Конспект урока "Travelling to Australia"

Конспект урока

Captain: Ladies and gentlemen, this is captain speaking. I would like to welcome you about Quantas Flight to Sydney Airport. We are currently flying at an altitude of 10.000 meters. Our flight time will be approximately 18 hours. We will arrive in Sydney at about 3.55 p.m. If there is anything, we can do to make your trip with us more comfortable, please let us know. Thank you for flying Quantas Airlines.

Stewardess: Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? The pilot has turned off the «Fasten Seatbelts» sign. When you are in your seat, please keep your seatbelts fastened at all times. And now our guides tell you about Australia. We hope you’ll enjoy travelling and learning about Australia. 1 Group: Captain James Cook discovered Australia in 1770. He was sent to discover the huge land that many people believed was south of the equator. He landed south of present day Sydney in New South Wales. He claimed this part of the land for the King of England. At this time England was having many social problems. England’s solution to crowded prisons was to send prisoners to the far colonies. Therefore, in 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip commanded eleven ships to Australia. These first settlers were greeted by the Aborigines, the first inhabitants of Australia. There were an estimated 300.000 Aborigines living in Australia at that time. Great Britain claimed all of Australia in 1827. In 1901 Australia became a nation within the British Empire under Queen Victoria’s rule. It was called the Commonwealth of Australia. In 1931 Australia gained Independence from Great Britain.

Pupil 2: Dear friends! Look at the map of Australia. Please listen to the geographical description of Australia. Australia is a continent, a country and an island all at the same time. It is sixth largest country and the smallest continent in the world. Australia is located in the southern hemisphere. That is why it has summer when we have winter and it has winter when we have summer. Australia is situated south of Asia, between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. It is surrounded by three countries, Indonesia and New Guinea to the north and New Zealand to the south-east. Australia is the world’s driest continent. Huge areas of land are so dry that they are uninhabited. There are rainforest in the north, snowfields in the south-east, desert in the centre and fertile croplands in the south and south-west. Australia is also the flattest continent after an Antarctica. Australia has six states and two territories. One of the states, Tasmania, is actually an island and is located south of the main continent. The capital of Tasmania is Hobart. Western Australia is Australia’s is largest state. Its capital is Perth. One of the best climate in Australia. Sydney is capital of New South Wales. Its Australia’s oldest and largest city. Australia’s leading industrial city. Nearly a quarter of all Australians live here. Population is about 4000000. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia. Brisbane is a capital of Queensland. Tropical climate makes it a year-round vacation place. Canberra is the capital of Australia. Located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in the southeast corner of New South Wales. Only one of Australian capitals which is not situated on the seacoast. Darwin is the capital and largest city of the Northern Territory, tropical climate. Melbourne is the capital of Victoria. It is the second largest city in Australia. Hosted in 1956 Olympics.

Group2: Look at the scheme of the climate. The climate in Australia is varied, from tropical in the north to temperate in the south-east. The wettest months are between April and June.

Seasons:

Spring September-November

Summer December-February

Autumn March-May

Winter June-August

Pupil 2: Australia is a very urban country. About 70% of the population lives in the 10 largest cities. Up to 1945 people of British or Anglo-Celtic origin made up over 95% of the Australian population. But in the 20^th centure Japanese, Chinese, Italians, Greeks, Yugoslavians and other nationalities were added, these Australian gained the status of a multi-cultural country. The original inhabitants, the Aborigines, have lived in Australia for at least 40000 years. These days, few Aborigines practice a traditional tribal lifestyle; most now live in country towns and cities. They form about 1,5% of the population.

Pupil 3: If we look at the Australian national flag attentively, we can easily determine the main features of this country. It has a royal blue background with five white stars ( the Southern Cross ) on the right, a large white seven-pointed star (the Federation Star) on the bottom left and the British flag (the Union Jack) on the top left. The Union Jack represents Australia’s historical link with Britain, the Federation Star represents Australia’s six states and its territories, and the Southern Cross is a prominent feature of the southern hemisphere night sky. Australia’s coat of arms-the official emblem of the Australian Government-was granted by King George 5 in 1912. The arms consist of a shield containing the badges of the six states. The supports are native Australian fauna-a kangaroo and an emu. A yellow-flowered native plant, wattle appears in the design.

Group3: Australia’s official language is English. However, almost 15% of Australians speak a language other than English at home. What makes Australians English different from other English of the world? Well-its history for a start. When the British government established a convict settlement at Sydney Cove they did not think about the linguistic consequences. As time went by, the convicts and settlers took English and adapted it to their new home by changing the meaning the words or borrowing new ones to suit. An easy way for English to expend in Australia to meet the needs of the settlers was to borrow from the Aboriginal language, particularly in describing the flora and fauna. Some animals were named this way, such as, the kangaroo, koala and wombat. The kookaburra, a popular Australian bird that sounds like a human laughing, was also named this way.

If you visit Australia you might notice that there are differences between the older generation and the younger generation between the people who live in the city and those who live in the bush (country). It seems that the younger generations living in the cities lend to take their fashionable colloquialisms from America. It is noticeable that, despite the size of Australia, everyone sounds the same. Now, look at the poster and find differences between British and Australian English!

Group 4: And now I tell you about fauna of Australia. Australia has nearly half a million species of plants and animals – one of the greatest varieties of any country in the world.

While many countries have they own unique fauna, Australia is unusual in that. It includes:

70% of the world marsupials

all of the world’s monotremes

Only a small percentage of the world’s placentals

an enormous diversity of parrots and other birds

a fascinating range of reptiles, amphibians and fish

many unusual invertebrates.

Australia has been isolated for long periods of time, so there has been little exchange of animals with the rest of the world. For example, there are no hoofed animals native to Australia, yet monotremes are found in Australia and New Guinea.

Australia’s climate is often unpredictable. The may be long periods of drought, frequent floods, or fires. There sorts of problems require unique adaptations. For example the Red Kangaroo can suspend the development of its embryo until conditions improve.

Generally knowledge of Australian fauna is quite poor. It is believed that between 200.000 and 300.000 species are in Australia, but so far only about 100.000 have been described.

The koala is one of the best known and most loved animals in Australia. Koala’s live in lightly wooded areas containing suitable food. They are very fussy eaters, feeding almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves. Koalas seldom drink, as they obtain enough water from the diet of leaves. The koala sleeps in a fork of a tree for most of the day and moves about and feeds at night. It is active just after sunset. A koala’s average life span in the wild is about 12 years, but they have been known to live for over 15 years in captivity. When you’ll be in Australia, I think you will see many animals.

Group5: Let’ do the test! .

Test

1. What is the capital of Australia?

a) Sydney b) Melbourne c) Canberra *

2. When did Europeans settle in Australia?

a) 1488 b) 1788* c) 1492

3. Which 2 animals can you see on the Australian coat of aims?

a) Kangaroo and Dingo b) Koala and Parrot c) Kangaroo and Emu *

4. Which city is Australia’s oldest and largest?

a) Sydney* b) Melbourne c) Canberra

5. Who are the Australian natives?

a) Eskimos b) Aborigines * c) Indians

6. Who discovered Australia?

a) Christopher Columbus b) Captain Cook * c) Lewis and Clark

7. Australia is not a(n):

a) Island b) city *c) continent

8. How many nationalities live in Australia?

a) 200* b) 50 c) 20

9. What is the official language in Australia?

a) French b) German c) English *

* - указан правильный ответ

Reflection

T: Do you like our unusual lesson today? Your project about Australia was great. Thank you for your participation. Thank you for today’s lesson. See you in a week!