Lesson number B2-U2-Core3

Lesson Name: Only in Vietnam

Objective: Talk about their unusual experience
Learning points: Present perfect (Have you ever ..that …?)
Adjective to describe extreme experiences
Skills: Ask follow-up questions

Warm-up: About you

First, give short answers to the following items in the boxes below. Then you and
your coach take turns to say the answers for the other person to guess.

E.g. your coach: An LV bag => you can guess ‘It’s something you’ve bought that was
very expensive.’ Or ‘It’s something you’ve lost that was very important.’

1. something you’ve done that you are very proud of

2. a city you’ve been to that you liked a lot a laptop free diving
3. someone you’ve met who is from another country sky diving

4. something you’ve lost that was very important Hanoi city

5. a frightening experience you’ve had on a business trip

6. a sport or activity you haven’t tried, but would like to bungee jump
7. something you’ve bought that was very expensive
8. a place you’ve been to that was very beautiful
9. the best present you’ve ever received
10. someone you’ve known for a long time

Exercise 1: Unusual experiences in Vietnam

1. Identify them

Being a Vietnamese, can you name the activities by looking at the photos below? How
many of them have you experienced?

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 1 snake wine 2 Cu Chi Tunnel 3 traffic jam

4 sandboarding 5 6
Hoi An ancient town fresh beer/ bia hoi

7 8 9
Phong Nha cave traditional market/ local market terrace: ruộng bậc thang

2. Get to know them

Read the text and find what each adjective or noun below is referring to.

1. mouth-watering
2. intimidating
3. organized chaos
4. chilled
5. breathtaking

Vietnam may be renowned for its many pristine temples, colonial architecture,
geological wonders, and mouth-watering cuisines. This country has also plenty of
unique experiences you won’t find elsewhere. Check out our list of crazy
experiences you will have in Vietnam.

1. Sampling a shot of snake wine:

/məˈdɪs.ɪ.nəl/
"medicinal snake wine" uses herbs or animals that are soaked in high-alcohol
distilled white spirit. For foreign travelers, they often find it very intimidating because

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 they have soaked all kinds of live animals that have been pre-processed such as
snakes, lizards, geckos ...

2. Walking into 6 lanes of oncoming traffic in Saigon

Vietnamese say: Traffic Rules are just recommendation in Vietnam. So if you first
visit Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city), you will feel like there are no rules on the road. You
will see people and traffic come from everywhere. But this is "organized chaos" and
everything works perfectly.

3. Drinking USD 0.50 beers at Bia Hoi Junction in Hanoi

cold
Bia hoi (or fresh beer) refers to the refreshingly light, chilled draught beer. For
instance, your new friends might say to you “Let’s go for bia hoi!” or “Let’s head to
the bia hoi!” Befriend some Vietnamese and that’s what you’ll hear often.

4. Exploring Paradise Cave at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Paradise Cave is about 14 km southwest of Son Trach village, Phong Nha Ke Bang
National Park - Quang Binh Province. This remarkable cave system extends for
about 31 km long, though most people only visit the first kilometre. The scale is
breathtaking, as wooden staircases descend into a cathedral-like space.

(continued)

(Adapted from adventurejourney.vn)

Ref: https://adventurejourney.vn/best-of-vietnam/top-10-unusual-experiences-you-
will-have-in-vietnam.html

Discussion:
1. What Vietnamese dishes do you find mouth-watering?
2. Is tasting medicinal snake wine intimidating to you?
3. Do you know how people in big cities like Saigon deal with the ‘organized
chaos’?
4. Do you think that exploring caves in Phong Nha Ke Bang is actually
breathtaking as described?
look forward to see --> to seeing pristine
Exercise 3: Ask about them

Ask your coach about their experience using ‘Have you ever … that …? And ask 2
follow-up questions for each answer.

E.g. Have you ever been intimidated by a situation that you later overcame?

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 Wrap up
Fill in the blanks with the adjectives from the lesson and appropriate verbs

1. It's the most …… dish that I have ever ……, with a crispy thin crust, and a
savory sauce topped with fresh herbs and vegetables.
intimidating climbed
2. It's the most ….. trail that I have ever ….., with steep cliffs and narrow paths
that made me feel like I was on the edge of the world.
breathtaking
3. It's the most ……. view that I have ever witnessed, the sun setting over the
ocean as I stood on the cliff's edge.
the most + adj - dài (>=2 âm tiết) chilled

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