Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Cadbury's Chocolate

Things are heating up in the chocolate world. There is a lot of talk about who will win the contest for the chocolate giant Cadbury. Kraft Foods has offered $16.7 billion for Cadbury. It is the only official bid. However, industry insiders believe the American candy maker Hershey is also considering an offer of $17 billion. While Kraft and Hershey are battling it out, other makers may enter the fight. Nestlé of Switzerland and Ferrero of Italy have both made noises recently about buying Cadbury. The Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, told a London newspaper he hoped his company could fight off the takeover bids. He did leave the door open for a possible bid, saying he would consider any “offer from a serious source.” This is sure to further raise the bid price.

Cadbury is one of the world’s leading confectionery companies. It produces some of the most well-known chocolate and candy brands. The company started back in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a small shop selling cocoa and tea near Birmingham, England. The shop expanded into a factory and became so large, the area was renamed Cadbury. The company grew to become a multinational giant. It operates in over 60 countries and has a global workforce of 45,000 people. The size of Cadbury makes it a problem for Hershey to become successful in its bid. The American company has a market value of only about $8.5 billion, less than half of Cadbury’s. This is also a fraction of Kraft’s $40 billion value. Experts believe Kraft will eventually win.

WARM-UPS

1. TAKEOVERS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about takeovers. 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.

heating up / chocolate / giants / candy makers / battling / noises / takeovers / bids / confectionery / candy brands / factories / multinationals / global workforce / fractions

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

3. TAKEOVERS: What do you think of these takeovers? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you heard.

	A good/bad idea?	Why?	New products?
McDonald’s / Hilton
Toyota / Ferrari
Google / Facebook
Apple / Microsoft
Coca Cola / Pepsi
NASA / Boeing

4. HAPPY STAFF: Students A strongly believe takeovers are great for employees; Students B strongly believe takeovers are terrible for employees. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. CHOCOLATE AND…: How important is chocolate in your life? Talk about these things with your partner. Change partners and share what you heard.

presents
tooth decay
energy boosts
childhood

dessert
candy stores
brands
weight

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

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Chocolate makers are in talks to make a hot chocolate bar.	T / F
b.	Three big chocolate companies may merge to become a candy giant.	T / F
c.	Swiss and Italian companies may be interested in taking over Cadbury.	T / F
d.	Cadbury’s chairman said he was open to offers from rival companies.	T / F
e.	Cadbury started almost two centuries ago.	T / F
f.	There is a town in England named after the chocolate company.	T / F
g.	Cadbury employs over 450,000 people worldwide.	T / F
h.	The market value of Hershey is double that of Cadbury’s.	T / F

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

1.	heating up	a.	people in the know
2	bid	b.	small part
3.	insiders	c.	top
4.	made noises	d.	grew
5.	consider	e.	offer
6.	leading	f.	worldwide
7.	expanded	g.	getting interesting
8.	global	h.	sooner or later
9.	fraction	i.	expressed interest
10.	eventually	j.	think about

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	Things are heating	a.	it out
2	industry	b.	of 45,000 people
3.	Hershey is also considering	c.	$40 billion value
4.	raft and Hershey are battling	d.	an offer
5.	leave the door open	e.	up in the chocolate world
6.	one of the world’s leading	f.	about $8.5 billion
7.	The shop expanded	g.	for a possible bid
8.	a global workforce	h.	insiders
9.	a market value of only	i.	confectionery companies
10.	This is also a fraction of Kraft’s	j.	into a factory

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Things are ____________ up in the chocolate world. There is a lot of talk about who will win the ____________ for the chocolate giant Cadbury. Kraft Foods has offered $16.7 billion for Cadbury. It is the only ____________ bid. However, industry ____________ believe the American candy maker Hershey is also considering an offer of $17 billion. While Kraft and Hershey are ____________ it out, other makers may enter the fight. Nestlé of Switzerland and Ferrero of Italy have both made ____________ recently about buying Cadbury. The Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, told a London newspaper he hoped his company could ____________ off the takeover bids. He did leave the door open for a possible bid, saying he would consider any “offer from a ____________ source.” This is sure to further raise the bid price.

