English Culture Videos

Discussion Questions

• Objective: Activate prior knowledge and generate interest.
• Activity: Ask students to discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups:
  1. Have you ever visited a dog beach or a place where dogs can run freely? Describe your experience.
  2. What do you think are some important rules that should be in place at a dog

Visual Aid

• Objective: Help students visualize the setting of the interview.
• Activity: Show students pictures of dog beaches, especially those with off-leash areas. Discuss what they see in the pictures and how these places might be managed.
  • Example questions: “What do you notice about these dog beaches? How do you think the dogs and their owners are expected to behave here?”

scenery (noun): landscape, view, surroundings

– The scenery at the dog beach is very beautiful. – We stopped to take pictures of the amazing scenery along the hike.

roam (verb): wander, move around, travel

– Dogs love to roam freely at the beach.

– He spent the afternoon roaming through the city streets.

maintain (verb): take care of, keep up, manage

– It can be difficult to maintain control of multiple dogs at once.

– She works hard to maintain a clean and organized home.

havoc (noun): chaos, disorder, disruption

– Fighting dogs could create havoc at the beach.

– The sudden storm caused havoc in the small town.

rule (noun): regulation, guideline, law

– One of the rules at the beach is to keep your dog on a leash.

– The teacher explained the rules of the game before we started playing.

Good morning, everyone. My name’s Randall, and I’m here in San Diego in (a) dog beach off-the-leash area where you can actually bring out your dogs to enjoy the scenery. Enjoy the beach as well, and uh, in this particular area, there are several rules. Number one: You can’t have more than three dogs at a time, and that would create a difficulty in maintaining them. And number two, you can’t just allow your dog to roam without a leash. You can’t let them . . . running around. And the other thing is you can’t bring a dog in heat. Wow. If you don’t know what that means, look it up. It would create havoc along this particular area.

So, San Diego. Enjoying the dogs, enjoying the area. 

Use the Internet to find the best dog friendly beaches or off-leash dog parks around the world. Then, answer these questions:

1. What are the special features of the park, including activities for dogs to do there?
2. What are the hours of the beach or park?
3. What are the rules for dogs and owners at this place?

Intermediate

1. What is the main purpose of a dog beach?
2. How many dogs can you bring to the beach at one time?
3. Can you let your dog run around without a leash at the dog beach?
4. Why do you think there is a rule about not bringing more than three dogs to the beach?
5. What problems might arise if a dog in heat is brought to the beach?
6. What are some other possible rules that might be important for a dog beach?

Advanced

1. How do rules at the dog beach balance the needs of dogs and their owners with the need for safety and order?
2. What might be the consequences of not following the rules at the dog beach for both dogs and people?
3. Discuss how cultural attitudes towards pets might influence the rules and regulations at public places like dog beaches.