THE ARTICLE

START

1. CHRISTMAS MARKETS: What do you know about Christmas markets? Have you ever been to one? Which is your favourite? Why? Where do they originate from? Go round the room swapping stories. Change partners often.

2. 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!

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

4. 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!

5. CHRISTMAS MARKETS: With your partner on the board write as many words to do with the Christmas markets as you can. One-two minutes. Compare with other teams. Discuss together – linking your words.

6. SEASONAL MUSTS: With your partner list 6 seasonal musts you want to buy for Christmas at the Christmas market. The teacher will select some pairs to discuss their findings.

1 4 2 5 3 6

7. MARKET STALL: You and your partner are at the Bratislava Christmas market. One of you is a stallholder. The other is buying some gifts for Christmas. Choose 3 gifts. Alternatively the one buying wants some food and drink. Role play: 5 minutes. Swap roles & partners!

8. QUICK DISCUSSION 1: Student(s) A think the Christmas markets are fun and festive. Student(s) B think they are cheap, tacky and poor quality.

9. QUICK DISCUSSION 2: You are sitting in a pub. Student(s) A think that not having a real ice rink doesn’t make much difference to the fun Downtown. Student(s) B think the city has made a huge mistake. Its tourist image for starters will be dented...

10. KNICK-KNACKS IN MY CHRISTMAS STOCKING… What knick-knacks would you put in your Christmas stocking if you were filling it? What knick-knacks would you put in your kids (imagine!) Christmas stocking(s)? The teacher will select some pairs to discuss their findings.

Your xmas stocking Your kids xmas stocking 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

11. CHRISTMAS MARKET QUIZ: With your partner or in small groups: (1 point for each correct answer. Lose ½ point if you look at the article for help!) Student A 1) What has opened in Downtown and the historical old town square? 2) How many gastronomy stalls are there? 3) Who are flocking to the Slovak capital? 4) Name three other Christmas markets in Central Europe 5) Where is the wooden manger? 6) Name the airlines mentioned? 7) What was here 3 years ago? 8) What is more unusual? 9) What replaced the ice rink? 10) Who frequented the ice rink en masse? Student B 1) How many stalls are selling Christmas gifts? 2) Name the Continental Europe Christmas markets 3) Which countries are these Continental Christmas markets in? 4) What is melting away from peoples minds? 5) Name 4 Christmas gifts you can buy on the stalls 6) What do decorative stalls sell? 7) How many stalls are there altogether? 8) Who offer plenty of Christmas spirit? 9) What is Central Europe increasingly becoming? 10) What was Victorian in style?

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

1. The Christmas market ____________________________________________

2. Partygoers _____________________________________________________

3. More stalls _____________________________________________________

4. Candles _______________________________________________________

5. Decorative stalls ________________________________________________

6. Downtown ____________________________________________________

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

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

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article:

GAP FILL: READING

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

GAP FILL: LISTENING:

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Bratislava Christmas market opens

Bratislava’s annual Christmas market _________________ historical old town square and in Downtown. Every night people are _____________________ to buy the various Christmas goodies on sale. Bargains include glass sculptures, different artworks and decorative candles. Traditional seasonal _____________ woollen hats and scarves. Visitors can treat themselves to a Bratislava T-shirt or mug! ___________________ 106 stalls; 41 gastronomy and 65 selling Christmas gifts. At night, the place comes alive with partygoers all eager to enjoy the festive spirit that Xmas brings. Decorative stalls sell hot red or white wine and traditional foods like pork and chicken burgers. There _________________ unusual black poppy pancakes or goose fat and raw onion that is spread on sliced bread. Two large Christmas trees tower over everyone. In Downtown one has a large _____________ underneath it. The other in the historical old town square is surrounded by partygoers who offer plenty of Christmas spirit.

Tourists _____________ Europe are flocking _____________________ this December using cheap airlines like Sky Europe and Ryanair. Central Europe is increasingly becoming the new, cheap ‘in’ place to visit. The region is rich with Christmas markets including _____________, Budapest and Prague. These compare favourably with others in Continental Europe including Luxembourg, Trier and Metz. A downside for locals this year is the complete ____________________ outdoor ice rink. Three years ago saw a magnificent Victorian style ice rink in the Downtown area. Cost cutting over the last two years saw it become a plastic rink! The result was the lawyers, ____________________ who frequented it before stayed away en masse. Sponsors could solve this issue. _________________ year the ice rink now is melting away from peoples minds, replaced instead with more stalls.

DISCUSSION

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

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?

