DEPARTAMENTO DE IDIOMAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCA

PASLE A1 (Programa Académico de Suficiencia en Lenguas Extranjeras)

UNIT 8 PLACES

UNIT GOALS
● describe their house and their neighborhood.

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PLURAL NOUNS

EXERCISE
Read the text and write the plural form of the nouns in brackets.
My family and I love to go to my grandparents’ farm, but when I arrive there, I really like to take some
____________ (bus) to have the opportunity to know new ____________ (person) and even some new ____________
(student). My grandfather often loses the ____________ (key) of his truck and my grandmother loses her ____________
(glasses). They always ask us to help them to find those ____________ (object). Near the farm, I can see different
____________ (animal) and ____________ (insect) like: ____________ (monkey), ____________, (cow), ____________
(goose), ____________ (deer), ____________ (fish), ____________ (mouse), ____________ (sheep), ____________
(butterfly), ____________ (donkey), ____________ (bird), ____________ (fox) and ____________ (wolf), too!!. My
grandfather brings me some fresh ____________ (tomato), ____________ (grape), ____________ (egg) and
____________ (potato). Once, some ____________ (thief) tried to steal the farm, but ____________ (man) and
____________ (woman) were happy because the ____________ (policeman) caught the ____________ (thief) up in time.
On Sunday mornings I like to catch ____________ (apple) and ____________ (cherry) on the ____________
(tree). I prepare toast, tea, some bread, and milk for breakfast. Also, there are many ____________ (church) open, so I
visit them with some ____________ (child) that live in that place. My ____________ (day) in the farm are really nice and
when I am coming back home, my grandma gives me lots of ____________ (kiss) on my ____________ (cheek).

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Reading Skill

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READING 1: At home

1. Look at the four photos. What is the same? What is different?

2. Read the article. Are these things (1-5) the same (S) or different (D) for each photo?
1. the country
2. the apartments
3. the number of rooms
4. the furniture
5. the pictures on the walls

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Vocabulary furniture
3. Look at the furniture and other things for apartment 1in the table. Find these things in the photo.

4. Look at apartment 2, 3, and 4. Then complete the table.

5. Look at the sentence from the article. What form is the noun (singular or plural) after there is and
there are?
There is a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and there are two bedrooms.

6. Look at the grammar box. Then complete the sentences with the correct form of be.

7. Listen and check your answers in Exercise 6. Then listen again and repeat.
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8. Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about the apartments.

9. Look at the grammar box. Then choose the correct prepositions to complete the description of
apartment 4. Listen and check.

10. Complete the description about apartment 1 with prepositions of place.

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 in the middle

between

under

FURTHER EXPLANATION AND PRACTICE

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8
READING 2: Favorite neighborhoods

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GLOBAL READING

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CLOSE READING

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Vocabulary adjectives about cities
1. Read the article and match the cities with the photos (1-4).

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 2. Underline all the adjectives in the article in Exercise 1.

Writing Skill
Writing Task
Write a text describing your neighborhood.

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You are going to review about using “so” and “because” and learn about
expanding notes into sentences. You are then going to use these skills to describe
a neighborhood.

Because is a subordinating conjunction. It shows the cause. So is a coordinating conjunction. It shows the effect.
We can combine two clauses using because and so.

I need to go to bed early today because I have an early appointment tomorrow.

Amber cannot come with us because she has an assignment to finish.
Marilyn has ten million dollars because she works hard and saves every dollar.
I always have a cup of coffee in the morning because it gives me more energy.
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The sun is very hot, so you should take sunscreen with you.
It is raining, so we cannot go to the party.
He is a bank robber, so he does not have true friends.
Exercise is good for people, so we need to exercise every day.

PRACTICE

Look at the Writing Model, identify the sentences with “so” and “because”. Write your own
sentences about your neighborhood using “so” and “because”.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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Include the vocabulary: places and buildings, prepositions of place, adjectives to describe places.
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Pay attention to your use of the Present Simple Tense, there is/are as well as
adjectives to describe places. Your text should include at least three prepositions
of place and sentences with so and because.
When you finish your paragraph, you will have to share it on the evirtual. Follow your
teacher’s instructions.

The rubric below will be used to grade your final text.

