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A visit to Cambridge
Olga Trendak
A
ren't you, as English teachers, fed up with
students saying that learning a language is
only about its grammar and boring rules?
Well, to be honest with you, I am. Thus, whenever I
can, I try to show that English can be fun. How? By
teaching language through culture. Here is an
example of a lesson about Cambridge that I
conducted with my students some time ago. It did not
take much to prepare it and, in fact, it turned out to be
quite a success. That is why, I decided to share it with
you. I hope you and your students will like it and find
it useful.
AIMS
■ To arouse students' interest in the English culture.
■ To familiarize students with places and activities
characteristic of Cambridge.
■ To expand students' vocabulary and provide them
with new and useful collocations.
■ To practise students' reading skills.
TASKS
■ To join separate words and create 10 sentences
about attractive places and activities in
Cambridge.
■ To read a text about Cambridge and fill in the
gaps in with the words from the box.
■ To find synonyms in the text about Cambridge to
the provided words.
■ To create collocations by filling in the gaps with
the provided words.
MATERIALS
■ 3 pictures (one depicting punts, the other showing
bumps and the last one presenting the entrance to
the Trinity College).
■ A set of words (1 per group).
■ Worksheets (1 per person).
TIMING
■ 45 minutes.
PROCEDURE
■ Organize students into 3 groups of 3-5 people and
get to brainstorm ideas about Cambridge. Write
their associations on the blackboard and add some
of your own (eg 31 colleges, punts, bumps,
numerous chapels, a famous university, river
Cam). It is important to make the brainstorming
part fairly short.
■ Tell the groups that each of them will receive a
different picture and a different set of words
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connected with the picture. Tell them they have to
join the words to create sentences describing the
photo. Some of the confusing words have already
been translated for them.
■ Distribute the pictures and the sets of words.
■ After about 10 minutes ask each group to present
their answers.
■ Tell the students they are going to read a text
about Cambridge. Their task is to briefly go
through the text and then fill in the gaps with the
missing words from the box above the text. Ask
the students to read the text aloud with the
necessary answers.
■ Ask the students to do the next exercise: find
synonyms (in the text about Cambridge) to the
words provided in the exercise. After 5-6 minutes
ask the students to read their answers aloud.
■ One of the last tasks the students are to perform is
to form collocations by filling in the gaps with the
correct words from the list. After a few (no more
than 5) minutes ask a student to read the answers.
The homework task is to write sentences using the
collocations they formed.
■ The last task is a short quiz about Cambridge. The
quiz contains issues discussed during the lesson.
Students are given about 6 minutes to do the test
and then the teacher discusses the answers with
the whole class.
SET 1. PUNTS.
Punt/ be/ narrow/ boat/ similar/ Venetian gondola
In/ past/ punts/ use/ by/ fisherman/ now/ use/ for/
recreation
Punting/ along/ River Cam/ be/ extremely/ popular/
tourist/ attraction
Punt/ cost/pound 7/ hour/ during/ week
During/ weekend/ punt/ be/ pound 9
Punt/ be/ best/ way/ see/ most/ famous/ bridge/
college/ along/ River Cam
Punt/ be/ definitely/ unforgettable (niezapomniany)/
experience

SET 2. CAMBRIDGE 'BUMPS'
Bumps/ be/ historic/ form/ racing/ between/ college/
boat/ club
They/ history/ date/ back/ 19"' century
Race/ to take place/four/ day/ each/ year
There/ be/ eight/ member/ in/ each/ team
Best/ team/ win/ oar (wioslo)/ or/ wood/ spoon
Be/ tradition/ winner/ burn/ boat/ in celebration (dla
uczczenia)
Most/ famous/ boat/ race/ be/ one/ between/
Cambridge/ Oxford/ boat/ club
Bumps/ be/ sometimes/ dangerous/ however/
extremely/ exciting/ interesting/ experience
Students burning their boats
SET 3. THE ENTRANCE TO THE
TRINITY COLLEGE.
