D5 - Speak: Weather

Part 1

• What’s the weather like where you live?
• Does the weather affect your mood?
• Do you like sunny days?
• What type of weather do you like best?
• Does the weather ever affect what you do?
• Does it bother you much when it rains?
• What do you like to do on sunny days?
• Does it rain a lot in your hometown?
• Which months have the best weather in your country?
• Does rain ever affect transportation in your hometown?
• Do you think that weather affects people’s behaviour?

Part 2

Describe a time when you experienced extreme weather conditions. You should say

when this was
where you were
what the weather was like

and say how you felt about the experience.

Casual Talk

• Is it snowy frequently in Winter? How long is snow?
• What is the best month/season for traveling?

Vocabulary

Notes

seasonality

• Celsius

Climatic zone:

• latitude
• equator
• tropics
• tropical zone
• the tropic of Cancer
• the tropic of Capricorn
• subtropics
  • subtropical zone
• temperate zone
• frigid Zone
• polar zones
  • the North Pole: Arctic
  • the South Pole: Antarctica

Spring: Monsoon

• rainy season
• drizzle
• torrential rain
• rain cats and dogs
• wash sth away
  • The dust on the balcony had been washed away by the rain overnight.
• flood
• I am drenched
• humid, humidity

Summer:

• heatwave
• muggy: sweaty and sticky
• I am sweating like crazy

Autumn:

• Most of the time:
  • balmy, mild
  • a break in the weather
• Typhoon
  • windy, blustery
  • blow blew blown

Winter:

• chilly
  • I felt a bit chilly so I put on a jacket.
• freeze, froze, frozen
  • The weather forecast says that it is going to freeze tonight
  • Our pipes froze (up) (= the water in them turned to ice) several times last winter.
• snow -> snowy
  • We’ve had a very snowy winter this year.
• my teeth are chattering

Cloudy

• shady
• gloomy
• overcast

Desert:

• drought, arid, barren

D4 - Speak: Festival

Part 1

New Year

• How do you usually celebrate New Year?
• How did you celebrate the last New Year?
• Do you have a favorite New Year celebration?
• How important is celebrating New Year in your country?

Part 2 & 3

Describe a tradition in your country

You should say:

• What it is
• Who takes part in it
• What activities there are

And how you feel about is

Part 3

1. How do people value traditional festivals?

2. What’s the difference between festivals now and those in the past?

3. Do you think western festival like Christmas are replacing traditional festivals in your country?

4. what are the benefits of celebrating traditional festivals?

Casual Talk

• How do you celebrate the chinese/lunar new year?
• How do you celebrate the new year?
• Any particular events/national holiday?

Vocabularies

Notes

Why Festival: (Benefits)

• An expressive way to pass the legends, knowledge and traditions onto the next generation
• Remind us the significant historical figures or famous events.
• Connect us as a people of a nation, get along with the local community

What Changes:

• Compare to the activities in the past , it is more entertaining nowadays
• Some activities has changed due to the business advertisement
• Moon Festival: not only moon cake but also BBQ.

New years:

• Used to go to the event venue to enjoy the atmosphere of the free cross year concert and the breathtaking fireworks.
• the mayor will count the seconds to the New Year with the citizens.
• But I prefer stay home and watch the live TV with my family.

Taiwan Dragon Boat Festival

• occurs on the May 5th of the traditional Chinese calendar
• Eat rice dumplings
• a variety of rice dumplings, different shapes (Triangle/Square), flavors (Sweet, Pork, Sea foods) and cookling methods (steam/boil)
• Educational: Children are taught how to make rice dumpling.
• Dragon boat racing

Ancient custom of Lunar New year:

• Do annualy housework to get ride of unused clothes and buy new clothes in order to freshen up our life.
• Decorations with red color and put / hang up spring couplets on doorframe to guard against the wander around ghost.
• Return home for family reunion dinner at the New Year’s Eve
• leave fish brings fortune
• give Red envelopesto niece/nephew
• pay tributes to ancestors
• superstition: firecracker to scare the beast
• Visit in-laws: the transportation is hell - traffic congestion (traffic jam) everywhere.
• year of Cattle

D1 - Speak: Furniture & Decoration

Part 1

Furniture

• Do you have a lot of furniture in your home?
• What’s your favourite item of furniture?
• When did you last buy furniture?
• What kind of furniture would you like to buy in the future?
• What styles do you prefer: modern or traditional furniture?