Source: Euro A1 Webset - Writing - MARKING CRITERIA

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Source: Euro A1 Webset - Writing - MARKING CRITERIA
Task Achievement
Task well achieved
Intention: Generally clear
5 Purpose: Achieved
Instructions: All instructions followed Content:
Most relevant details included Effect: A
positive effect on the reader
4 Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5
Task achieved, some gaps
Intention: Clear in most areas
Purpose. Achieved
Instructions: Most important ones followed
3 Content: Relevant details included
Effect: A generally positive effect on the reader.
2 Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3
Task entirely unachieved
Intention: Very unclear.
1 Purpose: Not achieved Instructions:
/Most / all not followed Content:
Omission, irrelevance.
Effect: negative effect on the reader.
Task unattempted / partially attempted
0 Not enough language to make an assessment (under
10 words).
*To obtain the final grade, divide the outcome by 3.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy Lexical Range & Accuracy
Grammatical Structures: Very simple but mostly correct Range: Sufficient range of lexis to complete the task
Spelling: Some mistakes that do not impede comprehension
Word order: Mostly correct Errors: Very simple lexis used mostly appropriately with some
Errors: Some, but do not significantly impede meaning, misuse.
Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5 Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5
Grammatical structures: Suitable for the level. Uses some very Range: A narrow repertoire but adequate to complete the task.
simple structures correctly, but still
systematically makes basic mistakes Errors: Errors are frequent but do not impede meaning.
Spelling: Adequate, mistakes do not impede comprehension.
Word order: Mostly correct, mistakes don’t impede
comprehension.
Errors: Frequent mistakes even in very simple sentences –
tends to mix up tenses and forget to mark
agreement; nevertheless, it is usually clear what
he/she is trying to say.
Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3 Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3
Grammatical Structures: Very simple, many mistakes. Range: Very narrow
Spelling: Very poor, mistakes impede comprehension.
Word order: Mostly incorrect. Errors: Too many, they impede meaning
Errors: Many, they impede meaning.
Little or no evidence of grammatical knowledge of simple No relevant lexis organized into sentences, or under 10 words.
structures, or under 10 words.
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Listening Skill

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Listening 2: New York City
Listen to one person talking about the places he wants to visit in New York City. Look at
the map and check the places he mentions.

1. _____ Rockefeller Center

2. _____ Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer
3. _____ Studio 54
4. _____ The Museum of Modern Art
5. _____ 50 St Broadway
6. _____ Times Square
7. _____ M&M’s World
8. _____ Trump Tower
9. _____ Nintendo NY

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Speaking Skill
Interview a classmate about his/her home and home furniture.

BRAINSTORM
You are going to interview a classmate to find out more about his/her home and home furniture.
Complete the word map with topics you would like to ask your partner about.
My classmate’s home
● Type of building: flat, house, apartment, etc.
● Design: big, small, dark, light
● Home location: address
● Number of rooms in his/her home
● Rooms that his/her house have
● Room’s location
● Favorite room
● Home furniture
● ………………………………………….
● ………………………………………….
● ………………………………………….

PLAN
Look back at your brainstorm and circle SIX TOPICS you would like to ask your classmate.
Then make Yes/No questions and Wh-Questions (for additional information) to ask one of
your classmates according to the topics you chose above. Pay attention to how to make Yes/No
Questions and Wh-Questions. Make SIX questions prompts to ask your classmate.

Yes/No Questions
Example: Do you live in a
flat?
1. Do you live in a city or in a town ?
2. Do you live in the suburbs of your city?
3. Do you live in a big or a small house?
4. Do you have a favorite room?
What is the room in which you spend most of your time?
5. Do you like to buy furniture ?
6. Do you have a favorite piece of furniture ?
Interview Questions
Asking for additional information
(Where…? /Who…? /How often…? What…? When…?
Why…?)
What kind of house do you have?
What's the name of your city or town?
How far from the center/church of the city do you live?
What's the number of rooms in your house?
What is your favorite room?
How often do you usually buy furniture?
Which is ? Why is this your favorite piece of furniture?

SPEAK
Take turns to interview your classmates. Take notes on your classmates’ answers. Ask for
repetition if needed
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 Assessing the Speaking Task
Range and Accuracy
Sufficient range of grammar
and lexis to adequately
complete
the tasks. Errors, although
5 they may be frequent even
when using very simple
language,
do not significantly
hinder communication.
4 Performance shares features of
Bands 3 and 5
Range of grammar and lexis
sufficient to adequately
complete the tasks. Repeated
errors even in very simple
3
sentences but they do not
generally hinder communication.
2 Performance shares features of
Bands 1 and 3
Range of grammar and lexis
insufficient to adequately
complete the tasks.
1 Too many errors in simple
sentences significantly
hinder communication.
0 Insufficient language for assessment
Total / 5 ________
Source: Euro A1 Webset - Speaking - MARKING CRITERIA
*To obtain the final grade, divide the outcome by 2.
Fluency, Coherence and
Pronunciation
Can link ideas into very simple
sentences although with noticeable
jumpiness. Pronunciation is
intelligible in spite of evident
foreign accent.
Occasional mispronunciations
put some strain on the listener
but rarely impede
communication.
Performance shares features of
Bands 3 and 5
Can communicate in very simple
sentences in spite of
considerable jumpiness.
Pronunciation
is intelligible, although
mispronunciations and inability
to produce certain sounds
may
sometimes impede communication
of the message.
Performance shares features of
Bands 1 and 3
Frequent hesitation and inability to
link ideas causes great strain on
the listener. Cannot produce
simple sentences. Places strain on
the listener.
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