Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Relationships

French first lady Carla Bruni has spoken about rumours her marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy is over. She said many teasing things in an interview with the British TV network Sky News. French newspapers are full of stories about the high-profile couple’s future together. However, British newspapers and television appear hungrier for news. The French rarely seem to get excited by scandals, whereas the Brits love them. Ms Bruni’s latest interview has given people a lot to talk about. She told interviewer Anna Botting that she married her husband in a hurry and that she didn’t know if she would stay with him forever. Ms Bruni also talked about her relationships with rock and roll stars Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.

Carla Bruni, a former model and now singer-songwriter, was very honest in her interview with Sky News. She said she married Nicolas Sarkozy just three months after meeting him and that they had to get married. She explained it "wasn't possible" to be with him without getting married because of non-stop gossip and rumours in the French press. Bruni joked: "It wasn't about 'hey, let's date', we had to do it fast to calm the people down." She said she was sure her husband was not seeing anyone else and asked the interviewer: “Have you ever seen a picture of him having an affair?" Bruni described her marriage as a dream: “The real fairytale is how lucky, how incredibly lucky it was for me to fall in love at 40 years old and meet someone I could marry," she said.

WARM-UPS

1. RELATIONSHIPS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about relationships. 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.

first ladies / rumours / teasing / high profile / scandals / marry in a hurry / forever / songwriters / models / gossip / dating / having an affair / fairytales / falling in love

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

3. RUMOURS: What was the last rumour you heard about these? Complete this table. Talk to your partner(s) about what you wrote. Change partners and share what you heard. Change partners and share again.

Rumour about your…	What was it?	Any truth in it?
friend
boss
school / company
teachers / colleagues
country’s leader
family

4. MARRIAGE: Students A strongly believe marriage should be forever; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. SCANDAL: What do you think of these? Complete this table. Talk to your partner(s) about what you wrote. Change partners and share what you heard.

President in extra-marital affair
Professor selling exam answers
Sports star taking drugs
Oil company cheating local village

Investment bankers defrauding public
Newspaper telling lies
American Idol winner pre-decided
Politicians accepting bribes

6. GOSSIP: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘gossip’. 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.	The wife of the French President has said her marriage is over.	T / F
b.	The UK media are more interested in this scandal than the French.	T / F
c.	Carla Bruni and Nicholas Sarkozy were quick to get married.	T / F
d.	Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger both dated Carla Bruni.	T / F
e.	Carla Bruni was very secretive in her interview with Sky News.	T / F
f.	French people were not at all interested in the Bruni-Sarkozy marriage.	T / F
g.	Carla said she has seen several photos of her husband and a lover.	T / F
h.	Carla said luck wasn’t on her side when she married at 40.	T / F

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

1.	rumours	a.	romances
2	over	b.	more eager
3.	high-profile	c.	cheating
4.	hungrier	d.	unbelievably
5.	relationships	e.	never-ending
6.	former	f.	finished
7.	non-stop	g.	quieten
8.	calm	h.	gossip
9.	having an affair	i.	ex-
10.	incredibly	j.	prominent

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

1.	She said many teasing things	a.	affair
2	newspapers are full	b.	hungrier for news
3.	British newspapers and television appear	c.	and rumours
4.	she married her husband	d.	in an interview
5.	Bruni also talked about her relationships	e.	now singer-songwriter
6.	a former model and	f.	get married
7.	they had to	g.	with rock & roll stars
8.	non-stop gossip	h.	anyone else
9.	her husband was not seeing	i.	of stories
10.	having an	j.	in a hurry

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

French first lady Carla Bruni has __________ about rumours her marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy is __________. She said many __________ things in an interview with the British TV network Sky News. French newspapers are full of stories about the high-profile couple’s future together. However, British newspapers and television __________ hungrier for news. The French rarely seem to get excited by __________, whereas the Brits love them. Ms Bruni’s latest interview has given people a lot to talk about. She told interviewer Anna Botting that she married her husband in a __________ and that she didn’t know if she would stay with him __________. Ms Bruni also talked about her relationships with rock and roll __________ Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.

