Teacher notes: Rural tourism in Lithuania
Introduction
Tell students they are going to learn about the ways of spending holidays in a country they most
probably have never been to – Lithuania. Then introduce the aims of the lesson.
1. Trivia about Lithuania
 Since Lithuania is not a well-known holiday destination, ask students if they know where
the country is. If necessary, write the pronunciation of the name Lithuania.
Additional information
Lithuania [ˌlɪθuːˈeɪniə] or [ˌlɪθjuːˈeɪniə], officially the Republic of Lithuania s a
country in Northern Europe, the largest of the three Baltic states. It is situated
along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden and
Denmark. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to
the south, and Kaliningrad to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated
population of 3 million as of 2012, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. The
Lithuanians are a Baltic people, and the official language, Lithuanian, is one of
only two living languages (together with Latvian) in the Baltic branch of the
Indo-European language family.
A What do you know about Lithuania?
Tell students they are going to do a quiz to find out what they really know about the country.
Follow the link http://www.funtrivia.com/newflash/trivia.cfm?qid=70299 and ask
students to do the quiz.
B Watch the video. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
Ask students to read the sentences. If necessary, explain the meaning of poisonous: very harmful
and able to cause illness or death and ask them to translate into L1.
Then tell them to watch the video and do the task. Follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYOaBCK3zqI
After watching the video students do the task.
Key:
1. Vilnius is a gothic city. (False. Vilnius represents different architectural styles: Gothic,
Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicism).
2. Neringa (Curonian Spit) is a famous hotel in the Old Town. (False. Curonian Spit is a
landscape of sand-dunes that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast)
3. Lithuanians speak Russian. (False. Lithuanians speak Lithuanian).
4. Lithuanians eat poisonous mushrooms. (False. Mushroom picking is a popular activity with
Lithuanians, but not the poisonous ones.)
Ask students to summarize what they have learnt about Lithuania from the quiz and the video. If
necessary, give them additional information about Lithuania.
2. Vocabulary. Spending Holidays
Ask students what types of holidays they know (1-2 min)
Then ask them to do the matching exercise.
A Match types of holidays with their definitions:
Key:
1. an activity holiday – d a holiday in which you spend all your time outdoors, doing
something such as travel in a wild area of a country or cycle across a desert
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Teacher notes: Rural tourism in Lithuania
2. a camping holiday - g the activity of taking a holiday in which you stay in a tent
3. a caravan holiday - i a holiday in which you take a caravan with you and sleep in it while
you are away
4. a coach tour – j a journey for pleasure, during which you visit several different towns,
areas etc, by coach
5. a cruise - h a holiday on a large ship, usually visiting different places for a short while
6. an excursion - b a short trip made for pleasure, especially one that has been organized for
a group of people
7. a cultural holiday - a a holiday taken in order to visit culturally interesting places or
cultural events
8. a beach holiday - l a holiday you spend on the beach sunbathing, swimming in the sea, etc
9. an exotic holiday – m an exciting holiday spent in a distant foreign country
10. a backpacking holiday- c a holiday you spend travelling for pleasure, usually without very
much money, and carrying a backpack
11. countryside leisure - f time you spend relaxing in a rural setting
12. a working holiday – k a holiday in which you do some work, either your normal type of
work or a different kind such as farm work or work to protect nature
13. an adventure holiday - d a holiday in which you spend all your time outdoors, doing
something such as travel in a wild area of a country or cycle across a desert
B Speaking
1. In groups of 2 students speak about at least three types of holidays they would like to go
on, places they would stay at, giving a few reasons why. Encourage them to use the useful
vocabulary and sentence patterns given in the boxes. Students should ask each other
follow-up questions using the question words given in the box.
Where? What? When? How long? Who with? How? How far? How
much? What else?
2. (video) Show students a short video and ask them to answer the questions:
What is happening? Where are the people? What are they doing? Why?
Accept students’ answers. Then ask:
Do you think it’s a good way of spending your leisure?
Encourage them to have a short discussion using the functional language
Stating an opinion: In my opinion…, the way I see it…,According to Vida…, As far as I
am concerned…, If you ask me…, If you want my opinion…
Disagreeing : I don't think so…, (strong) No way…,I'm afraid I disagree…, (strong) I
totally disagree…, I'd say the exact opposite…, Not necessarily…,That's not always
true…,That's not always the case…,No, I'm not so sure about that.
Answer: The people are enjoying themselves taking a physically demanding route through a
swamp.
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Teacher notes: Rural tourism in Lithuania
3. Reading: Spending Holidays in Lithuania
BEFORE YOU READ
Before reading the text about rural tourism, ask students to give answers to the following
questions:
What is rural or countryside tourism? What activities can you do during your holidays in
the country? Why do you think people choose this type of holidays? What bird can you see
in the picture? Is it common in your country? How do you think the stork is related to rural
tourism?
