Breaking News English ESL Lesson on Sweatshops

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

A major international clothing chain has launched an enquiry into claims that its suppliers are using child labour. Gap Inc, which sells its branded clothes worldwide, is meeting with suppliers to investigate allegations of children being used in sweatshops. The company has already terminated a contract with one Indian factory. Gap president Marka Hansen told reporters: "It's deeply, deeply disturbing to all of us…I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with…the subcontractor who made this very, very, very unwise decision." Gap said it will not sell the garments made in this factory in its stores. There are fears that some of the abused children are as young as ten. Reports are that the children work 16 hours a day, often without pay. Factory bosses supposedly beat them with rubber pipes and put oily cloths in their mouths when they cry.

The chain has 3,000 shops across the globe and is keen to keep its image clean. Senior executive Dan Henkle said: "Our team in India is conducting a full investigation and we have already made sure the products will never be sold. Although violations of our strict prohibition on child labour are extremely rare, we are calling for an urgent meeting with all suppliers in this region to reinforce this policy." Hansen, meanwhile, wanted the world to know she was taking the matter seriously. She told CNN: "Gap has a history of addressing challenges like this head-on, and our approach to this situation will be no exception.” She added: "In 2006, Gap ceased business with 23 factories due to [Code of Vendor Conduct] violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ensure compliance with our code."

WARM-UPS

1. CLOTHES STORES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about international clothes shops. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out.

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

clothing / enquiries / sweatshops / anger / unwise decisions / child abuse / keeping images clean / investigations / CNN / addressing challenges / codes

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. CHILDHOOD: Talk about the different childhoods below with your partner(s). What is an average day for them? Do we need to help these children? Change partners and share your ideas:

Jacob, 12, child soldier in West Africa
Kylie, 13, newspaper delivery girl, England
Lee, 14, miner in China
Sanjay, 10, sweatshop worker in India
Khadija, 12, carpet weaver in Morocco
Eva, 13, coffee picker in Brazil

4. CHILD-FRIENDLY: Are these companies good for kids? Assess them with your partner(s). 10 = great for kids, 0 = not so good for children. Change partners and explain your scores.

_____ Gap

_____ Nike

_____ Sony

_____ McDonalds

_____ Disney

_____ British-American Tobacco

_____ Coca Cola

_____ LLC (Makes Colt handguns)

5. CLOTHING: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘clothing’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think it’s OK for children to work from the age of 13. Students B think children should not be able to work until they’re 18. Debate this with your partners. Change partners often.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Gap clothing company will look into allegations of child abuse.	T / F
b.	The company has fired one of its suppliers in India.	T / F
c.	It is too late for Gap to stop selling clothes made by the supplier.	T / F
d.	It is reported that kids as young as 16 are working 10-hour days.	T / F
e.	Gap has difficulty keeping its 3,000 global stores clean and tidy.	T / F
f.	It is very unusual for child abuse to occur among Gap’s suppliers.	T / F
g.	Gap finds addressing history to be very challenging.	T / F
h.	Gap employs 90 people worldwide to ensure its standards are met.	T / F

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

1.	launched	a.	ended
2	allegations	b.	adherence to
3.	terminated	c.	degraded
4.	violated	d.	dealing with
5.	supposedly	e.	eager
6.	keen	f.	ban
7.	prohibition	g.	claims
8.	reinforce	h.	allegedly
9.	addressing	i.	strengthen
10.	compliance	j.	started

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

1.	launched an enquiry into	a.	the children work 16 hours a day
2	investigate allegations of children	b.	on child labour are extremely rare
3.	terminated a	c.	claims that its suppliers…
4.	it will not sell the	d.	being used in sweatshops
5.	Reports are that	e.	keep its image clean
6.	… is keen to	f.	compliance with our code
7.	violations of our strict prohibition	g.	head-on
8.	reinforce this	h.	contract with one Indian factory
9.	addressing challenges like this	i.	garments made in this factory
10.	ensure	j.	policy

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

A major international clothing ________ has launched an enquiry into claims that its suppliers are using child labour. Gap Inc, which sells its ________ clothes worldwide, is meeting with suppliers to investigate allegations of children being used in sweatshops. The company has already terminated a ________ with one Indian factory. Gap president Marka Hansen told reporters: "It's deeply, deeply ________ to all of us…I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with…the subcontractor who made this very, very, very ________ decision." Gap said it will not sell the garments made in this factory in its stores. There are ________ that some of the abused children are as young as ten. Reports are that the children work 16 hours a day, often without pay. Factory bosses supposedly ________ them with rubber pipes and put oily cloths in their mouths when they ________.

