Article by Sean Banville
Ideas & Activities by David Robinson

START

1.  DICTATION: The teacher will read to you slowly and clearly the first paragraph, repeating passages where necessary. Students will write down the speech. The teacher will repeat the passage slowly again. 

Self correct your work. Be honest with yourself on the number of errors. Advise the teacher of your total no of errors. 10 are acceptable. Any more is room for improvement! 

2. READING: Get students to read passage. Swap readers every paragraph.

3. VOCABULARY: Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

4. DARFUR and GENOCIDE IN AFRICA: Walk around the class and find out as much as you can about Darfur and genocide in Africa. When you have finished, find a new partner and share your information.

5. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

International community / officials / peacekeepers / government / leaders / emergency / newspapers / troops / genocide / Darfur / Africa / intelligence / Security Council / TV / rebel forces

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

6. AFRICA: With your partner(s), discuss other similar situations including genocide and war in the following African countries. Decide on the most important point of each one. Change partner(s) and share what you talked about. (You may need to use the Internet to find out information.)

Ethiopia Zimbabwe Sierra Leone Rwanda

Uganda Sudan Somalia Congo

Get students to draw a map of Africa on the board. Ask students to locate each country. (Split into two groups if necessary using the countries in each column accordingly)

Discuss your findings with the class.

7. QUICK DEBATE: Students A believe more should be done by the international community to help the people of Darfur. Students B believe that the African Union troops are doing enough and there are more pressing issues in the world to solve. Debate this with your partner. Change partners often.

8. SENTENCE STARTERS: With your partner(s), finish these sentence starters. Change partner(s) and talk about the sentences you made.

a. U.N.Troops were __________________________________________

b. 2.5 million _______________________________________________

c TV pictures ______________________________________________

d African lives are __________________________________________

e Rebel forces should _______________________________________

f The Security Council ______________________________________

g World leaders ____________________________________________

h The three year conflict _____________________________________

9. GENOCIDE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with genocide. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

10. UNITED NATIONS: Imagine you are a member of the United Nations. Talk with the other “members” in the class about the changes you are going to make.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	African Union peacekeepers are well equipped.	T / F
b.	200,000 people have been killed in the four year conflict in Darfur.	T / F
c.	Newspapers reported the African Union peacekeepers are too few.	T / F
d.	The African Union troops protect an area the size of France.	T / F
e.	The lessons in Rwanda made the world leaders say never again	T / F
f.	TV pictures show dying people every day	T / F
g.	2.6 million people have been displaced.	T / F
h.	The violence in Darfur is not subsiding.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	genocide	killing
b.	catastrophe	remove
c.	troops	fighting
d.	massacre	murder
e.	rid	disaster
f.	hollow	soldiers
g.	intelligence	not real
h.	violence	empty
i.	innocent	information
j.	false	not guilty

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	Sudan’s President	less valuable
b.	Why doesn’t America	show dying people
c.	Are African lives	is not subsiding
d.	The violence in Darfur	based on false intelligence
e.	African Union peacekeepers	said this week
f.	The international community	does so little
g.	These words	seem to be hollow
h.	TV pictures	are too few
i.	The US can go to war	not acting
j.	Why are world leaders	take a greater lead?

GAP FILL:

Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Why does the world talk as more die in Darfur?

Why is it that the international ___________ does so little when there is genocide in Africa? The lessons of the horrors in Rwanda in the early nineties were enough to make the then world leaders say ‘never again’. These words seem to be hollow. The ________ of hundreds of thousands of ________ lives is with us again. Why are world leaders not acting? "Time is running out. The ________ in Darfur is not subsiding, it is getting worse," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the officials at an _______session of the Security Council. The big question is why doesn’t America take a greater lead? After all, it led the invasion of Iraq to ________ Saddam Hussein of weapons that did not exist. The US can go to war based on false ________. Why can’t it do anything now in Darfur? This time it is clear to see the truth – TV pictures show ________ people every day. Are African lives less valuable than Western lives?

intelligence slaughter innocent violence dying community rid emergency

Newspapers are always reporting the African Union ________ are too few in number and too poorly equipped to deal with the rebel forces in Darfur. What is needed to reverse this __________ catastrophe? There are currently 7,200 African Union troops to help ________ an area the size of France – clearly not enough. Meanwhile, Sudan’s President Bashir said this week that U.N. troops were not ________ in his country under any __________. How can any government allow such wide scale ________ to happen on its soil? Why is it that leaders such as Bashir refuse to stop genocide? More than 200,000 people have been killed in the three-year ________ in Darfur and about 2.5 million have been displaced. Will this be the last ________ in Africa?

humanitarian welcome conflict peacekeepers genocide circumstances massacre protect

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Why does the world talk as more die in Darfur?

