Choosing a Place to Live (TBL, B1+)

Choosing a Place to Live

PICTURE

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Task based learning

Speaking

Reading

1 · PRE-TASK · WARMER

Where have you lived?

1. How many different places have you lived in? Which was your favourite, and why?

2. What was the worst thing about any place you have lived - the noise, the neighbours, the commute?

3. If you moved tomorrow, what would be the three most important things in a new home?

4. Renting or buying - what do people in your country usually think about this?

PICTURE

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2 · BACKGROUND

Meet Ivan

You are about to read about Ivan Petrov, 30, an IT specialist whose lease runs out in two months.

PICTURE

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READING

What does Ivan want, and what is stopping him from deciding?

2 · BACKGROUND READING

Ivan Needs to Move

Two months, 2.5 million roubles, and a ring in his backpack.

Ivan Petrov is 30 years old and works as an IT specialist for a fintech company. Three years ago, his company went fully remote, so he works from home - usually in shorts, with his cat Marsik asleep on the desk next to his second monitor. He earns 150,000 roubles a month after tax, and over the years he has saved up about 2.5 million roubles.

Right now, Ivan rents a small one-room flat near the centre. The lease ends in two months, and the landlord has just announced he is raising the rent - again. Ivan has decided it is time for a change. The question is: what kind of change?

Ivan's lifestyle is quiet but comfortable. He likes living near the centre, although he doesn't go out much - maybe a walk in the evening, a coffee on Saturday morning. He goes to the gym three or four times a week, and it is important to him that the gym is close; if it is more than fifteen minutes away, he knows he will stop going.

He orders everything online: groceries, electronics, even Marsik's food. He honestly can't remember the last time he went to a real shop.

2 · BACKGROUND READING (continued)

Ivan Needs to Move

But Ivan is not the only person in this decision. He has been with his girlfriend, Alina, for two and a half years, and he has been carrying a ring around in his backpack for three weeks, waiting for the right moment.

Alina is a marketing manager with an office in the city centre, and she is everything Ivan is not: sociable, energetic, always with plans. She loves restaurants, the theatre, the cinema, exhibitions. Her idea of a perfect Friday is dinner with friends followed by a late film. Ivan's idea of a perfect Friday is Alina, the sofa, and a series they have both promised not to watch alone.

If Alina says yes - and Ivan is fairly sure she will move in with him. And in a few years, who knows? Maybe a family. Maybe a bigger car.

Ivan is willing to spend up to about 70,000-80,000 roubles a month on rent, or use his savings as a deposit on a mortgage. He has found four realistic options. Now he just has to choose.

2 · COMPREHENSION

Complete Ivan's profile from the text.

Job / work situation

Income and savings

Monthly housing budget

Non-negotiables (what he really needs)

Alina's needs

Possible future plans

Now: which two facts in the text do you think will matter most for his decision?

3 · TASK CYCLE

You are Ivan's best friend

"Listen, I have got four options and I honestly cannot decide. You know me better than I know myself. Just tell me what to do. Help me."

PICTURE

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- Ivan, voice message, 11.47 pm

He has forwarded you all four listings. Read them, then talk them through together.

3 · THE FOUR OPTIONS

The four options at a glance

Option

Rent or buy

Per month

To the centre

Space

A City-centre flat

Rent

68,000 r

+ utilities

5 minutes

on foot

48 sq m

1 bedroom

B Serviced apartment

Rent

82,000 r

all included

25 minutes

by metro

60 sq m

C New build, outskirts

Buy

(mortgage)

about 55,000 r

for 20 years

50-55 minutes

by metro

65 sq m

2 bedrooms

D Suburban townhouse

Buy

(mortgage)

about 78,000 r

for 20 years

no metro -

a car is needed

90 sq m

+ garden

Remember his budget: up to about 70,000-80,000 roubles a month.

OPTION A · RENT

A flat in the city centre

68,000 r/month + utilities · 48 sq m, one bedroom · older building

• Five minutes' walk from where Ivan lives now.

• A lively street: cafes and two cinemas nearby.

• Alina's office is 10 minutes away on foot.

• The gym is 5 minutes away.

• Charming but old: thin walls, an unreliable lift, no parking.

• Cosy for one person, tight for two, impossible for three.

OPTION B · RENT

A serviced apartment in a nice residential area

82,000 r/month, utilities and weekly cleaning included · 60 sq m · new complex

• 25 minutes from the centre by metro. Alina's commute: about 35 minutes.

• Gym, coworking space and mini-market inside the complex.

• Quiet, green and safe, full of young families.

• The very top of Ivan's budget - nothing left over at the end of the month.

• And the money disappears every month with nothing to show for it.

