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|Outcomes: |
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|Increase awareness of how we can reduce the damage we do to the environment by travelling by train rather than by plane. |
|Improved reading for comprehension. |
|Making presentations more effective. |
|Vocabulary items for talking about climate change. |
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|Materials |
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|Computers for every 4 students with internet |
|Text: Train vs. Plane |
|Worksheet: Tangier by Train |
| website |
|Flipchart |
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|Other relevant information |
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|B1 level of English and above |
|Secondary school age. |
|Stage and |Aim |Procedure |Interaction |
|time | | | |
|1 |Focus on comparing trains with |Show class a picture of a person, and tell the class that this is their friend who |pairs |
| |planes as forms of travel |is currently living or studying in London. Elicit a name for the person. | |
| | | |5 mins |
| | |Tell the class that he/she wants to go on holiday from London, but he wants to take| |
| | |the train, rather than fly. Brainstorm in pairs reasons why and then put them on | |
| | |the board. | |
|2 |Focus on the environmental |Learners read the text ‘Trains versus planes’ and answer the question ‘Why does he |Alone. |
| |benefits of train travel over |want to take the train rather than fly?’. | |
| |air travel | |7 mins |
|3 |Focus on climate change |Focus on the following climate change language from the reading: global warming, |Teacher to |
| |vocabulary |climate change, Carbon dioxide emissions, carbon footprint, environmental impact. |students |
| | |Learners match the definitions to the words in pairs then feedback. | |
| | | |5 mins |
|4 |Introduce website |Go to the homepage of the website (flipchart p 3). Learners skim read it and answer| |
| | to learners |the questions: |5 mins |
| | |Who is the website for? | |
| | |What is the purpose? | |
| | |What are some of the places mentioned? | |
|5 |Plan a journey by train using a|Tell learners they are going to help the person introduced in stage 1 to plan a |Groups of 3 or 4 |
| |website |holiday starting from London by train. In groups they use the website to plan a | |
| | |journey and make notes on the worksheet ‘Tangier by Train’. |3 mins |
|6 |Plan a presentation |Use flipchart diagram (flipchart p 5) to help prepare a basic, three part |Groups of 3 or 4 |
| | |presentation. They think of points to include in theirs. | |
| | |Show flipchart with the dull description of a trip (flipchart p 6). Ask for ideas |7 mins |
| | |how they can make it more whizzy. Reveal written version. They make four or five | |
| | |whizzy sentences about their tour. | |
|7 |Give the presentation | |Groups or whole |
| | |Make new groups. A member from each of the groups joins. They take it in turns to |class |
| | |give their presentation to the other members of the new group. | |
| | | |20 mins |
|8 |Vote on a holiday |They go back to their old groups. Tell them they are going on holiday together. | |
| | |They have to choose from one of the train holidays that were presented and they | |
| | |agree on which holiday they would go on and why. | |
Trains versus planes . . .
It's not an exact science, and I'm certainly no expert, but there is a growing realisation that climate change is a reality, not just a myth. Air travel is now the fastest-growing contributor to global warming, and avoiding a flight when there are easy alternatives is probably the biggest single thing that any individual can do to cut their carbon footprint and limit their own impact on the environment.
Eurostar, the company running the channel-tunnel trains, has done its homework and commissioned independent research to assess the CO2 per passenger produced by a London-Paris Eurostar journey versus that emitted by a passenger on a London-Paris flight. The research looked at actual Eurostar passenger loadings, actual Eurostar power consumption, the way Eurostar's electricity is generated, actual aircraft loadings, actual aircraft fuel consumption, and so on. The conclusion was remarkable: Taking the train to Paris instead of flying cuts CO2 emissions per passenger not just by a measly 10% or 20% or even 50%, but by a staggering 90%...
What’s more, the environmental benefit of taking the train instead of a plane is probably much greater than 90%. Airliners emit their CO2 directly into the upper atmosphere, where it is likely to do over twice the damage of the same quantity of CO2 emitted at ground level (estimates vary between 2 & 3 times the damage, but 2.7 is the factor normally used). This factor isn't included in the Eurostar findings.
Eurostar has also launched a 'tread lightly' initiative, looking at recycling their own waste and that collected off the trains. Full marks to Eurostar... !
And with airport security tightened, check-ins up to 2 hours even for a 1-hour flight, plus the time and cost involved in getting to and from remote airports at each end, taking the train city centre to city centre could cut your stress levels by a similar percentage...
Doing yourself a favour, as well as the planet...
I didn't start to avoid flying, either for environmental reasons or otherwise. I started it because overland travel by train can be so much more enjoyable and fulfilling than today's commercialised air travel experience. In an increasingly globalised world, where every flight is the same stressful non-experience, trains and ships show you more of the country you're visiting and its culture. On business, train travel can be productive, with room to work and powerpoints for laptops on many trains at first class seats. On leisure journeys, time together on the train can actually be quality time with your loved ones. You might just find a train journey a more interesting and rewarding experience that in reality doesn't take that much longer than flying...
Thank you to for permission to use this material.
Tangier by train?
You are going on holiday…by train. Go to the above site and plan the trip!
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|The destination: | |
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|Why I would recommend this place: | |
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|A hotel you can stay in there: | |
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|Length of train journey: | |
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|Description of journey: | |
|(changes of train, things you see, types of train) | |
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|Cost of trip: | |
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