scandals
forever
over
appear
spoken
stars
hurry
teasing

Carla Bruni, a __________ model and now singer-songwriter, was very __________ in her interview with Sky News. She said she married Nicolas Sarkozy just three months after meeting him and that they __________ get married. She explained it "wasn't possible" to be with him without getting married because of __________ gossip and rumours in the French press. Bruni joked: "It wasn't about 'hey, let's __________ ', we had to do it fast to calm the people down." She said she was sure her husband was not __________ anyone else and asked the interviewer: “Have you ever seen a picture of him having an __________?" Bruni described her marriage as a dream: “The real fairytale is how lucky, how __________ lucky it was for me to fall in love at 40 years old and meet someone I could marry," she said.

affair
had to
date'
former
seeing
incredibly
honest
non-stop

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

French first lady Carla Bruni ____________________ rumours her marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy is over. She said ____________________ an interview with the British TV network Sky News. French newspapers are full of stories about ____________________ future together. However, British newspapers and television appear hungrier for news. The French rarely seem to get ____________________, whereas the Brits love them. Ms Bruni’s latest interview ____________________ lot to talk about. She told interviewer Anna Botting that she married her husband in a hurry and that she didn’t know ____________________ him forever. Ms Bruni also talked about her relationships with rock and roll stars Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.

Carla Bruni, a former model and now singer-songwriter, ____________________ her interview with Sky News. She said she married Nicolas Sarkozy just three months after meeting ____________________ to get married. She explained it "wasn't possible" to be with him without getting married because ____________________ and rumours in the French press. Bruni joked: "It wasn't ____________________, we had to do it fast to calm the people down." She said she was sure her husband was not seeing anyone else and asked the interviewer: “Have you ever seen a picture of ____________________?" Bruni described her marriage as a dream: “The real fairytale is how lucky, ____________________ it was for me to fall in love at 40 years old and meet someone I could marry," she said.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

gossip

scandal

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:

over
full
together
love
hurry
rock

former
possible
non-stop
calm
affair
fall

STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about relationships 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.

RELATIONSHIPS 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 ‘relationship’?
c)	Do you think the Bruni-Sarkozy marriage is on the rocks?
d)	If Sarkozy is having an affair, should he resign?
e)	Do you think politicians should always be faithful?
f)	What rumours have you heard recently? Did you follow them up?
g)	Do you like scandal?
h)	Do you think Carla should stay with Nicholas Sarkozy forever?
i)	Bruni has dated and/or married rock stars and presidents. Would you like that kind of life? Why?
j)	Is marriage forever?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you think about the Bruni interview and what she said?
c)	Should Carla and Nicholas have waited longer before getting married?
d)	Do you think public opinion really pushed them to marry in a hurry?
e)	What do you think of people who have affairs?
f)	In English, being unfaithful means playing around, cheating, seeing someone else, two-timing and being adulterous. What do you think of these words and expressions?
g)	Have you ever had / would you like a fairytale romance?
h)	What do you think of Carla’s comment about being lucky to fall in love at 40?
i)	Do you think it’s difficult for high-profile people to stay married?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Carla Bruni?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

French (1) ____ lady Carla Bruni has spoken about rumours her marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy is (2) ____. She said many teasing things in an interview with the British TV network Sky News. French newspapers are full of stories about the high-profile (3) ____ future together. However, British newspapers and television appear (4) ____ for news. The French rarely seem to get excited by scandals, whereas the Brits love them. Ms Bruni’s latest interview has given people a lot to talk about. She told interviewer Anna Botting that she married her husband in a (5) ____ and that she didn’t know if she would stay with him (6) ____. Ms Bruni also talked about her relationships with rock and roll stars Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.

