Housing Problems

1. Speaking Class 7
Step-Up Level 2

2. Modern Family Episode 11 “Up All Night”

3. Video Podcast “Community”
1. How well do you know your
neighbours?
2. What makes a good neighbour?
3. What about a bad neighbour?
4. Tell me about the best or worst
neighbour you’ve ever had.
 to socialise
 communal garden
 to vary enormously
 typical of this area
 inner city
 virtually not at all
 respect privacy
 looks out for smb
 to interfere
 intrusive
 keep in mind
 keep up one’s property
 intruding

4. Vocabulary
Practice
 landlord
 tenant
 lease
 deposit
 sublet
 appliances
 utilities
 balcony
 bachelor
 convenient
 spacious
 available
 board
 duplex

5. Conversation Questions
1. Do you like the place where you are living? Why or why not?
2. If you could change anything about your present home, what would it be?
3. Describe how you go about buying a house in your country. Can you borrow
money from a bank? Is it easy to buy and sell houses?
4. Is it better to rent or buy? Give reasons for your answer.
5. What do you think houses in the future will be like?
6. How important is security? How do you make a house secure?
7. Make a list of the 10 most important things you would look for when choosing a
house to live in.
8. Some people say houses are too much like boxes or cages. Do you agree or
disagree? Why?
9. What problems do home owners have? What can they do about them?
10. Which are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small
house/flat/apartment? And living in a big one?
11. Which do you like better, a home with a nice garden or a home without one?

6. The Woman Who Disappeared (Ch 13-16)
1. What happened in Las Cabanas after Helen Garfield had
left?Who stopped him when he was leaving the place?
2. How did Lenny get involved in a fight?
3. How did he manage to make such a mess in the bar? How
did the whole thing end?
4. What did Lenny find out in the police department?What
did he tell Sergeant Murphy and why?
5. What did they agree upon in the end?

7. Find Someone Who

8. Practise Making Questions
 How much is the rent? How many bedrooms are there in a flat?
 Is parking included in the rent? How much is parking? Is there underground parking?
 Are the appliances included? Which appliances are included? Are the appliances
 new?

9. Role Play “Finding an Apartment”
Role 1. You are a university student looking in the newspaper for an
apartment to rent.Talk to the person who is advertising the apartment
and find out more about the apartment.Write down the information in
the table below.
Role 2. You are a landlord / landlady looking for clean and tidy tenants.