Smoking ban

Task 1 Speaking
Work in pairs to discuss the following questions:

1. What do you think about smoking?

2. What are the health risks of smoking?
3. What should be done to prevent young people from taking up smoking?
4. How often do you go to a pub or a bar? What do you do there? How much time do you spend there?

Task 2 Vocabulary
Read the definitions and translate the words.

Word Definition Translation

in my case in my situation; as for me

an addict someone who can’t stop taking drugs

to draw the line to separate one thing from another

a boundary a line which defines a limit

to consume to eat or drink; to use up

it is a shame an expression you say when you are disappointed

to stick to to follow or respect (a rule or a law)

a yard an area with no roof, either inside or outside a building

to choose not to do what you’ve been told; to behave

to ignore
as though you haven’t seen or heard something

compliance following or respecting the law or rules

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 Smoking ban

Dice Game

Now you have two minutes to remember the new words. Then you are going to play a
memory game.

Task 3 Listening for keywords

You are going to listen to a conversation between three girls in a university bar in Britain.
They are speaking about the European ban on smoking in public places. The first speaker
is British, the second is French and the third is German.

The first time you listen, tick the words from task 2 as you hear them.

Task 4 Listening for detail

Listen again and complete the summary of the conversation. Write between one and
four words for each space.

In France the smoking ban started (1) .............................................. it started in the UK.

In Germany the smoking ban started (2) ........................................................ years ago.

The German speaker enjoyed this change because her clothes (3) ...................................

.................................................. any more.

The French girl stopped smoking in the UK because she feels like (4) ..............................

.......................................................................................... if she smokes alone outside.

However, in France she smokes outside with her friends, and it’s a good way to (5) ..........

.............................................................

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 Smoking ban

In Germany bar keepers are (6) ....................................................................................

because now people can’t smoke, they drink less beer.

The British girl thinks that there should be (7) ............................................ bars and (8)

................................................................. bars because people don’t go to a bar to be

healthy.

In France there are some places, especially in mountains and small bars where the law (9)

................................................ respected.

In Rennes there are some bars that have an (10) ........................................................

...........................................................which has no roof and where people can smoke.

A few years ago people (11) ............................................................... in bars in Spain.

Task 5 Speaking

Compare what the three girls said with the situation in your country.

Task 6 Reading

Read the text and decide whether the sentences below are true (T) or false (F).

The smoking ban in the Czech Republic

Until about 15 years ago there was no ban on smoking in public places. Even in schools
there were places where the teachers and older students could smoke. There was just
one restriction at that time: you couldn´t smoke in restaurants at lunchtime.

Then the law changed. Smoking was banned in schools and the lunchtime smoking ban
vanished. However, in restaurants there had to be places for smokers and non-smokers.
The resulting situation was even worse than before, as the tables for non-smokers were
often next to the tables for smokers.

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 Smoking ban

A few years later, after even smokers complained that they wanted to enjoy their meals
without being surrounded by smoke, the law changed again and this time the tables for
smokers and non-smokers had to be separated by a wall. However, no one bothered to
define how high and thick the wall should be and now you can see walls in restaurants
which are only a metre high.

One doctor described the situation about smoking in the Czech Republic in the following
words: ‘As far as smoking is concerned, Czech MPs are either incredibly stupid or
incredibly corrupt’ because no matter which party is in power they are never able to agree
on a complete smoking ban.
T/F

1. In the Czech Republic there used to be places for smokers in schools.

2. In the past no one could smoke in restaurants during lunchtime.

3. There used to be smoking and non-smoking tables next to each other.

4. Now the places for smokers and non-smokers are completely separated.

5. Czech MPs will agree on a complete smoking ban soon.

Task 7 Writing

Describe the situation concerning smoking in your country in 150 to 200 words.

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 Smoking ban

Teaching notes

Level: intermediate (B1/B2).

Objectives:
 to practise listening to authentic spoken English, including a range of accents and some
background noise
 to write a descriptive piece about smoking laws in their own country.

Timing:
 Task 1 Speaking: 10 minutes
 Task 2 Vocabulary: 15 minutes
 Task 3 Listening for key words: 10 minutes
 Task 4 Listening for detail: 15 minutes
 Task 5 Speaking: 5 minutes
 Task 6 Reading: 5 minutes
 Task 7 Writing: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Materials
 (optional): one dice per pair of students, for the vocabulary game
 the authentic audio recording, downloadable from www.teachitelt.com by searching for
20394 and clicking on the green audio icon.
The recording lasts 5 minutes, 17 seconds.

Procedure and answers

Task 1 Speaking
This activity serves as an introduction to the topic. Monitor and feed in any necessary vocabulary,
such as e-cigarettes or passive smoking.

Task 2 Vocabulary
You could allow students who speak the same L1 to work together for the translation task.

To activate the vocabulary, you could play the following dice game:

1. First, students work on their own and they have two minutes to memorise the new words.
2. Then give a dice to each pair of students.
3. Then, one of the students (Student A) turns the worksheet over so he/she cannot see the
words and definitions. He/She rolls the dice.
4. Their partner (Student B) reads one of the definitions. If Student A says the correct word,
they win the number of points on the dice.
5. Student A plays three times and then the students swap roles.
6. Play continues for three minutes. The student with the higher score at the end is the
winner.

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 Smoking ban
Concept-check questions:

 If your partner throws number 1 on the dice, do you have to read the first definition? (No,
you can choose whichever definition you like.)
 How many points will you get if you don’t know the word? (Zero.)