OPTION C · BUY

A new-build flat on the outskirts

6.8 million roubles · mortgage about 55,000 r/month for 20 years · 65 sq m, two bedrooms

• Ivan's savings cover the deposit.

• Brand-new building, underground parking, a playground in the courtyard.

• A cheaper, less prestigious district - with a rough reputation.

• Few restaurants, very little cultural life.

• 50-55 minutes to the centre by metro.

• The nearest decent gym is 20 minutes away.

OPTION D · BUY

A small townhouse in the suburbs

9.5 million roubles · mortgage about 78,000 r/month · 90 sq m over two floors, tiny garden

• Right at the limit of what Ivan can pay.

• Room for a home office, a family - and Marsik's dream: a garden with birds in it.

• A new suburban development.

• No metro. Ivan would have to buy a car.

• Alina's commute would be over 90 mins each way.

• Restaurants and theatres? Forget spontaneity.

3 · TASK CYCLE · STAGE 1

Talk all four options through. Take your time.

Think out loud. Change your mind if you want to. Nobody is correcting you yet.

1. For each option, find at least two advantages and two disadvantages - from Ivan's point of view, not yours.

2. Keep four things in your head as you go: his budget, his lifestyle, Alina, and the future.

3. Then decide: which option would you recommend?

4. And which one is the worst for him?

3 · TASK CYCLE · STAGE 2

You are going to phone Ivan. Plan the call.

A few minutes to make notes. Ask me for any words or phrases you need - this is the moment to reach for new language.

My recommendation:

Strongest reason:

Second reason:

One weakness of my choice - and why it is acceptable:

The option I nearly chose, and why I rejected it:

Make the call. Give Ivan your recommendation.

4 · LANGUAGE FOCUS

The language of weighing something up

COMPARING

far cheaper than · nowhere near as convenient as · by far the best option · a lot more space than · not quite as central as · twice the size of

WEIGHING UP

on the one hand... on the other hand · it is a trade-off · the main drawback is · it comes down to · the advantages outweigh · admittedly, ... but

SPECULATING AND ADVISING

he might well regret it · he would be better off renting · they could always move later · if he bought the townhouse, he would have to get a car · unless Alina agrees to commute, the suburbs are a no

4 · LANGUAGE FOCUS

Housing words worth owning

Words that came up while you were deciding - and the ones you reached for and could not find.

mortgage a long-term loan you use to buy a home

deposit the money you pay up front, before the loan

lease the rental contract, and how long it runs

landlord the person who owns the flat you rent

utilities gas, water, electricity, internet

commute the daily journey to work

the outskirts the edge of a city, far from the centre

a new build a recently finished building

a serviced apartment a rented flat with cleaning and services included

a trade-off something you give up to get something else

a non-negotiable a thing you will not compromise on

prestigious / rough how people rate a district: smart, or not

4 · FEEDBACK

Your language: what to keep, what to fix

GOOD - KEEP USING THIS

UPGRADE THIS

Read them first. Correct yourself before I say anything.

4 · FEEDBACK · 60 SECONDS

Say it again - better.

Same task, second time round. This is where the new language sticks.

1. Choose three phrases from this lesson that you did not use.

2. Give Ivan your recommendation again, in 60 seconds.

3. Use all three. Same message, better English.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Teacher's notes and profile key

Job / work IT specialist at a fintech company. Fully remote for three years - he works from home, so he has no commute of his own.

Income and savings 150,000 roubles a month after tax; about 2.5 million roubles saved.

Budget Up to 70,000-80,000 r/month rent, or the savings as a mortgage deposit.

Non-negotiables A gym within about 15 minutes (any further and he stops going); reliable online delivery; somewhere to work at home; the cat.

Alina Office in the city centre. Sociable - restaurants, theatre, cinema, exhibitions. Her commute is the one that counts.

Future plans A proposal (the ring); possibly a family; a bigger car; maybe a dog.

The two decisive facts Answers vary - push towards (1) he works from home, so the location is really Alina's decision, not his; (2) he is about to propose, so the place has to work for two, and perhaps three.

Stage 1 - your role Listen and take notes on language, errors AND good usage. Do not correct. Intervene only to keep it moving: "What about the gym in that one?" / "How would Alina feel?"

Devil's advocate If the student decides too quickly: "But isn't he throwing money away on rent?" / "Would Alina really agree to the suburbs?"

Stage 2 Language help IS legitimate here - the student is reaching for what they need.

Stage 3 Push for more organised, more formal language than in Stage 1. That is the whole point of the report stage.

Feedback Start with what worked: comparing, speculating, justifying, conceding a point. Then board 5-8 items, a mix of errors and upgrades, and let the student self-correct first.