Culture video Unit 4
Auckland, New Zealand
Start thinking
Answer the questions.
1 What places are popular to go to on holiday in
your country?
2 Do you go to other countries on holiday? Why? /
Why not?
3 What’s your favourite place to go to on holiday?
Why?
Comprehension check
1 Watch the video. Number the things in the order
that you see them (1–10).
mountains _____
Auckland Harbour Bridge _____
a yacht _____
a beach _____
a volcano _____
large boats _____
a city park _____
the Sky Tower _____
dolphins and whales _____
restaurants and cafés _____
2 Watch again. Are the sentences true or false?
Correct the false sentences.
1 Auckland is in Australia.
______________________________________
2 Auckland is the smallest city in New Zealand.
______________________________________
3 People go to Auckland because it is in a
beautiful location.
______________________________________
4 Many tourists go on helicopter trips in Auckland.
______________________________________
5 There is a volcano in Auckland.
______________________________________
6 Auckland has mountains all around it.
______________________________________
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3 Watch again. Complete the sentences with the
correct adjectives.
active amazing beautiful comfortable exciting
fantastic interesting popular
1 Auckland is a very __________ holiday
destination.
2 There’s a __________ beach.
3 There are __________ restaurants and cafés.
4 People go on large, __________ boats.
5 The volcano isn’t __________ now.
6 Auckland is an __________ city.
7 There are lots of __________ things to see.
8 There are __________ activities to do.
4 Match the names (1–6) to the places (a–f).
1 Mission Bay _____
2 Viaduct Basin _____
3 Waitemata and Manukau _____
4 Auckland Domain _____
5 Pukekwa _____
6 Auckland War Memorial Museum _____
a a volcano
b two harbours
c a very popular attraction
d a beach
e a park
f restaurants and cafés
5 Correct the mistakes in the summary.
Auckland is the largest city on the North Island of
(1) Australia and is a very popular holiday
destination. There are lots of things to do. Visitors
go to the beaches and go on (2) holiday trips. They
also visit places of interest, like the Sky Tower,
Auckland Harbour (3) Volcano and Auckland
Domain. And there are plenty of fantastic
restaurants and (4) dolphins. Auckland is famous for
its beautiful (5) snow, with mountains on one side
and the (6) park on the other. People enjoy walking,
jogging, riding (7) helicopters or doing lots of
exciting (8) countries.
1 _______________ 5 _______________
2 _______________ 6 _______________
3 _______________ 7 _______________
4 _______________ 8 _______________
Culture video Unit 4
Language check Extension

Comparative adjectives Look at the photos and answer the questions.

• These yachts aren’t comfortable, but they’re faster Photo A
than the other boats, and the trips are more
exciting!

Superlative adjectives
• It’s the oldest park in the city, and it’s the
largest too.
• It’s one of the most enjoyable places to ride in
the city!

6 Complete the sentences using the comparative

form of the adjectives.

big comfortable exciting fast high popular

1 The yacht is ____________ than the other
boats. • Where is this?
2 These large boats are ____________ than a • Does your home town or city look like this?
yacht. • How often do you visit other cities or countries?
3 I think Auckland is a ____________ holiday • What’s your favourite type of holiday? Why?
destination than my city.
4 I like this activity because it is ____________ Photo B
than that one.
5 Australia is ____________ than New Zealand.
6 The mountains are ____________ than the sea.

7 Write sentences. Use the superlative form of the

adjectives.
1 Auckland / large / city / in New Zealand
______________________________________
______________________________________
2 Mission Bay / beautiful / beach / in Auckland
______________________________________
______________________________________
3 Auckland Domain / old / park / in the city
______________________________________ • What are these people doing?
______________________________________ • Which is best, the seaside or the mountains?
4 The War Memorial Museum / popular / tourist Why?
attraction / in Auckland Domain park • Do you prefer activity holidays or visiting cities?
______________________________________ Why?
______________________________________ • What’s your dream holiday? Why?
5 The Pukekawa volcano / high / mountain / in
the area
______________________________________
______________________________________
6 Auckland is / good / holiday destination / in
the country
______________________________________
______________________________________

