Transportation Preferences (Intermediate)

Practice on Your Own

• Think of another point in the town or a close by town that you want to get to. Find out how far the distance is, in miles and kilometers. Write it down. How do you ask about distance? How far is X from Y?
• What are the possible ways to get to that place? Write down the public transportation options – bus, taxi, train, bike, etc. Now guess how long it would take using each one of them and write it down. For example, it takes 30 minutes by bus and 15 minutes by taxi and 45 minutes by bike… Are there other options available in bigger cities like NYC or Boston?
• Now talk about your preferred means of transportation – which do you like best and why? For instance, I go by subway because it is cheaper and faster, or I don’t bike because it is slower… Use as many adjectives as possible.
• Work on questions using how, what, and why. For instance, how do you go to school? Pay close attention to the use of prepositions or postpositions in the language you are studying and think about the differences from English.

Practice in Conversation Session

• Be prepared to tell your conversation partner about the available public transportation options in the town/city where you currently live or the place you grew up.
• Answer your conversation partner’s questions about what the transportation options are for getting to school or different parts of town, which ones you use and why.
• Ask your conversation partner about the types of transportation available in the town/city where the campus is located, and which one they prefer and why. How far is their place of residence from the school? Remember that asking and answering questions are two separate tasks, and you need to practice both.
• Discuss the public transportation options in bigger cities such as NYC or Boston. Think about how, what, and why questions. What are the differences between you and your conversation partner in terms of preferences?