Bad Traffic

Freshman Oral English

Unit 1: Socializing on Campus
Class CEFR Level: A2-B1
Week 9, Lesson 1
Fall Semester 2015
Instructor: Sulamith M. Hfer

Icebreaker: Getting Around (10 min.)

Materials

Tell students to mingle and talk to their classmates to find as many kinds of
transportations as they can. They should write them into your notebook or
textbook (p. 47).
In the end, have students share their results with the whole class (collect their
suggestions on the board).

PPT

Handout with pronunciation

rules (Attachment A)
Handout grammar rules and
practice (Attachment A)
Dices

train, subway, car, taxi, van, plane, helicopter, ship/boat, bus, truck, bicycle,
motorbike, scooter, three-wheeler, rickshaw, carriage, hot air balloon, space
ship, motor home/caravan/camper

Preparations
Before Class write on the board:

Review & Check-Up (5 min.)

Homework: Directions from East Gate to your dorm

Idiom: No way!
Pronunciation: Word Stress in 2-Syllable Words
Functions: Asking for and giving directions

ILOs

Homework

Goals
Students will be able to use
comparisons and superlatives.

Assessment #1 (5 min.)
Students continue to present their self-introductions.

Intended Learning
Outcomes (ILOs)

Idiom: Off the beaten track (5 min.)

TSWBAT

Meaning:
A place where few people go, far from any main roads and towns.
Away from places where most people go.

Examples:
1. "The hotel is difficult to find, it is really off the beaten track."
2. We found a nice little Italian restaurant off the beaten track.
3. We found a great vacation spot, off the beaten track.
4. Her tastes in reading tend to be off the beaten track.

Pronunciation: Word Stress in Multi-Syllabic Words (20

min.)

determine where the word

stress is placed in multisyllabic words, based on the
rules presented in class.
correctly apply the rules of
countable and uncountable
nouns as they discuss traffic
problems and compare small
towns vs. big cities.

Pronunciation
Stress on Penultimate Syllable
Penultimate = second from end
stress will be on the second-to-last
syllable:
a) Words ending in ic

Review the rules of word stress in 2-syllable words covered in class last week.
Introduce the rules for some multi-syllabic words and give examples. (see right
column Pronunciation).
Activity 1: Word Stress Exercise 1

Bad Traffic

Tell students to work with a partner and determine the word stress in the
words provided on the slide.

university
factory
technical

history
station
pollution

GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic,
geoLOGic
b) Words ending in sion and
tion
teleVIsion, reveLAtion

scenery
opportunity
traffic

Note:
For a few words, native English
speakers don't always "agree" on
where to put the stress. For
example, some people say
teleVIsion and others say
TELevision. Another example is:
CONtroversy and conTROversy.

Go over the words and have students compare their results.

Activity 2: Word Stress Exercise 2
Have students work with a partner to first determine the correct word stress in
the underlined words, then practice the correct use of word stress in the context
of the following sentences. Compare the results in the end.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Tim and Peter had a long conversation.

Transportation in my hometown is very poor.
Whats your opinion of the economic situation?
Follow these instructions.
I prefer photography to painting.
We always behave well in public.
There is no solution to the problem of traffic in the city.
He didnt give us the correct directions.
I want to ask you a question.

Stress on Ante-Penultimate
Syllable
Ante-penultimate = third from
end stress will be on the third to
last syllable
a) Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy
and gy (-ry)
deMOcracy, dependaBIlity,
phoTOgraphy, geOLogy
b) Words ending in al
CRItical, geological

Activity 3
Depending on how much time is left, students can either play the travel game
or discuss the questions at the bottom of page 49.

Compound Words
Words with two parts
a) For compound nouns, the
stress is on the first part
BLACKbird, GREENhouse
b) For compound adjectives, the
stress is on the second part
bad-TEMpered, oldFASHioned
c) For compound verbs, the
stress is on thesecond part
underSTAND, overFLOW

Break

Grammar Mini Lesson: Countable & Uncountable

Nouns (10 min.)

Introduce the grammar point of countable and uncountable nouns and

explain the concept (see Function/Grammer on right).
Provide a number of examples:

Examples for Countable Nouns:

one dog
one horse
one man
1.
2.
3.
4.

two dogs
two horses
two men

one idea
one shop

two ideas
two shops

Function/Grammar
Countable Nouns
a) Countable nouns are for things
we can count using numbers.
They have a singular and a
plural form. The singular form
can use the determiner "a" or
"an".
b) If you want to ask about the
quantity of a countable noun,
you ask "How many?"
combined with the plural
countable noun.

She has three dogs.

I own a house.
I would like two books please.
How many friends do you have?

Examples for Uncountable Nouns:

tea
sugar
water

rice
knowledge
beauty

fear
love
money

research
safety
evidence

Bad Traffic

air
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

anger

Uncountable Nouns
a) Uncountable nouns are for the
things that we cannot count
with numbers. They may be
the names for abstract ideas or
qualities or for physical objects
that are too small or too
amorphous to be counted
(liquids, powders, gases, etc.).
b) Uncountable nouns are used
with a singular verb. They
usually do not have a plural
form.

