Chapter 9 – Focus on some common, everyday item words in English
Chapter 9 of Emma and Lucas – A Journey to Australia helps our students to become familiar with some of the most common everyday item words in English. 20-year-old Chinese traveller Emma opens up her handbag and checks that her phone, charger, passport, purse and some other everyday items are all there. Focusing on these familiar items helps our students to connect English vocabulary to real life. The selection of items included in this chapter are not a coincidence. Items like phone “charger” or even a packet of “Ibuprofen” (painkillers) are especially useful words to learn in English before you travel. There are of course many hundreds of other “everyday items” which a young person may encounter while they are travelling overseas. In Chapter 9, we have prioritised a handful of the everyday items which we believe are the most useful to be able to recognise and pronounce in English.
“Chapter 9 includes a small number of everyday item words which you will be glad you learned before you travel overseas to an English speaking country …”
Natural dialogue relating to feeling tired
The story notes that Emma is tired and doesn’t feel like eating yet; “She leans against the window and turns to her brother – ‘I’m going to try and get some sleep,’ she says.” Her choice to skip the meal and rest instead, along with her twin brother Lucas passing his sister “…an extra pillow“—emphasises natural positive human reactions to small situations. Chapter 9 provides opportunity to explore topics which are not covered in the chapter itself. For example posing a simple question like: “Why do you think Emma is tired?” leads students to reflect over recent events and encourages them to express their opinions in English outside of the specific text narrative. The opportunity for our Chinese students to step outside their English-speaking “comfort zone” within the reassuring framework of our one-on-one tutoring has proven to be highly beneficial, and helps our students to communicate more confidently English.
Overall, Chapter 9 of Emma and Lucas – A Journey to Australia is a very effective learning tool. It combines essential vocabulary like “phone charger” with a brief narrative centred on Emma feeling tired and Lucas’ simple but kind gesture towards his sister.
Chapter 9 concludes with Lucas hearing a “soft thud” on the floor next to him. With no further clues provided, our students need to keep reading in order to find out what happens next.
Here you can listen to a preview of Chapter 9.