 How many times will you throw the dice before you swap with your partner? (Three times.)

 How many times will you swap roles? (As many times as possible in three minutes.)

Task 3 Listening for key words

This activity allows students to get used to the speakers’ voices and to get the gist of the
recording.

Task 4 Listening for detail

Ask the students to read the text first. Then play the recording and the students should complete
the text with one to four words in each gap. Point out that they do not have to have the exact
words, as long as what they write has the same meaning.

Suggested answers:

1. one year after

2. one or two
3. don’t smell of smoke
4. a complete addict
5. meet new people
6. losing money
7. smoking
8. non-smoking
9. is not so well
10. inside yard
11. were still smoking

Task 5 Speaking

This activity allows students to personalise the vocabulary and ideas from the lesson, and to
practise speaking for fluency.

Task 6 Reading

The students work on their own, and then compare their answers.

Answers: 1T; 2T; 3T; 4F; 5F.

Task 7 Writing

The text from task 6 can serve as a model for students’ own writing.

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Transcript

B = British speaker; F = French speaker; G = German speaker

So, I mean, is it, is it Europewide, this ban on, erm, smoking in public places or is it different in
B:
different countries?

? I don’t know.

In France it started, erm, I think, one year after the UK, when people could not smoke in bars
F: any more. Erm, it was a big change. Er, yeah, I’m a smoker and, and I somehow, somehow it
helped me reduce the amount of cigarettes I smoke.

I think in Germany this ban of smoking in bars and public places started a year or two ago, I
don't remember, because I am a not smoker, so, um, for me, well, yeah, it was a big change,
G:
because I, like, my clothes didn’t smell of smoke any more and I came back from a night out,
for example, so I really enjoyed this, this change, I have to say.

F: Yeah.

But what I must say, what I object to now is if I go out with friends who do smoke, I then have
B: to go and sit outside with them, like, oh, I have to sit outside in the freezing cold while you
smoke, um ...

F: Yeah.

I don’t know, my, my friends, they don’t smoke and if there is someone who smokes then he or
G:
she is alone going outside, so it’s not a problem for me.

And in my case, well, in the UK I completely stopped smoking because I thought it was, I enjoy
smoking in, in nice conditions and usually, I live in the dorms and if I want to smoke, I’ve got to
F: go downstair, downstairs, outside by the road and sbo, smoke by myself and I think it’s really
not enjoyable, so I’d rather not smoke than smoke in these kinds of conditions and feel like a
complete addict.

B: Well yeah, so obviously you aren't too addicted.

No, it’s something that I manage to, I draw line between addiction and, and something I enjoy,
F:
and I always put boundaries to myself. And also because it has become a lot more expensive.

B: Yeah, that’s true.

And, erm, but in France usually, it’s, I don't know if it is less cold, and probably most, a lot
more of my friends smoke as well and my living conditions are different, so when we go to bars
it’s true that some people, there is al, always a group of people going outside to smoke and
F:
actually I enjoy this because, er, even if I’m a smoker I don’t really like that my clothes smell
like smoke so much and it’s also going outside the bar is also a way to meet new people. It
creates some new form of smoking community, if I can say.

B: Well, yeah, it does.

You see, although I think that this, like, in my opinion, this ban is a really good thing, but on
the other hand I heard that for example barkeepers, they, they are losing money, because
G:
people like to smoke while having a beer. If they can't smoke, at least in Germany it is the
case, because, you know, drinking lots of beer

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B: Well, yeah, here too!

G: people wouldn’t, people would consume less because they can't smoke.

Yeah, um I do feel perhaps that it's a bit of a shame that they didn't decide to have smoking
bars and non-smoking bars 'cause it is true that if you go out to the pub it’s not for the sake of
B: your health, you know, you don't go and have a beer to do you good exactly so, yeah, why not
combine the two? And, um, in Germany, do you find that people actually stick to the rules? Do
people, you know

Oh yes, I mean in general Germans really stick, not in all cases, but we usually stick to the
G: rules. I can't, I can’t say whether it had an impact and that less people are smoking but in the
restaurants and public places in general they’re not smoking.

In France I know places where the rule is not so well respected, especially in small bars, village
F:
bars.

B: OK.

Er, in the mountains, like places that have always been more like a sort of family community
F: place than, erm, a space that just sell alcohols. So the rule is not, I mean, they respect it
somehow, but they don't mind if you smoke by the chimney, for example.

B: Oh, OK, OK.

Er, and in Rennes, the student city where I was studying before, some bars I’ve found, erm,
F:
they have a sort of, of er, inside, er, yard, er, that is open, so people can

B: Oh, OK.

F: are still inside the bar and are, are in an open spaces so they can smoke as well.

G: That’s clever.

B: Yeah 'cause then the barman still gets to sell his drinks, and er, yeah, it’s quite a good system.

? Exactly.

Cause, er, I noticed in Spain, I mean I'm not even sure, if, if the law’s the same in Spain as say
in, in France or in Germany, but I noticed in Spain a few years ago people were still, still
B:
smoking in bars and I don't know if that’s just cause they were ignoring the law or if the law
was different

F: I think Latin cultures, is in general, er, has, has more problem with compliance.

B: Right.

G: Yeah, I think so too I think that’s actually the law in Spain and they just don't comply.

B: Mmm (laughs) mmm.

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