fears
branded
contract
chain
cry
unwise
beat
disturbing

The chain has 3,000 shops across the globe and is ________ to keep its image clean. Senior executive Dan Henkle said: "Our team in India is conducting a ________ investigation and we have already made sure the products will never be sold. Although violations of our ________ prohibition on child labour are extremely rare, we are calling for an ________ meeting with all suppliers in this region to ________ this policy." Hansen, meanwhile, wanted the world to know she was ________ the matter seriously. She told CNN: "Gap has a history of addressing challenges like this ________, and our approach to this situation will be no exception.” She added: "In 2006, Gap ceased business with 23 factories due to [Code of Vendor Conduct] violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ________ compliance with our code."

urgent

keen
ensure
strict
head-on
taking
reinforce
full

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

A major international clothing chain has ________________________ claims that its suppliers are using child labour. Gap Inc, which sells its branded clothes worldwide, is ________________________ investigate allegations of children being used in sweatshops. The company has already terminated ________________________ Indian factory. Gap president Marka Hansen told reporters: "It's deeply, deeply disturbing to all of us…I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with…________________________ this very, very, very unwise decision." Gap said it will not sell the garments made in this factory in its stores. There are ________________________ children are as young as ten. Reports are that the children work 16 hours a day, often without pay. Factory ________________________ with rubber pipes and put oily cloths in their mouths when they cry.

The chain has 3,000 shops across the globe ________________________ image clean. Senior executive Dan Henkle said: "Our team in India is ________________________ and we have already made sure the products will never be sold. Although ________________________ prohibition on child labour are extremely rare, we are calling for an urgent meeting with all suppliers in this region ________________________." Hansen, meanwhile, wanted the world to know she was taking the matter seriously. She told CNN: "Gap has a history of addressing ________________________, and our approach to this situation will be no exception.” She added: "In 2006, Gap ceased business with 23 factories due to [Code of Vendor Conduct] violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ________________________ code."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

sweat

shop

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. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

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

chain
branded
contract
unwise
fears
pipes

globe
conducting
strict
reinforce
head-on
ensure

STUDENT SWEATSHOP SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about sweatshops in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What do you know about sweatshops?
c)	Do you know of any famous cases where multi-national companies bought products from sweatshops?
d)	What do you think of Gap’s actions in launching an enquiry?
e)	Do you think multi-national companies turn a blind eye to child labour and child abuse until it hits the headlines?
f)	How can companies like Gap ensure its suppliers do not employ or abuse children?
g)	What do you think the Indian authorities should do to the sweatshop owner who employed children?
h)	Do you think child labour will ever disappear?
i)	Do children in your country work from a young age?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Would you buy very cheap clothes if you knew child labour was used in making them?
c)	How can you be sure that child labour was not used in the manufacture of the clothes you buy?
d)	What do you think Gap will do with the clothes it says it will not sell?
e)	Do you think governments around the world do enough to protect children from abuse?
f)	Have you ever addressed a challenge head-on?
g)	Would you like to work for Gap and make sure factories are not employing children?
h)	What questions would you like to ask the sweatshop owner?
i)	Did you like this discussion?

LANGUAGE

CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

A major international clothing chain has (1) ____ an enquiry into claims that its suppliers are using child labour. Gap Inc, which sells its (2) ____ clothes worldwide, is meeting with suppliers to investigate allegations of children being used in sweatshops. The company has already terminated a contract (3) ____ one Indian factory. Gap president Marka Hansen told reporters: "It's deeply, (4) ____ disturbing to all of us…I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with…the subcontractor who made this very, very, very unwise decision." Gap said it will not sell the garments made in this factory in its stores. There are fears that some of the (5) ____ children are as young as ten. Reports are that the children work 16 hours a day, often without pay. Factory bosses (6) ____ beat them with rubber pipes and put oily cloths in their mouths when they cry.