Possible answer: Rural tourism focuses on participating in a rural lifestyle. Any village can be a
tourist attraction; tourists usually stay at homesteads or farmsteads and can do the activities
offered by the hosts.
Background information
The Stork (gandras) was declared the national bird of Lithuania in 1973.
Lithuanians believe that storks bring harmony to the families on whose
property they nest; they have also kept up the tradition of telling their children
that storks bring babies. Lithuania is a beneficial and important habitat for
these birds: it has the highest known nesting density in the world.
A After students read the text, ask them to give definitions of the words in bold. Then do the
matching exercise.
Key:
a place where a lot of people go for
a resort
holidays
a famous or interesting place visited by
a sightseeing site
tourists
a farm, including the farmhouse and any
a homestead
other buildings on the land
a large wooden container with a flat used
a bath barrel
for taking a bath
a traditional skill of making things by hand,
a craft
for example furniture or jewellery
man who makes beautiful or practical
a craftsman
objects using his hands
a part of the year when many tourists visit a
high season
place and travel costs are therefore higher
to put someone or something into a
to rank
position according to their quality, size etc
located
situated
facilities
rooms, equipment, or services that are
provided for a particular purpose
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Teacher notes: Rural tourism in Lithuania
B Look at the pictures and describe what you can see and what kind of holiday you could
have in these places.
Ask students to describe the places and discuss what kind of holidays they would have there.
C Expert reading ( reading, listening, speaking). Group the students into four groups of four.
The four in group 1 read text 1, the four in group 2 read text 2, the four in group 3 read text 3, the
four in group 4 read text 4. It is better that participants can see only the assigned text, within their
group they read the text, match the pictures with the places described in the text, fill in the table,
discuss the questions and vocabulary.
Then regroup so that there are those who have read the different texts in each group ( Group 1:text
1,2,3,4; group 2: text 1,2,3,4; group 3: text 1,2,3,4; group 4: text 1,2,3,4;). Ask them to tell the
other students in their new groups about the place they have read using the information from the
table or the text, if necessary. Students fill in the rest of your table while group mates are telling
what they have read.
Remind students to discuss the questions bellow in both groups:
Which of the activities have you tried? If not, which ones would you like to try and why? Which
of these places would you choose for your holiday? Why?
In the end go through the table with the whole group to make sure they have the correct
information. To sum it up, ask students if rural tourism is common in their country.
(Alternative: reading all the texts individually;
doing the picture matching task;
reading the texts and making a list of all the activities referred to)
Key:
Text 1 Picture 1 – Padvaiskas Manor, Picture 2 – the Hill of Crosses, Picture 3 – Prie
Saltinio Farmstead, Picture 9 - Prie Saltinio Farmstead
Text 2 Picture 7 - Aukstaitija National Park
Text 3 Picture 4 – Curonian Spit, Picture 8 – Curonian Spit, Picture 10 – the Curonian Spit
National Park
Text 4 Pictures 5, 6 – the Adventure Park Bear Foot
( Alternatively students can read all the texts individually and do the picture matching task. Then
you can ask students to read the texts about different holiday destinations and make a list of all
the activities referred to in the texts.
Key: List of activities (if chosen)
1. riding quad bikes / off-road vehicles
2. taking a sauna
3. cooking your own food
4. taking weaving or cheese-making courses
5. exploring the surroundings
6. sightseeing
7. canoeing
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8. kayaking
9. cooking over a campfire
10. camping
11. cycling
12. taking a hot air balloon flight
13. archery
14. air gun shooting
15. flying on a rope through the air
16. walking along hanging ladders
17. sliding from tree to tree
18. horseback riding
19. skiing)
Before reading, check whether students know the meaning of the following words. If they
don’t, introduce them by giving their meaning and pronunciation and ask them to translate to
make sure they understand.
authentic - traditional or original, or very similar to this
weaving – activity of making cloth by crossing long threads over and under each other on a
machine called a loom
pilgrimage - a journey that a religious person makes to a holy place
devotional - relating to religious subjects or activities
carved - made by cutting into the surface of stone, wood, etc
venue - the place where a public event or meeting happens
heritage site - a place that has a lot of historical importance and is officially not allowed to be
changed or damaged
dune - a small hill of sand near a beach or in a desert
reedy - covered with a lot of reed plants
lighthouse - a tall building by the sea with a flashing light at the top to warn ships of dangerous
rocks
prohibited - officially stopped from being done, especially by making it illegal
archery - the art or sport of shooting arrows
Key:
best
time to
visit
Padvaiskas
Manor
Farmstead
Prie
Saltinio
The Hill of
Crosses
facilities
meals
activities
accommodation
sauna
TV
cooking
facilities
accommodation
weaving and
cheese-making
courses
provided
riding quad bikes and offroad vehicles
home-cooked
national
dishes
canoeing
sightseeing
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Aukstaitija
National
Park
Labanoras
Regional
Park
Curonian
Spit
summer camping
months
canoeing
kayaking
summer camping
months
canoeing
kayaking
Adventure
Park
sauna
barbecue
equipment
lying on the beach
sightseeing
cycling
exploring surroundings
sliding from tree to tree on
a rope
walking along hanging
ladders
flying through the air o n a
rope
catapult
flying in a hot air balloon
archery
air gun shooting
4.
