A simple and versatile First Conditional lesson plan for teachers.

Need a quick lesson plan about the first conditional? You're in luck because that's what you get today.

I'm part of a teacher's group on Facebook and somebody linked to a blog post: Writing Your Own Materials - Plusses and Pitfalls.. Now, my school does not use textbooks for anything past our lowest level courses, so we have a lot of lesson material to go through and to come up with as well.

Since I know that other teachers out there may be in the same boat, here is the start of a lesson plan that you can take and run with in many different settings. It just requires knowledge of the first conditional from your students and needs very little planning time from the teacher.

The entire lesson is simple and I taught it several times with about four lines of plan. Here it is, somewhat expanded due to explanation:

Quickly remind students about basic first conditional construction (If + present simple, future with will). I then put up the concept of a promise conditional with a good result and a threat/warning conditional with a bad result.

Then you tell them that there is an empty piece of land somewhere in the local area. For Bratislava I used Petrzalka, the big district on the south side of the Danube. You are the mayor and they must persuade you that their building choice is the best by promising good things if you build their option, and threatening with the negatives of the other options. Give them a couple of examples and they will soon get the idea.

For buildings I chose: A library, a bar/nightclub, a football stadium, a park, a casino and a swimming pool.


I've taught this to low pre-intermediate students, a higher pre-int one to one and some advanced teenage students. At first the students come up with very simple things but it soon develops.

- If we build a library, children will get smarter but if we build a nightclub it will be noisy for people living nearby.
- If we build the stadium, we will make money from the games but if we build the casino the mafia will come into the city (their idea, not mine)

I introduced some vocabulary (littering, vandalism, create jobs etc.) and prompted them a little when they were struggling for ideas but otherwise it was all their creativity.

For the lower level students we talked a little bit about what they had come up with and left it there, but for the more advanced students I had them create reasons in teams and then debate/defend their position compared to the other side. They really enjoyed it and came up with some great concepts. It got a bit heated at times since they are teenagers but it was a good time for all.




So in conclusion if you want a four line first conditional lesson plan:
- Review threats and promises using first conditional.
- There is a new building site, give students the options of what to build.
- They must make their choice look better by promising good things that will result.
- They make the other choices look worse by threatening about bad things that will result.

*** - Higher level students should then debate/discuss the results.


I hope this lesson plan helps other teachers who need something to let students creatively use first conditional.

Best regards,

Pete

Advice on public transport in Bratislava.

I wrote about this subject a while back when I first got to Bratislava and started living here. Since that time I've experienced the transport system a lot more and I have some advice about public transport in Bratislava for those who are moving here or those who are just visiting.

I've been in Slovakia for just shy of nine months now and picked up a lot more experience with the public transport system. Hopefully this post will help people get around in the city while you're here.

Let's quickly review the three options for transport within the city:


The buses are much like those you'll find in other cities and they serve many many locations. If you go to Petrzalka, which the area on the south side of the Dunaj/Danube, you'll need to go on a bus of some sort as there are no electric lines running there as of yet. I most frequently ride the number 50 bus to Aupark (a big shopping/business centre) and the number 70 bus. These are both popular routes and you have to be ready for crowded buses in the peak commuting hours. You'll find a mix of bus ages here with some of them (like the articulated bus above) being extremely modern and sporting comfy seats, nicer decor and even TV. Others are a bit older with some lovely seat patterns that look like they're from my childhood, but they are still a comfy form of public transport.


The trams can get really busy too, perhaps because they have the advantage of not getting bogged down in traffic. The tram lines run through a good amount of the city and they coincide with the bus and trolley stops quite well so you can hop from one to another quite easily. The older trams have hard plastic seats that make it uncomfortable to turn around and chat with a friend behind you but the newer ones are nice. I usually stand on the trams though as they have less sitting and more standing room than the buses. I like having this option of non-road based public transport as it gives good flexibility.


I frequently use the trolley buses to get around as they run right past our apartment heading downtown. You need to be careful when on the trolley bus as they are electrically powered. That means that they can accelerate very quickly and without any telltale rumbling noise from the engine. I've nearly slipped over a couple of times when I've not paid attention while waiting at a red light. To be honest, I think the drivers enjoy being able to quickly head off when the lights change. It keeps you on your toes at least. One downside of the trolley buses is that the electric connector poles can slip off the overhead wires from time to time. This will add a couple of minutes to your journey as the driver must don a reflective jacket, go around to the back of the bus and fiddle with the cables there until it's all reconnected. Not a big deal for the tourist but it can be annoying if you're on a tight schedule for work. I studied Environmental Sciences in university and so I really like the electrification of the public transportation in Bratislava. I've seen it in a few other European cities and it's probably the best way to electrify transport.



Autobusova Stanica, the main bus station is a real hub for getting around. Many buses and trolleys stop here, lots of people get on and get off, and you can also catch coaches to other cities from inside. If you need to get to the old city from my area (Ruzinov, a few km east) you can get off at the Autobusova Stanica and walk downtown in about ten minutes. The main buses that I see people taking or catching here are:
- the number 50 to Aupark (a big shopping centre).
- the number 70 to Novy Most (the new bridge, close to the old town)
- trolley number 208. Get off a Kollaro Namieste and you're at one end of Obchodna, a big shopping street.
- trolley number 202. This terminates at Rajska (sounds like rye-ska) and you're then on the eastern edge of the downtown area.

