But where can we get good ideas for planning a fun weekend? As you will see in today’s lesson, an excellent place to start is by looking through the real.time section of the Friday Bangkok Post.

real.time is designed with the coming weekend in mind. It is meant to be an entertaining read in itself, but it is also full of information and tips on what to do and see in Bangkok and the surrounding area. You will often find tips that you would never think of yourself.

Exercise 1: Using "What’s on"

If you are looking for something to do specifically for this weekend, chances are you’ll find it in the "What’s on" section -- a 4-page page listing of just about every type of event possible (included detailed television schedule for less adventurous folks). That is where we are going to focus this week.

Our purpose will be to let your plan your own weekend using "What’s on" to help you. To make this more interesting, let’s assume you are completely free this weekend, i.e., you can do anything you want to do. Secondly, we at the Bangkok Post have given you 2500 baht that you have to spend. If you don’t spend it all, you must return what is left to the Bangkok Post.

Before you begin, spend a few minutes familiarising yourself with the "What’s on?" section. Make a quick list of all the categories including and briefly skim through each to see what it contains.

Now it’s time to get serious. Use the "What’s on" section to plan a complete weekend, making sure that you spend your entire 2500 baht. It will probably be even more efficient and entertaining if you make your plan with a small group of classmates. That way you can "pool" (gather together) your money to cut expenses for items such as food and travel.

Exercise 2: Putting your weekend in words

When you finish making your plan, you next task will be to briefly explain what you intend to do over the weekend in English. To give you some ideas on how to do this, we asked five people at the Bangkok Post to do this same task. You can see what they had to say in the centre column of this lesson.

Notice that they have all used spoken English. I just sat them down with my tape recorder and they just started talking. Since they were talking about something happening in the future, they tended to be tentative in describing their plans. By "tentative" I mean that didn’t say firmly that they were going to do something for sure. They instead used phrases like "I might go…" or "I think I would like to…" indicating that they might change their minds.

Quickly read through what each of the five had to say, first for understanding and then for words and phrases that you might want to use in your own oral report.

Jonathan Paetkau Here’s one that would be kind of interesting, I think. This is a seminar on being a woman in Bangkok one hundred years ago. Unfortunately, it’s given by a man, but I think it would be interesting anyway. So that’s 500 baht. I like things that are a little more interactive then just shows. Music and dance? There’s nothing on that I would go to except this Carlos Bonnell concert tour. I’ve heard about this guy. Hmm – a contest in homepage design. I’d like to see the results of that. I don’t think I’d be able to enter though. This evening at the Japan cultural centre – A Sandcastle Model Home Family. That’s pretty bizarre, but I like international cinema, so I think I might go to that. Also, it’s close to home. Tickets are 40 baht at the door, so that’s quite cheap. You can do a lot in this town for 2500 baht. I’m kind of looking for some new clothes, so until November 10th there’s a promotion at the Emporium. It’s 50 to 70 percent off men’s fashions. I need some pants, some shirts, so that would be a good place to go. You can probably get some decent shirts for 500 to 1000 baht – I hope. If not, I’ll go back to my old standby, Mah Bun Khrong.   Wanpen Sreshthaputr I think I would like to have a look at Chichibu Yati music concert because I’m always fond of getting to know new cultures and getting to know new styles of music. I don’t know anything actually about Japanese folk music so I think that would be a nice thing to do. I think I’ll have to have a look at the gift and crafts fair at the Hilton hotel because Christmas is coming there might be nice things to pick up there. Maybe the international day of NIST (the New International School of Bangkok). I went there a few years ago and its a good opportunity to meet interesting students. I definitely have to go to the Alliance Francaise to watch some movies because, being part French, I try and go there often to see what’s going on.   Pibul Chamrernlert There are some interesting art exhibitions here. I actually plan to do some "window shopping" throughout the whole range of galleries. I’ve got one favourite show located in the Siam Intercontinental Hotel. They’ve got some good paintings there. I think an art exhibition is a good place to start because they have a wide range of art and even promotions. Browsing through them is as good as buying sometimes. You have to see for yourself. If they allow it, I can sometimes even touch a sculpture. It’s great. Visiting one of these places can take at least two hours. I’m pretty sure I can use up my weekend time just browsing. And the Siam Intercontinental is near Siam Centre where I can buy clothes, so I can easily go there too.   Duanpen Thananong I might go to the Mall this weekend because I want to buy some lipstick and eye shadow. I might go to the Emporium also to see a movie. I am also interested in "Art From Korea" exhibition at Silpakorn University. It’s not easy to find Korean art in Thailand. I really like art. Then I might go to the Shangri-la for the Mexican fiesta. I’d like some tacos together with a Corona (beer) or two.   Vichaya Nuntivajrind If I have the time this weekend, I may go to the Emporium to buy some Adidas tennis shoes. I might also go to Robinson because they have discounts on men’s fashions and accessories. After that I may go to D’Ma where they have a German food festival. Now, since the weather is getting cooler and cooler, I want to go there and drink some beer and enjoy some German sausages.

1. When does the festival begin and when does it end?

2. Where can you go to see the movies featured?

3. How many films will be shown all together?

4. How many countries will be represented? What countries are they?

5. Is this an exhibition or are the film-makers competing against each other?

6. When did the Asian film festival first begin?

7. Is this the first time it has been held in Bangkok?

Read through the synopses to find one or two films that sound most interesting to you. Does Khun Attaporn’s film sound like it would be fun to see as well? On page seven, you will also find a schedule of all the films shown at the festival. Will it be practical to see any of them?

Below is a list of some of the more interesting and useful vocabulary items from both the film synopses and the interview with Khun Attaporn:

This is the kind of realistic reading activity that the newspaper is so suited for. It is also an activity that your students will likely want to try on their own in the coming weeks. From a teaching standpoint, notice that the lesson makes excellent use of the skimming and scanning strategies that form such an important part of the modern curriculum.

As you can see, your students are being asked to plan their weekend using the "What’s on" section of real.time. To make it more feasible for students who may not have much money to spend, I am going to "give" them each 2500 baht (about $60) in imaginary money.

There are two exercises to help them get started. The first is a familiarisation exercise in which the students get an overall look at "What’s on?" This is followed by weekend plans given by five Bangkok Post staffers. Your students can read through each for ideas on what to do and how to explain themselves in spoken English.

After your students decide what they would like to do and how they would like to spend their 2500 baht, have them prepare a short oral presentation. You can also have them put it in writing, but the lesson itself stresses spoken English.

This is obviously a "classic lesson" in that you can use it in exactly the same form again and again. You will, of course, want to use a current issue of real.time to make it more realistic and fun. The lesson also makes a good out of class assignment from time to time.

This week’s issue of real.time fits very well with the concept of using the newspaper to find interesting things to do. The main feature deals with the upcoming Asian Film Festival and I have designed several activities that you might want to have your students try. This might be a good out-of-class assignment for the weekend.

Next week’s classic lesson: the various ways we tell stories in the Bangkok Post

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