples being married at the same
time. It was the largest mass wedding ceremony.
When the priest said You are now man and
wife 41,650 persons were getting married

2. Think about weddings

Match the following words with their meanings:
Wedding

a piece of thin material worn by women to cover the face/head

33
Couple

Veil

Witness

Fiance
Marriage
Bridegroom

X
X
X

X
X
X

Get married

someone who is asked to be present at a particular event and sign

their name in order to prove that things have been done correctly
a marriage celebration such as a meal or a party
a legally accepted relationship between a woman and a man in
which they live as husband and wife, or the official ceremony
which results in this
a man who is about to get married or has just got married:
to have a wife or husband
two people who are married or in a romantic or sexual
relationship
a person who has formally promised to marry another

3. True or false. Which of the following statements are true? Look for the evidence in the text.
a) Traditional weddings take place in church._______
b) The bridegroom usually wears an evening suit._____
c) Most brides wear a long white dress and a veil._____
d) During the ceremony the couple exchange some coins._____
e) When you get married the priest says you are now husband and wife._____
f) The largest mass wedding ceremony was performed at Seoul._____
4. Check your answers. Now read and find out.
5. Questions on the text. Answer these questions
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Where did John Kerivan get married?

Whats his job?
Who got married while he was flying?
What did he said to his wife when they landed?
When did the largest mass wedding ceremony take place?
How many people got married at the same time?

Granada, 12 April 2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c_zppPutQw
Dear Mark,

Traditional.non.traditional.weddings.

greeting

How are you? Whats new?

Im really happy because Iml getting married Ana.
DoLook
you atremember
her?is an informal letter. Peter now lives in Spain, he will get
6. Wedding letter.
this letter. This
married Ana, and
he is
writes
an invitation
to his
friend
giving
himwhen
some Idetails about the wedding
She
the spanish
girlletter
I met
three
years
ago,
celebration. came to Spain to finish my studies.
We are really excited and busy with the celebration,
which will take place in 19th May here in Granada.
date
It would be wonderful if Kate and you could come to
our wedding.
Write back soon, and give our warmest regards to
Kate.
Ana sends you a big hug
Peter

34
body

Closing
formula

It is

Youre getting married!

7. Tell your old friend about the

ceremony.Order your letter, where you give
some details to your friend about your wedding
ceremony.

Im from Texas and my fiance is from yorkshire. We live

Im from Texas and my fiance is from yorkshire. We live
together here in kentucky. We're at a total loss to plan the
together here in kentucky. We're at a total loss to plan the
wedding because we have a lot of work.
wedding because we have a lot of work.
Write back soon. Give Mary warmest regard and kisses.
Write back soon. Give Mary warmest regard and kisses.
Dear Peter. We hope you can come with Mary and your
Dear Peter. We hope you can come with Mary and your
children to our engagement ceremony.
children to our engagement ceremony.
We get married in September, after summer holidays.
We get married in September, after summer holidays.

I've really enjoyed your web-site and I think it has a lot of

I've really enjoyed your web-site and I think it has a lot of
great things to offer. We have been engaged for 4 months
great things to offer. We have been engaged for 4 months
and will be getting married in August. Texas
and will be getting married in August. Texas
12ththMay 2007.
12 May 2007.

35

(TEACHER NOTES)
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

NAME

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME
AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE
NAME

AIM
SKILLS
TIME
PROCEDURE

(Warm-up) Match the pictures with the words.

Western Cree syllabic writing, wedding invitation, e- mail,
complaint letter
To learn about writing conventions
Listening and speaking
5 minutes
Students have to learn different types of letters.
1. Imagine that you have to write a letter to one friend that lives abroad. How
would you begin in an informal way? Read this text to understand how better to
write an informal letter.
To learn how to write an informal letter.
Reading and writing
5 minutes
They have to work in pairs and decide where some expressions have to be placed in
an informal letter
2. The structure of a letter. Each country has its own convention in letter writing.
This concerns the way that the senders address is written, for example, and where
different parts of the letter are placed on the page.With your partner, decide where
the following parts of the letter should be:
To learn about different structure of a letter.
Reading and writing
5 minutes
Students have to decide with a partner where should be the different parts of the
letter.
3. A correct model. Now copy these details on to the letter so that you have a
correct model
Recognize the structure of a letter and divide it into paragraphs
Writing
5 minutes
Each student has to think about the parts of the letter.
4. Look at the letter again. How many paragraphs are there? The first is an
introduction. What headings could you give the other paragraphs? Share your
opinion with your partner
Recognize the different parts of a letter.
Speaking and writing
5 minutes
They have to talk with a partner about the different parts of a letter.
5. Writing a letter to an English friend
Imagine you have received the letter below from an English friend, which was your
neighbour. Write a reply either accepting the invitation or suggesting a date and
time for your visit on turning it down (with reasons) and making an alternative
suggestion.
To show learners ability to write an informal letter in foreign language
Reading and writing
15 minutes
Students have to imagine that they have received the letter of the activity bellow
from an English friend, which was their neighbour. They have to write a reply
either accepting the invitation or suggesting a date and time for their visit on
turning it down (with reasons) and making an alternative suggestion.

