Tag: scams

Posted in 2Ts in a Pod: Podcast, Listening Classes

2 Ts in a Pod: Episode 4 – Scams!

Posted on by Tim Warre

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Image credit: Mark Wilding

Follow us on twitter @RobbioDobbio + @2tspod

Episode 4 of the podcast is now live on our Soundcloud page! Click the link below to listen, you can also download the teacher’s notes.

Teacher’s notes EP 4 Scams

SoundCloud Page

On this episode we were talking about crimes like pick pocketing and mugging as well as other types of scam. We interviewed several people about their experiences being the victims of crime in Barcelona and other parts of the world. Hope you enjoy the show!

2Ts in a Pod – Teacher’s Notes Episode 4: Scams

Running Order

  1. 00:00 – 03:14 – Intro chat
  2. 03:14 – 06:56 – Tim’s pickpocketing story
  3. 06:56 – 09:20 – Vox-pop with Vicky: Scams in Barcelona vs in Argentina
  4. 09:20 – 13:48 – Katy’s mugging story
  5. 13:48 – 17:06 – Five ways to say: Crime/scam expressions
  6. 17:06 – 20:54 – Vox-pop with Beranice: Barcelona robbery story
  7. 21:00 – 26:52 – I wanna be like you with Vicky
  8. 26:52 – 29:00 – Vox-pop with Lisa: Scam stories
  9. 29:00 – end – Thanks, credits, comment

Additional Materials

Five Ways to Say…

  • I totally fell for the scam. (I believed it, I was tricked)
  • I was taken in by the con man. (he convinced/tricked me)
  • This sandwich cost me €8! What a rip-off! (overpriced/too expensive)
  • I got ripped off by the mechanic when I took my car in for a service.
  • I felt like a right idiot/plonker/tit after they stole my bag. (feel stupid)

Discussion Questions

  • Have you ever been pickpocketed? Or even mugged?
    • What happened?
  • What advice would you give someone to help them avoid something similar happening to them?
  • Can you think of any other types of scam? Email scams? Phone scams? etc.
  • What do you think the punishment for these crimes should be?
  • Have you ever been ripped off when you bought something?
    • Where were you?
    • What did you buy?
  • When was the last time you felt like a right idiot/plonker/tit?
Posted in Listening Classes

Listening: I got double-scammed!

Posted on by Tim Warre

Image Credit: blogs.thisismoney.co.uk

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

This is a listening lesson for high B1+. I designed this lesson for my DELTA receptive skills assessed class. It’s based around a listening text from Speak Out Upper-Intermediate (Pearson), in which a woman describes how she had her bag stolen while sitting in a café. I chose this text because this type of crime is an extremely common occurence here in Barcelona.

Below you can download the lesson procedure, students’ and teachers’ handout, an annotated version of the transcript and the listening file.

Lesson Procedure 

Lisas bad day student handout 

Lisas bad day Teacher’s copy

Audio file

annotated transcript lisa0001

The most important thing to bear in mind is that this is a class which focuses on developing students’ listening skills rather than simply testing their comprehension of a text so feel free to replay sections of the text as many times as it takes for them to get the message.

It’s important to follow the steps as laid out in the procedure. The pre-listening tasks, in which students make predictions about what will happen next, aid students in their comprehension as they are given the opportunity to apply their own knowledge and experience to the text.

After listening the language focus section on connected speech will help students to identify and decipher fast connetced speech, for example, the pronunciation of past modals “can’t/must/might have”. I’m currently working on my grammar assessment class in which I will come back to past modals of speculation. It should make a good follow-up class to this one so watch this space.