Theme: Downshifting and the difference between rural lifestyles and urban lifestyles.
Lexical area: Adjectives to describe lifestyle, comparatives and descriptions of routines.
Cross curricular links: Personal and Social Education, Social Science, Geography.

Instructions for language assistants in italics

Classroom materials

Introduction

This lesson consists of two case studies based on real life stories of people living in the UK today. The stories deal with their decision to give up an apparently successful and fast-paced lifestyle for a rural life in The Peak District. The topic encourages students to talk about their own lifestyles and priorities.

• For lower levels introduce the topic with pictures or postcards of where you come from and the nearest towns or countryside. Ask students in pairs to describe the pictures and try to preview key vocabulary like peaceful, polluted, crowded, pretty. Ask them what types of houses they can see and what types of transport people might use. Ask them what types of jobs people might do in rural or urban areas.
  
  For higher levels introduce the topic with images of urban and rural areas from where you come from and ask them to imagine the lifestyles of people in the pictures. Ask each student to select one picture which shows the type of place they might like to visit or live in. tell them about how you chose to be an assistant and the changes in your lifestyle or tell them about how you chose to move for your course of study in the UK. Draw as much as possible on your personal experience and the students' own experience during this lesson.

1. Your lifestyle

Run through the adjectives with students to make sure they know what they mean before you start this task.

• Circle the ones which describe your lifestyle in the UK as an example then ask students to do the same and compare with their partner.

• Then make it clear if you would like to add other adjectives to your choice and tell them if you are content with your lifestyle. At this point reviewing comparative forms of adjectives should come naturally: ' I would prefer a calmer, less hectic life than I have at the moment. '
  'My life in London is more sedentary than my active life here in the Pyrenees'.
  

• Ask lower levels to work out the comparative forms for each adjective in pairs before you proceed with the second question.

• The last question asks students to say if there is a difference between their lifestyle at the moment and what they would prefer. This can be explored more freely with higher levels but keep it quite brief.

Task 1 Your lifestyle

• Which adjectives best describe the life you live?
• Which adjectives describe the life you would like to have in the future?
• Are there any differences?

2. Countryside and town life
Remember that some countries may be more centralised on a capital city and being in the country can be very isolating. Transport to rural areas might be excellent or poor. Schools in rural areas might be considered better or deprived, depending on priorities .The climate around the country might be dramatically different and this will dictate lifestyle differences and economic differences as in the poor rural South of Italy with its hotter climate and the more developed industrial North with its foggy winters.

• Students can do these activities in pairs or small groups. Get them started by giving an example from your area of the UK.

• Feedback from this task should bring out a good idea of attitudes towards urban and rural life. It may bring out regional prejudices and local rivalries but be wary of joining in any debate on such matters.

• You could do the last question as a class poll with a show of hands. In a higher level group who need more fluency practice encourage them to do this question in groups or to mingle around the whole class. They should not just say where they would prefer to live but also give a couple of good reasons why.

Task 2 Countryside and town life

• Think of 2 differences between living in cities in your country and living in rural areas.
  
  • Compare:
    
    • pace of life
    • expenses
    • job opportunities
    • schools
    • entertainment for young people
    • types of housing
    • transport networks
    • climate
    • environment

• What advantages are there for young people in cities?
• What advantages are there for young people in the countryside?
• Find out where people in your class would prefer to live

3. Changing lives

This reading can be done in pairs. You could give one student in each pair one of the two case studies so that each student has to share the information from their case with their partner. This will require more talking.

• Draw a map or use a map of the UK and point out the Peak District.

• Try to have an image available to give them an idea (see the web links for this). If appropriate name other main areas like The Lake District, The Yorkshire Dales etc.

Task 3 Changing lives

Read about two families who changed their type of life and find out:

• Where did Jake and his family move to? ( The Peak District)
• Where was Jo living when she decided to move? (Boston)
• Who came back to their childhood home? (JO)
• Who gave up a lot of material possessions and money? (Jake's parents)
• When did Jake's parents decide to change their life? (Last year, after lots of weekends at the cottage)
• When did JO decide to change her life? (After her 2 children were born)

4. Interpretation

This task asks students to think beyond the bare facts and reflect on the factors involved in choosing their lifestyle.

• This exercise can be done in small groups.
• Higher level students should be encouraged to say as much as possible about the motivations of the personalities in the case studies and about their own opinions and feelings.
• Get as many responses as possible from around the class during feedback.

Task 4 Interpretation

• List the factors that made Jake's family and Jo's family decide to change their lifestyles. (Having children, the pace of life, the long working hours)
• What might be the biggest change for Jake and for JO's kids? (Leaving behind friends and changing school)
• What types of things did Jake and his family find hard to leave in the village? (The peace and quiet, the time they had for each other and the friends they made)
• What things might be hard to leave behind in Boston for JO and her husband? (The excitement, the social life, the glamorous jobs)
• Describe the type of life that Jake and JO prefer in your own words.
• (They prefer to work less and spend more time with their families. They prefer peace and quiet and do not like to be too busy. They like the landscape, the fields and the rivers They prefer to be in a place that feels like home.)
• Do people make lifestyle changes like this in your country?
• Have you ever moved house? Describe what happened and how you felt about the move.

5. My family

Prepare lower levels carefully for this task. Build up a list of questions they might ask their partner. Give an example using your own family when you were their age and invite questions: Did you/do you have lunch together? Did you/do you have to travel a long way to school? Did you/do you spend Sundays with your relatives?

Task 5 My family

Describe a typical day in the life of your family.

• Try to talk about:

• The type of lifestyle you have
• The hours you see each other
• The routines you follow on a normal day

• Ask your partner about their family life:

• Parents' jobs
• Time spent with brothers or sisters
• Evening routines
• Weekend activities
• Things you do together.

6. Sayings

This task may be too challenging for your lower level groups. Put classes in pairs or small groups to do this task. Note that some people just get a feeling for a place that they like. Ask students if they have ever had such a reaction to a place.

Task 6 Sayings

Look at these typically English sayings.

• The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
• Home is where the heart is.
• All that glitters is not gold.
• Less is more.
• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
• The more people have, the more they want.

• What do they mean?
• Have you got any similar sayings in your own language?
• Do you agree with them?
• Are any of these sayings a good description of people in the stories?

7. Discussion topics

Many people in the UK are becoming discontent with fast-paced lifestyles in cities. Down shifting to a cheaper and calmer rural life or a different working life at home are two solutions. These choices are not always possible for everyone and some people are forced to live in places that they do not like or do jobs that they would like to change.

• These topics are best suited to higher levels. Students can work in pairs or small groups. The last question can be a group brainstorming exercise.

Task 7 Discussion topics

Discuss these questions with other students in your class.

• Would you change your lifestyle if you could? How?
• Would you enjoy working from home? Why? Why not?
• Would you like to travel and work abroad? Where?
• What types of things make a place feel like home?
• What are the things that you love about your country?

Internet links

This site will give you views of villages and houses that will make you think of Jake and JO Both families live in the village of Alstonfield.
www.peakdistrict.org/ 

Essential UK links

Young Roots explores the idea of community and how important our local environment is.
Reading houses follows up the theme of lifestyles and looks at urban housing and regeneration.
Visitors to the UK looks at the places foreigners like to visit. The peak District is one of those places but it is even more popular with British tourists. This is good for extending the topic to a holiday theme.
A Generation of couch potatoes looks at lifestyles of young people and asks how they can be changed. This is currently very topical in the UK with growing concerns that the urban lifestyles we follow are contributing to growing obesity levels.

By Clare Lavery