Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Foreign Brides

Taiwan is getting tough on mail order brides. Starting from August 1, 2009, there is a ban on companies that arrange international marriages. Taiwan’s Immigration Agency says it wants to stamp out the practice of Taiwanese men choosing Chinese or South-East Asian brides online. Companies can no longer take Taiwanese men on blind-date tours of Asian countries to select a bride. All Taiwanese men hoping to marry a foreign woman must now apply to an approved government agency. These organizations cannot charge a matchmaking fee. The only money that can now change hands is for airfares and hotels for overseas visits. Companies that attempt to charge for arranging marriages will be fined up to $US 30,000.

The new regulations are part of Taiwan’s new Immigration Act. The island nation wants to reduce the number of fraudulent marriages. The previous laws meant many women entered the country after marrying Taiwanese men, only to work as prostitutes. There were many other crimes such as insurance scams. The number of foreign brides arriving in Taiwan has increased dramatically. Immigration officials report that around 420,000 foreign spouses, mainly brides, entered Taiwan in the first half of 2009. This figure compares with 410,000 for the whole of 2008. Taiwan’s men are finding it hard to find a Taiwanese bride. Many women are putting their career ahead of marriage, marrying at a later age, or not marrying at all.

WARM-UPS

1. MARRIAGE: Walk around the class and talk to other students about marriage. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

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

getting tough / mail order / immigration / blind dates / matchmaking / marriage / regulations / insurance scams / spouses / putting careers before marriage

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

3. FOREIGN SPOUSE: Would it be difficult to marry someone from another country? Complete this table. Share your ideas. Change partner and share what you heard.

Difficulty?	How difficult?	Why?	The positives?
Where to live
Food
Religion
Customs
Children
Language

4. INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE: Students A strongly believe international marriages are bad; Students B strongly believe international marriages help the world. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. MAIL-ORDER PARTNER: What is important in a mail-order partner? Put these in order from 1 to 8 (1 is most important). Compare your list with your partner. Change partners and share again.

_____ nationality

_____ face

_____ sense of humour

_____ education

_____ religion

_____ body

_____ love of life

_____ intelligence

_____ salary

_____ wants kids

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

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Taiwan has stopped companies finding foreign brides for Taiwan’s men.	T / F
b.	Companies used to take men on tours to meet potential wives.	T / F
c.	It is no longer possible for Taiwanese men to marry a foreign woman.	T / F
d.	There is a monetary fine for companies who charge matchmaking fees.	T / F
e.	Taiwan wants to reduce the number of international marriages.	T / F
f.	There were many cases of foreign brides ending up as criminals.	T / F
g.	There were more foreign grooms than brides in the first half of 2009.	T / F
h.	Taiwanese women are getting married much younger these days.	T / F

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

1.	getting tough	a.	authorized
2	stamp out	b.	considerably
3.	select	c.	illegal
4.	approved	d.	stop
5.	attempt	e.	laws
6.	regulations	f.	clamping down
7.	fraudulent	g.	before
8.	scams	h.	try
9.	dramatically	i.	choose
10.	ahead of	j.	frauds

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

1.	Taiwan is getting tough	a.	of Asian countries
2	it wants to stamp	b.	dramatically
3.	blind-date tours	c.	hands
4.	apply to an approved	d.	ahead of marriage
5.	The only money that can now change	e.	on mail order brides
6.	reduce the number of	f.	of 2009
7.	other crimes such as insurance	g.	out the practice
8.	increased	h.	scams
9.	the first half	i.	government agency
10.	women are putting their career	j.	fraudulent marriages

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Taiwan is getting ____________ on mail order brides. Starting from August 1, 2009, there is a ban on companies that ____________ international marriages. Taiwan’s Immigration Agency says it wants to stamp out the practice of Taiwanese men choosing Chinese or South-East Asian brides ____________. Companies can no longer take Taiwanese men on blind-date tours of Asian countries to ____________ a bride. All Taiwanese men hoping to marry a foreign woman must now ____________ to an approved government agency. These organizations cannot ____________ a matchmaking fee. The only money that can now change ____________ is for airfares and hotels for overseas visits. Companies that attempt to charge for arranging marriages will be ____________ up to $US 30,000.