Why is it that the _________________ does so little when there is genocide in Africa? The lessons of the _________ Rwanda in the early nineties were enough to make the then world leaders say ‘__________’. These words seem to be hollow. The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives is with us again. Why are world leaders not acting?

"Time is running out. The violence in Darfur is not _________, it is getting worse," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the officials at an emergency session of the Security Council. The big question is why doesn’t America take a ______________? After all, it led the invasion of Iraq to rid Saddam Hussein of weapons that did not exist. The US can go to war based on false intelligence. Why can’t it do anything now in Darfur? This time it is clear to see the truth – TV pictures show _____________every day. Are African lives less valuable than Western lives?

Newspapers are always reporting the African ________________ are too few in number and too poorly equipped to deal with the rebel forces in Darfur. What is needed to reverse this ____________________? There are currently 7,200 ___________ troops to help protect an area the size of France – clearly not enough.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s President ____________ this week that U.N. troops were not welcome in his country under any circumstances. How can any government allow such wide scale _______________ happen on its soil? Why is it that leaders such as Bashir refuse to stop genocide? More than 200,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict in Darfur and about 2.5 million have been displaced. Will this be the _________________ in Africa?

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘humanitarian’ and ‘rebel’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. STUDENT “DARFUR” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about the crisis in Darfur.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

horrors Iraq western soil displaced truth

hollow false newspapers Sudan America worse

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. Did the headline want to make you read the article?
2. Have you ever helped raise money for poor nations?
3. Why does the world talk as more die in Darfur?
4. Why is it that the international community does so little when there is genocide in Africa?
5. Why are world leaders not acting?
6. The big question is why doesn’t America take a greater lead?
7. Why can’t it do anything now in Darfur?
8. How would you feel if you were a refugee in Darfur?
9. Should the United Nations do more to assist?
10. Did you like this discussion?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. Are African lives less valuable than Western lives?
3. What is needed to reverse this humanitarian catastrophe?
4. How can any government allow such wide scale massacre to happen on its soil?
5. Why is it that leaders such as Bashir refuse to stop genocide?
6. Will this be the last genocide in Africa?
7. Did you like reading this article?
8. What do you think about what you read?
9. Would you raise money for the people of Darfur?
10. Do you think Bob Geldof should step in to help?     

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
2. Was there a question you didn’t like?
3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
4. What did you like talking about?
5. Which was the most difficult question?

 HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about Darfur and the different opinions people have of it. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. DARFUR ARTICLE: You have just returned from the region. Write a newspaper article about the current situation. Discuss what the United Nations and African Union is doing there. Include your personal thoughts. Show your article to your classmates in the next lesson. Talk about which articles you liked best and why.

4. LETTER: Write a letter to Kofi Annan, head of the United Nations. Tell him what you think he should be doing to help. Give him some advice. Ask him three questions. Read your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions. Which letter did you like best and why?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. T

d. F

e. T

f. T

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	genocide	murder
b.	catastrophe	disaster
c.	troops	soldiers
d.	massacre	killing
e.	rid	remove
f.	hollow	empty
g.	intelligence	information
h.	violence	fighting
i.	innocent	not guilty
j.	false	not real

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	Sudan’s President	said this week
b.	Why doesn’t America	take a greater lead?
c.	Are African lives	less valuable
d.	The violence in Darfur	is not subsiding
e.	African Union peacekeepers	are too few
f.	The international community	does so little
g.	These words	seem to be hollow
h.	TV pictures	show dying people
i.	The US can go to war	based on false intelligence
j.	Why are world leaders	not acting

GAP FILL:

Why does the world talk as more die in Darfur?

Why is it that the international community does so little when there is genocide in Africa? The lessons of the horrors in Rwanda in the early nineties were enough to make the then world leaders say ‘never again’. These words seem to be hollow. The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives is with us again. Why are world leaders not acting?

"Time is running out. The violence in Darfur is not subsiding, it is getting worse," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the officials at an emergency session of the Security Council. The big question is why doesn’t America take a greater lead? After all, it led the invasion of Iraq to rid Saddam Hussein of weapons that did not exist. The US can go to war based on false intelligence. Why can’t it do anything now in Darfur? This time it is clear to see the truth – TV pictures show dying people every day. Are African lives less valuable than Western lives?

Newspapers are always reporting the African Union peacekeepers are too few in number and too poorly equipped to deal with the rebel forces in Darfur. What is needed to reverse this humanitarian catastrophe? There are currently 7,200 African Union troops to help protect an area the size of France – clearly not enough.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s President Bashir said this week that U.N. troops were not welcome in his country under any circumstances. How can any government allow such wide scale massacre to happen on its soil? Why is it that leaders such as Bashir refuse to stop genocide? More than 200,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict in Darfur and about 2.5 million have been displaced. Will this be the last genocide in Africa?

 

Sean Banville's Book You can download a free sample PDF showing various parts of my book, "1,000 Ideas & Activities for Language Teachers".