Listening. Night Kayaking on the Vilnele
A. BEFORE YOU LISTEN.
Before listening to the story ask students if they know any of the words from the table, then
encourage them to work in groups of two and guess their meanings by matching the words with
their definitions. Check the answers.
nocturnal (city)
done, occurring, or active at night
to beach the kayak
to pull a boat onto the shore away from the
water
to give comfort
make you feel calmer or more hopeful
a pint
an amount of liquid, especially beer or milk
which in Britain is equal to 0.568 litres
rapids
part of a river where the water looks white
because it is moving very fast over rocks
paddle
daredevil
to wedge in
to bail out (water)
dam
a short pole that is wide and flat at the end,
used for moving a small boat in water
dangerous and risky
a section of a river where the river bed has
a relatively steep gradient causing an
increase in water velocity and turbulence
to get stuck in
to remove water that has come into a boat
a wall built across a river which stops the
river's flow and collects the water
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B. Listen and answer the questions.
Students answer the questions.
Did the friends enjoy the tour? (Yes, they did).
Was it successful? (Yes, it was).
How long did it take? (It took 3 hours).
C. Listen again. Are these statements true (T) or false (F)?
Students listen again and do the task.
Key:
1. Nightfall on a river is a good time to beach your kayak and go home. T
2. Lifejackets made the adventurers feel less anxious. F
3. The 5 friends went on a six-hour dangerous tour down the Vilnele river. F
4. The agency has been offering night kayaking for 2 years. F
5. In Belmont the team stopped for a whiskey to warm up. F
6. The team paddled down the Belmont’s waterfall after their instructor. F
7. The second part of the tour was easier. F
8. The visibility was excellent. F
9. But it was impossible to avoid fallen trees stretched across the river. T
10. The river in Uzupis was full of artists’ sculptures. T
D. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate prepositions:
Key:
 I and my six friends and arrived ____at____ the Old Dam.
 The chance of turning ___over________ while kayaking in Vilnele is 100 percent.
 We jumped ____into______ our kayaks ready ____for_______ adventure.
 On our way _____to____ the first destination we were spellbound by the incredible calm
of the falling night.
 It all gave an impression _____of_______ being somewhere in the countryside.
 “People who try ______out____ night kayaking get both a chance to see the night-time
aspect of Vilnius and a fair amount of adrenaline,” she said, pointing ______out_____ the
advantages.
 In half an hour or so we were wet _______from______ energetic paddling.
 After beating our thirst, we took our kayaks ___out______ _____of_______ the water.
E. Speaking. Would you like to experience such a tour? Give your reasons.
Students talk whether they would like to experience such a tour giving the reasons.
Script
Night kayaking on the Vilnele
Have you ever seen the nocturnal city… from kayaks? Dark water everywhere around,
illuminated bridges cross the river sometimes, street lights are visible...
Usually, nightfall on a river is a good time to beach your kayak and go home. But we
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were just getting started.
Our lifejackets gave us little comfort facing the invisible rocks and rapids downstream.
Our guide's only advice didn’t make us less worried either: "Just don't let your paddles
slip," he said.
"We are the experts of nightlife," said Rasa, a manager of Vaiduoklis (Ghost)
entertainment agency, when my six friends and I arrived at the Old Dam in the Naujoji
Vilnia district of Vilnius. That was the starting point of our exciting night-time kayak trip
down the Vilnele River. Luckily, our professional guide Jonas would accompany us to
prevent our getting lost on the three-hour daredevil tour from Naujoji Vilnia to
Sereikiskes Park.
The necessary torches flashing in each other's eyes and adrenaline pumping through our
brains, we jumped into our kayaks holding our paddles, ready for adventure.
On our way to the first destination, Belmont cafes, we were impressed by the incredible
calm of the falling night and the greenness all around. It all gave an impression of being
somewhere in the countryside, far from the busy city. Rasa said that although the agency
started night kayaking only this summer, people showed a lot of interest right away.
"People who try out our night kayaking get both a chance to see Vilnius at night and a
good amount of adrenaline while paddling through the unpredictable Vilnele River," she
said, pointing out the advantages.