2. Have you ever been to a Christmas market?

3. Would you help sponsor a real ice rink?

4. Are you full of Xmas spirit this year?

5. Have you ever tried black poppy pancakes?

6. Do you like red or white hot wine?

7. Will you be meeting your friends for a Christmas drink?

8. Have you ever tried any of the local foods sold at the Christmas market?

9. Who do you go to the Christmas market with?

10. Do you wear a woollen hat and scarf in December?

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

1. Which is your favourite Christmas market?

2. What do you buy at a Christmas market?

3. What do you drink at a Christmas market?

4. Do you prefer there to be snow at a Christmas market?

5. What’s the difference between a Slovak Christmas and Christmas elsewhere?

6. Do you think the real ice rink will be missed this year?

7. Do you think the real ice rink should be reinstated?

8. Why do you think the old town decided not to have a real ice rink this year?

9. Is market stall commercialism and greed replacing festive spirit and is it to blame for the lack of a real ice rink?

10. 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

ROLE PLAY: SPEAKING:

In pairs or in small groups fill in this festive song in your own way…

On the 1^st day of Christmas

On the 2^nd day of Christmas

On the 3^rd day of Christmas

On the 4^th day of Christmas

On the 5^th day of Christmas

On the 6^th day of Christmas

On the 7^th day of Christmas

On the 8^th day of Christmas

On the 9^th day of Christmas

On the 10^th day of Christmas

On the 11^th day of Christmas

On the 12^th day of Christmas

The teacher will select some students to sing their song in front of the class!

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

Bratislava’s (1)___ Christmas market has (2)___ in the historical old town square and in Downtown. Every night people are bustling and jostling to buy the various Christmas goodies on sale. (3)__ include glass sculptures, different artworks and decorative candles. (4)___ seasonal musts include woollen hats and scarves. Visitors can treat themselves to a Bratislava T-shirt or mug! This year sees some 106 stalls; 41 gastronomy and 65 selling Christmas gifts. At night, the place comes alive with partygoers all eager to enjoy the festive spirit that Xmas brings. Decorative stalls sell hot red or white wine and traditional foods like pork and chicken burgers. There are also the more unusual black poppy pancakes or goose fat and raw onion that is spread on sliced bread. Two large Christmas trees tower over everyone. In Downtown one has a large wooden manger underneath it. The other in the historical old town square is surrounded by partygoers who offer plenty of Christmas spirit.

Tourists from all over Europe are (5)___ to the Slovak capital this December using cheap airlines like Sky Europe and Ryanair. Central Europe is increasingly becoming the new, cheap ‘in’ place to visit. The region is rich with Christmas markets including (6)___ Vienna, Budapest and Prague. These compare favourably with others in Continental Europe including Luxembourg, Trier and Metz. A downside for locals this year is the complete disappearance of the outdoor ice rink. Three years ago saw a magnificent (7)___ style ice rink in the Downtown area. Cost (8)___ over the last two years saw it become a plastic rink! The result was the lawyers, doctors and students who frequented it before stayed away en masse. (9)___ could solve this issue. Sadly (10)___ this year the ice rink now is (11)___ away from peoples minds, (12)___ instead with more stalls.

GRAMMAR 1: MIDWAY

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

GRAMMAR 2: EASY

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Christmas markets: Search the Internet and find more information about Christmas markets. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: Write a newspaper article about Christmas markets. (Minimum 200 words)

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?

WRITING: IN CLASS:

1. FIVE MINUTE ARTICLE: Write an article on ‘Christmas markets.’ You have five minutes. Afterwards swap articles with your partner. Read through their article and correct any mistakes. The teacher will select some students to read out their work.

Countdown: Every minute the teacher may say, “You have xx minutes.”

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

PHRASE MATCH:

GAP FILL: Bratislava Christmas market opens: Bratislava’s annual Christmas market has opened in the historical old town square and in Downtown. Every night people are bustling and jostling to buy the various Christmas goodies on sale. Bargains include glass sculptures, different artworks and decorative candles. Traditional seasonal musts include woollen hats and scarves. Visitors can treat themselves to a Bratislava T-shirt or mug! This year sees some 106 stalls; 41 gastronomy and 65 selling Christmas gifts. At night, the place comes alive with partygoers all eager to enjoy the festive spirit that Xmas brings. Decorative stalls sell hot red or white wine and traditional foods like pork and chicken burgers. There are also the more unusual black poppy pancakes or goose fat and raw onion that is spread on sliced bread. Two large Christmas trees tower over everyone. In Downtown one has a large wooden manger underneath it. The other in the historical old town square is surrounded by partygoers who offer plenty of Christmas spirit. Tourists from all over Europe are flocking to the Slovak capital this December using cheap airlines like Sky Europe and Ryanair. Central Europe is increasingly becoming the new, cheap ‘in’ place to visit. The region is rich with Christmas markets including nearby Vienna, Budapest and Prague. These compare favourably with others in Continental Europe including Luxembourg, Trier and Metz. A downside for locals this year is the complete disappearance of the outdoor ice rink. Three years ago saw a magnificent Victorian style ice rink in the Downtown area. Cost cutting over the last two years saw it become a plastic rink! The result was the lawyers, doctors and students who frequented it before stayed away en masse. Sponsors could solve this issue. Sadly missed this year the ice rink now is melting away from peoples minds, replaced instead with more stalls.

LANGUAGE WORK