Carla Bruni, a (7) ____ model and now singer-songwriter, was very honest in her interview with Sky News. She said she married Nicolas Sarkozy just three months after (8) ____ him and that they had to get married. She explained it "wasn't possible" to be with him without getting married because of non-stop gossip and rumours in the French (9) ____. Bruni joked: "It wasn't about 'hey, let's date', we had to do it fast to calm the people down." She said she was sure her husband was not (10) ____ anyone else and asked the interviewer: “Have you ever seen a picture of him having an (11) ____?" Bruni described her marriage as a dream: “The real fairytale is how lucky, how (12) ____ lucky it was for me to fall in love at 40 years old and meet someone I could marry," she said.

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

1.	(a)	first	(b)	thirst	(c)	worst	(d)	burst
2.	(a)	under	(b)	around	(c)	over	(d)	behind
3.	(a)	couples	(b)	couples’	(c)	couple	(d)	couple’s
4.	(a)	angrier	(b)	hungrier	(c)	angrily	(d)	hungrily
5.	(a)	fast	(b)	rushed	(c)	quickly	(d)	hurry
6.	(a)	whenever	(b)	wherever	(c)	forever	(d)	however
7.	(a)	firmer	(b)	former	(c)	farmer	(d)	framer
8.	(a)	meeting	(b)	met	(c)	meets	(d)	meet
9.	(a)	press	(b)	iron	(c)	push	(d)	squeeze
10.	(a)	watching	(b)	viewing	(c)	seeing	(d)	looking
11.	(a)	affront	(b)	after	(c)	affairs	(d)	affair
12.	(a)	incredible	(b)	incredibly	(c)	incredulous	(d)	incredulity

WRITING

Write about relationships 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 Carla Bruni and Nicholas Sarkozy. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. RELATIONSHIPS: Make a poster about relationships. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. GOSSIP: Write a magazine article about Carla Bruni and Nicholas Sarkozy. Include imaginary interviews with them about the gossip surrounding their relationship.

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 an expert on relationships. Ask him/her three questions about good relationships. Give him/her three of your opinions on how to have a happy relationship. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	rumours	a.	gossip
2	over	b.	finished
3.	high-profile	c.	prominent
4.	hungrier	d.	more eager
5.	relationships	e.	romances
6.	former	f.	ex-
7.	non-stop	g.	never-ending
8.	calm	h.	quieten
9.	having an affair	i.	cheating
10.	incredibly	j.	unbelievably

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	She said many teasing things	a.	in an interview
2	newspapers are full	b.	of stories
3.	British newspapers and television appear	c.	hungrier for news
4.	she married her husband	d.	in a hurry
5.	Bruni also talked about her relationships	e.	with rock & roll stars
6.	a former model and	f.	now singer-songwriter
7.	they had to	g.	get married
8.	non-stop gossip	h.	and rumours
9.	her husband was not seeing	i.	anyone else
10.	having an	j.	affair

GAP FILL:

Carla Bruni says Nicolas Sarkozy is faithful

French first lady Carla Bruni has spoken about rumours her marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy is over. She said many teasing things in an interview with the British TV network Sky News. French newspapers are full of stories about the high-profile couple’s future together. However, British newspapers and television appear hungrier for news. The French rarely seem to get excited by scandals, whereas the Brits love them. Ms Bruni’s latest interview has given people a lot to talk about. She told interviewer Anna Botting that she married her husband in a hurry and that she didn’t know if she would stay with him forever. Ms Bruni also talked about her relationships with rock and roll stars Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.

Carla Bruni, a former model and now singer-songwriter, was very honest in her interview with Sky News. She said she married Nicolas Sarkozy just three months after meeting him and that they had to get married. She explained it "wasn't possible" to be with him without getting married because of non-stop gossip and rumours in the French press. Bruni joked: "It wasn't about 'hey, let's date', we had to do it fast to calm the people down." She said she was sure her husband was not seeing anyone else and asked the interviewer: “Have you ever seen a picture of him having an affair?" Bruni described her marriage as a dream: “The real fairytale is how lucky, how incredibly lucky it was for me to fall in love at 40 years old and meet someone I could marry," she said.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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Breaking News English

March 12, 2010

Carla Bruni Says Nicolas Sarkozy is Faithful