In half an hour or so we were wet from energetic paddling but impressed by the
spectacular views of the Vilnele River valley. When we reached Puckoriai bar in Belmont
we enthusiastically exchanged our wet litas banknotes for a few pints of beer. Our
instructor meanwhile paddled directly down of one of Belmont's waterfalls greeted with a
clap.
After drinking water, we took our kayaks out of the water and carried them over the
dams. We weren't quite as brave as our instructor.
Rasa warned us that the second part of the trip was more difficult. She wasn't kidding.
That was when the real challenge began.
Mist and steam rose from the water, further reducing visibility. It was impossible to avoid
fallen trees stretched all across the river. I got my kayaks wedged in the trees at least five
times. "The chance of turning over while kayaking in Vilnele is 100 percent," Rasa said.
True and I was no exception. Wet and bailing water out of my kayaks, I was still
fascinated by this strange night of fun.
When we finally reached Uzupis, a group of artists on the shore shouted warnings that the
water was full of their sculptures. Sailing among the sculptures made us feel like heroes
as we finally reached Neris River. Mission completed. The last stop, Mindaugas Bridge,
floated in the dark above our heads.
This impressive route down Vilnele River was extreme, wet and therefore unforgettable. I
would recommend it for a group of friends looking for some unusual activity straight
after a long day at work because no special preparation is needed. Night kayaking would
also be a fun way to celebrate birthdays.
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6. Role-play. Family holiday
Work in groups of 4-6. You are the members of the same family and are planning to go on
holiday together, but each of you has a very different idea about what kind of holiday you
want. This time you have decided to travel to Lithuania. Agree on a holiday to go on.
Divide students into a few groups of 4-6 (depending on the number of students). Make copies of
the sheet of role cards . Give each student in the group a role card (let students choose their roles).
Students should read their role cards carefully and have a conversation about what kind of holiday
to go on. Encourage them to use the functional vocabulary from the box.
ROLE CARDS
ROLE CARD
You are mum.
ROLE CARD
You are dad.
Place to stay: you’d like a quiet place like
a homestead by the lake
Place to stay: campsite by the lake or a
homestead by the lake
Activities: sightseeing; exploring
surroundings; trying national dishes
Activities: fishing; riding a bike; sauna
Dad starts the conversation
You start conversation
ROLE CARD
You are elder daughter (16 years old).
ROLE CARD
You are grandma.
Place to stay: any place
Place to stay homestead (learning crafts)
Activities: cycling; swimming
Dad starts the conversation
Activities: quiet rest; perhaps learning
some crafts or learning to make some
national dishes
Dad starts the conversation
ROLE CARD
ROLE CARD
You are son. (14 years old)
You are the youngest child (daughter
/son). (10 years old)
Place to stay: hotel by the sea
Place to stay: any place
Activities: kayaking/canoeing; cycling
Activities: sunbathing, swimming in the
sea
Dad starts the conversation
Dad starts the conversation
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5. Song Welcome to Lithuania
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQUi2k4ek3E
Students listen to the song and fill in the gaps
Key:
Somewhere between the Uruls
And the Baltic Sea
There is a land of very
Very beautiful beauty
It’s on the other coast
A place where it rains
We don’t have any mountains
Just two forests and plains
Welcome to Lithuania, Welcome to Lithuania
Welcome to Lithuania, the land of the beautiful la-a-adys
And it’s true that our women
Look awfully fine
But with us pretty faces
Heart, soul and behind
But please understand
If we don’t like to share
But you can always look
But touch, sex stories beware
Welcome to Lithuania, welcome to Lithuania
Welcome to Lithuania, the land of the beautiful la-a-adys
Welcome to Lithuania, welcome to Lithuania
Welcome to Lithuania, the land of the beautiful ladys
It’s sad and depressive, I must say it ain’t true
We love to party, the first drink is on you
Welcome to Lithuania, welcome to Lithuania
Welcome to Lithuania, the land of the beautiful la-a-adys
Welcome to Lithuania, welcome to Lithuania
Welcome to Lithuania, the land of the beautiful la-a-adys
7. Homework . Writing Students have to write a paragraph of 200 words on how they would
spend a three-day holiday in a Lithuanian homestead.
Photos taken and texts adapted from
www.atostogaukime.lt/en/farmstead/sodyba-padvaisko-dvaras
www.thetravelword.com/2012/08/27/farmsteads-thrive-in-rural-lithuania/
www.lonelyplanet.com/lithuania
www.google.lt/search?hl=en&q=hill%20of%
http://valtine.lt/index.php?page=baidariu-nuoma-aukstaitijoje&hl=en_US
www.nerija.lt/en/outdoors-activities/b
www.lrv.lt/Spauda/Lietuva/EN/active.pdf
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