Bargains in Poprad… in eastern Slovakia

URL: http://www.newsflashenglish.com/250607Poprad1.htm

Ideas and Articles by David Robinson

25^th June 2007

This lesson is the copyright of www.newsflashenglish.com

THE ARTICLE

Bargains in Poprad… in eastern Slovakia

Author Tom Chesshyre ventured up to the small town of Poprad and was surprised to meet some British speculators…The Times reported recently. Poprad is hidden away in the east of Slovakia miles from the countries capital Bratislava. It’s town is a small place best known for its washing machine factory, small brewery, airport and Radio Tatras International! There are large, ugly ex-communist high rise estates on its outskirts. But beyond these are the spectacular High Tatra mountains – beautiful peaks that jut up like sharks’ teeth from a plain that offer some decent skiing. There are not many skiers about but as I discovered there are some British property speculators. Malcolm 50, and Katja 25, are playing the local property market. He’s from Colchester in England. She is from Stara Lubovna, in Slovakia. They met through work in the UK where Katja went after Slovakia joined the EU. The author met them outside their house in Poprad.

“We bought it for £85,000 and have spent £15,000 doing it up. It’s valued at £220,000 now. People have come to have a look, and we’ve almost sold it, said Malcolm. “But the problem is the language. People are terrified. They can’t talk to the banks here about finance because of the language. The English banks aren’t keen on Slovakia. They’ve got to wise up to the fact that Slovakia is part of the EU. But it will change.” They have four properties up for sale. The author visits their ‘showcase’ property. The apartment is huge. Asked what ‘look’ she was going for Katja said, “The look that makes money!” Investing in other East European countries is discussed – Poland, Hungary and The Czech Republic. In Romania the prices are ridiculous. Ukraine is a no no! Slovakia is the winner – 19% flat tax and plenty of goulash parties! Katja adds, “My husband came to Slovakia and he made three times his money here. That’s how good it is. That’s the investment opportunity. That’s why it’s time to come to Slovakia.”

START

1. PROPERTY SPECULATORS: What do you know about property speculators? What are they? Do you know any? Are you one? Go round the room swapping stories. Change partners often.

2. POPRAD: What do you know about Poprad? Where is it? Go round the room swapping stories. Change partners often.

3. DICTATION: The teacher will read some of the article slowly and clearly. Students will write down what they hear. The teacher will repeat the passage slowly again. Self correct your work from page 2 - filling in spaces and correcting mistakes. Be honest with yourself on the number of errors. Advise the teacher of your total number of errors. Less than 5 is very good. 10 are acceptable. Any more is room for improvement! More than 20 - we need to do some work!

4. READING: Get students to read the passage aloud. Swap readers every paragraph.

5. VOCABULARY: Students look through the article. Underline/highlight any vocabulary you don’t know. Look in dictionaries. Discuss and help each other out. The teacher will go through and explain any words or phrases you are stuck with!

6. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting (circle) and which are most boring (underline).

Author / Poprad / Radio Tatras International / High Tatra mountains / washing machine factory / property speculators / 19% flat tax / investment opportunity / goulash parties / Slovakia / Stara Lubovna / skiing

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. Put them into different categories.

7. POPRAD: With your partner think of 4 things Poprad is famous for. (You may need to look on the internet) Discuss.

1 3 2 4

8. PROPERTY SPECTULATOR: With your partner think of 6 different words associated with being a property speculator. Discuss.

1 4 2 5 3 6

9. PROPERTY BUSINESS: Change partners! Discuss with your new partner the following business points… Student A questions a) Buying property in Slovakia is a good idea. b) The 19% flat tax. c) Investing in other East & Central European countries. d) Your business idea. Student B questions a) Buying a property in Poprad. b) The comparison between property prices in Poprad and Bratislava. c) Mortgage availability d) Your business idea.

10. PROPERTY DEBATE: With your partner discuss the following countries property markets. List them in order of risk i.e. most risky (10) the least risky (1). 1) Ukraine 6) Romania 2) Slovakia 7) Bulgaria 3) UK 8) Russia 4) France 9) Poland 5) Spain 10) Czech Republic

11. SENTENCE STARTERS: With your partner(s), finish these sentence starters. Change partner(s) and talk about the sentences you made.

