A working holiday h45

A working holiday h45

A working holiday

Introduction

We’ve looked at several aspects of the tourist industry and lots of issues.
The subject of this lesson is 'A working holiday'.

  • Form groups of three or four pupils.

Discuss the following questions in your group:

  • What about a job in tourism that you love so much you can’t imagine a better job?
  • What about a job where you have to go on holiday?

This lesson contains 4 steps and an evaluation. Work them through step by step.

Step

Activity

 

 

Introduction

Find out what you already know.

Step 1

Speaking

Read job advertisement and choose right person.

Step 2

Reading

Tick the topics and read the text.

Step 3

Song

Listen to the song and fill in the gaps.

Step 4

Task 1

Write a covering letter to apply for a holiday job.

Step 4

Task 2

Write your CV

 

Evaluation

Reflecting on what you have learned.

 

Difficult words? Search these on Cambridge Dictionaries

 

Step 1 - Speaking

Some people have great jobs. These are jobs that everyone wishes they could do.
At least, that’s what we think. Answer the questions below with a classmate.

  • How does this sound to you: to be on holiday to do your job? Sounds good?
    Well, maybe it’s not as great as it seems?
  • Look at this job. Would you like to apply for this job? Why? Discuss with your classmate. You both give three reasons.


Read about three people who want to apply.

  • Who do you think would be best? Why?
Jose
Jose knows everything there is to know about Spain - including all the Spanish islands.
He can tell you why the plaza is so important in Spanish life, and how the siesta originated.
He has excellent communication skills.
He has an Instagram account with over 10K followers.

 

Stephanie
She has taught English as a foreign language in many countries including Japan, Brazil, Nepal and Namibia.
She loves to travel but isn’t so keen on teaching.
During her teaching years, she kept a blog with amazing write ups of the places she visited.
She would like a job that includes travelling but she doesn’t want to be in an office.
 
Marieke
She has worked in the travel industry for the past five years. She has visited lots of countries – including South America and Asia.
She speaks three languages including Bahasa Indonesian.
She loves matching holidays to people. She has a blog with some great reviews from satisfied customers.

Step 2 - Reading

You’re going to read an article about someone who became a travel writer.
These topics will be mentioned in the text.

  • Social media
  • An accident
  • Note taking
  • A TV show
  • Rejection

Now read the article.

The world at your feet: The life of a travel writer

By Claudia Infusino

Globe-trotting, note-jotting Robin Esrock opens up about what it really means to be a travel writer.

In The Beginning…

In 2004, Robin Esrock was riding his scooter to work as he did every day, when a car went through a stop sign, rode straight into Esrock and broke his kneecap. Horrible and traumatic, right? Well, not for Esrock. He asserts it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Eight months after the accident and almost completely healed, he received a $20,000 insurance settlement. With a degree in journalism from Rhodes University already under his belt, along with a handful of other careers—from being in a band to creating websites— Esrock decided to put his new, small fortune towards an open-ended ticket to travel around the world.

Esrock took the whole year off to visit 24 countries and ­five continents. During that time, he blogged every week and took pictures, mainly to share with his family and friends.

“But that led to a column in the newspaper,” Esrock says, “and when I got back, I’d realized that I’d somehow become a travel writer.” He started receiving offers to go on more trips, and a year later he was published in 12 major newspapers around the world.

Think you have what it takes?

To most, travel writing sounds like a dream job. The thought of lying on a beautiful island and being paid to write about it seems easy and attractive enough. Well, that’s not entirely true. Esrock explains that ­first and foremost, you have to love to travel—and that doesn’t really mean business class and ­five-star hotels.

“You’re doing long flights at crazy times,” Esrock says, “and you have to work when you’re jet lagged. You’re staying in cheap hotels, visiting people, taking notes and thinking how you’re going to craft the story.”

One of the skill sets you need to develop as a travel writer is being able to observe and remember what’s going on around you, because when it comes time to write or pitch a story, you’ll have to ­ an angle that nobody else has done. For Esrock, travelling with a notebook and digital camera is all he needs; with those in hand, you can drop him off anywhere and he’ll ­find a story.

Of course, like most jobs there are also downfalls. “Stability is a big thing,” Esrock says. “You just don’t earn enough money, generally, to buy a nice place or nice cars—I’ve been driving an old beat-up car for the last 10 years!” Luckily for him, fancy cars aren’t all that important, but maintaining personal relationships is tricky. “You’re constantly in and out, and it’s challenging, not only romantically, but also with your friends.”

Aside from those challenges, Esrock knows that one of the hardest parts of the job is rejection. “It’s dif­ficult to constantly deal with about a 90% rejection rate,” he admits. “It’s dif­ficult because it’s still hard not to take it personally.”

So how does one survive rejection in such a competitive industry? Esrock says that “for young writers out there that want to get into journalism or travel writing, you have to learn the art of persistence, not giving up, and realizing that rejection just takes you one step closer to success.”

