Work with a partner or in a small group. Discuss the following questions:
Are there many new houses or apartments in your town?
Are there many old houses or apartments in your town?
Are there many trains and buses in your town?
Are there many stores or restaurants near your house?
Look at the quote at the top of the page. What do you think it means? Do you agree?
Culture Note: Taking off shoes
In many cultures, it is traditional to take off your shoes before you enter a house. This is common in Asian countries like Iran, India, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as snowy Western regions like Canada or the northern United States to avoid bringing in dirt. In countries like France and Germany, however, people often wear shoes indoors.
PART 02 / 09
READING 1: Homes Around the World
TARGET NGSL WORDS (Find and notice these in the reading):
Find the target words in the reading. Click a word in the passage to mark it in bold and colour; click it again to remove the mark.
In their form, all houses are very much the same. They have a large cover on top to keep out the rain, and this cover is called a roof. support the roof and also people from the outside. However, although the form of houses is the same, the of the can make them look very different.
For example, in Australia, some people live in homes under the . They do this because in parts of Australia it is very , and it is less under the . The above forms their roof and they do not have to water coming in because the amount of rain that falls each year is low.
In Indonesia, the Korowai people still follow a way of life. They build their houses high in the . Some of their houses are 45 meters above the . They build their houses high to against other groups.
All houses share because their main are the same: to keep out the and the people . However, as we can see, the difference between homes around the world can be a .
Questions
What part of the house keeps out the rain?
Why do some people live underground in Australia?
Where do the Korowai people build their houses? Why?
According to the author, what are the two main functions of a house?
PART 03 / 09
2 DICTATION (Track 1)
Listen and build the sentence
Play the sentence. Listen again if you need to.
Click the words in the order you hear them.
Click Check. Then go to the next question.
Question 1 of 5
Your sentence · Click a word here to put it back.
Language Focus: Nouns
THE WORDS
Look at the words in bold. They are nouns (people, places and things).
People build houses.
The houses have a cover.
Walls support the roof.
STEP ONE
Look at the following words from the article. Work with a partner. Find five nouns.
Click the words you think are nouns. Green with a ✓ means correct; pink with an × means incorrect. Click again to undo a selection.
STEP TWO
Read the sentences. The missing words are nouns. Find the nouns in the article. Finish the crossword.
Select a clue, then type in the grid. Use the arrow keys to move between squares. Some letters are supplied to help you get started.
6
3
4
5
2
r
u
m
7
o
t
i
1
t
WORD PARTS
Some nouns have -ment at the end. (For example: development, government, etc.) Some nouns have -ion at the end. (For example: question, education, etc.)
A: Do you like baseball? B: Yes, I do. A: Who is your favorite player? B: I like Shohei Ohtani.
B: Do you like baseball? A: No, I don’t. B: What kind of sport do you like? A: I like basketball.
NOTICE: There are two types of questions.
Do you like baseball? → Answer with yes or no = Yes/No questions
Who is your favorite player? What kind of sport do you like? → Answer with new information = Wh- questions
STEP TWO
Read the following questions. Fill in the blanks with do, what or who.
Do you like pizza?
is your favorite snack?
kind of music you like?
is your favorite artist?
you like sushi?
is your favorite food?
you like classical music?
kind of animal you like?
is your favorite band?
Read the sentences again. Can you think of your answer to each question?
STEP THREE
Write your favorite thing for each topic. Example: Sports → tennis
Ask your partner: “Do you like …?” Example: “Do you like tennis?” Mark your partner’s answer: Yes or No.
Ask one more question. Write your partner’s answer. If Yes: “Who is your favorite tennis player?” If No: “What sport do you like?”
Example conversation
A: Do you like tennis? B: Yes, I do. A: Who is your favorite tennis player? B: Naomi Osaka.
Ask your partner about each topic.
Topic
My favorite
Yes / No
Ask one more question. Write your partner’s answer.
Example: Sports
tennis
Yes
Who is your favorite tennis player? Naomi Osaka.
Example: Sports
tennis
No
What sport do you like? Baseball.
Sports
Food
Pets
Music
Need ideas? Example questions
Sports: “Do you like tennis?” → Yes: “Who is your favorite tennis player?” / No: “What sport do you like?”
Food: “Do you like pizza?” → Yes: “What kind of pizza do you like?” / No: “What food do you like?”
Pets: “Do you like cats?” → Yes: “What kind of cat do you like?” / No: “What animal do you like?”