a) Poprad _______________________________________________________

b) British spectators _______________________________________________

c) Ex-communist __________________________________________________

d) Property prices _________________________________________________

e) The language ___ _______________________________________________

f) The 19% tax __________________________________________________

g) Radio Tatra International _________________________________________

h) The High Tatras _________________________________________________

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: After reading the article guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Tom Chesshyre is an Author	T / F
b.	Poprad is in the west of Slovakia	T / F
c.	Malcolm 40, is from the UK. His girlfriend Katja 25, is from Slovakia	T / F
d.	The English banks love Slovakia	T / F
e.	Ukraine is a ‘no no’ for investing in property	T / F
f.	The couple have five properties	T / F
g.	Goulash parties are fun	T / F
h.	Katja’s husband doubled his money in Slovakia	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	Hidden	Stupid
b.	Ugly	Clever
c.	Jut	Further away
d.	Beyond	Vast
e.	Peaks	Good
f.	Decent	Stick out
g.	Wise	Actual
h.	Fact	Unattractive
i.	Huge	Highest point
j.	Ridiculous	Conceal

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	Author Tom Chesshyre ventured up	and have spent £15,000 doing it up
b.	Poprad is hidden away	the spectacular High Tatra mountains
c.	It’s town is a small place	ugly ex-communist high rises
d.	There are large,	are playing the local property market
e.	…beyond these are	four properties up for sale
f.	… - beautiful peaks that	best known for its washing machine factory
g.	Malcolm 50, and Katja 25,	are terrified of the language
h.	We bought it for £85,000	in the east of Slovakia
i.	People	jut up like sharks’ teeth
j.	They have	to the small town of Poprad

GAP FILL: READING

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Bargains in Poprad… in eastern Slovakia Author Tom Chesshyre ventured up to the small town of Poprad and was surprised to meet some British speculators…The Times reported recently. Poprad is ______ away in the east of Slovakia miles from the countries capital Bratislava. It’s town is a small place best known for its washing machine factory, small _______, airport and _____ Tatras International! There are large, ______ ex-_________ high rise estates on its outskirts. But beyond these are the spectacular High Tatra mountains – beautiful peaks that ______ up like sharks’ teeth from a plain that offer some decent skiing. There are not many skiers about but as I discovered there are some British property speculators. Malcolm 50, and Katja 25, are playing the local property market. He’s from Colchester in England. She is from Stara Lubovna, in Slovakia. They met through work in the UK where Katja went after Slovakia joined the _____. The ______ met them outside their house in Poprad.

hidden EU radio communist brewery ugly author jut

“We bought it for £85,000 and have spent £15,000 doing it up. It’s valued at £220,000 now. People have come to have a look, and we’ve almost sold it, said Malcolm. “But the _______ is the language. People are terrified. They can’t talk to the banks here about _______ because of the language. The English banks aren’t keen on Slovakia. They’ve got to wise up to the fact that Slovakia is part of the EU. But it will change.” They have four __________ up for sale. The author visits their ‘________’ property. The apartment is huge. Asked what ‘look’ she was going for Katja said, “The look that makes _____!” Investing in other East European countries is discussed – Poland, Hungary and The Czech Republic. In Romania the prices are __________. Ukraine is a no no! Slovakia is the ______ – 19% flat tax and plenty of goulash parties! Katja adds, “My husband came to Slovakia and he made three times his money here. That’s how good it is. That’s the investment ___________. That’s why it’s time to come to Slovakia.”

properties winner showcase finance ridiculous problem opportunity money

GAP FILL: LISTENING:

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Bargains in Poprad… in eastern Slovakia

Author Tom Chesshyre ventured ____________________ of Poprad and was surprised to meet some British speculators…The Times reported recently. Poprad is hidden away _______________________ miles from the countries capital Bratislava. It’s town is a small place best known for its washing machine factory, small brewery, airport and Radio Tatras International! There are large, ugly ex-communist high rise ________________________. But beyond these are the spectacular High Tatra mountains – beautiful peaks that jut up like sharks’ teeth from a plain that offer some decent skiing. There are not many skiers ______________ discovered there are some British property speculators. Malcolm 50, and Katja 25, are playing the ______________________. He’s from Colchester in England. She is from Stara Lubovna, in Slovakia. They met through work in the UK where Katja went after Slovakia joined the EU. The author ______________________ house in Poprad.

“We bought it for £85,000 and have spent £15,000 doing it up. It’s valued at £220,000 now. People have come ______________, and we’ve almost sold it, said Malcolm. “But the problem is the language. People are terrified. They _______________________ here about finance because of the language. The English banks aren’t keen on Slovakia. They’ve got to wise up to the fact that Slovakia is part of the EU. But it will change.” They have four properties up for sale. The ____________________ ‘showcase’ property. The apartment is huge. Asked what ‘look’ _________________ Katja said, “The look that makes money!” Investing in other East European countries is discussed – Poland, Hungary and The Czech Republic. In Romania the prices are ridiculous. Ukraine is a no no! Slovakia is the winner – 19% flat tax and plenty of goulash parties! Katja adds, “My ________________________ and he made three times his money here. That’s how good it is. That’s the investment opportunity. That’s ______________________ to Slovakia.”