apply
hands
arrange
fined
tough
select
online
charge

The new regulations are ____________ of Taiwan’s new Immigration Act. The island nation wants to ____________ the number of fraudulent marriages. The ____________ laws meant many women entered the country after marrying Taiwanese men, only to work as prostitutes. There were many other ____________ such as insurance scams. The number of foreign brides arriving in Taiwan has ____________ dramatically. Immigration officials report that around 420,000 foreign ____________, mainly brides, entered Taiwan in the first half of 2009. This figure ____________ with 410,000 for the whole of 2008. Taiwan’s men are finding it hard to find a Taiwanese bride. Many women are putting their ____________ ahead of marriage, marrying at a later age, or not marrying at all.

spouses
crimes
reduce
career
part
increased
previous
compares

LISTENING: Listen and fill in the gaps.

Taiwan is getting ________________ order brides. Starting from August 1, 2009, there is a ban on companies that arrange international marriages. Taiwan’s Immigration Agency says it wants ________________ practice of Taiwanese men choosing Chinese or South-East Asian brides online. Companies _________________ Taiwanese men on blind-date tours of Asian countries to select a bride. All Taiwanese men ________________ foreign woman must now apply to an approved government agency. These organizations ________________ matchmaking fee. The only money that can now change hands is for airfares and hotels for overseas visits. Companies that attempt to charge for arranging marriages ________________ to $US 30,000.

The new regulations are part of Taiwan’s new Immigration Act. The island nation wants to ________________ of fraudulent marriages. The previous laws meant many women entered the country after marrying Taiwanese men, ________________ prostitutes. There were ________________ insurance scams. The number of foreign brides arriving in Taiwan has increased dramatically. Immigration officials ________________ 420,000 foreign spouses, mainly brides, entered Taiwan in the first half of 2009. This figure compares with 410,000 ________________ 2008. Taiwan’s men are finding it hard to find a Taiwanese bride. Many women are putting their career ahead of marriage, marrying ________________, or not marrying at all.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

blind

date

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 how they were used in the text:

mail
stamp
tours
apply
fee
fined

part
previous
crimes
report
spouses
ahead

STUDENT INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about international marriage 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.

INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘bride’?
c)	What do you think of the idea of mail order brides?
d)	Could you marry someone from another country?
e)	What are the good and bad points about arranged marriages?
f)	Would you like to go on a “blind-date tour” to meet a potential partner?
g)	Is there anything wrong with looking for a spouse online?
h)	Is it good that Taiwan is now regulating the finding of a foreign bride?
i)	What do you think of international marriages?
j)	Are thousands of international marriages good or bad for a country?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you have a different image of mail order brides and mail order grooms?
c)	How can authorities stamp out marriages for criminal purposes?
d)	What should happen to the bride and groom if the foreign bride becomes a prostitute?
e)	Do children of international marriages have any problems?
f)	Do you think most marriages will be international in the future?
g)	Is it good that women are deciding not to get married?
h)	What is more important for a woman, career or marriage?
i)	Is marriage changing in your country?
j)	What questions would you like to ask a foreign bride going to Taiwan?

LANGUAGE

Taiwan is getting (1) ____ on mail order brides. Starting from August 1, 2009, there is a ban on companies that arrange international marriages. Taiwan’s Immigration Agency says it wants to stamp (2) ____ the practice of Taiwanese men choosing Chinese or South-East Asian brides online. Companies can (3) ____ longer take Taiwanese men on blind-date tours of Asian countries to select a bride. All Taiwanese men (4) ____ to marry a foreign woman must now apply to an approved government agency. These organizations cannot charge a matchmaking (5) ____. The only money that can now change hands is for airfares and hotels for overseas visits. Companies that attempt to charge for arranging marriages will be fined (6) ____ to $US 30,000.