36

SESSION 5

37
Match the pictures with the words.
Western Cree syllabic writing, wedding invitation, e- mail, complaint letter
1. Imagine that you have to write a letter to one friend that lives abroad. How would you
begin in an informal way? Read this text to understand how better to write an informal
letter.
The Parts of a Friendly Letter
The Heading: The heading always includes the date and can include your address.
Why do we include our address in the heading? Do we want our friends to write back to us?How
will they know where to send a letter, Did anyone include an address? Why not? Are all the
children in Room 203?Do the letters all go into the classroom mailbox?
What dates can you find on the letters in the book? Do any of them include the year?
Can you guess why not?* Should you include the year?
The Greeting: This usually begins with Dear ____________, Remember to put a comma after
your friends name.
Most of the letters in this book begin, Dear Mrs. Hartwell,
Can you find any that begin in a different way. What greeting would you use to write a letter to:
your teacher, your father or mother, your principal, your friend?
The Body: What do you want to tell your friend? A friendly letter can have one
paragraph or several. Each paragraph in a friendly letter is indented.
Can you find a letter with only one paragraph? Is the first sentence indented? Can you find a letter
with two paragraphs? Is the first sentence of each new paragraph indented?
Is writing a friendly letter like talking to a friend? If your best friend moved to the deep
woods, where there were no telephones or e-mail, and letters were dropped from small airplanes,
think how happy he or she would be to hear from you. What would you like to tell
your friend?
The Closing: In the closing, the first word is capitalized. Always put a comma after the last
word.
Here are some of the closings youll find in First Year Letters:
Sincerely,
Fondly,
Excitedly yours,
Your friend,
Love,
Can you find any others?
Do the closings tell you something about the way the letter writer feels?
Can you think of some other closings?
Can you find a letter with no closing? How would this make you feel?
Can you find a closing with no comma?
Your signature
Practice writing your first name and nickname if you have one.
P.S. Have you forgotten something?
You can always add a P.S. Can you find out what P.S. stands for?

2. The structure of a letter. Each country has its own convention in letter writing. This concerns the
way that the senders address is written, for example, and where different parts of the letter are
placed on the page.With your partner, decide where the following parts of the letter should be:

The date
Dear.

Yours, etc.
Your adress

38

3. A correct model. Now copy these details on to the letter so that you have a correct model
.

Yours,
Its been months since I left Spain and I miss you a lot!
First of all, Im sorry for writing so late. I was trying to write you when
Flat 2,
my mother came into my bedroom and told me that I had to do my
homework. Many things have happened since I moved to England. For
9 Wood Road,
instance I have got a new school and new partners that seem nice
You will see my new address in this letter. My house here is quite a lot
Barrington,
bigger and I have now got a spare bedroom for guests!
Why dont you come and stay for a weekend so we can catch up on each
Somerset TE3 4LLothers news. It would be lovely to see you
Looking forward to hearing from you.

England

Peter Smith

Dear Gill,
10th Sept. 2005
Peter Smith
The paragraphs
4. Look at the letter again. How many paragraphs are there? The first is an introduction. What
headings could you give the other paragraphs? Share your opinion with your partner

5. Writing a letter to an English friend

Imagine you
have received the letter below from an English friend, which was your neighbour. Write a reply
either accepting the invitation or suggesting a date and time for your visit on turning it down (with
reasons) and making an alternative suggestion.

