Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Immigration

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

The number of people migrating to the United Kingdom is increasing at a rate that has taken politicians by surprise. The annual rise is 45,000 more than previously predicted. This is according to official estimates from Britain’s National Statistics Office. Officials originally thought the increase in Britain’s population due to immigration would be around 145,000 a year. However, it has revised that figure to 190,000 migrants per annum. Population expert Sir Andrew Green said: "The result is that 86% of our population increase will now be due to immigration, which will add 7.2 million to our population between 2004 and 2031." Politicians are warning this figure is the same size as a city and will put considerable strain on Britain’s infrastructure and public services.

British politicians are calling for action to slow down the volume of people relocating to the UK, before a population crisis sets in. The Conservative Party wants "an explicit annual limit" on the number of people entering the UK. Members of the government agree. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne urged “the need for swift and sweeping changes to the immigration system in the next 12 months”. He added: "Migration is bringing new wealth but also new worries to Britain. That means we need to drive through radical action now to make sure our … policy is fit for the future." Another migration expert, Danny Sriskandarajah, warned that Britain had to continue to build “cohesive communities" despite the ever-increasing numbers of people arriving at its ports.

WARM-UPS

1. FOREIGNERS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about foreigners. Is this a good or bad word? Does the word ‘foreigners’ in your language have a good or bad image? 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.

migration / politicians / being taken by surprise / statistics / population / infrastructure / limits / sweeping change / wealth / cohesive communities

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

3. IMMIGRATION: What are the pros and cons of lots of people from other countries coming to your country to live. Discuss this with your partner(s). Use the items below to guide your discussions:

culture
language
wealth
festivals
tax

housing
crime
food and restaurants
tolerance
other ____________________

4. MIGRATION HEADLINES: With your partner(s), talk about these newspaper headlines and the stories behind them. Which do you think are possible?

Water refugees flood Southern Africa
Record pollution forces evacuation of China
UK now an iceberg – 50 million heading south
Bangladesh flooded – Indian borders closed
Mexico officially a desert – Millions at US border
World financial system collapses – 200 million Americans homeless
Nuclear war threatens Mid-East – millions on the move

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

6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think people should live in their own countries. Students B think migration creates a better and more cosmopolitan world. Change partners often. After your debates, share what you talked about.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	More and more Britons are leaving the UK for warmer countries.	T / F
b.	Politicians knew the immigration figures would be very high.	T / F
c.	Enough people to fill quite a big city will move to the UK by 2031.	T / F
d.	Politicians are confident the UK’s roads and hospitals will cope.	T / F
e.	British politicians are warning of possible overpopulation.	T / F
f.	A political party said there should be no limits on immigration.	T / F
g.	The immigration minister said immigrants increase the UK’s wealth.	T / F
h.	A migration expert warned of the importance of community.	T / F

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

1.	rate	a.	reevaluated
2	annual	b.	amount
3.	revised	c.	fundamental
4.	considerable	d.	burden
5.	strain	e.	yearly
6.	volume	f.	unified
7.	sets in	g.	extensive
8.	sweeping	h.	begins
9.	radical	i.	speed
10.	cohesive	j.	substantial

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

1.	increasing at a rate that has taken	a.	figure to 190,000 migrants
2	45,000 more than previously	b.	increasing numbers of people
3.	it has revised that	c.	on Britain’s infrastructure
4.	population increase will now be due	d.	slow down the volume
5.	put considerable strain	e.	predicted
6.	calling for action to	f.	and sweeping changes
7.	“an explicit annual limit" on	g.	action now
8.	the need for swift	h.	politicians by surprise
9.	we need to drive through radical	i.	to immigration
10.	despite the ever-	j.	the number of people

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

The number of people migrating to the United Kingdom is increasing at a rate that has __________ politicians by surprise. The annual rise is 45,000 more than previously __________. This is according to official estimates from Britain’s National Statistics Office. Officials __________ thought the increase in Britain’s population due to immigration would be __________ 145,000 a year. However, it has revised that figure to 190,000 migrants per __________. Population expert Sir Andrew Green said: "The result is that 86% of our population increase will now be __________ to immigration, which will add 7.2 million to our population between 2004 and 2031." Politicians are __________ this figure is the same size as a city and will put considerable __________ on Britain’s infrastructure and public services.