Decorations in your home

• What’s the decoration like in your home?
• What’s your favorite color when decorating your home?
• Will you redecorate your house in the future?
• Do people in your country like redecorating their homes?

Part 2 & 3

Describe a place where there are many decorations.

You should say:

• what place it is
• where it is located
• what decorations it has

and explain how you feel about this place.

PART 3

• Why do some people buy lots of things for their home?
• Do you think it is very expensive to make a home look nice?
• Why don’t some people care about how their home looks?

Casual Talk

• Where do people buy funitures?
• Do you need to take off your shoes on the entrance when entering the house
• Where is the washing machine? Loundry room, balcony, or bathroom?
• Do people usually put carpet on the floor in their home?
• Is there any central heating system with radiator in the room? or People usually use fan heater and electric blanket？
  • Any tips to survive in the korean winter?
• (Share) Free furnitures :
  • Most major city councils in Australia operate a free kerbside collection service
• Traditional decoration cultures/principles in your country?
  • “Feng Shui” is an ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space in an environment to achieve harmony and balance in a way that will bring peace and prosperity.
  • The door of bashroom can’t face your bed.
  • “Amethyst” can bring fortune
• Decoration for Christmas/Halloween
  

Vocabulary

Notes

Accommodation:

• Tiny <–> Spacious

Furniture I have/like/hate:

• My parents give me a antique vase as the gift on the housewarming party

• I bought a carpet with zebra print and the fabric has a very soft texture.

• Most of my furniture is made out of woods/glasses.

  Notice: Furniture is uncountalbe. No Furnitures

Future buy:

• It is widely believed that tumble dryer, robotic vacuum cleaner and dish washer can help people save marriage from divorce
• Smart household appliances, such as google assistant and smart light bulb.

Home Decoration:

• Previous/like/hate: warm tone -> floral curtain, flower-patterned curtain

• Redecorate

  • Light curtains brighten up a wall and a light ceiling can brighten up an entire room
  • Paint the wall with light and neutral colors.
  • hang paintings and photographs

• Why not Renovate/Redecoratwe?

  • unfit for human habitation
  • limited budget

Decoration Style:

• Minimalism:

  • Minimalism is all about living with less. minimalists usually get rid of excess stuff and living life based on experiences rather than worldly possessions

• Modern:

  • Furniture pieces were no longer made exclusively out of wood.
  • I prefer Modern style because traditional style needs too much of interior items which contradicts to me being a minimalist.

• Traditional:

  • dark woods, elegant wallpaper, patterned rugs and intricate detail.

• Back to 1980:

  • Poster of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson
  • Antique JukeBox play songs from 1980 to 1990
  • Every nook and cranny of the bar was filled with artcrafts made at the period
  • American country style
  • It felt like I were in a 80s movie.

Why buying bits and pieces:

• commemorate a moment of past
• release their stress

D3 - Speak: Home

Part 1

Your House/Home

• Do you live in a house or an apartment?
• What do you like about your house?
• What would you like to change in your house?
• What is your favourite room in your house?
• Would you like to move to a different home in the future?

Part 2 & 3

Describe an interesting house or apartment that you have visited. You should say
where the house or apartment was
who lived there
what it looked like on the outside and/or inside
And explain why you found this house or apartment interesting.

PART 3

• Do you think it’s better to rent or to buy a place to live in?
• How are relations between neighbors different in cities and in the countryside
• Do most people in your hometown live in a house or a flat/apartment? Why?
• Do you agree that there is a right age for young adults to stop living with their parents?
• Do you think it is very expensive to make a home look nice?
• What options are available to young couples looking for accommodation in your country?