39

The class will be divided into 7 groups/ families of 4 students each. Each group shows a different
immigration situation.
Group A: immigrants that came to Spain from Romania
Group B: ..
.. to Miami from Cuba
Group C:
to Spain from Uk
Group D:
to Spain from Maroco
Group F:
to U.S.A. from Pakistan
Group G:
to Germany from Turqua
Group H:
to Spain from Senegal

40
Each family with four member (mother, father, girl and boy) want to write a letter to their family telling
about their new life in a foreign country. Each member of the family write a paragraph of the letter.
Mother: daily activities
Father: relationship with native people
Girl: school day
Boy: typical food
Example given by the teacher of one of the member:
Every student will be given, at the same time, another individual card with different prompts in relation to
some questions
Mother: daily activities
To go shopping
To find a better job
To attend to a language course

Father: relationship with native people

Relationship with workmates
Sport center
Healthcare system

Girl: school day

Relationship with classmates
Subjects problems/ difficulties
Means of transport to go to school

Boy: Food
Eating
Drinking
Special Ocassions Dishes (Christmas, Easter and etc)

Objectives:
-To practice the use of the past simple and past continuous.
-To differ one use from another
-To know and respect different cultures
-To practice the English in oral communication.
Final Task Result (example)
Gultekin Bulutoglu and his family came to Spain from Nigeria to make a better life.

Butuloglu, Seki
Plateau State,PMB 06
Vom, (Nigeria)
Hello Grandma,
How are you?
We live now in Madrid, Spain. It is a very nice country but were having some adaptation
problems.
Mum goes shopping everyday, and there are many new products we dont know. At the same
time, she is looking for a better job, but it seems to be difficult, you need a lot of official
papers to work here. She also attends to a Spanish course in a Academia, language center.
Dad works in a restaurant, he is a good waiter, but he is also looking for a better job. As you
already know, he is maths teacher. Despite of this, they are happy with their new life. Dads

41
workmates are very nice, and help us with paperwork.
He also goes to the sport center twice a week.
About me, I want to tell you that Im happy here. Ive made a lot of friends.
Girls here have many dresses, shoes and spend money in sweets, chuches.
I go to school everyday, teachers and classmates help me with subjects and language
problems. I take bus everyday, it is a comfortable and nice.
Boduk, my brother is very well. He also likes Spain very much, but he still doesnt have any
friends. He started his Vocational Training Course last week, and he is happy with it. He went
to a party yesterday, he ate typical spanish food; gazpacho, chilled raw soup originating in
Andalucia that is made by pounding bread and garlic with tomatoes, cucumber and peppers.,
and paella, a type of rice seasoned with saffron, it can be a combination of chicken,
vegetables and seafood, or a combination of sausages, rabbit and meat with chickpeas.
Now, I have to go to the spanish course at school.
Write back soon.
Kisses
Love,
Damilola
Butuloglu

Each student has to research throught his card (ex. Mother- going shopping, etc) in order to extract
information to write the common final letter.
The teacher will give students printed materials (magazines, books, brochures ect) and some useful websites
depending on the country they are living.
Example:
http://www.spain4uk.co.uk/Food_and_drink.htm
http://www.livinginspain.org/
www.africaguide.com/forum/morocco/455.html
http://www.liveincuba.com/pages/chapter.htm

Appendix
END OF UNIT TEST
SELF-EVALUATION SHEET

ACTIVITY BANK
SLOW LEARNERS

42

FAST FINISHERS

43

END OF UNIT TEST

NAME:
SURNAME:
1. Read the text
The Hard road to stardom!
Michael Jordan grew up in a small town in North Carolina, USA; one of five children.
Michael, youngest of the three boys, was the outgoing one. As I started to grow, he says,
my father always gave more confidence to my brothers because I was taller and things
were easier for me.
As he grew up Michael Jordan experienced many of the same feelings that other teenagers
do. He worried about the way he looked and he never believed anyone would want to
marry him. And the real reason he started playing basketball was because he thought being
on a team would make him look cool.

2. Read the text quickly and answer the questions.

1. Which sports star is the text about?
2. Which of these things are mentioned?

His family

Playing football

Exam results

Feelings as teenager

3. Read the text again and answer these questions.

1. Where did he grow up?
2. How many brothers has he got?
3. In what ways he was different from his brothers?
4. Why did he choose basketball?

4. Write a letter telling a friend about your wedding. Use the notes below.
Date of the wedding

44
Place of the wedding
Wedding details

SELF-EVALUATION SHEET
I HAVE LEARNT TO

VERY
WELL

O.K.