Taking it to the small screen

According to Esrock, travel writing is a lifestyle, not a living. With that idea, he came up with a concept for a TV show based on the contrast between living it up in the most amazing destinations around the world, and the pressure that he’s under as a writer.

“I brought in Julia Diamon, a travel writer from Toronto, and the two of us got a TV show with OLN [Outdoor Life Network],” Esrock says. The show is called World Travels, and so far they’ve ­filmed in 26 countries and will be shooting a third season this year. It’s recently been picked up by National Geographic’s Nat Geo Adventure channel worldwide.

“I really enjoy it because it’s a powerful medium to be able to share what’s going on,” he says. “I’ll continue to balance television and writing because TV can show, but writing can feel, and they are complementary if it’s done right.”

Advice from a pro

With such vast online social media available today, Esrock encourages anyone interested in travel writing to simply travel and write. “With blogs and Facebook,” Esrock says, “there are so many ways now to share your experiences with everyone—you don’t have to be writing for a newspaper or magazine, just get out there and travel!”

That seems easier said than done, because travelling can be very expensive, but you don’t need a lot of money. There are student programs, exchange programs, swaps, and even wwoofing (WWOOF is the World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms organization, where you can volunteer to work on organic farms. There are over 600 locations to do this in Canada alone).

“Anything you can do to broaden your experience before you go to university or before you start working is only going to help you, because it’s an education—it’s life education.”

Source: http://faze.ca/world-feet-life-travel-writer/


Do the exercise.

At the end of the text, Esrock writes:
“Anything you can do to broaden your experience before you go to university or before you start working is only going to help you, because it’s an education—it’s life education.”

Make a list with your partner. What other things besides travel can help you gain a ‘life education’. Say why.

Step 3 - Song

'Holiday'
You are going to listen to the song 'Holiday' from Madonna.

Listen and do the exercise.

Step 4 - Task 1

You have decided to apply for the job advertised below.
You have a good CV, but now you need a covering letter.
Write a covering letter!

How to write a good covering letter
  1. First, think of reasons why you are uniquely qualified for this job!
  2. Start by listing your name and address.
  3. Include the date of the day you are sending the letter.
  4. List the recipients name and address.
  5. Open with an introduction like Dear...
  6. Write a catchy introduction paragraph. First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your job search!
    You include the position you are applying for and your enthusiasm why you are applying for that job.
  7. Write a brief overview of your background, skills and personal qualities. Why are you the perfect person for the job?
  8. In the last paragraph you explain why you are a good fit for the company.
  9. Close with a conclusion like: I look forward to hearing from you.
  10. End with a formal closing line (Kind regards / Sincerely) and your signature.

 

Step 4 - Task 2

Project B: Writing your CV (Curriculum Vitae)
You have decided to apply for the job advertised below.
In Task 1 of this lesson you have written a covering letter.

Now you are going to write your CV. You can use a template like this:
templates CV

How to write a good CV
  1. Start with a CV Header with Contact Information (name/address/email/telephone)
  2. Education and qualifications
  3. Work Experience
  4. Skills (for example computer skills/ foreign language skills)
  5. Additional Sections

Make your CV brief and relevant.

Evaluation

Fill in the schedule and answer the questions below.

Activity

Activity

Needs improvement

Satisfactory, good

Satisfactory, good

Step 1 - Speaking

I can have a discussion with a classmate. Why apply for a job or not?

 

 

 

Step 2 - Reading

I can read an article about the life of a travel writer.

 

 

 

Step 3 - Song

I can listen to the song and fill in the gaps in the song text.

 

 

 

Step 4 - Task 1

I can write a covering letter to apply for a holiday job.

 

 

 

Step 4 - Task 2

I can write a CV.

 

 

 


What have you learnt in this double period?
Answer the following questions:

  • What was the easiest part of this lesson?
  • What did you already know?
  • What was the most difficult part?
  • What was new to you in this lesson?
  • What do you have to ask your teacher?

 

 

 

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    Auteur
    VO-content
    Laatst gewijzigd
    2025-05-11 19:52:49
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    Aanvullende informatie over dit lesmateriaal

    Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:

    Toelichting
    Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Tourism'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: A working holiday. Deze les gaat over werkvakanties. Er wordt gesproken over vacatures, Curriculum Vitae en sollicitaties die werk en vakantie combineren.
    Leerniveau
    HAVO 4; HAVO 5;
    Leerinhoud en doelen
    Engels;
    Eindgebruiker
    leerling/student
    Moeilijkheidsgraad
    gemiddeld
    Studiebelasting
    3 uur 30 minuten
    Trefwoorden
    a working holiday, arrangeerbaar, curriculum vitae, engels, h45, sollicitatie, stercollectie, vacature, werkvakanties

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    The life of a travel writer

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