Above/ entrance/ Trinity/ College/ be/ statue/ Henry VIII
There/ be/funny/ history/ connect/ with/ statue
Some/ time/past/ student/ steal/ sceptre (berlo)/ that/
Henry VI 11/ hold/ in/ hand
Student/ replace (zastqpic)/ sceptre/ with/ chair leg
Nobody/ know/ where/ lost/ sceptre/ be
Statue/ be/ admire (podziwiac)/ by/ tourist/ from/
whole/ world
Visit to Cambridge- worksheet
1. Read the text and fill in die gaps widi die
words from die box:
events exact beginning famous for remarkable atmosphere
views success science tourist attraction first half known for
Cambridge is a middle-sized town upon the river Cam
about 50 km north of London. There are about one
hundred and eight thousand inhabitants. It is one of
the most picturesque
towns in England. It is ................................."
...................... (1) its unique beauty, numerous
parks, botanic gardens and a .......................................
.................................... (2). Every year you can
observe around four million tourists strolling along
the streets of Cambridge and admiring
the splendid................................... (3). Cambridge is
crowded with tourists especially between April
and September.
However, Cambridge is most of all
.....................................(4) its university.
Cambridge University is the second oldest
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university in England and one of the oldest in c. a form of race in which a number of boats chase
Europe. It is rather difficult to give each other; each boat wants to catch the boat in
the ................................................................... (5) of front without being caught by the boat behind
the University but it was probably established in the 3. What is Cambridge famous for?
13th century. Definitely, the Cambridge a. shops, parks, castles
University is a centre of ................................. (6) and b. the second oldest university in England
is extremely attractive for students who wish to c. a famous library
achieve fame and ........................................ (7) in life. 4. When was the Cambridge university
The best time to visit Cambridge as a tourist is probably established?
in the ............................. (8) of June, especially a. in the 10th century
the week known as May-week. All the exams are over b. in the 11th century
then and students organize many c. in the 13 th century
......................................... (9) which are a big 5. How many colleges are there in Cambridge?
....................................................... (10). a. 20
b. 31
2. Can you find synonyms to these words c. 44
in the text? 6. How long does a bump race last?
■ scenic a. 4 days
■ many b. 14 days
■ to gain, to attain c. 1 day
■ precise 7. Who does the statue above the entrance of
■ certainly, for sure the Trinity College present?
■ full of a. Charles I
■ particularly b. Queen Elisabeth I
■ tough, hard c. Henry VIII
■ to be finished, to be a thing of the past 8. What is the statue holding in his hand?
a. an apple
3. Choose the correct words from the list to b. a sceptre
create collocations from the text and then c. a chair leg
make sentences with the formed collocations. 9. What do the winners of the bumps race
do in celebration of their victory?
To stroll along to achieve splendid unique a. They burn their boat
crowded with extremely tourist picturesque b. They go to the cinema
c. They have a picnic
a) .......................................attractive 10.Who used punts in the past?
b) a ..................................town a. divers
c) ................................ beauty b. swimmers
d) ........................................... success c. fishermen
e) a ..................................attraction
f) ................................ views
g) .............................. the streets of Cambridge
h) .............................. tourists
Answer key to the Sport section pp. 56-59
I. outdoor game, goalposts, timekeeper, scorekeeping, polo
leagues, polo sticks, thoroughbreds, full-sized horses,
A Visit to Cambridge — quiz sidelines H. PERIOD; BOARD, PONY,
PENALTY,
1. A punt is: UMPIRE, GOALPOST EI.
A4, Bl, C2, D5, E4 V.A4,B2,
a. a long narrow boat with square ends C1,D5,E3
b. a synonym to the word "pint" VI. 1. of; 2. with; 3. in; 4. of; 5. in; 6. in; 7. for. VII. A. The
c. a small basket highest polo ground in the world is in Pakistan.
2. A bumps race is: B. The most prestigious polo tournament is in Argentina.
C. The most prestigious polo tournament in the USA
a. an area of skin raised up because you have
in held in Wellington, Florida, D. The oldest polo club is
hit it on something in Calcutta, India. E. Argentina has been the polo world
b. the sound or sudden movement of champion since 1949.
something hitting a hard surface

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