Breaking News English ESL Lesson on Joaquim Chissano

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

A prize for good leadership in Africa has been given for the very first time. The winner of the $5 million plus award, set up by the Sudanese telecom tycoon Mo Ibrahim, is Mozambique’s former president Joaquim Chissano. Mr. Chissano will receive a cool half a million dollars every year for ten years and then $200,000 every year for life. Mr. Ibrahim said the prize is to encourage African leaders to be honest and stick to the rules when their time as leader ends. He said he wants to discourage presidents from illegally extending their term of office or turning to corruption. The criteria the judges used in deciding the winner includes being freely elected, leaving their post on time, and making economic and social progress. They seemed to ignore the fact that Mr. Chissano left office amid many allegations of corruption.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praised Mr. Chissano’s for ending Mozambique’s 16-year civil war and bringing good to his nation. Mr. Annan said: "President Chissano's achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, stable democracy and economic progress to his country greatly impressed the committee. So too did his decision to step down without seeking the third term the constitution allowed." He added: "It is a measure of the remarkable change that has taken place that national and regional elections have been contested in a generally peaceful manner by both sides in the bitter civil war." Mr. Annan told reporters that he hopes the prize will encourage African leaders “to follow the highest standards by offering them financial security following retirement from active political life".

WARM-UPS

1. PRIZES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about prizes and awards. 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.

leadership / tycoons / former presidents / being honest / sticking to rules / corruption / civil wars / achievements / high standards / financial security

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

3. INTERNATIONAL PRIZES: Discuss this with your partner(s) which international leaders should win these prizes. Change partners and share your ideas:

the peacemaker award
the award for the biggest mistake(s)
the hero prize
the villain prize
the award for bravery
the environment award
the brightest newcomer award

4. ASSESS YOUR LEADER: With your partner(s), assess your country’s leader using the points below. 10 = top marks, 0 = should be out of a job.

the economy _____
crime _____
international relations _____
social progress _____

environment _____
corruption _____
keeping election promises _____
intelligence _____

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

6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think offering African leaders prizes for honesty is insulting. Students B think African leaders need as much encouragement as possible to be honest. 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.	A prize has been given to Africa’s first honest leader.	T / F
b.	The prize is worth well over $5 million over the winner’s lifetime.	T / F
c.	The award is to discourage African leaders from ruling for too long.	T / F
d.	The winner of the award had a squeaky clean image in his country.	T / F
e.	The United Nations Secretary General announced the winner.	T / F
f.	The winner brought peace and prosperity to his country.	T / F
g.	The winner served three terms as president of Mozambique.	T / F
h.	The prize is a cash incentive to rule in a non-corrupt manner.	T / F

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

1.	set up	a.	accusations
2	tycoon	b.	standards
3.	stick to	c.	industrialist
4.	criteria	d.	peace of mind
5.	allegations	e.	reuniting
6.	praised	f.	abide by
7.	reconciliation	g.	fought
8.	seeking	h.	commended
9.	contested	i.	looking for
10.	security	j.	established

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

1.	given for the very	a.	that has taken place
2	Chissano will receive a cool	b.	allegations of corruption
3.	be honest and stick	c.	16-year civil war
4.	The criteria	d.	following retirement
5.	Chissano left office amid many	e.	to the rules
6.	ending Mozambique’s	f.	the judges used
7.	his decision to step down without	g.	half a million dollars
8.	a measure of the remarkable change	h.	first time
9.	elections have been contested in a generally	i.	seeking the third term
10.	offering them financial security	j.	peaceful manner

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

A prize for good ________ in Africa has been given for the very first time. The winner of the $5 million ________ award, set up by the Sudanese telecom tycoon Mo Ibrahim, is Mozambique’s former president Joaquim Chissano. Mr. Chissano will receive a ________ half a million dollars every year for ten years and then $200,000 every year for ________. Mr. Ibrahim said the prize is to encourage African leaders to be honest and ________ to the rules when their time as leader ends. He said he wants to discourage presidents from illegally extending their term of office or ________ to corruption. The criteria the judges used in deciding the winner includes being ________ elected, leaving their post on time, and making economic and social progress. They seemed to ignore the fact that Mr. Chissano left office ________ many allegations of corruption.