The new regulations are part of Taiwan’s new Immigration Act. The (7) ____ nation wants to reduce the number of fraudulent marriages. The previous laws (8) ____ many women entered the country after marrying Taiwanese men, only to work as prostitutes. There were many other crimes (9) ____ as insurance scams. The number of foreign brides arriving in Taiwan has increased (10) ____. Immigration officials report that around 420,000 foreign spouses, mainly brides, entered Taiwan in the first half (11) ____ 2009. This figure compares with 410,000 for the whole of 2008. Taiwan’s men are finding it hard to find a Taiwanese bride. Many women are putting their career (12) ____ of marriage, marrying at a later age, or not marrying at all.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	enough	(b)	tough	(c)	rough	(d)	though
2.	(a)	in	(b)	up	(c)	out	(d)	to
3.	(a)	no	(b)	now	(c)	know	(d)	non
4.	(a)	hoped	(b)	hopes	(c)	hope	(d)	hoping
5.	(a)	free	(b)	flee	(c)	fee	(d)	feed
6.	(a)	up	(b)	down	(c)	above	(d)	below
7.	(a)	islands’	(b)	island’s	(c)	islands	(d)	island
8.	(a)	means	(b)	meant	(c)	meaning	(d)	meanie
9.	(a)	so	(b)	much	(c)	some	(d)	such
10.	(a)	dramatic	(b)	dramas	(c)	dramatically	(d)	drama
11.	(a)	for	(b)	of	(c)	in	(d)	at
12.	(a)	ahead	(b)	front	(c)	before	(d)	pre

WRITING:

Write about international marriage 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 out more about international marriages. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE: Make a poster about an international marriage. Highlight the good and bad things. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. HAPPILY EVER AFTER: Write a magazine article about an international marriage. Include imaginary interviews with the happy couple.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a foreign bride. Ask her three questions about her experience. Give her three suggestions on how to keep an international marriage successful. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	getting tough	a.	clamping down
2	stamp out	b.	stop
3.	select	c.	choose
4.	approved	d.	authorized
5.	attempt	e.	try
6.	regulations	f.	laws
7.	fraudulent	g.	illegal
8.	scams	h.	frauds
9.	dramatically	i.	considerably
10.	ahead of	j.	before

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Taiwan is getting tough	a.	on mail order brides
2	it wants to stamp	b.	out the practice
3.	blind-date tours	c.	of Asian countries
4.	apply to an approved	d.	government agency
5.	The only money that can now change	e.	hands
6.	reduce the number of	f.	fraudulent marriages
7.	other crimes such as insurance	g.	scams
8.	increased	h.	dramatically
9.	the first half	i.	of 2009
10.	women are putting their career	j.	ahead of marriage

GAP FILL:

Taiwan bans find-a-foreign-bride firms

Taiwan is getting tough on mail order brides. Starting from August 1, 2009, there is a ban on companies that arrange international marriages. Taiwan’s Immigration Agency says it wants to stamp out the practice of Taiwanese men choosing Chinese or South-East Asian brides online. Companies can no longer take Taiwanese men on blind-date tours of Asian countries to select a bride. All Taiwanese men hoping to marry a foreign woman must now apply to an approved government agency. These organizations cannot charge a matchmaking fee. The only money that can now change hands is for airfares and hotels for overseas visits. Companies that attempt to charge for arranging marriages will be fined up to $US 30,000.

The new regulations are part of Taiwan’s new Immigration Act. The island nation wants to reduce the number of fraudulent marriages. The previous laws meant many women entered the country after marrying Taiwanese men, only to work as prostitutes. There were many other crimes such as insurance scams. The number of foreign brides arriving in Taiwan has increased dramatically. Immigration officials report that around 420,000 foreign spouses, mainly brides, entered Taiwan in the first half of 2009. This figure compares with 410,000 for the whole of 2008. Taiwan’s men are finding it hard to find a Taiwanese bride. Many women are putting their career ahead of marriage, marrying at a later age, or not marrying at all.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - b

2 - c

3 - a

4 - d

5 - c

6 - a

7 - d

8 - b

9 - d

10 - c

11 - b

12 - a

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Breaking News English

August 2, 2009

Taiwan Bans Find-A-Foreign-Bride Firms