annum
strain
predicted
due
around
taken
warning
originally

British politicians are calling for __________ to slow down the volume of people relocating to the UK, before a population __________ sets in. The Conservative Party wants "an explicit annual __________ " on the number of people entering the UK. Members of the government agree. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne urged “the need for __________ and sweeping changes to the immigration system in the next 12 months”. He added: "Migration is bringing new wealth but also new __________ to Britain. That means we need to drive through radical action now to make __________ our … policy is fit for the future." Another migration expert, Danny Sriskandarajah, warned that Britain had to continue to __________ “cohesive communities" despite the ever-increasing numbers of people arriving at its __________.

sure

crisis
worries
limit
action
ports
build
swift

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

The number ___________________ the United Kingdom is increasing at a rate that ___________________ surprise. The annual rise is 45,000 more than previously predicted. This is according ___________________ from Britain’s National Statistics Office. Officials originally thought the increase in Britain’s population due to immigration ___________________ 145,000 a year. However, it has revised that figure to 190,000 migrants per annum. Population expert Sir Andrew Green said: "The result is that 86% of our population increase ___________________ immigration, which will add 7.2 million to our population between 2004 and 2031." Politicians are warning this figure is the same size as a city and will _______________________ Britain’s infrastructure and public services.

British politicians are ___________________ slow down the volume of people relocating to the UK, before a population crisis sets in. The Conservative Party wants "___________________" on the number of people entering the UK. Members of the government agree. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne urged “___________________ sweeping changes to the immigration system in the next 12 months”. He added: "Migration is bringing new wealth ___________________ to Britain. That means we need to drive through radical action now to make sure our … policy ___________________." Another migration expert, Danny Sriskandarajah, warned that Britain had to continue to build “cohesive communities" despite ________________________ of people arriving at its ports.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

sweeping

change

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:

rate
previously
revised
due to
city
strain

volume
sets in
swift
worries
fit
ports

STUDENT IMMIGRATION SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about immigration 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 is your opinion on immigration?
c)	Would you like to move to the UK?
d)	Why might people want to migrate to your country?
e)	Do you think the immigration figures in the article are high?
f)	What would you think if a new city of 7 million immigrants appeared in your country?
g)	Does your country welcome immigrants?
h)	Does your country have a problem with immigration?
i)	What strain do immigrants put on a country’s infrastructure and public services?
j)	Do you think immigration is a good or bad thing?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What’s the difference between immigration and emigration?
c)	Would you like to emigrate? If ‘yes’, where to?
d)	Do you agree with annual limits on numbers of immigrants?
e)	Do you think all countries should always open doors to refugees?
f)	What kind of entry requirements do you think immigrants need to fulfill to be able to live in your country?
g)	What kind of worries do you think Liam Byrne means?
h)	How do you build “cohesive communities”?
i)	What questions would you like to ask Britain’s immigration minister?
j)	Did you like this discussion?

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

a)	What was the most interesting thing you heard?
b)	Was there a question you didn’t like?
c)	Was there something you totally disagreed with?
d)	What did you like talking about?

LANGUAGE

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

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

The number of people (1) ____ to the United Kingdom is increasing at a rate that has taken politicians by surprise. The annual (2) ____ is 45,000 more than previously predicted. This is according to official estimates from Britain’s National Statistics Office. Officials (3) ____ thought the increase in Britain’s population due to immigration would be around 145,000 a year. However, it has revised that figure to 190,000 migrants per (4) ____. Population expert Sir Andrew Green said: "The result is that 86% of our population increase will now be due (5) ____ immigration, which will add 7.2 million to our population between 2004 and 2031." Politicians are warning this figure is the same size as a city and will put considerable (6) ____ on Britain’s infrastructure and public services.