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a) Did the headline make you want to read the article?

b) Did anything in the article surprise you?

c) Would you invest and buy a property in another country?

d) Why are people (foreigners) terrified of the Slovak language?

e) Is it time for foreigners to invest in Slovakia?

f) Is it a good idea to invest in property in the High Tatras?

g) Where would you like to be a property speculator?

h) What other ways can a foreigner make money in Slovakia?

i) Do you know of anyone who has married a foreigner?

j) Does it matter if there is an age difference in a relationship?

$---------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a) Did you like reading this article?

b) What do you think about what you read?

c) Have you ever been to Poprad?

d) Do you think property prices are a lot less in Poprad?

e) Have you ever been skiing in the High Tatra mountains?

f) Do you ever listen to Radio Tatras International?

g) Are Slovak banks – especially in Poprad - lacking in language skills i.e. English?

h) Should British banks be more flexible to lending to people investing in Slovakia?

i) How much do you think property prices have risen in Poprad in the last two years compared to Bratislava?

j) Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
2. Was there a question you didn’t like?
3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
4. What did you like talking about?
5. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

PRESS: ROLE PLAY: BUYING AN APPARTMENT:

With your partner or in groups of three/four:

You are buying an apartment. Discuss the following…

One person is the reality/estate agent. You go in the reality shop/estate agent to discuss your needs…

	Findings
No of rooms / no of bedrooms
New / reconstructed / to be reconstructed
What you would change
Ideal village/town /city to live
Amenities
Benefits of living there
Your theme (subject)

The teacher will select some students to discuss their situations in front of the class.

LANGUAGE: CORRECT WORD: Choose the correct words from a–d below and write them in the article.

(1) ____ Tom Chesshyre ventured up to the (2) ____ (3) ____ of Poprad and was (4) ____ to meet some British speculators…The Times reported recently. Poprad is hidden away in the east of Slovakia miles from the countries capital Bratislava. It’s town is a small place best known for its (5) ____ machine factory, small brewery, airport and Radio Tatras International! There are large, (6) ____ ex-communist high rise estates on its outskirts. But beyond these are the spectacular High Tatra mountains – beautiful peaks that jut up like sharks’ teeth from a plain that offer some decent skiing. There are not many skiers about but as I discovered there are some British property speculators. Malcolm 50, and Katja 25, are playing the local property market. He’s from Colchester in England. She is from Stara Lubovna, in Slovakia. They met through work in the UK where Katja went after Slovakia joined the EU. The author met them outside their house in Poprad.

“We bought it for £85,000 and have spent £15,000 doing it up. It’s valued at £220,000 now. People have come to have a look, and we’ve (7) ____ sold it, said Malcolm. “But the problem is the language. People are (8) ____. They can’t talk to the banks here about finance because of the language. The English banks aren’t keen on Slovakia. They’ve got to wise up to the fact that Slovakia is part of the EU. But it will change.” They have four (9) ____ up for sale. The author visits their ‘showcase’ property. The apartment is huge. Asked what ‘look’ she was going for Katja said, “The look that makes money!” (10) ____ in other East European countries is discussed – Poland, Hungary and The Czech Republic. In Romania the prices are ridiculous. Ukraine is a no no! Slovakia is the winner – 19% flat tax and plenty of goulash (11) ____! Katja adds, “My husband came to Slovakia and he made three times his (12) ____ here. That’s how good it is. That’s the investment opportunity. That’s why it’s time to come to Slovakia.”

1.	(a)	Writer	(b)	Teacher	(c)	Author	(d)	Painter
2.	(a)	large	(b)	small	(c)	medium	(d)	tiny
3.	(a)	village	(b)	city	(c)	suburb	(d)	town
4.	(a)	surprised	(b)	surprise	(c)	surprising	(d)	surprisingly
5.	(a)	wash	(b)	washed	(c)	linen	(d)	washing
6.	(a)	pretty	(b)	unattractive	(c)	grim	(d)	ugly
7.	(a)	about	(b)	almost	(c)	all most	(d)	most
8.	(a)	terrifies	(b)	terrify	(c)	terrified	(d)	terrified
9.	(a)	properties	(b)	flats	(c)	houses	(d)	property
10.	(a)	Invest	(b)	Invested	(c)	Investor	(d)	Investing
11.	(a)