Describing a Town or City (A2 Vocabulary)

A2 VOCABULARY · TOWNS & CITIES

One Town, Two Stories

PICTURE

(you add this)

"Quiet? True - everything closes at five."

The description formula; town adjectives & places

Reading

Speaking

LEAD-IN

The numbers game

Guess, then check with the class. Closest guess wins.

• the population of your town / city

• the population of the biggest city in your country

• the population of the world's biggest city

BEFORE YOU READ

Porthaven

You're going to read two texts about Porthaven (an invented seaside town): the official tourist website, and a review by someone who lives there.

PICTURE

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BEFORE YOU READ

Take a look at the pictures of Porthaven below. Does it look like a nice place to live or visit? Why?

READ

Text A - visitporthaven.com

The official tourist website

Porthaven is a medium-sized town in the south-west of the country, on the coast, and it has a population of about 40,000. It is famous for its historic harbour and its 12th-century castle. Climb the hill behind the old city walls for the best view, visit the ruins of St Anna's church, and see the famous statue of Captain Reyes in the market square. The market is open every day, and the modern shopping centre is five minutes away. Porthaven is quiet, safe and clean - the perfect weekend.

READ

Text B - an honest review, by a local

Three stars

"Quiet"? True - everything closes at five. The castle is genuinely lovely, and so are the city walls; the museum in the old town hall is small but interesting. But the "modern" shopping centre is half empty, and in August the harbour is beautiful but incredibly crowded - the beach gets noisy and, sorry, a bit dirty. Safe? Yes. Exciting? No. My advice: come in June, walk everywhere, eat by the harbour, and leave before the tourists arrive. Three stars. I love it here anyway.

UNDERSTANDING

True (T), false (F), or the texts disagree (D)?

1. Porthaven is on the coast. ____

2. The castle is worth seeing. ____

3. The shopping centre is modern and busy. ____

4. The town is safe. ____

5. Porthaven is exciting. ____

QUICK TALK

Trust

Discuss in pairs.

1. Which text do you trust more? Why?

2. Would you visit Porthaven? In which month?

3. Does your town have an "honest review" problem - something the tourist office never mentions?

PICTURE

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FIND THE WORDS

Look at both texts again.

Answers:

1. In text A, find the four pieces of information every town description gives (where · size · population · famous for).

2. Find six adjectives for describing a town.

3. Find eight places to see in a town.

add text here

HOW IT WORKS

Describe any town

THE DESCRIPTION FORMULA

X is a small / medium-sized / large town in the north / south / east / west of ..., on the coast (on the River ...). It has a population of about ... . It is famous for ... .

boring / exciting · crowded / empty · dangerous / safe · modern / historic · noisy / quiet · polluted / clean · boring / interesting

ADJECTIVES - OPPOSITE PAIRS

PLACES, IN GROUPS

religious: church, cathedral, mosque, synagogue, temple

buying things: market, department store, shopping centre (mall)

historic: castle, palace, ruins, statue, city walls, town hall, museum

other: bridge, canal, harbour, hill, lake

PRACTICE

A, B & C

A - Write the opposite:

dangerous → ____ · polluted → ____ · modern → ____ · crowded → ____ · boring → ____

B - Sort into four groups (religious · buying things · historic · other):

mosque · harbour · palace · department store · synagogue · canal · ruins · market · temple · statue · bridge · town hall

C - Describe YOUR town

Write four sentences about your own town using the formula in How it works: where it is, its size, its population, and what it is famous for.

FREER

Sell it / Review it

In pairs, choose a real town you both know.

1. Student A = the tourist office: a 60-second "perfect town" speech.

2. Student B = the honest local: a 60-second honest review.

3. The class asks one question each, then votes: visit, or stay home?

PICTURE

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HOMEWORK Write Porthaven's reply to the honest review (two or three polite sentences).

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key

Understanding. 1 T 2 T 3 D 4 T 5 F (B says no; A does not claim it).

Find the words. 2 e.g. historic, modern, quiet, safe, clean, lovely, interesting, crowded, noisy, dirty, beautiful, exciting 3 e.g. harbour, castle, hill, city walls, ruins, church, statue, market, shopping centre, museum, town hall

A - Opposites. safe · clean · historic · empty · exciting or interesting

B - Groups. religious: mosque, synagogue, temple · buying: department store, market · historic: palace, ruins, statue, town hall · other: harbour, canal, bridge