8 1

Summary

A special place
Teachers notes

This DVD programme is an illustration of an anecdote and could be used as support to materials in Unit 12 of the Students Book, before or after the anecdote on page 121. In the programme Heather and Sue show us their favourite rooms and tell us about some of the objects that have special meaning for them.

Background information
Heathers room suggests she and her husband have a good income and can afford a large country house. The objects in her kitchen help to build a picture of a traditional family. She has a traditional cooker called an Aga, an old oak table, and a special set of cups and plates called a tea service. Sue lives in a Victorian terraced house, typical of many towns in England. Her room is full of things; she surrounds herself with an eclectic collection of personal items. It doesnt need to be too organised because this is her relaxation room. It is clear she has travelled extensively.

Ask the students to identify which one. Play the programme. a) S lizard carving f) S cushions from Istanbul b) H Aga cooker c) S stone lion d) S candlestick e) H dresser The candlestick is not mentioned. g) H dog h) S wedding picture

PART 1 (00:0003:57) 4 Tell the students they are going to watch Heather
again. Ask them to read the questions and note down the answers as they watch. Pause the DVD at the end of Part 1 and ask the students to compare their answers but dont give the answers yet. a) the oak table e) her great-aunt Flora b) her great-grandmother f) in front of the c) the iron burn French windows d) the porcelain g) her chores tea service

Procedure
Before you watch 1 Ask the students to read the biographies of
Heather and Sue, and think about what kinds of objects they expect to find in their houses.

2 Ask the students to work in pairs, discuss the

pictures and decide who the items belong to. Tell them to write H (Heather) or S (Sue) in the box on each picture. Encourage them to give reasons. Examples Heather comes from a traditional background so the cooker might be hers. Sue is close to her family so the photograph might be hers.

PART 2 (03:5807:46) 5 Tell the students they are going to watch Sue
again. Ask them to read the questions and note down the answers as they watch. Pause the DVD at the end of Part 2 and ask the students to compare their answers. Give the answers to Exercises 4 and 5. a) lizards b) on the fireplace c) the stone lion d) Jordan e) her portrait f) her grandfather g) relaxes (watches TV/video, puts her feet up and reads books)

While you watch

Pre-teach or check the following vocabulary: hub the central point of something; tea service a set of cups and plates for special occasions.

3 Ask the students to watch the programme and

check their answers to Exercise 2. Ask them to listen for the names of the objects and to write them next to the pictures. One of the objects appears on the programme but is not mentioned. 45
P R O G R A M M E 8

A special place

After you watch

6 Ask the students to divide the words into two
groups. Big: spacious, vast, airy, roomy Small: poky, snug, cramped, cosy

7 Ask the students to answer the questions.

a) snug, cosy b) poky, cramped c) airy, spacious, vast, roomy d) vast

8 Encourage the students to use the words from

Exercise 6 to describe the rooms. This exercise is a warm-up for the group discussion in Exercise 9.

9 Ask the students to discuss the questions in

groups and then get feedback from the class.

46

P R O G R A M M E

A special place

8 1

A special place
DVD script (07:46)
have my cup of coffee after Ive done my chores and in the evening I like to sit in this chair with a glass of red wine while the dinners cooking and just enjoy the light and the garden. So this is our favourite room in the house, isnt it Tiffin? Tiffins our dog.

PART 1 (00:0003:57)
Hello. Welcome to my house. Do come in. Im Heather and I live here at the Old Vicarage in a little village called Curtlington, which is just north of Oxford, and Im going to show you my favourite room in the whole house. This is my kitchen and I love it, I love its high ceiling and the fact that its so light and airy, and because of this beautiful stone floor the whole room sort of reflects the light that comes in, and the sunshine, and this room is the hub of the whole house. The family gathers here at least twice a day for breakfast and dinner, the children Ive got two children are constantly running in and out of the kitchen with the dog, round the table, playing under the table. So Im going to show you some of my favourite features of the room. This is my favourite thing in the kitchen. This is my beautiful old Aga, a traditional old cooker, which warms the whole house all the time and I do all my cooking on it, and if the kitchens the hub of my house I would say the Aga is the hub of the kitchen, its just so warm and welcoming. Another favourite thing is my beautiful old oak table which has been in the family for generations it belonged to my great-grandmother and we sit round here for all family meals. This is an interesting feature of the table; this is a burn mark and we assume it was made by an old-fashioned iron which would have been heated in the fire. Back in my great-grandmothers day somebody must have put the iron down on the table and it left this rather endearing mark, which were very fond of. And another favourite family heirloom is my great-aunt Floras porcelain tea service in the lovely old dresser over there. We hardly ever use it because its too special, but I just really like looking at it. And over here this is my favourite part of the room through the French windows I can just look out onto the garden. Lovely garden, we have an old gardener called Mr Brown who comes in and helps us with it; he plants new flowers and shrubs all the time and just generally keeps it looking nice. And I have two favourite positions where I like to sit in the kitchen; I like to sit in this chair in the morning,

PART 2 (03:5807:46)
Er, right this is my favourite room, its the living room and its my favourite room because its the room that I relax in, erm, in fact its the only room in the house that I never ever work in its a rule that I have for myself. Erm, its also my favourite room because its cosy. I moved in here about two and a half years ago and when I moved into the house, this is how it was decorated so although orange is quite an unusual colour for, for, er, to paint a sitting room, I think it works really well and it helps to make it a, erm, a nice warm, cosy room. Erm, its full of objects, as you can see, for instance, er, my lizard pot. Im very fond of lizards and, erm, Ive got lots of, erm, pictures and carvings of lizards all over the house. When I came to look at the house to buy it in fact, erm, the previous owners showed me that there was a lizard carved into the fireplace and that was when I decided that I absolutely had to buy this house that it was the right place for me to be. Erm, what else have I got here? A picture of my parents on their golden wedding anniversary and, erm, ah yes, I like lizards and I also like lions and, erm, this was something that I fell in love with on my travels. I was in Jordan, erm ... at a market and I spent ages bartering with the man who was selling them and eventually got him down to a very cheap price only to get to the airport and find that my baggage it weighs a ton er, and at the airport I found that my baggage was way overweight and I had to pay forty pounds extra excess baggage, so in fact its a very expensive item. Many of the objects in this room, erm, Ive bought on my travels quite a few of them from South America, erm, where Ive been a couple of times, erm, this pipe here is from Argentina and sos the drum and I think this musical instrument is from Peru. Er, these

New Inside Out Upper intermediate DVD Teachers Book

Macmillan Publishers Limited 2009

P H O T O C O P I A B L E

47

cushions are from Istanbul, so that was a ... that was a great memory. But, er, if theres one thing in this room that has, er, particular meaning for me its this painting over here. Erm, this was, erm, a portrait of me at ... aged thirteen and it was painted by my grandfather. This is a small room and theres too much furniture really, er, theres not enough space but because its the room where I relax I needed some comfortable furniture and thats why Ive got two enormous comfy sofas, erm, its the room where I socialise so I needed plenty of places for people to sit. Erm, what else do I do in here? I definitely dont work, I watch television, watch videos, put my feet up and read a book next to the fire.

48

P H O T O C O P I A B L E

New Inside Out Upper intermediate DVD Teachers Book

Macmillan Publishers Limited 2009