Houses around the World

Ondol is the traditional under floor heating system which has been used because the winter is very severe. The heat from the stove in the kitchen goes through the pathway under the floor. They used to use the firewood or straw for the stove. The entrance of the house is made smaller to prevent cold air coming into the house. They sleep on the warm floor with the mat and they do not need to wear room shoes. Nowadays, Ondol is still used by hot water instead.



Gel is a transferable nomad house, located in the desert of Gobi, Mongolia. They move the house when their domestic animals have eaten the grass in that area. The main 2 poles in the center support the house with the framework. They cover the framework with the white cloth filled with wool and hair of the domestic animals. In the center, they place the stove and the ceiling can be opened for the smoke. During the severe winter, they make double cover on the ceiling.



In dry Fujian area, the houses are built with the hard solid soil walls. The houses were built about 300 years ago. Hakka family was moving from the Yellow River area in 12 th to 13 th century. They build the many town houses surrounded by the hard walls to protect from the outsiders. The houses are 4-storied and hundreds of people are living together. One townhouse is for the whole family who has the same last name. The other family or not Hakka family are not allowed to live.



In southern part of Morocco, the houses are made of the bricks. They mix some water with clayey soil and put them into the mold to dry under the Sun. They use the clay to paste bricks one by one and then, paste the clay over the bricks to build the house. The bricks can keep the room temperature at comfortable level, even the outside temperature is changing drastically during a day. However, the houses are not strong for earthquake.

I) Comprehension and investigation.

1. In which part of the world can the 'Ondol' be found?

2. How does the Ondol work?

3. Find information about the type of climate in the Gobi Desert.

4. What is the meaning of the compound adjective '4-storied' in the third paragraph?

5. Find information about the purpose of building walled villages and round houses with no windows at the ground level (paragraph 3).

6. Find relevant information about the deadliest and most destructive earthquake ever recorded in Morocco.

II) Look at the following wordle and match the opposites (sometimes, there may be more than one)

III) Work in pairs and describe the rooms you see in the video below, using some of the adjectives you grouped in part II.

IV) Take a look at the following floor plan. Look for vocabulary and expressions to make a fully detailed description of the house and its rooms. You can also use the adjectives from section II.

V) Presentation: Using part IV as a model, you will have to show a picture/video/floor plan of your own house and describe each room using appropriate vocabulary and expressions.