Breaking News English

1. BREAST CANCER & KYLIE: Walk around the class and find out what people know about breast cancer & Kylie Minogue. Share your findings with new partners / the class.

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

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

4. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting (circle) and which are most boring (underline).

 Pop star / dancing / Australia / newspaper / concert / Kylie Minogue / stage / battle / breast cancer / fans / Saturday night / tour / chemotherapy / audiences / good luck / surgery   

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

5.  DICTATION: The teacher will read to you slowly and clearly the first half of 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. Less than 5 is very good. 10 are acceptable. Any more is room for improvement! More than 20 - we need to do some work!

6. AUSTRALIA

In pairs - Think of 10 things associated with Australia. Discuss.

The teacher will select some examples from the class

7. KYLIE’S POP CONCERT

Swap pairs! – Now think of 10 things associated with Kylie’s pop concert. Discuss.

The teacher will select some examples from the class

8. PRESS: ROLE PLAY: SPEAKING

‘Exclusive’ TV interview with Kylie!

Student A. Imagine you are a BBC / CNN television news reporter. You have an ‘exclusive’ interview with Kylie Minogue.  Prepare five questions you want to ask her about her recovery from breast cancer and the resumption of her ‘Showgirl’ world tour.

Student B. You are Kylie Minogue! Think of five things (write them down) you want to mention to the world in the forthcoming interview with student A about what you have been through and the resumption of your ‘Showgirl’ world tour

Role play: Student A asks Student B (Kylie) your questions. Listen to her response. React to her comments.

The teacher will select some students to role play their situations in front of the class.

9. SENTENCE STARTERS: With your partner(s), finish these sentence starters. Talk about the sentences you made.

a. Kylie Minogue_____________________________________________

b The media _______________________________________________

c In December _____________________________________________

d Breast cancer _____________________________________________

e Chemotherapy is __________________________________________

f Kylie’s ‘Showgirl’ tour_______________________________________

g Good luck messages________________________________________

h The Australian concerts _____________________________________

 

10. MUSIC OPINIONS: In pairs discuss the following. Change partners often:

A Pop is better than rock music

B Rock music is better than Hip Hop`

C Salsa/Latin music is in

D Classical music is for old people

E Country & Western music is better than soft rock

F Rap is better than Rave music

G Soul, jazz and funk is cool

H 50’s & 60’s music is not trendy

I Most people know many 70’s & 80’s songs

J Your favorite music _____________

K Music sung in your language is better than songs sung in English

L Today’s music is cool. It is better than your parent’s era.

M Kylie Minogue is Australia’s best female singer. Her music is good.

11. ONE MINUTE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you can associate with Kylie Minogue. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

12. FIVE MINUTES: Choose three of these words. Write a sentence using each word. Try to associate them with Kylie Minogue. Discuss with your partner. Spend five minutes on this exercise.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

a.	The 39 year old will put on 20 concerts in her native Australia	T / F
b.	Kylie made several changes to the show to be able to cope	T / F
c.	The concerts in Europe will play to a sell out audience	T / F
d.	The concerts in Australia will play to a sell out audience	T / F
e.	Kylie spoke to Sydney’s Daily Star newspaper	T / F
f.	Kylie’s first hit single was “I will be so lucky”	T / F
g.	Many people believe Kylie is Australia’s greatest cultural export	T / F
h.	Kylie is a role model for many women with breast cancer	T / F

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

a.	answer	speech
b.	newspaper	country
c.	address	crowd
d.	nation	pint sized
e.	concert	playing
f.	audience	operation
g.	thrilled	ecstatic
h.	performing	reaction
i.	petite	magazine
j.	surgery	gig

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article

a.	Her diagnosis	changes to the show
b.	Kylie Minogue has made	the Australian leg of her world tour
c.	The singer launched	had surgery just days…
d.	The petite singer	Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper
e.	She has made several	postponed
f.	She received thousands	symbol of bravery
g.	She told	at her Australian concerts
h.	She will sing	shocked the pop world in May 2005
i.	She instantly became a	her long awaited comeback
j.	The tour was	of good luck messages

GAP FILL: READING

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

Pop star Kylie returns to stage in Sydney
 

Pop star Kylie Minogue has made her long-awaited comeback. The star, famous for the song I Should Be So Lucky, took to the stage wearing _________ and ________ for her first concert since being treated for breast ________. The singer launched the Australian leg of a world tour in ________ on Saturday night. The tour was postponed after her diagnosis shocked the pop world in May 2005. The 38-year-old will put on 20 concerts in her native ________ to kick off her Showgirl tour. Fears are that the singing dynamo has not fully recovered from her near fatal illness. She has made several changes to the show to be able to cope with the exhausting demands of performing, singing and ________ live. She made an __________ address to her fans, saying: "I'm ________ to be back…I'm as prepared as I can be but I'm not sure that I'll be able to do everything that I did before.”		emotional Sydney cancer dancing Australia sequins thrilled feathers
Kylie said she was uncertain about how she would feel once she took to the ________. "I think about it often. I simply can't come up with the answer," she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper. The petite singer had ________ just days after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and completed a course of ____________ in December. She received thousands of good luck ________ from well-wishers across the ________. She instantly became a ________ of bravery and a role model for many women in similar positions who must battle against breast cancer. Kylie’s ________ status is now greatly elevated in Australia, where many people believe she is the nation’s greatest cultural export. Needless to say, she will sing at her Australian concerts in front of sell-out _________.		audiences iconic surgery globe chemotherapy symbol messages stage