NOT
MUCH

45
Listen and take information about the story of an
immigrant
Ask and write questions on the topic of immigration
Give my opinion and talk of the most important human
rights.
To express opinions about fiction stories
To answer to questions with information related to past
events, experiences and completed actions

To production of sentences and texts with the

appropriate verbal tense

To use of time adverbs and adverbial sentences in

complete sentences
To answer to several questions of comprehension about
the text
To read and understand vocabulary about weddings.
To take decisions in an oral communication task
through compromising

To identify the structure and the grammatical

components in a narrative story and in an informal
letter
To look for information and exchange opinions, if
necessary, about other environment problems in the sea
To contrast among the resources of formal and informal
register in written English
To analyse the structure of an informal letter .

46
To learn connectors and use them appropriately
To create an informal letter

FINAL SELF-EVALUATION SHEET

SESSION:
What have we done?
What did you like?

What didnt you find useful?

What did you find easy?

What did you find difficult?

What have you learnt?

Linguistic

Non-linguistic

What else would you like to learn about the topic?

What can we do next?

ACTIVITY BANK
SLOW LEARNERS

IMMIGRATION STORIES
1. Pictures about multicultural situations

47

What do these pictures suggest to you? Then, share your opinion with
your partner.

Picture 1: friendship
Picture 2. tolerance
Picture 3: peace
Picture 4: innocence.

5..Listen again and choose the correct sentence from the text.
right

wrong

My name is Ignacio
I came to the United States 8 years ago
After 3 months we moved to Santa Ana to live with one
of my aunts

6..Listen again and order the following sentences.

ORDER
I came to the United States 5 years ago
It was during the first days of March of 1991 when my
mother got sick and she had to be hospitalized
My name is Ignacio

7. The story of an immigrant (2). Order the following sentences from the
previous text. What happened first?
came/to/ I/ United/ the/ 5 years/ States/ ago
I /a son/ is /two years old / plan/ I/ to start /here in the U.S./ or go
back /to Mexico/ and /go to the university/ with my wife/ now/ have/
who/ and/ some business/

48

TRAVELLING AND DOCUMENTS

1.Read this. Ignacio talks about his experience.
I came to USA to have a good job.
When I arrived, I couldnt speak any
word in English. But I was learning
during five months with a English
teacher, and now I can spak very well
English

49

2. Complete the text. In the following passage put the verb in brackets into
the most suitable tense (past simple and past continuous)
One of the most embarrassing incidents in my early career as a
doctor_______ (happen) when I ________ (work) in the Accident
Department of a large city hospital. I usually _________ (cycle) to
work when the weather was fine as I _________ (try) to lose
weight. That morning it just ________ (begin) to rain as I
_________ (leave) the house but I ________ (think) I could reach
the hospital before the rain ________ (get) too heavy. I _________
(cycle) down the hill, _________ (turn) into the main road and
_______ (head) for the city centre when the bus in front of me
________ (begin) to slow down.

50

School journey

NAME:__________________________

JOURNEYS IN HISTORY
DATE:________________

2.DESTINATION:_______________________
ROLE-PLAY.Did you enjoy your last school journey? Was it exciting?.

Ask and answer your classmate and collect some information to complete the
interview to your partner.
Example: How was the last school journey?
HOW WAS THE JOURNEY?
Great, it was really exciting. We went to Disneyland Paris
STUDENT A
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

HOW LONG ?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

51

STUDENT B
School journey
NAME:__________________________
DATE:________________
DESTINATION:_______________________

HOW ?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

HOW LONG WAS THE JOURNEY?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________

52

4. Look at the photos

1) Describe what you see in each of pictures A, B, and C
2)In picture A, why he has a flag?

53
3)In picture C the men have cycle panniers on each side of the front wheels
of their bicycles. What they may contain?
4)In picture D what kind of boat do you think this is?

NEW CULTURE. DIFFERENT TRADITIONS. WEDDING

CUSTOMS.
2. Think about weddings
Match the following words with their meanings:
Wedding

a marriage celebration such as a meal or a party

Couple

Witness

Fiance

Marriage
Bridegroom

X
X

X
X

Get married

someone who is asked to be present at a particular

event and sign their name in order to prove that things
have been done correctly
a legally accepted relationship between a woman and a
man in which they live as husband and wife, or the
official ceremony which results in this
a man who is about to get married or has just got
married:
to have a wife or husband
two people who are married or in a romantic or sexual
relationship
a person who has formally promised to marry another

3. True or false. Which of the following statements are true? Look for the
evidence in the text.
a) Traditional weddings take place in church._______

54

b) The bridegroom usually wears an evening suit._____

d) During the ceremony the couple exchange some coins._____
e) When you get married the priest says you are now husband and
wife._____

4. Check your answers. Now read and find out.

5. Questions on the text. Answer these questions

5.
6.
7.
8.