battling
official
fight
heating
serious
insiders
contest
noises

Cadbury is one of the world’s ____________ confectionery companies. It produces some of the most well-known chocolate and candy ____________. The company started back in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a small shop selling cocoa and tea near Birmingham, England. The shop ____________ into a factory and became so large, the area was ____________ Cadbury. The company grew to become a multinational giant. It ____________ in over 60 countries and has a global workforce of 45,000 people. The size of Cadbury makes it a problem for Hershey to become ____________ in its bid. The American company has a market value of only about $8.5 billion, less than half of Cadbury’s. This is also a ____________ of Kraft’s $40 billion value. Experts believe Kraft will ____________ win.

operates
fraction
brands
successful
leading
eventually
expanded
renamed

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Things are heating up in the chocolate world. There __________________ who will win the contest for the chocolate giant Cadbury. Kraft Foods has offered $16.7 billion for Cadbury. It is __________________. However, _____________________ the American candy maker Hershey is also considering an offer of $17 billion. While Kraft and Hershey are battling it out, other makers may __________________. Nestlé of Switzerland and Ferrero of Italy have both made noises recently about buying Cadbury. The Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, told a London newspaper he hoped his company __________________ takeover bids. He did leave the door open for a possible bid, saying he would consider any “offer from a serious source.” This __________________ raise the bid price.

Cadbury is one of the world’s leading confectionery companies. It produces __________________ well-known chocolate and candy brands. The company started back in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a small shop selling cocoa and tea near Birmingham, England. The shop __________________ factory and became so large, the area was renamed Cadbury. The company grew to become a multinational giant. It operates in over 60 countries __________________ workforce of 45,000 people. The size of Cadbury makes it a problem for Hershey to become successful in its bid. The American company has a market value of only about $8.5 billion, __________________ Cadbury’s. This is also a fraction of Kraft’s $40 billion value. Experts believe Kraft __________________.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

official

bid

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:

heating
contest
insiders
fight
door
raise

produces
opened
expanded
global
problem
fraction

STUDENT TAKEOVERS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about takeovers 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.

TAKEOVERS 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 ‘takeover’?
c)	Are you interested in different takeovers?
d)	Do you think it’s good if foreign companies take over companies in your country?
e)	Why do different companies want to take over Cadbury?
f)	What do you think companies use to fight each other in a takeover?
g)	What recent takeovers do you know of? Were they successful?
h)	Who are the winners in a takeover?
i)	What have you made noises about recently?
j)	What are the best tactics in a takeover?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you know about Cadbury and the other chocolate makers?
c)	What is the best chocolate in the world?
d)	Is chocolate good or bad for you?
e)	How might Cadbury change after a takeover? Will there be new products?
f)	What would you like to know about Cadbury?
g)	Would you like a town named after you?
h)	Do you think it’s better for Cadbury to stay independent?
i)	Do you think it’s a good time to buy shares in Cadbury?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Cadbury chairman Roger Carr?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Things are heating (1) ____ in the chocolate world. There is a lot of talk about who will win the contest for the chocolate giant Cadbury. Kraft Foods has offered $16.7 billion (2) ____ the Cadbury. It is the only official bid. However, industry insiders believe the American candy maker Hershey is also (3) ____ an offer of $17 billion. While Kraft and Hershey are battling it out, other makers may enter the fight. Nestlé of Switzerland and Ferrero of Italy have both (4) ____ noises recently about buying Cadbury. The Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, told a London newspaper he hoped his company could fight (5) ____ the takeover bids. He did leave the door open for a possible bid, saying he would consider any “offer from a serious source.” This is sure to further (6) ____ the bid price.