freely
life
cool
turning
leadership
amid
plus
stick

________ UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praised Mr. Chissano for ending Mozambique’s 16-year civil war and bringing ________ to his nation. Mr. Annan said: "President Chissano's achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, ________ democracy and economic progress to his country greatly impressed the committee. So too did his decision to step ________ without seeking the third term the constitution allowed." He added: "It is a ________ of the remarkable change that has taken place that national and ________ elections have been contested in a generally peaceful manner by both sides in the ________ civil war." Mr. Annan told reporters that he hopes the prize will encourage African leaders “to follow the highest standards by offering them financial security following retirement from ________ political life".

regional

stable
active
down
former
bitter
good
measure

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

A prize _______________________ Africa has been given for the very first time. The winner of the $5 million plus award, ________________ Sudanese telecom tycoon Mo Ibrahim, is Mozambique’s former president Joaquim Chissano. Mr. Chissano will ________________ a million dollars every year for ten years and then $200,000 every year for life. Mr. Ibrahim said the prize is to encourage African leaders to be honest and ________________ when their time as leader ends. He said he wants to discourage presidents from illegally extending their ________________ or turning to corruption. The criteria the judges used in deciding the winner includes being freely elected, leaving ________________, and making economic and social progress. They seemed to ignore the fact that Mr. Chissano left office _____________________ of corruption.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praised Mr. Chissano for ending Mozambique’s 16-year civil war and ________________ his nation. Mr. Annan said: "President Chissano's achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, stable democracy and economic ________________ country greatly impressed the committee. ________________ decision to step down without seeking the third term the constitution allowed." He added: "It is a ________________ remarkable change that has taken place that national and regional elections have been contested in a generally peaceful manner by both ________________ civil war." Mr. Annan told reporters that he hopes the prize will encourage African leaders “to follow the highest standards by offering them financial security ________________ from active political life".

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

honest

leader

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:

good
plus
cool
stick
term
amid

ending
stable
step
measure
bitter
active

STUDENT LEADERS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about leaders 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 the giving of this prize?
c)	Do you think the just the award would have been OK without the cash?
d)	Do you think the prize suggests African leaders are not honest, especially when no prizes for honesty are given to European or American leaders?
e)	Are there more effective ways of encouraging African leaders to leave office when their time is up?
f)	What other African leaders do you think deserve such an award?
g)	Do you think this award should be given on other continents?
h)	Is there corruption in your country’s government?
i)	Do you think Mr. Chissano should have got the award if he was being accused of corruption?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you know about Mozambique?
c)	What do you think you could be praised for?
d)	How do you think a leader ends a civil war?
e)	What do you think of leaders who do not step down when their term of office ends?
f)	Who do you think are the most corrupt of the world’s leaders?
g)	Do you think this award will bring change to Africa?
h)	What questions would you like to ask Mr. Chissano?
i)	Did you like this discussion?

LANGUAGE

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

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

A prize (1) ____ good leadership in Africa has been given for the very first time. The winner of the $5 million (2) ____ award, set up by the Sudanese telecom tycoon Mo Ibrahim, is Mozambique’s former president Joaquim Chissano. Mr. Chissano will receive a (3) ____ half a million dollars every year for ten years and then $200,000 every year for life. Mr. Ibrahim said the prize is to encourage African leaders to be honest and stick to the rules when their time (4) ____ leader ends. He said he wants to discourage presidents from illegally extending their term of office or turning (5) ____ corruption. The criteria the judges used in deciding the winner includes being freely elected, leaving their post on time, and making economic and social progress. They seemed to ignore the fact that Mr. Chissano left office
(6) ____ many allegations of corruption.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praised Mr. Chissano (7) ____ ending Mozambique’s 16-year civil war and bringing good to his nation. Mr. Annan said: "President Chissano's achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, (8) ____ democracy and economic progress to his country greatly impressed the committee. So, too, did his decision to (9) ____ down without seeking the third term the constitution allowed." He added: "It is a (10) ____ of the remarkable change that has taken place that national and regional elections have been contested in a generally peaceful manner by both sides in the (11) ____ civil war." Mr. Annan told reporters that he hopes the prize will encourage African leaders “to follow the highest standards by offering them financial security following retirement from (12) ____ political life".

