This English lesson discusses talking about countries and cultures, providing phrases for describing places people have visited and recommendations for travel. Exercises include describing pictures, roleplaying travel planning conversations using provided phrases, and asking questions about traveling abroad and cultural differences between countries. Vocabulary focuses on words related to travel, climate, food, and traditions.

1. © 2015 SkimaTalk, Inc.
SkimaTalk Official Course
English Basics for Intermediate Learners
Lesson 16 : Talking About Countries and Cultures

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Exercise 1: Warming Up
Words & Phrases
~ and everything
island nation n
climate n
remind [someone] of
[something]
v
in some ways
traditional adj
Singaporean adj
Indian adj
abroad adv
assist v
welcoming adj
speaking of ~
consider v
Practice pronouncing the words below. If you don’t know the
meaning of a word, just ask your teacher!

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Exercise 2: Answer the Question
Can you describe the picture in 45 seconds? Include as much
information as possible.
Q

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Exercise 2: Answer the Question (continued)
Can you describe the picture in 45 seconds? Include as much
information as possible.
Q

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Exercise 3: Learn Useful Phrases
A Have you ever been to Canada?
B Yeah, I went to Vancouver last summer.
A What did you think of the people and everything?
B
Everyone was really friendly and polite. The weather
was pretty nice too. Where did you go last summer?
A
I went to Singapore. It’s a very rich and very clean
country. It reminded me of Japan in some ways.
B How was the food?
A
It was great! We had some traditional Singaporean food
as well as some delicious Indian food.
Dialogue practice Practice making NEW sentences
1. A: Have you ever _____?
B: No. But I have _____.
2. A: What do you think of ___?
B: I think ___.
3. The people were ____ , the food
was ____, and the weather was
____.
4. We had some ____ at a/an ____
restaurant.
• Have you ever been to ~ ?
• What did you think ~ ?
• It’s a ~ and ~ country.
• It reminded me of ~

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Exercise 3: Learn Useful Phrases (continued)
A Hello, Sir. How can I help you today?
B
I’d like to plan a trip abroad, but I’m not sure where I
want to go yet.
A
I would be happy to assist you with that. What type of
place would you like to visit?
B
I want to go to a place where the people are warm and
welcoming. And, speaking of warm, I’d like to go
somewhere with a warm climate, too.
A
Have you considered traveling to a small island nation?
Many islanders are quite welcoming to tourists, and the
weather is often warm.
B Hey, that sounds pretty good. Tell me more...
Dialogue practice
1. I’d like to _____ , but _____.
2. What type of ___ would you like to
___?
3. Have you considered _____?
4. Many _____ are quite _____.
• I’d like to ~ but ~
• What type of ~ would you like to ~ ?
• a place where ~ and ~
Practice making NEW sentences
• Speaking of ~, ~

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Exercise 4: Roleplay
Use today’s phrases in the situation described below.
Your teacher will start the roleplay with a comment or question.
Two friends are
trying to decide
which country to
visit next year.
Discuss at least
two countries
before deciding.
• Have you ever been to ~ ?
• I’d like to ~ but ~
• What type of ~ would you like to ~ ?
• a place where ~ and ~
• How about ~ ?
• What do you think of ~ ?

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Exercise 5: Discussion
Ask and answer questions about today’s topic.
• Have you every traveled to another country? If yes,
which one(s)? How was it?
• Have you ever lived abroad? If yes, what was the
reason? If no, would you like to someday?
• Do you think people in different countries tend to
have different personalities? If yes, what do you
think are some common personality traits of people
in your home country? How about people in other
countries?

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End of Lesson
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