IE 0_dated 7.11.22_by Ms.

Nhung

Task 1: Watch the video and complete the note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=kzkEGEjkb30

How to talk about your home

(1) Where do you live?

What’s your home (2) like?

What’s about your neighbourhood?

Part 1: Introducing where you live (Talking about (3) types of home)

I live in a house/(4) apartment (AE)/ flat (BE)

(5) What kind of house or apartment is it?

E.g. I live in a small, two-(6) storey house in the suburbs. (storey = floor)

E.g. I live in an apartment on the third (7) floor of a four-storey building.

+ terraced house (smaller and cheaper)

+ semi-detached house

+ detached house (larger and more expensive)

+ apartment building

+ (8) tower (BE)

+ (9) high rise (AE)

+ (10) studio apartment (a one-room apartment with the bedroom and living room together)

+ Three-(11) bedrooms apartments

E.g.

+ I live in a two-storey terraced house.

+ I live in an apartment on the 28th floor of a (12) high – rise building.

Part 2: Describing the inside of you home

Rooms: bedrooms, kitchen, living room, garden, etc.

It’s better to add (13) adijectives and details to describe your house.

E.g. My house has two small bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining table, a living room with big
windows and a small garden.

- Other rooms: (14) dining room (to eat), office/ study ( to work), (15) balcony, terrace (sit
outside)

E.g. I live in a two-bedroom apartment. The bedrooms are quite small, but there’s a big living
room with a dining area, a (16) modern kitchen, and also a small balcony where we can sit (17)
outside in the summer.

Part 3: Saying what you like or dislike about your home

(18) positive words:

- (19) spacious = large, with lots of rooms

- (20) cosy = comfortable in a warm, welcoming way

- light = describes a home which gets lots of natural light

- warm/ cool = comfortable in winter/summer

- convenient = close to other places you need to go regularly

(+ (21) for.: It’s convenient for the subway./ for my office.

Negative words:

- (22) cramped chật chội= small, with not enough room

- dark = doesn’t get much natural light

- (23) drafty = lets in cold air in the winter

- (24) stuffy = uncomfortable and airless in the summer

- noisy (if you live near main roads)

E.g. My home is light and spacious but it can get very drafty in the winter.

I like my apartment because it’s cosy, although it can get noisy, because there’s a restaurant just
downstairs.

Part 4: Saying who you live with

(25) Who do you live with? (with parents, family, by yourself, flat-mates, etc.)
Part 5: Talking about your neighborhood (An area near your home, NOT A PERSON)

My house is in the city centre/ in the (26) suburbs / outside the city (on the (27) outskirts of
the city/ in a village/ in the middle of nowhere)

How can you describe your neighborhood?

Quiet or (28) lively ? (29) trendy or bored? Are there many shops, cafés, bars, restaurants,
parks, sports (30) facilities?

E.g. I live in a very lively area just south of the city centre, There are lots of cafes, shops, and
places to go. /I live in a quiet neighbourhood in the suburbs, in the north of the city, It’s a new
area, and it’s nice but also quite boring. There isn’t really anything to do.

Part 6: Review and practice

I live in a two-storey terraced house. It has two bedrooms, a living room, a small kitchen and a
garden. It’s cosy and convenient for getting to work, but it’s a bit cramped, especially when we
have guests. I live with my wife and daughter. Our house is near the city centre, in a quiet
neighbourhood. There isn’t much to do, but there are some small shops and a park where we go
if the weather’s nice.

I live by myself in a studio apartment. It just has one main room, with a tiny kitchen. It’s very
warm in winter, but it can get a bit stuffy in summer. I live in the city centre, very close to
everything. It’s very lively, with lots of bars and restaurants. It’s a good place for young people
to live, but not many families choose to live here.

Task 2: Read and take note

Learn how to describe your city or village!

Have you ever been asked by someone to describe your city or village? Was this in a school
setting or did some stranger want to know more about the place where you came from? What did
you answer?

 My city is big and lovely.

 It’s welcoming.
 It’s really big and there are lots of things to do there.
 It’s one of the most beautiful cities you’ve ever seen. Come visit it!
 It’s the capital city of our country.
What else did you say? What other criteria could you have used for a more vivid description?
Size

This criterion is easy to deal with. There are many Adjectives that you know already and they
can be really useful. If you want more variety, you can use a Thesaurus. This is a dictionary that
gives you different synonyms and antonyms of words.

E.g. BIG

Synonyms: Huge, large, enormous, vast, humongous, gigantic, limitless, sprawling, etc.

Antonyms: Tiny, small, miniature, narrow, cramped, etc.

Sample Description

My city is huge and impressive. Its boundaries are limitless and you can walk all day without
getting out of the city. You must be careful though because you can easily get lost because of its
humongous size. Nevertheless, I really like my city. I cannot imagine myself living a narrow and
cramped place. I would go mad!

Location
You can also give the exact location of your city or village to add more details to your
description.

Examples

 My city is located in the eastern part of our country.

 I come from the southern region.
 It is located in the north.
 It’s in the south-east.
 It can be found in the north-west.
 It’s a northern city.
 It lies by the sea.
 It’s hidden in the mountains.
 It’s in the central region.
 It is found in the northernmost part of the country.
  It is found in the southernmost part of the district.

Infrastructure

There is a thorough post on types of infrastructure here.

Sample Description

My village has heavily invested in infrastructure. I should say that I am proud of what our
administrators have done so far. We have got an excellent transportation system. There is a huge
train station which connects us to the rest of the country. Ours schools are some of the best in the
region and we are planning to build a university. Additionally, we do not have to travel far in
order to get specialist healthcare since we have built state-of-the-art clinics and hospitals.

Amenities
If you are asked to describe your city or village, you can also talk about the facilities or amenities
that you have so as to make your life easier and enjoyabe.

Examples

Libraries: You can borrow books and DVDs here.

Cinemas: You can watch movies there.

Shopping malls: You can buy food, clothes, shoes and electronic devices.

Markets: You can buy food and houseware.

Bakeries: You can buy bread and other baked goods.

Butcheries: You can get yourself some meat.

Post Office: You can send letters and parcels.

Can you think of other places or services that enable you to live a healthy and satisfactory life in
the village or city?

Adjectives
It is clever to use Adjectives to describe your city or village because they perfectly suit this
purpose.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of Adjectives that you can use for your description:

 Cosmopolitan
 Expensive
 Appealing
 Perfect
 Well-developed
 Dangerous
 Safe
 Welcoming
 Calm
 Hectic
 Enjoyable
 Accessible
 Connected
 Isolated
Numbers

This can be one of the most revealing part. Are there 20, 000 people in your village or 2, 000,
000? How big is your city? Is there any important date that can give us more information about
the history of your city? Doing a Google search or reading books can help you get all the facts
that you need.

Sample Description

I live in a small city with an estimated population of 55, 000 as of 2018. Its surface area is
500 km². It was founded in 1725 and is home to one of the most visited museums in our country.