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Culture video Teaching notes Unit 4
Grammar focus
Comparative adjectives
Superlative adjectives
Summary of video
The video is about the city of Auckland, New
Zealand. The report focuses on Auckland as a
popular holiday destination. It describes its location
and the popular tourist attractions and activities
which visitors enjoy there.
Preparation
Ask students: Do you like going on holiday? What
do people usually do on holiday? What makes the
best or worst holiday?
Tell students that they are going to see a report
about the city of Auckland in New Zealand.
Ask: What is the best type of holiday?
Possible answers: beach holiday, activity holiday
(cycling, sailing, sports), going abroad, visiting
family or friends, cultural visits (museums, cities),
nature holidays (safari, wildlife)
Check understanding of these words: harbour,
bridge, boat trip, yacht, active, war memorial.
Background
New Zealand is a country in the Pacific Ocean. New
Zealand’s capital city is Wellington but Auckland is
the country’s largest city. The most interesting thing
about Auckland is its scenery. Auckland is by the
sea and mountains and there are beaches and
volcanoes. People travel to Auckland from all over
the world to walk, go sightseeing, sailing, see
wildlife such as whales and dolphins and to eat in
the city’s many restaurants. People say that
Auckland is one of the best places in the world to
live because there are so many interesting things to
do and see.
Start thinking
Read the questions with the class and elicit answers
from individual students. Encourage students to
extend their answers by giving examples and
reasons, then use students’ answers to start a class
discussion.
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Comprehension check
1 Watch the video. Number the things in the order
that you see them (1–10).
Pre-watching: Ask students to read through the list.
Check understanding of the words. Elicit any
translations if necessary.
 Play the whole video. Students number the things
in the order that they see them. Check answers with
the class.
Answers: 1 a beach 2 restaurants and cafés
3 the Sky Tower 4 Auckland Harbour Bridge
5 large boats 6 a yacht 7 dolphins and whales
8 mountains 9 a volcano 10 a city park
2 Watch again. Are the sentences true or false?
Correct the false sentences.
Pre-watching: Ask students to read through the
sentences. Check understanding. Elicit any
translations if necessary.
 Play the whole video. Students say whether the
sentences are true or false and correct the false
sentences. Check answers with the class.
Answers: 1 False. Auckland is in New Zealand.
2 False. Auckland is the largest city in New
Zealand. 3 True. 4 False. Many tourists go on
boat trips. 5 True. 6 False. Auckland has
mountains on one side and the ocean on the
other.
3 Watch again. Complete the sentences with the
correct adjectives.
Pre-watching: Look at the adjectives in the box
with the students. Check understanding of the
words. Elicit any translations if necessary. Ask
students to complete the sentences.
 Play the video to check answers.
Answers: 1 popular 2 beautiful 3 fantastic
4 comfortable 5 active 6 amazing 7 interesting
8 exciting
4 Match the names (1–6) to the places (a–f).
Pre-watching: Read through the list of names and
places. Check understanding of the words. Elicit a
translation if necessary. Ask students to try to match
the names and places from memory before
watching the video again.
 Play the video to check answers.
Answers: 1 d 2 f 3 b 4 e 5 a 6 c
Culture video Teaching notes Unit 4
5 Correct the mistakes in the summary.
Pre-watching: Ask students to read through the
summary. Tell them to use what they have learnt
from the video to try to correct the mistakes in the
summary from memory before they watch the video
again.
 Play the video to check answers.
Answers: 1 New Zealand 2 boat 3 Bridge
4 cafés 5 location 6 ocean 7 bikes 8 activities
Optional activity
Write the following on the board:
places to visit activities
Ask students to work in pairs for a few minutes and
think of some places they have visited on holiday or
at the weekend, and some activities. Elicit answers
beach, park, water park, mountains, museum, boat
ride, going swimming, going riding, going to the
swimming pool, etc.
Write the following adjectives on the board:
hot big fast interesting fun beautiful quiet
high
Then ask students to make sentences comparing
the places or activities.
Language check
Comparative adjectives
• These yachts aren’t comfortable, but they’re faster
than the other boats, and the trips are more
exciting!
football / tennis / golf / basketball player in your
country at the moment?
Remind students that we often use in after
superlatives. Ask: Which expressions can we use
after the superlative form? Elicit in the world, in your
country, in the area, etc.
6 Complete the sentences using the comparative
form of the adjectives.
Remind students that they should look at the
adjectives carefully to decide whether they are
short, long or irregular. Students complete the
sentences. Check answers with the class.
Answers: 1 faster 2 more comfortable 3 more
popular 4 more exciting 5 bigger 6 higher
7 Write sentences. Use the superlative form of the
adjectives.
Students look at the prompts and then write full
sentences using the superlative form of the
adjective. Check answers with the class.
Answers: 1 Auckland is the largest city in New
Zealand. 2 Mission Bay is the most beautiful beach
in Auckland. 3 Auckland Domain is the oldest park
in the city. 4 The War Memorial Museum is the
most popular tourist attraction in Auckland Domain
park. 5 The Pukekawa volcano is the highest
mountain in the area. 6 Auckland is the best
holiday destination in the country.
Extension
Ask students to ask and answer the questions in pairs.
Monitor and help.

Superlative adjectives
• It’s the oldest park in the city, and it’s the largest
too.
• It’s one of the most enjoyable places to ride in the
city!

Revise the grammar point by asking the following

questions: Which is a more exciting place to visit –
the beach or the mountains? Ask: How do we make
the comparative form? Elicit answers for short and
long adjectives. Remind students that we use than
when we compare two people, places or things.

Ask students: Where is the most popular holiday

destination in your country? Who is the best

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