GAP FILL: LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Pop star Kylie returns to stage in Sydney

Pop star Kylie Minogue _______________ long-awaited comeback. The star, famous for the song I Should Be So Lucky, took to the stage wearing _______________ for her first concert since being treated for breast cancer. The singer launched the Australian leg of a world tour in Sydney on Saturday night. The tour _________________ her diagnosis shocked the pop world in May 2005. The 38-year-old will put on 20 concerts in her native Australia _______________ Showgirl tour. Fears are that the singing dynamo has not fully recovered from her near fatal illness. She has made several changes to the ____________ able to cope with the exhausting demands of performing, singing and dancing live. She made an emotional address to her fans, saying: "I'm thrilled to be back…I'm as prepared as I ___________ I'm not sure that I'll _____________ everything that I did before.”

Kylie said she was uncertain about how she would feel once she took to the stage. "I think _______________. I simply can't come up with the answer," she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper. The ______________ surgery just days after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and completed ____________ chemotherapy in December. She received thousands of good luck messages ___________________ across the globe. She instantly became a _________________ and a role model for many women in similar positions who must battle against breast cancer. Kylie’s iconic status is now greatly ____________ Australia, where many people believe she is the nation’s ______________________. Needless to say, she ______________ her Australian concerts in front of sell-out audiences.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

• 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 or subject in question.

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

·      lucky ·      breast cancer ·      changes ·      before ·      December ·      status ·      sell out ·      battle

·      cope ·      exhausting ·      20 ·      Sydney ·      Australia ·      exhausting ·      leg ·      newspaper

DISCUSSION

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

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
2. Do you go and have regular health checks?
3. How would you feel if you discovered you had cancer?
4. Do you think that you will always be healthy?
5. What good luck message would you send to Kylie?
6. Do you think Kylie’s comeback is an inspiration?
7. Have you ever given money to cancer research?
8. Kylie is a superstar in Australia. What do you know about her?
9. Do you like going to pop concerts or any other musical shows?
10. Can you think of any other famous Australian (pop) stars?

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

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. Are there any famous people you would send good luck messages to?
4. Do you know anyone who has spent a long time in hospital?
5. What would you do if you spent several months hospitalized?
6. Do you think celebrities have a better chance of recovering from illness and disease than “normal” people?
7. Do you think Kylie should spend the rest of her life raising money to find a cure for cancer?
8. What question would you ask Kylie if you met her?
9. Would you buy the new Kylie Minogue  Darling  perfume?
10. Did you like this discussion?

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. Find out information about Kylie Minogue and her breast cancer. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. AUSTRALIA: NEWS ARTICLE: You are a reporter for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. Imagine you have just returned from seeing Kylie Minogue’s return to the stage in Sydney. Interview (imagine) some fans. Get their reaction. Write a feature on what you saw. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which entry was best and why?

4. LETTER: Write a letter to Kylie Minogue. Tell her about her bravery. Mention how she has inspired you. Ask her three questions on it. Show your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Your classmates will write a reply.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. F

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. T

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	answer	reaction
b.	newspaper	magazine
c.	address	speech
d.	nation	country
e.	concert	gig
f.	audience	crowd
g.	thrilled	ecstatic
h.	performing	playing
i.	petite	pint sized
j.	surgery	operation

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	Her diagnosis	shocked the pop world in May 2005
b.	Kylie Minogue has made	her long awaited comeback
c.	The singer launched	the Australian leg of her world tour
d.	The petite singer	had surgery just days…
e.	She has made several	changes to the show
f.	She received thousands	of good luck messages
g.	She told	Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper
h.	She will sing	at her Australian concerts
i.	She instantly became a	symbol of bravery
j.	The tour was	postponed

GAP FILL:

Pop star Kylie returns to stage in Sydney

Pop star Kylie Minogue has made her long-awaited comeback. The star, famous for the song I Should Be So Lucky, took to the stage wearing feathers and sequins for her first concert since being treated for breast cancer. The singer launched the Australian leg of a world tour in Sydney on Saturday night. The tour was postponed after her diagnosis shocked the pop world in May 2005. The 38-year-old will put on 20 concerts in her native Australia to kick off her Showgirl tour. Fears are that the singing dynamo has not fully recovered from her near fatal illness. She has made several changes to the show to be able to cope with the exhausting demands of performing, singing and dancing live. She made an emotional address to her fans, saying: "I'm thrilled to be back…I'm as prepared as I can be but I'm not sure that I'll be able to do everything that I did before.”

Kylie said she was uncertain about how she would feel once she took to the stage. "I think about it often. I simply can't come up with the answer," she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper. The petite singer had surgery just days after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and completed a course of chemotherapy in December. She received thousands of good luck messages from well-wishers across the globe. She instantly became a symbol of bravery and a role model for many women in similar positions who must battle against breast cancer. Kylie’s iconic status is now greatly elevated in Australia, where many people believe she is the nation’s greatest cultural export. Needless to say, she will sing at her Australian concerts in front of sell-out audiences.

 

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