---

Describe a tall building you like or dislike.

You should say:
where it is
what it is used for
what it looks like
and explain why you like or dislike it.

PART 3

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOME:

• In what ways is living in a flat/apartment better than living in a house?
• Do you think homes will look different in the future?
• Do you agree that the kinds of homes people prefer change as they get older?

Casual Talk

• Why type of accommodtion are popular in Korea? How’s the price of apartment in Seoul?
• Let’s talk about (half basement) apartment in the movie “패러사이트/Parasite”
• Do most students live in ”One room tel（원룸텔）“ to prepare text?
• Does University provide dormitory for students?
• What type of accommodation does university student rent?
• Do man need to prepare car and house/apartment for marriage?
• The family with 3 children does not need to pay Mortgage？

Vocabulary

Parts of House

Accommodation

Notes

Current:

• two-bed room in a 20-storey apartment building
• facilities within walking distance.

Dearm Home:

• House or Villa in rural area.
• contemporary, fashionable
• granite floor, decorate with painting and antique vasts.
• spacious kitchen and pantry for kitchen gadgets and electronic products
• amenity
  • Private jetty -> fishing, sailing
  • swmming pool -> soothing, relaxing

Future / Smart home:

• smart household appliance and automatic device will be more commonplace
• New building will be more sturdy and durable to against the extreme/severe weather and climate events, such as flooding, tsunami and earchquake.

Famous Building: Taipei 101

• a supertall skyscraper
• The building also expresses its Chinese character in its resemblance to a stalk of bamboo
• The lowest aboveground floors of Taipei 101 house a luxury atrium shopping mall.
• Most of the floors above the mall are devoted to office space.
• The structure regularly appears as an icon of Taipei in international media,
• The Taipei 101 fireworks displays are a regular feature of New Year’s Eve broadcasts.
• respect = admire = revere

House location matters the most

• vary from people to people
• calm and peaceful -> harmonious
• it might cost a fortune

D2 - Speak: Housework

Part 1

Housework

• Do you do housework at home?
• What kinds of housework do you often do?
• Did you do housework when you were a child?
• Do you think that children should do housework?
• Do you think that men and women should share housework?
• What kinds of household chores do you dislike doing?

Tidy

• Are you a tidy person?
• How do you keep things tidy?
• Do you think people should be tidy all the time?
• Would you like your home to be tidier in the future?

Casual Talk

• Gender stereotypes? Who is the main person to do the housework?
• Does people outsoure housework?
• Quarterly/Annual Cleaning?
  • Taiwanese do annually housework before the Lunar New Year

Vocabularies

Notes

hate = despise, miserable

• I despised doing dishes. For that reason, I bought a dish washer.
• What a miserable existence! How could anyone live in such awful conditions?

tidy = well kept, neat, organized, spick and span
-> tidiness, cleanliness
<=> untidy, dirty, disorderly, messy, clutter

• He was astonished to find nice streets and well-kept houses.
• My father was always very particular about cleanliness and tidiness.
• keeping my belongings organised and surroundings spic and span is my habit

Housework:

• do the dishes
• dust the furniture
• sweep the floor.
• mopthe floor.
• vacuum the carpet
• scrub the kitchen and bathroom.

Children do chores:

• teaches the sense of responsibility
• not be spoiled

Gender stereotypes of only women doing housework.

• They should share the responsibilities
• takes the pressure off
• housewife should get paid. -> Housekeeper

How and Why:

• mindless activity
• live a comfortable life
• do a deep clean every two weeks, but keep
• tidying up during the week.
• smart household appliance and automatic device will be more commonplace
• sometimes we have to compromise with tidiness.
• not be able to focus much on cleanliness which is acceptable in that circumstance.

• We oppose capital punishment in/under any circumstances.
• Under no circumstances should children (= children should not) do housework alone.
• The meeting has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control.