Our excursion to Wales

Тема. Our excursion to Wales

Objectives:

• to practice pupils’ speaking skills;

• to develop socio-cultural competence and cultural awareness;

• to develop students’ reading skills;

• to educate respect to other people’s culture.

Equipment: The flag of Wales, a map of Great Britain, a portrait of the Queen, film, cards with the text, a table “Key Facts”.

Procedure

I. Introduction

T: Good morning, children. Today we’re going to have an exciting lesson. We are going to fly to Wales. So, we have spoken much about the UK and its people and today we’ll travel to one of the most beautiful cities of this country Wales. By the end of the lesson you should learn more about Wales’s places of interests, their history and features. But first of all let’s turn on a TV set and listen to the weather forecast.

II, Warming-up

P: The weather forecast promises us good weather today. Though it is early spring but the weather is really warm. The sky is blue; it is not covered with clouds. The sun is shining brightly. The wind is not blowing. The temperature is 10 degrees below zero. Thank you for your attention. Good bye. Have a nice day!

III. Main part

1. Speaking

T: The weather is fine to start our traveling. Please, think of possible ways of getting to Wales.

(Pupils tell their ideas and explain the reasons why they choose such ways.)

T: So, now we are ready to start our flight. You will find out a lot of interesting facts about this country, visit beautiful places and see many sights.    I am sure, you’ll have good time there.

Let me introduce my assistant, our pilot.

Pilot: Good morning, children, I’d like to welcome you aboard this plane. As you know we are flying to Wales. Will you fasten your seatbelts? Do  you have any questions?

P1: What altitude is our plane flying at?

Pilot: We are flying at the altitude of 13.000 feet.

P2: When will we arrive?

Pilot: We’ll arrive at 5 pm.

2. Listening

Pilot: Now I invite you to listen about the Where's Wales? And is Wales a good place to visit? Listen and find out!

Text

Wales is one of the countries in Britain and the United Kingdom. It’s a small country with England to the east. Wales has got a continuous coastline, around 1,300km long, which means there are a lot of beaches! It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the UK and is a popular destination for holidaymakers and water sports fans. As well as beaches, there are a lot of mountains in Wales. Snowdonia is one of three national parks in Wales. It is in north Wales and its highest mountain, Snowdon, is 1,085m.

Music The Welsh people love music and there are a lot of singing festivals and competitions in Wales. One of the largest cultural festivals in Europe is the National Eisteddfod of Wales which is in a different town or city every year. All the events are in Welsh and include literature, singing, art, exhibitions, dance and theatre. Famous singers and groups from Wales include Duffy, Stereophonics and Catatonia.

Sport The Welsh enjoy watching and playing sport, especially rugby union and football. Wales has its own football league and famous Welsh footballers include Ryan Giggs and Gareth Bale. The modern Millennium Stadium in Cardiff can hold 74,500 spectators and is where you go if you want to watch a football or rugby match or even a pop concert. In 2014 Cardiff was the European Capital of Sport. Water sports are popular in Wales. You can go surfing, wakeboarding (a combination of waterskiing, snowboarding and surfing) or coasteering (climbing up rocks and jumping into the sea). If you like unusual sports, visit the small town of Llanwrtyd Wells. Every year in this town there is a man versus horse marathon and a bog snorkelling competition. Bog snorkelling is similar to swimming in extremely dirty water.

Food There are lots of sheep in Wales, so people eat a lot of lamb. Typical Welsh dishes include ‘cawl’ which is lamb stew, Glamorgan sausages and ‘rarebit’ which is a type of cheese on toast. If you ever go to Wales, you will see dragons everywhere! Not real dragons, of course, but a red dragon appears on the national flag of Wales. The Patron Saint of Wales is Saint David, who is celebrated on March 1st. Other symbols of Wales include the leek (a long green vegetable) and the daffodil (a white or yellow flower)

T: Hote down the main differences between Wales and Ukraine.

3. Speaking

Pilot: Before coming to Wales let’s remember their customs.

Possible answers:

P1: Giving a spoon as a token of love

P2: Correcting anybody who calls them British

P3: Celebrating beating the English in rugby

P4: St David’s Day celebrations

P3: Drinking is an unofficial national sport

P6: Cheese on toast is prized dish

P7: Pronouncing year, hear, here, ear the same

P8: Rolling your eyes at sheep jokes

Pilot: We are landing in a few minutes. You can unfasten your seatbelts. I hope the flight was pleasant. Thank you for your attention. The guide will meet you at the airport and will take you on an excursion.

4. Reading

Pre-reading

T (guide): Welcome to Wales!

Now we are going to find out new things about wales

(Cards with the text to pupils.)

Text

The basics:

Population: 3.1 million people. 4.8 per cent of the UK population.

Location: Wales is on the island of Great Britain, to the west of England.

Size: Wales is roughly 20,800 square km in area.

Time Zone: GMT

Currency: Pound Sterling

National Day: St David’s Day, 1 March

National symbols: The dragon, daffodil and leek are three of a number of national symbols.

National Anthem: Hen Wlad fy Nhadau (Land of my Fathers)

Language: Welsh and English – Wales is a bilingual country.

Geography and climate:

Highest mountain: Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), Snowdonia National Park, at 1,085m (3,560ft).

Longest placename: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch is the full name, which means The Church of St Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio near a red cave, and it is often shortened to Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG.

Climate: Wales’ weather is mild and variable - with average temperatures of around 20°C (68°F) in summer, and 6°C (43°F) at low altitude in the winter months.

Transport and travel:

Wales is well-connected to the rest of the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe via road, rail, sea and air.

Cardiff is around two hours from London travelling by road or train.

Education:

Education is compulsory and state funded from 5-16 years of age, and delivered through Nursery, Primary, Middle, Secondary, Special and Welsh Language schools.

Around 172,000 students study at further education institutions in Wales every year.

Work:

The standard work week is 37 hours and most workers get around 5 weeks’ holiday a year.

Post-reading

T: Let’s sum up the text and fill in the table on the blackboard.

1. Key facts

1. Students use the map of Great Britain to find the missing information and complete the table.

2. Then pupils make up sentences about the country using the information they have found themselves.

3. Teacher asks pupils to split into two groups, one of which represents the British, and the other – Ukrainians. The groups ask each other questions about the political systems of their countries.

6. Game

T: Our excursion is over. I wish you a pleasant way back home!

(Pupils thank the guide.)

IV. Summing-up

Pilot: Take your seats on the plane. We are coming back to Ukraine.

T: So, let’s sum-up. What did you do? What have you seen? What have you learnt about Wales? Your marks are…

V. Home assignment

T: Write a short composition “What I know about Wales”.