There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
He did not have much sugar left.
Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
How much rice do you want?

Note:
We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable
noun, use a word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or
else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a
pinch of, an hour of, a day of. If you want to ask about the quantity of an
uncountable noun, you ask "How much?"

Tricky Spots
1. Some nouns are countable in
other languages but
uncountable in English. They
must follow the rules for
uncountable nouns.
2. The most common ones are:
accommodation, advice, baggage,
behavior, bread, furniture,
information, luggage, news,
progress, traffic, travel, trouble,
weather, work

Examples Using Tricky Nouns:

a) I would like to give you some advice.
b) How much bread should I bring?
c) I didn't make much progress today.
d) This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
e) We did an hour of work yesterday.

Examples with the Word hair:

a) She has long blond hair.
b) The child's hair was curly.
c) I washed my hair yesterday.
d) My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
e) I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)

Note:
Be careful with the
noun hair which is normally
uncountable in English, so it is not
used in the plural. It can be
countable only when referring to
individual hairs.

Activity 1: Countable and Uncountable Nouns Exercises

Tell students to work with a partner and decide: Is the underlined noun
countable or uncountable?
1. The children fell asleep quickly after a busy day of fun.
2. Be careful! The water is deep.
3. The parade included fire trucks and police cars.
4. We like the large bottles of mineral water.
5. My mother uses real butter in the cakes she bakes.
6. How many politicians does it take to pass a simple law?
7. Most kids like milk, but Joey hates it.
8. Most pottery is made of clay.
9. Michael can play several different musical instruments.
10. I was feeling so stressed that I ate an entire box of cookies.
Explain C. p. 47 Grammar
Countable Nouns use
too many
arent enough
more
fewer

Review
Word stress in multi-syllable
words

Countable and uncountable

nouns

Preview
Thanksgiving, no class on
Thursday

Uncountable Nouns use

too much
isnt enough
more
less

Homework
Interview your partner about the
traffic situation in your
hometown. What is something
he/she would like to change?
Take notes about your partners
answer in your notebook.

Have students go over the grammar exercise, p. 47

Partner Activity: Traffic Problems (10 min)

Bad Traffic

C. p. 47
Tell students to work with a partner to discuss traffic problems in their
hometowns.
They should find four problems and discuss possible solutions. Remind
them to pay attention to the correct use of countable and uncountable
nouns.
Note: if the previous exercises have taken too long, this activity can also be
turned into the group activity (groups of 4-5, assign roles, have groups discuss
and presenters share their problems and solutions).

Group Activity: Debate (25 min.)

Put the students into groups of 4-5.

C. p. 48
Assign timekeeper, taskmaster, writer, presenter.
In their groups, students should discuss the advantages/disadvantages of big cities vs. small towns.
Groups should find a few arguments for each of the viewpoints listed in the textbook.
Time: 8-10 min.
In the end, each group chooses their best argument from each position and presenters share it with the class.

Useful websites:
http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/transportidioms.html
http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/countable-and-uncountable-nouns/
http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/nouns/countable-uncountable-nouns/
https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/word-stress-rules.htm

Bad Traffic

Attachment A

WORD STRESS
Stress on Penultimate Syllable
Penultimate = second from end stress will
be on the second-to-last syllable:
a) Words ending in ic
GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic
b) Words ending in sion and tion
teleVIsion, reveLAtion

Stress on Ante-Penultimate Syllable

Ante-penultimate = third from end stress will be on the third
to last syllable
a) Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and gy (-ry)
deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy, geOLogy
b) Words ending in al
CRItical, geological

Note:
For a few words, native English speakers
don't always "agree" on where to put the
stress. For example, some people say
teleVIsion and others say TELevision.
Another example is: CONtroversy and
conTROversy.

Compound Words
Words with two parts
a) For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part
BLACKbird, GREENhouse
b) For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part
bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned
c) For compound verbs, the stress is on thesecond part
underSTAND, overFLOW

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Rules
Countable Nouns
a) Countable nouns are for things we can count using
numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The
singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an".
b) If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable
noun, you ask "How many?" combined with the plural
countable noun.
Uncountable Nouns
a) Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot
count with numbers. They may be the names for
abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that
are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids,
powders, gases, etc.).
b) Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb.
They usually do not have a plural form.

Tricky Spots
1. Some nouns are countable in other languages but
uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for
uncountable nouns.
2. The most common ones are:
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture,
information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel,
trouble, weather, work
Hair
Be careful with the noun hair which is normally
uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can
be countable only when referring to individual hairs.

a)
b)
c)
d)

Examples
She has three dogs.
I own a house.
I would like two books please.
How many friends do you have?

a) There has been a lot of research into the causes of this

disease.
b) He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
c) Can you give me some information about uncountable
nouns?
d) He did not have much sugar left.
e) Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon
of salt.
f) How much rice do you want?
1. I would like to give you some advice.
2. How much bread should I bring?
3. I didn't make much progress today.
4. This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
5. We did an hour of work yesterday.

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

She has long blond hair.

The child's hair was curly.
I washed my hair yesterday.
My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to
individual hairs)
I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of
hair)

Bad Traffic