Cadbury is one of the world’s (7) ____ confectionery companies. It produces some of the most well-known chocolate and candy brands. The company started (8) ____ in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a small shop selling cocoa and tea near Birmingham, England. The shop expanded into a factory and became so large, the area was renamed Cadbury. The company (9) ____ to become a multinational giant. It operates in over 60 countries and has a global (10) ____ of 45,000 people. The size of Cadbury makes it a problem for Hershey to become successful in its bid. The American company has a market value of only about $8.5 billion, less than (11) ____ of Cadbury’s. This is also a fraction of Kraft’s $40 billion value. Experts believe Kraft will (12) ____ win.

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

1.	(a)	on	(b)	in	(c)	over	(d)	up
2.	(a)	for	(b)	by	(c)	at	(d)	on
3.	(a)	consideration	(b)	considered	(c)	considering	(d)	consider
4.	(a)	had	(b)	made	(c)	been	(d)	given
5.	(a)	club	(b)	off	(c)	them	(d)	to the end
6.	(a)	rise	(b)	high	(c)	raise	(d)	arise
7.	(a)	leading	(b)	leaders	(c)	leaded	(d)	leads
8.	(a)	front	(b)	way	(c)	past	(d)	back
9.	(a)	grown	(b)	grows	(c)	growth	(d)	grew
10.	(a)	workplace	(b)	workforce	(c)	work rate	(d)	work up
11.	(a)	half	(b)	halved	(c)	halving	(d)	halves
12.	(a)	event	(b)	events	(c)	eventually	(d)	eventual

WRITING

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

3. TAKEOVERS: Make a poster about takeovers. Describe some successful ones and some bad ones. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. CADBURY: Write a magazine article about the Cadbury takeover. Include imaginary interviews with the CEO of Cadbury and its rivals.

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 Cadbury chairman Roger Carr. Ask him three questions about the takeover. Give him three pieces of advice about how to get the best deal for Cadbury. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	heating up	a.	getting interesting
2	bid	b.	offer
3.	insiders	c.	people in the know
4.	made noises	d.	expressed interest
5.	consider	e.	think about
6.	leading	f.	top
7.	expanded	g.	grew
8.	global	h.	worldwide
9.	fraction	i.	small part
10.	eventually	j.	sooner or later

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Things are heating	a.	up in the chocolate world
2	industry	b.	insiders
3.	Hershey is also considering	c.	an offer
4.	raft and Hershey are battling	d.	it out
5.	leave the door open	e.	for a possible bid
6.	one of the world’s leading	f.	confectionery companies
7.	The shop expanded	g.	into a factory
8.	a global workforce	h.	of 45,000 people
9.	a market value of only	i.	about $8.5 billion
10.	This is also a fraction of Kraft’s	j.	$40 billion value

GAP FILL:

Chocolate makers in Cadbury talks

Things are heating up in the chocolate world. There is a lot of talk about who will win the contest for the chocolate giant Cadbury. Kraft Foods has offered $16.7 billion for Cadbury. It is the only official bid. However, industry insiders believe the American candy maker Hershey is also considering an offer of $17 billion. While Kraft and Hershey are battling it out, other makers may enter the fight. Nestlé of Switzerland and Ferrero of Italy have both made noises recently about buying Cadbury. The Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, told a London newspaper he hoped his company could fight off the takeover bids. He did leave the door open for a possible bid, saying he would consider any “offer from a serious source.” This is sure to further raise the bid price.

Cadbury is one of the world’s leading confectionery companies. It produces some of the most well-known chocolate and candy brands. The company started back in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a small shop selling cocoa and tea near Birmingham, England. The shop expanded into a factory and became so large, the area was renamed Cadbury. The company grew to become a multinational giant. It operates in over 60 countries and has a global workforce of 45,000 people. The size of Cadbury makes it a problem for Hershey to become successful in its bid. The American company has a market value of only about $8.5 billion, less than half of Cadbury’s. This is also a fraction of Kraft’s $40 billion value. Experts believe Kraft will eventually win.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - c

4 - b

5 - b

6 - c

7 - a

8 - d

9 -d

10 - b

11 - a

12 - c

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Breaking News English

November 24, 2009

Chocolate Makers in Cadbury Talks