The chain has 3,000 shops across the globe and is keen (7) ____ keep its image clean. Senior executive Dan Henkle said: "Our team in India is conducting a (8) ____ investigation and we have already made sure the products will never be sold. Although violations of our strict prohibition on child labour are extremely (9) ____, we are calling for an urgent meeting with all suppliers in this region to reinforce this policy." Hansen, meanwhile, wanted the world to know she was (10) ____ the matter seriously. She told CNN: "Gap has a history of addressing challenges like this (11) ____ -on, and our approach to this situation will be no exception.” She added: "In 2006, Gap ceased business with 23 factories due to [Code of Vendor Conduct] violations. We have 90 people located around the world (12) ____ job is to ensure compliance with our code."

1.	(a)	luncheoned	(b)	lynched	(c)	lunched	(d)	launched
2.	(a)	brands	(b)	bland	(c)	branded	(d)	branding
3.	(a)	with	(b)	by	(c)	of	(d)	around
4.	(a)	deep	(b)	deeply	(c)	depth	(d)	deeper
5.	(a)	abused	(b)	abusive	(c)	abuser	(d)	abusing
6.	(a)	supposes	(b)	supposing	(c)	suppose	(d)	supposedly
7.	(a)	on	(b)	to	(c)	for	(d)	with
8.	(a)	fell	(b)	fall	(c)	full	(d)	fill
9.	(a)	rare	(b)	rarely	(c)	rarer	(d)	rarest
10.	(a)	stalking	(b)	stalking	(c)	staking	(d)	taking
11.	(a)	hands	(b)	eye	(c)	head	(d)	mind
12.	(a)	who’s	(b)	whose	(c)	who	(d)	who is

WRITING:

Write about sweatshops for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_______________________________________________________________________

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 sweatshops. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. CHILD LABOUR: Make a poster about child labour. Report on the countries where children work and the jobs they do. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all include similar things?

4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the life of a 10-year-old child who has to work 16 hours a day in a sweatshop. Include imaginary interviews with the child, the sweatshop boss and the CEO of the multinational company that buys clothes from the sweatshop.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down new words and expressions.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the boss of the sweatshop. Ask him/her three questions about child labour. Give him/her three pieces of advice on what he/she should do in the future. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	launched	a.	started
2	allegations	b.	claims
3.	terminated	c.	ended
4.	violated	d.	degraded
5.	supposedly	e.	allegedly
6.	keen	f.	eager
7.	prohibition	g.	ban
8.	reinforce	h.	strengthen
9.	addressing	i.	dealing with
10.	compliance	j.	adherence to

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	launched an enquiry into	a.	claims that its suppliers…
2	investigate allegations of children	b.	being used in sweatshops
3.	terminated a	c.	contract with one Indian factory
4.	it will not sell the	d.	garments made in this factory
5.	Reports are that	e.	the children work 16 hours a day
6.	… is keen to	f.	keep its image clean
7.	violations of our strict prohibition	g.	on child labour are extremely rare
8.	reinforce this	h.	policy
9.	addressing challenges like this	i.	head-on
10.	ensure	j.	compliance with our code

GAP FILL:

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

A major international clothing chain has launched an enquiry into claims that its suppliers are using child labour. Gap Inc, which sells its branded clothes worldwide, is meeting with suppliers to investigate allegations of children being used in sweatshops. The company has already terminated a contract with one Indian factory. Gap president Marka Hansen told reporters: "It's deeply, deeply disturbing to all of us…I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with…the subcontractor who made this very, very, very unwise decision." Gap said it will not sell the garments made in this factory in its stores. There are fears that some of the abused children are as young as ten. Reports are that the children work 16 hours a day, often without pay. Factory bosses supposedly beat them with rubber pipes and put oily cloths in their mouths when they cry.

The chain has 3,000 shops across the globe and is keen to keep its image clean. Senior executive Dan Henkle said: "Our team in India is conducting a full investigation and we have already made sure the products will never be sold. Although violations of our strict prohibition on child labour are extremely rare, we are calling for an urgent meeting with all suppliers in this region to reinforce this policy." Hansen, meanwhile, wanted the world to know she was taking the matter seriously. She told CNN: "Gap has a history of addressing challenges like this head-on, and our approach to this situation will be no exception.” She added: "In 2006, Gap ceased business with 23 factories due to [Code of Vendor Conduct] violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ensure compliance with our code."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - c

3 - a

4 - b

5 - a

6 - d

7 - b

8 - c

9 - a

10 - d

11 - c

12 - b

Breaking News English

THE ARTICLE

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

LISTENING

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT SWEATSHOP SURVEY

DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

WRITING:

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Gap Inc. launches sweatshop enquiry

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