Lesson Topics: tourism, Oslo, travel marketing
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: visit-oslo-tourism-intermediate-lesson-072024.docx
Lesson Overview:
- After warm-up questions, students preview vocabulary from a satirical commercial about visiting Oslo entitled "Is it even a city?" The video is short (1:45) and contains easy vocabulary for even B1-level students.
- The video is followed by recall activity, reading comprehension questions, and a vocabulary-matching activity. Next, students match vocabulary from the video to definitions and then form discussion questions using the target vocabulary.
- There are two debate topics related to traveling in Europe and traveling alone. Next, the lesson has two role-play scenarios. The first asks a student to provide travel advice about their hometown to a traveler. The second has two students debate the value of using money to travel or saving it for the future.
- The next group activity has students prepare a list of four ideas to improve tourism in their city. Next, students practice making sarcastic statements (like those found in the video). Finally, students order a list of popular travel destinations according to their preferences.
- After famous quotations, the lesson ends with a review of vocabulary and collocations before presenting some final discussion questions.
INTERMEDIATE (B1/B2) Lesson on Visiting Oslo
Warm-up-Questions
- Where did you go on your last holiday?
- What is a popular tourist destination that you would not want to visit? Why?
- What do you know about Oslo?
Vocabulary Pre-Viewing: Preview the below phrases from the video.
- Everything is just so available. There's no exclusiveness.
- I grew up here and, uh, I temporarily live here, unfortunately.
- I don't understand why people go swimming in the middle of the city. It's disgusting.
- It's an American
- If you don't have to stand in line for at least a couple of hours, is it even worth seeing?
Vocabulary: Write the bolded phrase above on the line that matches its definition.
1. ____________ (adj): very unpleasant; making you feel sick.
2. ____________ (adv): tor a short time; not forever
3. ____________ (n): the quality of being limited to only certain people; not for everyone.
4. ____________ (adj): having value; good enough to see or do
5. ____________ (n): a person who designs buildings
Video: Watch the below video entitled “Is it even a city?” by Visit Oslo
Comprehension & Follow-Up Questions
1) What’s your opinion of the commercial?
2) Does it make you want to visit Oslo or not?
3) Which of the activities would you like to experience?
4) What point is the man trying to make when he says, “You walk around the corner, and oh, there’s the Prime Minister.”
5) Did you recognize any of the art in the video?
6) What point does the video try to make about dining in Oslo?
7) The man says “I think a city should feel a little hard to get.” What does he mean by this? Do you agree?
Replace the underlined phrase with one of the words below. Then ask them to a partner.
architect / worth / temporarily / exclusiveness / disgusting
- What is good enough seeing in your home town?
- What food do you think is very unpleasant?
- Where would you like to live for a short time?
- Do you know any famous building designers? Who?
Speaking Activity: Debate (Pick One)
- Europe is the best continent for tourists to visit.
- Travelling alone is the best way to travel.
Pick a side (FOR or AGAINST). Spend a few minutes preparing. The FOR side will present first.
Speaking Activity: Roleplay
Situation #1: The tourist is visiting the city the local person lives in.
Tourist | You are on a trip in a new place. You see a local person. Stop them and ask them about popular attractions (places to see), places to eat, things to do, etc. You will start the conversation. Optional expression: What places are worth seeing? |
Local person | You are on a walk outside in your hometown. It looks like a tourist wants to talk with you. Optional expression: Hey there. Do you need some help? |
Situation #2: You and your partner have just received $40,000 from a parent. You need to discuss how to use the money.
Partner-A | You want to use the money to go on a big trip. Think of where you want to travel. Then suggest your plan to your partner. (You will start the conversation.) Optional expression: It’s time to see the world! |
Partner-B | You think that your partner wants to use the money for traveling, but you don’t agree. You need to save the money (or use it for something more important). Think of reasons why spending the money on travel is not a good idea. Your partner will start the conversation. Optional expression: We need to think about our future. |
Speaking Activity: Boosting Tourism (Group Work)
The mayor of your city wants to increase tourism. She has hired you and your partner(s) to think of ways to increase the number of tourists that visit. Spend 5 minutes thinking of ideas. Try to write down at least four below. Then present your ideas to the mayor.
Language Focus: Sarcasm
Speaking sarcastically means saying the opposite of what you mean. For example, the speaker in the video says, “I don't understand why people go swimming in the middle of the city. It's disgusting.” but he really means that being able to swim in the middle of the city is great.
Practice: Make sarcastic sentences about the following topics.
food people weather transportation cheap polite kind safe
E.g. The food in England is really flavorful. You should try it. (Meaning: The food is flavorless. You should avoid it.)
Best Tourist Destination: Discussion
Put the following tourist destinations in the order of how much you want to visit them. Discuss your choices with your group. Give reasons.
Paris / Kyoto / Beijing / Moscow / New York / Istanbul / Cairo / London / Zambia / Sydney
Related Famous Quotations
- "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." – Saint Augustine
- "Once a year go somewhere you’ve never been before.” - Dalai Lama
- “The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.” – Russel Baker
Collocation Review
1. I wouldn’t come here, to be 2. I grew 3. I don’t understand why people go 4. … from one side of the town 5. You don’t have to stand 6. a couple of | a. hours b. honest. c. swimming in the middle of the city. d. to the other e. in line f. up here. |
Vocabulary: Insert one of the below vocabulary items into the appropriate blank.
temporarily / exclusiveness / disgusting / worth / architect
1. Everything is just so available. There's no ____________.
2. I grew up here and, uh, I ____________ live here, unfortunately.
3. I don't understand why people go swimming in the middle of the city. It's ____________.
4. It's an American ____________.
5. If you don't have to stand in line for at least a couple of hours, is it even ____________ seeing?
Final Discussion Questions
- What are some problems with your hometown that make people not want to visit?
- Have you ever visited a place that was very different from what you expected? What was your experience?
- Some countries have a special tax on tourists. Is this fair?
- What’s the most dangerous place you’ve ever visited?
- One day, do you think virtual reality will be as good as real-life travel experiences?
Homework: Write a 1-minute commercial about your favorite tourist destination.
This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.
Vocabulary 1-sinister, 2-paradoxically, 3-face value, 4-coined, 5-absurdities, 6-confined, 7-harmony, 8-satire, 9-myth, 10-purity, 11-flaw, 12-eradicated, 13-fascist
Comprehension Question Answer Key
- …
- …
- …
- The man is saying it's easy to see important people in Oslo because the city is small and accessible.
- (Students should probably at least recognize The Scream by Edvard Munch.)
- The video says that in Oslo, you can get a table at a restaurant easily, even if you are not famous. They are highlighting the ease at which Oslo can be experienced.
- He means that he thinks cities should be challenging to explore or understand.
Collocations 1-b, 2-f, 3-c, 4-d, 5-e, 6-a