1.	(a)	with	(b)	of	(c)	for	(d)	by
2.	(a)	plus	(b)	multiply	(c)	divide	(d)	minus
3.	(a)	chilly	(b)	freezing	(c)	cold	(d)	cool
4.	(a)	in	(b)	as	(c)	of	(d)	with
5.	(a)	to	(b)	for	(c)	by	(d)	at
6.	(a)	between	(b)	centre	(c)	middle	(d)	amid
7.	(a)	and	(b)	by	(c)	for	(d)	with
8.	(a)	staple	(b)	stable	(c)	stale	(d)	stapler
9.	(a)	walk	(b)	ladder	(c)	stair	(d)	step
10.	(a)	measure	(b)	volume	(c)	quantity	(d)	statistic
11.	(a)	tart	(b)	sharp	(c)	bitter	(d)	acidic
12.	(a)	actively	(b)	active	(c)	activity	(d)	activate

WRITING:

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

3. LEADERSHIP: Make a poster about the leaders of different African countries. Rate their leadership. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all include similar things?

4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about an African national leader. Include imaginary interviews with an opposition leader and an average citizen.

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

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Joaquim Chissano. Ask him three questions about his life. Give her three pieces of advice on how to live his life from now. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. T

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	set up	a.	established
2	tycoon	b.	industrialist
3.	stick to	c.	abide by
4.	criteria	d.	standards
5.	allegations	e.	accusations
6.	praised	f.	commended
7.	reconciliation	g.	reuniting
8.	seeking	h.	looking for
9.	contested	i.	fought
10.	security	j.	peace of mind

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	given for the very	a.	first time
2	Chissano will receive a cool	b.	half a million dollars
3.	be honest and stick	c.	to the rules
4.	The criteria	d.	the judges used
5.	Chissano left office amid many	e.	allegations of corruption
6.	ending Mozambique’s	f.	16-year civil war
7.	his decision to step down without	g.	seeking the third term
8.	a measure of the remarkable change	h.	that has taken place
9.	elections have been contested in a generally	i.	peaceful manner
10.	offering them financial security	j.	following retirement

GAP FILL:

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

A prize for good leadership in Africa has been given for the very first time. The winner of the $5 million plus award, set up by the Sudanese telecom tycoon Mo Ibrahim, is Mozambique’s former president Joaquim Chissano. Mr. Chissano will receive a cool half a million dollars every year for ten years and then $200,000 every year for life. Mr. Ibrahim said the prize is to encourage African leaders to be honest and stick to the rules when their time as leader ends. He said he wants to discourage presidents from illegally extending their term of office or turning to corruption. The criteria the judges used in deciding the winner includes being freely elected, leaving their post on time, and making economic and social progress. They seemed to ignore the fact that Mr. Chissano left office amid many allegations of corruption.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praised Mr. Chissano for ending Mozambique’s 16-year civil war and bringing good to his nation. Mr. Annan said: "President Chissano's achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, stable democracy and economic progress to his country greatly impressed the committee. So too did his decision to step down without seeking the third term the constitution allowed." He added: "It is a measure of the remarkable change that has taken place that national and regional elections have been contested in a generally peaceful manner by both sides in the bitter civil war." Mr. Annan told reporters that he hopes the prize will encourage African leaders “to follow the highest standards by offering them financial security following retirement from active political life".

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - c

2 - a

3 - d

4 - b

5 - a

6 - d

7 - c

8 - b

9 - d

10 - a

11 - c

12 - b

Breaking News English

THE ARTICLE

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

LISTENING

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT LEADERS SURVEY

DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

WRITING:

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

First ‘honest African leader’ prize given

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