Holiday activities

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Sintra (Portugal). © Lola la Torre
This is going to be a review lesson on holiday activities. You are going to review vocabulary and practise your speaking skills.

 Speaking 1
- What words do you associate with the words "beach"?
- When was the last time you went to the beach?
- Where did you go?  How long for?
- Was it a good place for a holiday? Why/Why not?
- Have you been back to the same place?

  Vocabulary related to holidays

1) Types of holiday 

How many different types of holidays can you think of?  Choose one type of holiday you are interested in and note down 3-4 things you can do on your holiday.

2) Types of accommodation 

How many types of accommodation can you remember? How do you say "con baño incluido"? Visit this page and make a list. Choose five types of accommodation you are interested in and write what the equivalent in Spanish might be.

Are you a student? Can you afford a hotel? Why don't you visit the University Colleges and Halls acommodation page? Remember that Universities offer affordable accommodation during the summer holidays and sometimes Christmas and Easter,  too.

 Speaking 2
Talk  about your most recent holiday. Include this information:
  • Where, when, how long did you go?
  • Who did you go with?
  • What type of holiday was it?
  • What did you do?
  • Did anything unsual happen? (did you fall in love, have an accident....?)

 Phrases with go on, get and travel
Look at the list of phrases that collocate with go on, get and travel. Match the phrases with the verbs.
into/out of a car,  a package holiday,  a cruise,  a journey,  on my own,  on/off a bus,  the world.

 To check phrases with go on, click here
To check phrases with get, click here
To check phrases with travel, click here
The Hebrides
Look at this fantastic photo. Would you like to spend a holiday here? Where is this place?
Eilean Donan Castle by Iliff. CC-BY-SA. Wikimedia Commons
Well, Eilean Donan Castle is in a little village called Dornie, in the Scottish Highlands. Not too far away from this place you can find the Hebrides (/ˈhɛbrɨdiːz/), an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. The Hebrides are divided into the Outer Hebrides and the Inner Hebrides.

  
Click on the map below if you would like to learn more about the Hebrides.


Inner Hebrides. Image by Christian Krogh. en.wikipedia.org

 Video  
Mr Cameron, the British Prime Minister, spent his summer holiday on Isle of Jura, an island in the Inner Hebrides.

 Before you watch the video check the meaning of the following words
                                 ailment                 deer stalking

Watch this BBC video 
You can watch the video once to get an idea of what Mr Cameron says. Don't worrry if you don't understand everything!

 Watch again and answer the following questions:
  1. What does Mr Cameron mean by" active holiday"? Give examples of things he enjoys doing.
  2. Why hasn't he been so active this year? (he mentions an ailment)
  3. How does he feel about this ailment?
  4. What does Mr Cameron say about deer stalking? 
  5. Why isn't Mr Cameron keen on water sports this year?
  6. What do his children like doing on the island?
  7. What information does the reporter give about Mr Cameron's holiday retreat? How big is it? Who does it belong to?
  8. What is the joke about the horses?
  

 After you watch the video Write in your journal about a memorable holiday (200 words). Include the information listed in Speaking 2 above.

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