British politicians are calling for action to slow down the (7) ____ of people relocating to the UK, before a population crisis sets (8) ____. The Conservative Party wants "an explicit annual limit" on the number of people entering the UK. Members of the government agree. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne urged “the need for (9) ____ and sweeping changes to the immigration system in the next 12 months”. He added: "Migration is bringing new wealth but also new (10) ____ to Britain. That means we need to drive through radical action now to make sure our … policy is (11) ____ for the future." Another migration expert, Danny Sriskandarajah, warned that Britain had to continue to build “cohesive communities" despite the (12) ____ -increasing numbers of people arriving at its ports.

1.	(a)	migration	(b)	migrating	(c)	migrate	(d)	migratory
2.	(a)	rises	(b)	rising	(c)	rise	(d)	raise
3.	(a)	initialed	(b)	origin	(c)	initial	(d)	originally
4.	(a)	annum	(b)	capita	(c)	cent	(d)	se
5.	(a)	to	(b)	for	(c)	by	(d)	date
6.	(a)	straitjacket	(b)	strangle	(c)	strain	(d)	strength
7.	(a)	din	(b)	noise	(c)	volume	(d)	sound
8.	(a)	on	(b)	in	(c)	out	(d)	up
9.	(a)	swept	(b)	swift	(c)	swat	(d)	swiftly
10.	(a)	worries	(b)	worried	(c)	worryingly	(d)	worrier
11.	(a)	fit-out	(b)	fits	(c)	fitness	(d)	fit
12.	(a)	over	(b)	never	(c)	ever	(d)	even

WRITING:

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

3. IMMIGRATION: Make a poster comparing levels of immigration in your country and a country near yours. What are the pros and cons? Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the effects of immigration in your country. Include imaginary interviews with government ministers who support and oppose immigration.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the leader of your country. Ask him/her three questions about immigration. Give him/her three pieces of advice on what kind of immigration policy your country should have. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. T

d. F

e. T

f. T

g. T

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	rate	a.	speed
2	annual	b.	yearly
3.	revised	c.	reevaluated
4.	considerable	d.	substantial / extensive
5.	strain	e.	burden
6.	volume	f.	amount
7.	sets in	g.	begins
8.	sweeping	h.	extensive / substantial
9.	radical	i.	fundamental
10.	cohesive	j.	unified

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	increasing at a rate that has taken	a.	politicians by surprise
2	45,000 more than previously	b.	predicted
3.	it has revised that	c.	figure to 190,000 migrants
4.	population increase will now be due	d.	to immigration
5.	put considerable strain	e.	on Britain’s infrastructure
6.	calling for action to	f.	slow down the volume
7.	“an explicit annual limit" on	g.	the number of people
8.	the need for swift	h.	and sweeping changes
9.	we need to drive through radical	i.	action now
10.	despite the ever-	j.	increasing numbers of people

GAP FILL:

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

The number of people migrating to the United Kingdom is increasing at a rate that has taken politicians by surprise. The annual rise is 45,000 more than previously predicted. This is according to official estimates from Britain’s National Statistics Office. Officials originally thought the increase in Britain’s population due to immigration would be around 145,000 a year. However, it has revised that figure to 190,000 migrants per annum. Population expert Sir Andrew Green said: "The result is that 86% of our population increase will now be due to immigration, which will add 7.2 million to our population between 2004 and 2031." Politicians are warning this figure is the same size as a city and will put considerable strain on Britain’s infrastructure and public services.

British politicians are calling for action to slow down the volume of people relocating to the UK, before a population crisis sets in. The Conservative Party wants "an explicit annual limit" on the number of people entering the UK. Members of the government agree. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne urged “the need for swift and sweeping changes to the immigration system in the next 12 months”. He added: "Migration is bringing new wealth but also new worries to Britain. That means we need to drive through radical action now to make sure our … policy is fit for the future." Another migration expert, Danny Sriskandarajah, warned that Britain had to continue to build “cohesive communities" despite the ever-increasing numbers of people arriving at its ports.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - b

2 -c

3 - d

4 - a

5 - a

6 - d

7 -c

8 - b

9 -b

10 - a

11 - d

12 - c

Breaking News English

THE ARTICLE

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

LISTENING

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT IMMIGRATION SURVEY

DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

WRITING:

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Rate of UK immigration rises sharply

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