Where did John Kerivan get married?

Whats his job?
Who got married while he was flying?
What did he said to his wife when they landed?

55

NEW LIFE. NEW LANGUAGE. WRITING CONVENTIONS.

2. The structure of a letter. Each country has its own convention in letter writing.
This concerns the way that the senders address is written, for example, and
where different parts of the letter are placed on the page.With your partner, decide
where the following parts of the letter should be:
The date
Dear.

Yours, etc.
Your adress

3. A correct model. Now copy these details on to the letter so that you have a
correct model
.

Yours,

Its been months since I left Spain and I miss you a lot!
First of all, Im sorry for writing so late. I was trying to write you when
Flat 2,
my mother came into my bedroom and told me that I had to do my
homework. Many things have happened since I moved to England. For
9 Wood Road,
instance I have got a new school and new partners that seem nice
You will see my new address in this letter. My house here is quite a lot
bigger
and I have now got a spare bedroom for guests!
Barrington,
Why dont you come and stay for a weekend so we can catch up on each
Somerset TE3 4LLothers news. It would be lovely to see you
Looking forward to hearing from you.

England
Dear Gill,
10th Sept. 2005

Peter Smith

56

Peter Smith
The paragraphs
4. Look at the letter again. How many paragraphs are there? The first is an
introduction. What headings could you give the other paragraphs? Share your
opinion with your partner

5. Writing a letter to an English friend

Imagine you have received the letter below from an English friend, which
was your neighbour. Write a reply either accepting the invitation.

57

FAST FINISHERS

IMMIGRATION STORIES
1. Pictures about multicultural situations
What do these pictures suggest to you? Then, share your opinion with
your partner

Picture 1: friendship, ...

2. Adjectives
A brain storming activity. What do these adjectives mean to you?
Successful
amazing

hard
sensitive

exciting

proud

3. The story of your life

Work in pairs. Tell your partner the story of your life. Then, he/she will
tell you his/her story. Now, you will tell the whole class the story of each
other.

4. The story of an immigrant.

1.Listen and answer the following questions.
4) How many people are speaking?
5) What is this story about?
6) Where are they talking?
7) What are they talking about?
8) When did it happen?

58

5..Complete the missing words. Then, listen again and choose the correct
sentence from the text.
right
My n_me is Ignacio
I c_me t_ the United States 8 years _g_
It was during the first days of D_______er of 1991
when my mother g_t sick and she h_d to be hospitalized
After 3 m_nt_s we moved to Santa Ana to l_ve with one
of my aunts
Th_n h_ _e in Santa Ana I got married 5 years ago

6..Listen again and order the following sentences.

ORDER
Ana I got married 3 years ago
I can say my mother would be so proud of my life now.
I came to the United States 5 years ago
It was during the first days of March of 1991 when my
mother got sick and she had to be hospitalized
My name is Ignacio

wrong

59

TRAVELLING AND DOCUMENTS

1.Read this. Ignacio talks about his experience.
I came to USA to have a good job.
When I arrived, I couldnt speak any
word in English. But I was learning
during five months with a English
teacher, and now I can spak very well
English

60

2. Complete the text. In the following passage put the verb in brackets into
the most suitable tense (past simple and past continuous)
One of the most embarrassing incidents in my early career as a
doctor_______ (happen) when I ________ (work) in the Accident
Department of a large city hospital. I usually _________ (cycle) to
work when the weather was fine as I _________ (try) to lose
weight. That morning it just ________ (begin) to rain as I
_________ (leave) the house but I ________ (think) I could reach
the hospital before the rain ________ (get) too heavy. I _________
(cycle) down the hill, _________ (turn) into the main road and
_______ (head) for the city centre when the bus in front of me
________ (begin) to slow down.
As I ________ (move) out to overtake it, there was a loud bang and
every thing ________ (go) black. When I _________ (come) round,
I ________ (lie) on the pavement and a crowd of people
_________ (stand) around me. Then I __________ (hear) an
ambulance in the distance and my heart ________ (sink). Five
minutes later I _________ (arrive) at the hospital and I was carried
into the Accident Department on a stretcher.