Music: “Do you like rock music?” → Yes: “What is your favorite band?” / No: “What kind of music do you like?”
PART 05 / 09
4 LISTENING: A Traditional Home in Canada
Watch the video about a traditional house in Victoria, British Columbia. Then answer the questions.
Video: A Home in Canada · Victoria House Tour
True or False?
Victoria is right beside the mountains. —
There are many older houses in Victoria. —
The kitchen is big, but the dining room is small. —
There are two bedrooms in the house. —
The speaker probably likes Victoria. —
PART 06 / 09
READING 2: My Town
Read “My Town.” Then answer the questions below. You can look at the reading again to help you.
I love my town. It's not too big and not too small. In the center of town is Main Street. It has stores on both sides. I live one block from the end of Main Street. It takes me about three minutes to walk there. A few cars pass by on Main Street early in the morning when people go to work and school. This happens again later when they go home. But most of the time there are few people on Main Street. We have only one traffic light. This is where a large road crosses Main Street. That road goes to a big city 100 km away. I sometimes go shopping there with my friends.
The place I like best on Main Street is Joe's Café. I go there after school with my friends. We help each other with school work and talk about our future plans.
As you walk down Main Street from the café, you can see many different stores, including the Dollar Store. Everything sold there costs one dollar. I buy my school stuff there. Last year, there was a fire at the Dollar Store, and it was closed for a month. Luckily, it's across from the fire station, and the firefighters were able to put out the fire quickly.
Next to the fire station is the police station. My friend Wanda's father works there as a police officer. Sometimes I say "Hi!" to him as I pass by. Other times I see him driving the black and white police car as he drives around to keep us safe.
Just before the big road that crosses Main Street, Main Street crosses a river. You can go down to the river. There is a place where the water is deep. Next to it, there is a big rock. You can jump from the rock into the water. In the summer holiday, I go there with my friends, and we spend the day in the cool water. In the early summer and fall, it's too cold to swim, but we go fishing in the river. The water is clean and there are lots of fish to catch.
As I said at the beginning, I love my town.
Comprehension Questions
What is the name of the street in the center of town?
Where does the author usually buy pens and paper for school?
What is the name of the police officer's daughter?
What does the writer like to do during the summer holiday?
Listen and speak: Shadowing
Listen first. Then speak just after the speaker. Try to copy the sounds and rhythm.
What is shadowing?
Shadowing is a listening and speaking exercise. Listen closely and repeat just behind the speaker, trying to copy the pronunciation, rhythm, stress, and intonation.
How to practise
Choose the Normal or 90% speed.
Tap Start shadowing.
Listen and repeat the highlighted phrase.
Use Repeat phrase whenever you need more time.
Why shadowing helps
It trains your ears to notice how words connect in natural speech.
It improves pronunciation, rhythm, stress, and intonation.
It helps useful phrases become faster and more automatic.
It can build speaking fluency and confidence.
Tip: Begin with the 90% speed if necessary. Focus first on copying the sound and rhythm; you do not need to speak perfectly.
Press Start shadowing. Speak just after the speaker. Follow the highlighted words.
Press Repeat phrase to hear the phrase again. Then say it yourself.
Click any phrase in the shadowing text to hear just that phrase, then say it yourself. If you scroll, the page stops following the text. Press Follow text to follow again.
Choose a speed, then press Start shadowing.
PART 07 / 09
6 FORM-FOCUSED DICTATION (Track 2)
Listen to one question at a time. Choose Rising ↗ or Falling ↘. Listen again and write the question.
See an example
“Do you like pizza?”
✓ Rising ↗ — the voice goes up.
Yes/No questions usually go up. Wh- questions usually go down.
QUESTION 1 OF 5
Your results
PART 08 / 09
7 WHOSE OPINION? (Zoe or Frank)
Zoe: Highly paid corporate professional, works in a downtown law office, enjoys eating out, music, and running. Hates morning train commutes.
Frank: Student on a tight budget, likes walking, reading, and 1960s vinyl records. Dislikes big city life.
Who said each statement? Select Zoe or Frank:
"Costs are very high in the city. I'll have to share a house with other students." → Frank
"I want to live no more than 5 blocks from my office." →
"I take the bus to my hometown once a month because it's cheap." →
"I must have a clear view from my window." →
"This area is far from school, but I like it because it has lots of used bookstores." →
PART 09 / 09
8 MINI-PROJECT: Dream House
Plan a 1-to-2 minute poster or slide presentation about your dream house using these prompts: