When you want to ask or answer about the distance and time it takes to get to some place, you can do it like this:

-How far is it from here to the hospital?

-It's very far/not so far/near here/5 kilometers

-How long does it take to get from Havana to Matanzas (by bus)?

-It takes a long time/just a few hours/30 minutes/an hour and a half.

EXERCISE 1

Imagine you and your Jamaican friend want to visit an important city or place which is very far from your hometown (toma como referencia donde realmente vives). Work in pairs and act it out.

*You are at a tourism office:

X: Good morning. May I help you?

You:Yes, please. How far is it from here to _________?

X: It's ____________.

You: How long does it take to get there by ______?

X: It takes _________. You'd rather go by ______.

You: Thank you very much.

*Some time later... (ya están en el lugar a donde querían ir)

You: Excuse me, can you tell us where ___________ is?

X: Yes, of course. It's ________________(the address).

You: We are from out of town./No somos de aquí/ Can you tell us how to get there?

X: Sure. _______________________________________

____________________________________________.

You: Thanks a lot.

X: You're welcome.

In case you need a description of a place here you have two alternatives:

Tell me about Havana.

What is Havana like?

How can you describe a place? You can use:

There is/are or you can use the verb to have

e.g.: My city has a lot of hotels and some stadiums. There is a zooandtwo aquariums. It has an international airport and excellent restaurants.

EXERCISE 2

Can you describe your city or neighborhood? Check it with your partner.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

EXERCISE 3

Helping a stranger.

Work in pairs: one student is a visitor in Havana and he’s asking for information about some places; the other one is a travel agent. Take turns asking and answering these questions. Use the map of your city.

A: Good morning. May I help you?

B: Yes, please. I’m on vacation here. Is there any_____________?

A: _______________________________________.

B: How can I get there?

A: __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________.

B: Thanks. I need to go to_________, too. Are there any around here?

A: _______________________________________.

B: How about_______? Are there any good ones in the neighborhood?

A: _______________________________________.

EXERCISE 4

Play the role of...

Work in pairs and act it out.

Student A: After seeing a film at the Yara, you need to visit a friend in Calixto García Hospital. Ask someone at Coppelia how to get there. Show you understand by repeating the directions.

Student B: While waiting in line for ice cream at Coppelia, someone approaches to ask you something. Help him/her.

EXERCISE 5

Games

Blindman’s Buff (Work in groups of five or with the whole group)

Idea A:

Choose an object in the classroom. Blindfold a student and give him/her directions to help find the object.

Idea B:

Disorganize the classroom and blindfold a student. Another student gives directions to help him/her walk from one side of the classroom to the other.

E.g.: turn right, keep walking, turn left, etc.

Guess Where:

Work in pairs. One of the students says the location of a building on the map and the other one has to guess what that place is.

EXERCISE 6

READING CORNER

Before you read the text, answer:

What places do you suggest tourists should visit in Old Havana?

Why do you suggest those places?

What adjectives would you use to describe such places?

EXERCISE 7

As you read the text:

1) Find the oldest places mentioned in the reading.

2) Answer these questions:

a) Is the tourist talking to a friend?

b) What is the place he wants to visit?

c) Does the travel agent talk about places in Matanzas?

d) Is there any majestic building in the capital of Cuba?

e) Is the tourist interested in any hotel around Miramar?

TEXT 1

At a tourist office on the Isle of Youth, some tourists are asking for directions and information about important places in the country.

A: May I help you?

B: Yes, please. I’m on vacation and I’d like to visit some Cuban provinces and important places, but I’m really interested in Havana. Could you tell me how I can get there?

A: Yes, of course. You can get there by boat or by plane, but I suggest the plane.

B: Yes? How long does it take to get there by plane?

A: About 45 minutes.

B: And what are the most important places in Havana?

A: Well, there’s a lot of interesting places to visit in the capital of Cuba. There's the National Aquarium, the National Zoo, and the National Botanical Gardens. We also have many museums in the center of the city, such as the Palace of the Captains-General, one of Cuba’s most majestic buildings and the La Fuerza Castle, the oldest colonial fortress in the Americas. Besides, Havana has excellent theaters and movie houses all over the city. There’s a very good theater in Centro Habana called the Grand Theater of Havana. It’s the oldest operating theater in the Western Hemisphere.

B: Is there any good hotel around the center of the city?

A: Certainly. The Inglaterra Hotel is Havana’s oldest functioning hotel, located on the corner of San Rafael and Prado Streets and opposite Central Park.

B: Thank you very much for your help.

A: You’re welcome.

EXERCISE 8

After you read the text:

Work in pairs. Imagine you are a tourist in Havana and you want to visit another place (in Havana) or another province (the province where you live). Perform a similar dialogue.

EXERCISE 9

TEXT 2

Before you read the text:

1) Talk with the students about different countries and the ones they would like to visit.

EXERCISE 10

As you read the text:

Find two elements about the city that are similar to Havana.

Find answers to these questions:

What is the place in Lima where you can find cheap clothes and food?

How many must-see-museums are there for you if you go to Lima?

EXERCISE 11

Read the following brochure:

HAPPY DAYS IN SOUTH AMERICA !

COME VISIT LIMA !

It has something for every tourist

Peru is a beautiful country located in South America. Its capital, Lima, is a city of eight million people who work to recapture the look of its glorious past. The old colonial heart of the city is being restored.

There are comfortable hotels and excellent seafood restaurants. It has a 140-year-old Chinese commercial district called Barrio Chino, where you can find clothes and food. It also has museums, but there are two of them that fall into the must-see-category: the National Museum, in the suburb of San Borja, which gives an overview of 10,000 years of Peruvian history, and the Gold Museum, which has a collection of pre-Columbian objects made from precious metals.

EXERCISE 12

After you read the text:.

Do you think Lima is an old city? Why?

What information can you give about Lima after reading the text?

Describe your city in one or two paragraphs.

EXERCISE 13

PROJECT WORK

Create your own brochure. Work in pairs (or threes). Here are some hints that can help you with this task:

a) Choose a city, a neighborhood, or a place you like and include the following information:

location short description places to visit

b ) Illustrate it with pictures, photographs or drawings.

LEARNING JOURNAL