61

JOURNEYS IN HISTORY
1. ROLE-PLAY.Did you enjoy your last school journey? Was it exciting?.

Ask and answer your classmate and collect some information to complete the
interview to your partner.
STUDENT A
School journey
NAME:__________________________
DATE:________________
DESTINATION:_______________________

HOW WAS THE JOURNEY?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________

HOW LONG ?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIFFICULT?

______________________________________________

HOW MANY CITIES DID YOU VISIT?

_----------------------------------------------------------------------_______________________________________________

STUDENT B

62
School journey
NAME:__________________________
DATE:________________
DESTINATION:_______________________

HOW ?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

HOW LONG WAS THE JOURNEY?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIFFICULT?

_______________________________________________

HOW MANY CITIES DID YOU VISIT?

_----------------------------------------------------------------------_______________________________________________

63

2. Look at the photos

1. Describe what you see in each of pictures A, B, and C
2. Describe the appearance of the people in each picture
3. In picture A, why he has a flag?
4. What does the man seem to do in picture A? What may he be saying?
5. In picture C the men have cycle panniers on each side of the front wheels of their
bicycles. What they may contain?
6. In picture D what kind of boat do you think this is?
7. Do you know the name of this ship? What did it happen?

3. Headlines about these journeys. Now, you have headlines from articles
about the journeys which were made by the people in the pictures. Work in
pairs to match the headlines and lists to the pictures and fill in the two lines
of the table which follows:
Picture A

Picture B

Picture C

Picture D

64

Means of travel
Destination
Headlines:

My long walk to
the North Pole

Slow Boats to
China

Hard Track to
Africa

Australia - by
pedal power

Extracts from the journeys

2)
1)

From Dubai, they travelled to Pakistan and

India. There, while cycling through a small
village on the road from Hyderabad to
Khairpur, they met a young man who
invited them back to his village 10 miles
off the main road.
It was to be a memorable experience.
When they arrived at Talpur, Rick and
David found themselves surrounded by the
entire population of the village more than
300 people.

3)
Now I was cold, tired and confused, the visibility on
the frozen sea water was less than 10 yards in freezing
fog. I could not contact my small back-up team in
Resolute by radio, atmospheric conditions near the
magnetic North Pole preventing that.
My compass was swinging steadily back and forth
from north to south. It vas cold, about minus 15C, but
the wind in the fog lowered this to nearer minus 45C.
But why was I there?
Because no one man had walked the place alone
before. It was my Mount Everest and I was almost
there, a miserable windswept icy hell somewhere
where no one had ever stood alone.

We cruised gently through France,

Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece,
getting the feel` of the bikes. With clothes,
camping equiptment, spares and enough
tools to do practically a complete rebuild,
we were loaded up fairly heavily, but we
found that with good weight distribution
the bikes still handled excellently. Did they
have enough in reserve, we they have
enough in reserve, we wondered, to cope
with the additional load of five gallons of
petrol and a weeks food and water, and
with the extra strains of off-road riding?

4) WHERE SHOULD I START? I went

back to the lists again, but the

decision was soon made. Not
Rotterdam of Southampton; the
Channel and the west Mediterranean
were well-known and well travelled. I
would start in Europe, but as close to
Asia as possible: Athens. Friends had
told me of a steamer that shuttled
passengers from Piraeus to the Greek
island of Patmos, near Izmir in
Turkey. From there I could find my
way slo9wl.y to the Suez Canal, a
first and formidable major hurdle.

4. Now read these short extract from description of the four journeys and
work with a partner to answer these questions:
11.In extract 1), why did the two cyclists receive such a welcome from
the villagers?
12.What does the writer mean by getting the feel of the bikes in the
extract 2)?

65

13.What spares could the two motorcyclists have been carrying in

extract 2)?
14.How did they manage to handle their bikes with such heavy loads on
them?
15.Explain in your own words why the writer in extract 3) began his
journey in Athens.
16.What kind of boat did he plan to take first?
17.Did he think it would be difficult or easy to pass through the Suez
Canal? Which words give you the answer?
18.In extract 4), what problems was the writer facing?
19.What reasons does he give for making his journey Is his reason
understandable?
20.If you had to choose, which of these journeys would you go on?

NEW CULTURE. DIFFERENT TRADITIONS. WEDDING

CUSTOMS
1. Think about weddings
Match the following words with their meanings:
Wedding

Couple

a piece of thin material worn by women to cover the

face/head
someone who is asked to be present at a particular
event and sign their name in order to prove that things
have been done correctly

66
Veil

a marriage celebration such as a meal or a party

Witness

Fiance

Marriage
Bridegroom

X
X

X
X

Get married

a legally accepted relationship between a woman and a

man in which they live as husband and wife, or the
official ceremony which results in this
a man who is about to get married or has just got
married:
to have a wife or husband
two people who are married or in a romantic or sexual
relationship
a person who has formally promised to marry another

2. True or false. Which of the following statements are true? Look for the
evidence in the text.
a) Traditional weddings take place in church._______
b) The bridegroom usually wears an evening suit._____
c) Most brides wear a long white dress and a veil._____
d) During the ceremony the couple exchange some coins._____
e) When you get married the priest says you are now husband and
wife._____
f) The largest mass wedding ceremony was performed at Seoul._____

3. Check your answers. Now read and find out.

4. Questions on the text. Answer these questions

9. Where did John Kerivan get married?
10.Whats his job?
11.Who got married while he was flying?
12.What did he said to his wife when they landed?
13.When did the largest mass wedding ceremony take place?
14.How many people got married at the same time?

67

NEW LIFE. NEW LANGUAGE. WRITING CONVENTIONS.

1. Imagine that you have to write a letter to one friend that lives abroad. How
would you begin in an informal way? Read this text to understand how better to
write an informal letter.

The Parts of a Friendly Letter

The Heading: The heading always includes the date and can include your address.
Why do we include our address in the heading? Do we want our friends to write back to us?How
will they know where to send a letter, Did anyone include an address? Why not? Are all the
children in Room 203?Do the letters all go into the classroom mailbox?
What dates can you find on the letters in the book? Do any of them include the year?
Can you guess why not?* Should you include the year?
The Greeting: This usually begins with Dear ____________, Remember to put a comma after
your friends name.
Most of the letters in this book begin, Dear Mrs. Hartwell,

68
Can you find any that begin in a different way. What greeting would you use to write a letter to:
your teacher, your father or mother, your principal, your friend?
The Body: What do you want to tell your friend? A friendly letter can have one
paragraph or several. Each paragraph in a friendly letter is indented.
Can you find a letter with only one paragraph? Is the first sentence indented? Can you find a letter
with two paragraphs? Is the first sentence of each new paragraph indented?
Is writing a friendly letter like talking to a friend? If your best friend moved to the deep
woods, where there were no telephones or e-mail, and letters were dropped from small airplanes,
think how happy he or she would be to hear from you. What would you like to tell
your friend?
The Closing: In the closing, the first word is capitalized. Always put a comma after the last
word.
Here are some of the closings youll find in First Year Letters:
Sincerely,
Fondly,
Excitedly yours,
Your friend,
Love,
Can you find any others?
Do the closings tell you something about the way the letter writer feels?
Can you think of some other closings?
Can you find a letter with no closing? How would this make you feel?
Can you find a closing with no comma?
Your signature
Practice writing your first name and nickname if you have one.
P.S. Have you forgotten something?
You can always add a P.S. Can you find out what P.S. stands for?

2. The structure of a letter. Each country has its own convention in letter writing.
This concerns the way that the senders address is written, for example, and
where different parts of the letter are placed on the page.With your partner, decide
where the following parts of the letter should be:
The date
Dear.

Yours, etc.
Your adress

Its been months since I left Spain and I miss you a lot!
First of all, Im sorry for writing so late. I was trying to write you when
3. A correct model. Now
these
to the letter
so me
thatthat
youI had
have
my copy
mother
camedetails
into myonbedroom
and told
toado my
correct model
homework. Many things have happened since I moved to England. For
.
instance I have got a new school and new partners that seem nice
You will see my new address in this letter. My house here is quite a lot
Yours,
bigger and I have now got a spare bedroom for guests!
Why dont you come and stay for a weekend so we can catch up on each
Flat 2,
others news. It would be lovely to see you
Looking forward to hearing from you.

9 Wood Road,

Peter Smith

69

Barrington,
Somerset TE3 4LL
England
Dear Gill,
10th Sept. 2005
Peter Smith
The paragraphs
4. Look at the letter again. How many paragraphs are there? The first is an
introduction. What headings could you give the other paragraphs? Share your
opinion with your partner