For those of you who plan to stay longer in Bratislava, you can walk upstairs in the Autobusova Stanica, go through the doors ahead of you, then turn left and go through the doors there. You'll find a small office not two metres past the door where you can buy a ticket that you can keep and just top up, much like the Oyster card in London. If your Slovak is not so good, here's a simple phrase to get a three month ticket "Prosim si trojmesačný lístok." Because my job involves travelling to different companies to teach so I get the three month card and then I don't have to worry about not having a ticket or not being able to find a machine.


Now if you don't have a long term pass, these are the machines that you need. It's really important to have a ticket before you get on the bus because there's no buying them on board. Unlike the buses I used to catch in England, the driver is there just to drive the bus. It's your responsibility to have a ticket that is accurately punched and appropriate for the ride. For reference, there are two tickets that I normally recommend for visitors.

- 15 minute ticket. It costs 70 Eurocents. Be very aware of how long your bus journey takes when you use this ticket. You don't want to be caught out by an inspector taking a 16 minute journey and have to pay a fine.
- 60 minute ticket. It costs 90 Eurocents and I always keep a couple as backup in case I lose my card or someone needs a ticket at a stop that doesn't have a machine. I consider it my good deed for the day when it happens.

As a backup, you can also get an SMS ticket if you have a phone that works over here. The instructions can be found on this page. I haven't done this yet and it's a bit pricier but it's a good option to have in case you're out of tickets and need to get on the bus.


Whichever ticket you get, be sure to punch it in one of these machines on the bus/trolley/tram. You just slot the ticket in, it beeps and your ticket is marked. Make a note of the time it was punched if your journey will get you close to the expiration time of the ticket.


WARNING TIME.

A piece of advice. The public transport in Bratislava (mostly) runs on time because you don't have to wait for the driver to sell a ticket to each person. They stop, let people off, let people on and then get on with the driving. This means you can get on the bus without a ticket no problem. Nobody will stop you.

Then again the inspectors may get on the bus with the other passengers and then you have a problem.

Inspectors work in groups and arrange it so that they are among the last to get on the bus. There will be one of them at each door of the bus and they tend to look a bit like bouncers in a nightclub. They don't wear uniforms so you won't know they are there (unless you know a few of them by sight as I do now). About thirty seconds after the bus has left, once everybody has punched their tickets, the inspectors feed in a special ticket that locks out the machines. If your ticket is not marked, you will not be able to mark it. They check printed tickets and also have scanners to check electronic tickets so make sure you have a valid ticket. If you don't have a ticket you'll be fined (50 Euros I think) and they will keep you on the bus if need be. I've seen people miss their stops because they didn't have the cash on them. I presume they go back to the station or perhaps the police come but I don't know for sure.

In my experience you're more likely to be inspected on the more crowded routes. I've been checked about ten times on the number 50 bus but only a couple of times on the trams, perhaps because I ride the latter less frequently. In bad weather I've noticed that the inspectors are more active. I guess people get on the public transport to avoid the rain.

In any case, the advice for public transport in Bratislava is to have a valid ticket with you when getting on board.



The last piece of advice I'll impart for now is to check out the route of the public transport that you're using and make a mental note of which stop you need, and the approximate travel time. Here's an example from the number 50 bus stop at Aupark. In this direction I get off at Autobusova Stanica so I have an eight minute ride. Most of the buses have automated announcing systems that tell you which stop you are at as you arrive and then tell you the name of the upcoming one when you leave. Some of them don't have this.Keep a mental note of the number of stops you've passed compared to how many you need. Usually the stops aren't very far apart but missing the stop where your connection is can be very annoying.

Here's a point of Slovak language that confused me for a while. The word for bus stop is Zastavka. The announcer kept reading this out amongst and it really threw me because I thought it was the name of a particular stop that wasn't on the scheduled route. It was a bit worrying.


To sum up

Getting around Bratislava on public transport is really easy and convenient for the most part. You can mix and match your methods to get to almost any part of the city in very little time. Everything usually runs on time, even in rush hour, the transport options are comfortable and you'll save yourself time vs walking and money vs taking taxis. Key points:

1 - Have a ticket that's valid
2 - Check the stops ahead of time. Know where you're getting off as best you can.
3 - Don't mess with the ticket inspectors. It's not worth it.


For anyone who has read these pieces of advice for using the public transport here in Bratislava and has further questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch and ask in the comments section below. I will do my utmost to help out with any information or answers that I can.

Very best wishes,

Pete


Your key website for checking the actual buses and so on within the city will be this one.You can type in a bus number or stop name in the search button in the top right.

The touch of spring.

I love the moment when you step outside after a long winter and feel the first warmth of spring. There's something in the air...a smell perhaps or just an essence but it's nice. We've come out of the cold of winter and the piles of snow and it's warm here! At the moment it's sitting pretty at 21 degrees C and the sun is shining.

We're in the countryside in my girlfriend's home village and it's easier to see the change of seasons here. The fields and gardens that were covered with ten centimetres or more of snow are now clear. There's no ice left, the first shoots and snowdrops are arriving, and everything is ready to start growing again.

It's easier to see the cycle of life when you're in the countryside. All around the village I can see people starting to get the soil ready for planting. The apple trees in Edina's mothers garden are starting to bud, some neighbours have cobs of corn in big trays outside to dry in the sun and the green is returning to the plants bordering the fields. I'm excited to spend a lot more time outside.



Next time we come down here to the southern part of Slovakia we'll be in the garden working hard. I'm looking forward to it as a nice break from and variety compared to the mostly mental challenge of teaching English.

The garden needs work

Spring is here and has put a smile on my face. I hope you are all enjoying the changing seasons.

Yours truly enjoying the sun and the fields.